There are many reasons I love living at Meadowlark Hills: friendly residents and staff; easy access to friends in a variety of levels of care; excellent food services; exercise classes; Meadowlark...
The Christmas Trains
December 4, 2025
Blog
My uncle Lou gave me an electric train for my first Christmas. I was much too young to appreciate it, of course. But I think Lou, who had a good union job operating a construction crane, was showing off a bit for his kid sister, who had married an impoverished small-town newspaper reporter.
A week-long celebration at Prairie Star Restaurant and Event Venue to mark the 12th annual HOGtoberfest brought squeal-worthy attention to Meadowlark Foundation’s Good Samaritan Fund. Not only did this annual event encourage giving in variety of ways — food and beverage purchases, raffle tickets, donations, and sponsorships — but it also prompted discussions about the Fund’s mission: to assist Meadowlark residents who live in a healthcare household and who also have exhausted their financial resources. To these ends, this FOOD, FRIENDS, and FUNdraising event, Oct. 24 through Oct.
We are excited to announce our fall Lecture Series. With the success of our spring “Leading through the Valley” Lenten Lecture Series, we are excited to carry the momentum into the fall. Our fall topic will be “big why.” There are some big questions facing our community and world. We’ll host local community leaders who will help us think deeply about topics that affect our personal lives and Manhattan community.
The Bushman people of the Kalahari Desert in southern Africa speak of two hungers: the Small Hunger of finding food and the Great Hunger of finding meaning in life. From what I’ve read and heard, it seems that all people speak of these two hungers.
One June day a few summers ago, I saw something beautiful, something profound, something too rarely practiced, something whose ramifications are too rarely considered.
I did not see the ultimate trophy home, not an immaculately manicured lawn or golf course, not the latest over-powered muscle car, not a world record set of elk antlers, not the world’s tallest tree, not the most symmetrical set of African elephant tusks ever found, not a beauty pageant, nor some masterfully played athletic contest.
The Outdoor Committee is proud to announce the establishment of a Native Prairie Butterfly Garden & Monarch Waystation along the Meadowlarks walking trail. This vibrant pollinator haven is located on the east side of the trail next to the second park bench northeast of the bridge behind the CenterPoint Clinic, just southeast of the Monarch apartments.
This special project honors the tallgrass prairies that once blanketed North America and supports the full lifecycle of native butterflies—especially the beloved monarch.
The 17th annual Speedy PD Race for Parkinson’s Disease is Saturday, Aug. 23, at Tuttle Creek State Park. The race features a Half-Mile Walk/Run, Don Rasmussen 5K, and a 10K race. This year, we are excited to announce a partnership with Manhattan Running Company, providing race directing, logistics, and timing services. A full list of sponsors can be found on the Speedy PD webpage at www.runspeedypd.org.
Come back with me to the1940s era in Chicago. During the first few days of July, my younger brothers and I walked to the neighborhood Woolworth’s store to buy a very important item for our Fourth of July celebration. We had to make our purchase no later than July 3, for all businesses closed on Independence Day.
by Noel Stanton
My grandfather Fred Sheldon drove things for a living. At age 17, he was already driving a horse trolley through the streets of Oneonta, a small city in upstate New York. When the U.S. armored cruiser Maine mysteriously sank in Havana harbor in February 1898, he was 23 years old and working for an Oneonta livery stable, driving every wheeled vehicle they had, including a hearse.
Always honors Mother Earth.
Bend, sow, and receive
- NJB
Webster’s definition for the word “garden” just about covers everything: a plot of ground, usually near a house, where flowers, vegetables, or herbs are cultivated. Or, “a piece of ground or other space commonly with ornamental plants, trees, etc., used as a park or other recreational area, e.g., as an arboretum.” Or, “any beautiful, pleasing, restful piece of land.”