Welcome Note:
Happy Fall y’all and welcome to the fall 2013 newsletter. We’ve had a fun and exciting fall so far and are excited about all the great things to come. We would like to take this chance to welcome Justin, Pam, Ben, Randy, Sheree, Carole, Barb and all new Purple Catters to the family!
Ask Jimmy:
Jimmy S. is very special to all of us at the Purple Cat. He and Jill P. have given us all the opportunity to learn in a more creative environment. We wanted to be sure everyone has the opportunity to get to know him a little better. We compiled a list of questions and Jimmy quickly responded. Thank you Jimmy for all that you do for all of us and taking the time to answer our questions.
Q: What motivates you to be such a giving person? (Ryan H)
A: The Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have done unto you.
Q: What do you do to relax after a stressful week? (Le’Keisha)
A: I love baseball, music and poetry. I also try to pray much. It relaxes me.
Q: How do you pick your wardrobe? We like your style. (Axel)
A: Ha! I just always try to be different. I appreciate clothing that is vintage and colorful.
Q: How do you choose your Halloween costumes? (Axel)
A: Jill P helps me significantly with those. I am a bit sloppy. I always end up looking like a drunken parody of a character.
Q: How did it feel to fly with the Thunder-birds? (Bryan A)
A: Surreal. Tough to put into words. I felt like an eagle.
Q: When are you taking a group of clients to a football game? (Richard S)
A: December 1st a browns game!
Q: What would you like for Christmas? (Matt D)
A: Reese’s Cups
Q: What’s your favorite food? ( Ryan H)
A: Homemade spaghetti or my mom’s pasta fagioli
Q: What’s your favorite Holiday? (Ryan)
A: Joe Gallagher Day! May 14th
Q: What is your favorite movie? (Bryan)
A: The English Patient
Q: How about your favorite Disney movie? ( Mark P)
A: The Cat From Outer space
Q: What is your favorite book and poem? (Christine)
A: My favorite book is “A Prayer for Owen Meany” by John Irving and my favorite poem is “A Song” by Joesph Brodsky.
Q: How do you like working with our population? (David C)
A: It is the greatest part of my life.
Q: What made you decide to open the farm and incorporate animals? (Ryan H)
A: I feel that it is important to commune with nature and appreciate it.
Q: How do you find such good employees? (David C)
A: Thank you! From my already hired good employees. They refer them.
Q: We’ve heard there are some great additions coming soon. Do you have any updates for us? (David)
A: We are renovating the Oak Hill Cafeteria and it will hopefully be finished by 2/1/14. A wood shop is being built at the farm and a Pennsylvania Purple Cat is in the works.
Q: Ryan mentioned that each of the supervisors have very unique and different personalities. How do you choose your supervisors and decide what sites to assign them too?
A: I try to match the supervisor’s personalities to my client’s personalities. I want everyone to be comfortable.
Halloween Folly by Champion St.
Walking down the street, I saw a bumpkin
who did non-chalantly sit on a pumpkin.
I thought to myself he looked kind of kooky
he opened his mouth & said something spooky.
It sounded at first to be pretty creepy
then I found out he was only sleepy!
His night had been boring, quite a bit dull,
when appeared out of nowhere a small screaming skull.
It screamed, it laughed, repeatedly taunted
the pumpkin did change & soon it haunted.
This poor country bumpkin who would later boast
He couldn’t be scared by not even a ghost!
The next time you feel something creepy crawly
remember this bumpkin’s Halloween Folly!
A Spooktacular Night: Golden String Halloween Party 2013
The Golden String Halloween Party was a huge success! Everyone really had a great time. DJ Mark C played everyone’s favorite dance music while the tilt a whirl and haunted hayride were running to scare those daring enough to ride. The haunted hayride scared everyone with zombies and monsters chased the wagon. There was a fire in the fireplace in the pavilion and a bonfire out in the field for those that were cold. The costumes this year were fantastic and many people were awarded prizes for their creativity.
The best costume awards:
Sexiest: Ashley H
Funniest: Michael C
Scariest: Kayla H
Most Original: Vance P
Best Overall: Jerry S.
