50-years ago, a former Christmas tree farm located on 64-acres in Salisbury opened as Noble Horizons. The initial phase of this well-planned senior living community included 20 cottages designed to approximate a village in which "retired, middle-income people...may... live out their lives in comfort and dignity."
Nine months later the Riga Building opened as a residential hotel offering amenities for the little village that included a library, snack bar, beauty parlor, dining room with water views, and a community room in which local residents joined Noble residents for movie nights, and other assorted activities. In January 1975, a generous gift from Arnold Whitridge made possible the completion of a 30-bed nursing center, adding a third level of care. At the building's dedication, Mr. Whitridge told the crowd, "You are in the adventure of healing-the greatest adventure in the world."
A look back at the first decade reveals how warmly the community embraced Noble Horizons. Volunteers of all ages found countless ways to get involved and contribute (please note the photos to the left and at the end of this newsletter). Noble Horizons, in turn, welcomed community residents to art exhibits, concerts, picnics, movie nights, and even fashion shows featuring friends like tea master John Harney! It also hosted the community's first Dial-A-Ride and provided free weekly meals for the community's Meal on Wheels program.
As Noble grew and evolved through its first decade and beyond, its core values remained unchanged. As Thomas Wagner, one of Noble's original founders wrote in The Lakeville Journal, "It is a policy never to turn away a resident for lack of money," and the Supplementary Fund, established when Noble opened continues to support that promise.
Update From Bill Pond
As mentioned in our last newsletter, during our routine Covid testing two weeks ago, a case of
Omicron was discovered. The resident was asymptomatic and feeling well. As promised, we are providing an update from Administrator Bill Pond.
“After our regularly scheduled internal testing turned up one case of the Omicron variant, we initiated testing throughout Noble and found several other asymptomatic cases in the same area as the initial case. The cases have been isolated to one skilled nursing area and manifest either asymptomatically or as a minor cold. No cases anywhere else on campus have been found. All residents received a booster vaccination at our mid-October clinic and we believe this proactive, early intervention has effectively mitigated the impact."
Live it Up!
Dear Old Friends is a humorous, uplifting homage to living life to the fullest while growing older. Jim Flaherty offers lively anecdotes from actors like Hume Cronin and his wife Jessica Tandy as well as wisdom about making the most of one's later years. Tri-state residents will particularly enjoy stories from Flaherty's days as the owner and innkeeper of Troutbeck, the renowned 250-acre estate and hotel in Amenia, NY. Registration and a Zoom link.
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Healthy Living Guide 2022
Last year we sent you Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health's 2020-21 Healthy Living Guide and we are happy to share their 2021-22 Healthy Living Guide.
This year's edition is packed with tips and recipes as well as the latest research on nutrition, sleep, exercise, and suggestions for incorporating healthy behaviors into your daily life. You will find guidelines to help you navigate information on food packages, a blueprint for building healthy meals, a primer on the science of cravings, recipes and much more. Here's to a healthy 2022...with linksto Noble's free wellness classes to get you started!
A Familiar Face
During her 20+ years as a Pharmacy Tech at the Millerton CVS, Loretta Murray had come to
know hundreds of community members. As a natural people person who enjoyed guiding her customers through the complicated world of prescriptions and pharmaceuticals, the job had been a good fit.
When the pandemic bore down, creating serious challenges across the labor market, Loretta began to find her job less fulfilling and increasingly stressful. It was time for a career change. "I love working with older people. I think by working at CVS, I got attached to the older generation – I just connected with them, so transitioning to Noble was so easy. I go home at the end of the day smiling too, knowing I’ve found my “home.” Read more about the newest member of Noble's Recreation team here.
