I LOVE the people that live at Meadowlark Hills. We are all different but similar, and that makes for a great place to live.
Outdoor Encounters: Pebble & Pond
April 22, 2025
Blog
Meadowlark, a place people have called home since 1980, has a rich history. Margaret Wheat, a registered nurse, joined the Meadowlark board in 1976 and was an integral part of Meadowlark Hills for nearly half her life. In fact, it was Margaret who dreamed up what would become the official name of the community, following a multitude of suggestions that included Kanza Heights, Prairie View, and Hilltop House. Nothing quite fit … until inspiration struck her “like a beam of light” when she remembered the board’s first visit to the property.
Our palette of fall!
Gently falling, fading—gone,
Save in grateful eyes.
N.J.B.
We again are losing our summer umbrella of living shingles: the marvelous evolutionary development we call the green plant leaf. In addition to the leaf’s essential process of photosynthesis, they offer shade to soils and organisms in thousands of different ways.
The call Carol Shanklin received last Friday afternoon was a first for her. A ticket with Shanklin’s name on it was the first one drawn in this year’s Cash & More Raffle, meaning she won a squeal-worthy $2000! Posing a few hours later with a big check and Happy, our pink HOGtoberfest mascot, Carol was all smiles and said “I have never won any sort of drawing before!”
For Immediate Release
October 26, 2022
For more information, contact:
Cara Sloan-Ramos
785-296-0807
TOPEKA – The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) recognized 22 adult care homes in Kansas yesterday for their achievements in providing and sustaining person-centered care for residents. Plaques were presented to each facility by Deputy Secretary Scott Brunner.
Last Tuesday, the Ambassadors received a record number of donations during their annual Clothing Drive. Donations exceeded expectations. Because of the generosity of so many, donations were able to go to not one, but three beneficiaries. These stores included The Encore Shop, The Budget Shop, and Goodwill, all local thrift shops in Manhattan.
In the early 2000s, Meadowlark was in phase two of a three-phase growth and evolution as a community. As a part of this expansion, Meadowlark added its first duplexes on Meadowlark Circle. However, there was a hurdle: a small family cemetery dating from the mid-1800s to 1900. The original cemetery had a least four formal headstones, all of which had been removed by early in the twentieth century. Thus, by the early twenty-first century, almost nothing was known about this cemetery other than its location.
Oink! Now that the calendar has turned to October, temperatures are cooling, but activities to benefit Meadowlark’s Good Samaritan Fund are just heating up. It’s HOGtoberfest season, and Meadowlark Foundation has four squeal-worthy announcements!
Because of many generous donations to assist with paving Meadowlark's loop trail, a section stretching from Stillman Cemetery to the woods of Donner's Way is scheduled to be paved. This summer, grading and paving was completed from the west side of the bridge near the CenterPointe Physicians office to Donner's Way. This work also included walkways north of the community garden and from the trail to the physicians office parking lot.
The last weekend in August brought opportunities for the Manhattan community to learn more about Parkinson’s disease, participate in exercise, and obtain a first-hand look at people living life with endurance.
Last week, Meadowlark Ambassadors hosted a campus-wide food and hygiene drive to benefit the Blessing Boxes of Manhattan/Riley County.
The drive was inspired by Meadowlark team member Michelle Lawson, who had seen a recent news article that mentioned how numerous Blessing Boxes were turning up empty due to rising food costs and continuing effects from the pandemic.