Amy’s Favorite: Scott
Cutest: Samantha
Freezing her bottom off: Melissa B
Guess these Purple Catters: Sneak Peek
This Purple Catter comes to us from PA and works at Farmer Casey’s Ranch. She loves zumba, and you’ll often see her dancing quietly to Golden String Radio.
This wonderful friend comes to you from the Champion St. location. He can always be found with his favorite lady Stacey and loves the Cleveland Indians! He also loves to go to the YMCA daily with Justin.
This man sure knows how to spin the tunes on Golden String Radio! He makes sure to keep us on our toes with his musical knowledge.
Poll of the Season:
Favorite Whitehouse Fruit Farms Doughnuts:
Blueberry: 23
Cookies n crème: 13
Pumpkin: 44
Winner: Pumpkin
Thanksgiving Dinner:
The Thanksgiving dinner was a huge success again this year. The food was absolutely DELICIOUS!!! It was very relaxing and fun for everyone to sit and talk while enjoying their turkey. At the end of the night prizes like chocolate covered pretzels, candy from the candy store and sports caps were given away. Amy also announced what the next play is going to be. It was a great time all around and we all can’t wait to spend time being thankful with our families and friends.
General News:
In early November we learned about the Primary elections and how they work. We learned the election process and the steps you have to take in order to vote. We also held our own elections to see which Purple Catters would be elected if they were to run. Each site voted for President, House of Representatives, Senators, Governor and even Mayor. Congratulations to all who were elected!
We learned the history of Veterans Day and the importance of celebrating this special holiday. We learned that it used to be called Armistice Day and was started at the end of World War I. Congress changed the name of the holiday shortly after World War II to include veterans of all wars. We then wrote letters to veterans thanking them for their years of service. We also made red, white and blue crafts to celebrate.
On November 22 we had a history lesson on the assassination of JFK. We learned about Lee Harvey Oswald and that there are many other theories on what really happened. We talked about remembering where you were when major tragedies occur. David C. from Champion St. remembers that he was at the dentist when the news hit about JFK. He said he remembers everyone going crazy and crying when they got the news. He said that it was also very moving to watch JFK Jr. salute his father’s casket as it rolled by.
Farm:
The farm recently made the center pieces for the Thanksgiving dinner. Heather and Pam also helped everyone make hand turkeys with the things they are thankful for. They also used recycled items to create crafts that will be sold at the upcoming Christmas in the Barn. They are also busy taking care of the thirty new ducks that were donated to the farm. They are keeping very busy out there!
Pearl:
The DJs down at Pearl St. are staying busy spinning the tunes on Golden String Radio. They also enjoy working out in the gym with Steve. They love hanging out and learning with Bekkah and working on all of the wonderful production items with Vickie. Keep up the good work guys!
Champion:
Here at Champion we are working hard on ouryarn cat ornaments with Stephanie. The clients are working hard and the orders are pouring in. Liz is helping us with our lessons and creating some greeting cards. Colleen is busily making the jewelry for the Christmas in the Barn sale and Justin is keeping us in shape at the YMCA. Kelly is helping with the newsletter and making sure we update our Instagram and Twitter accounts. If you want to check us out we are Purplecatyo on both sites.
Special notices:
Play News:
Congratulations to Russel “Radar” Pavlov for being cast in Youngstown Play House’s production of Honk. We’ll keep everyone up to date on performance information.
Our next play production will be Alice in Wonderland. We are really excited and can’t wait to get started. We’ll keep you posted on all further announcements.
Reservations for the annual ISLE Christmas Party are due in to Coni by Monday December 9th. Contact her soon to reserve your spots.
We are still accepting baby pictures for those who wish to be part of our special holiday newsletter. If you are interested and have not sent in a picture, feel free to send one in. We are also asking staff to be part of the fun.
Christmas in the Barn is coming are you ready?… We are working hard like Santa’s elves to make sure we have something for everyone. This year along with our production items we will be offering a variety of home decorations. Come and pick up something for yourself as well as gifts for family and friends!
Here are just a few examples of products that will be offered at the sale…
