Celebrating Dads the Magnolia Manor Way

It’s a story we hear often at Magnolia Manor – seniors moving to one of our campuses so they can be closer to their families – children, grandchildren, and in many cases great-grandchildren. In the case of Clay Oehlert and Jerome Adside, it was fathers moving to be closer to their daughters in Macon. Since we’re celebrating Father’s Day in June, it seems fitting to learn a bit more about these two dads.

The “Dad Stats”

Clay Oehlert has been a resident for about two years, in assisted living though he says he “should be in independent living.” His daughter works in Macon, but Clay previously lived 20 miles away so it was difficult for her to visit frequently to give him a hand. Magnolia Manor was the ideal solution.

Clay has two grandchildren, three great-grandsons, and a great-granddaughter who now attends the University of North Carolina. His daughter comes by once or twice a week to visit. She is also very involved with other residents who, Clay says, “accept her like she was their daughter.”

Clay has a 12-year-old great-grandson who was born with a brain anomaly for which he has had 36 operations thus far. Despite that, Clay says he is very smart and very musical. He plays the French horn, piano, and guitar and has sung for the lunch crowd at Magnolia Manor.

Jerome Adside has been an independent living resident for almost three years. He has four children -- three daughters and one son -- two of whom live in Macon. He was living about 45 minutes away and wanted to be closer to them. Initially, he lived with his daughter for a few months but decided to get his own place at Magnolia Manor.

He has two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. They do come visit him, but mostly he goes to them because he likes getting out and about.

Making Friends and Making a Difference

Right after he moved in, Clay was asked if he would be interested in starting a men’s group. He put out the word and four showed up for the first meeting. Since then, they’ve gained a few more. They meet every Tuesday at 4pm, but early on they decided they wanted to do more than simply get together.

They went to check out the Macon County Historical Museum, which is located downtown in the old train depot. Then they visited Fort Hawkins, which was built in the early 1800s. Now, on the first Tuesday of each month they pick a restaurant and go out to eat together.

They also take on projects around the campus. When they noticed that the American flag that flies over the campus was stuck at half-mast, they got a new flag and then recruited the local fire department to come out and fix the problem and then hang the new flag for them.

However, the biggest highlight, say Clay and Jerome, is the quarterly cookout the men’s group hosts for the whole Magnolia Manor campus. “Everyone loves it!” The next one is June 21st, and this time the cookout will be accompanied by a talent show. They’re expecting a “sellout” crowd, but are limited to just 60 attendees due to space.

Celebrating Father’s Day

Magnolia Manor always goes all out for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. This year they asked the men’s club what kind of fête they wanted. Clay and Jerome confide that the group first considered dancing girls, but then settled on a 6-foot sub sandwich “with everything that goes with it,” plus refreshments. They plan to cut up their sub to share and spend the time socializing.

For Father’s Day itself, Jerome always goes to church with his oldest daughter, after which he spends the day with her and his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Making Music

Jerome Adside sang professionally for 50 years as part of a gospel group called the Spiritual Six of Macon (although there were actually seven men). Give a listen to their album, Still Standing … Solid as a Rock.

He claims he no longer sings, but his daughter reports with a smile that Clay can persuade him to do anything.

So Jerome now leads the group in hymns prior to Bible study and worship services. “We may have only three or four in attendance,” says Clay, “but we’re all singing together to praise the Lord.”

Clay sings as well, and so naturally Magnolia Manor asked if he wanted to start a choir. This past Memorial Day, at the campus gathering to remember vets and sing songs of America, he discovered five ladies who love to sing. And just like that, the choir was born, with the women joining Clay and Jerome.

Come Join Us at Magnolia Manor

If you’re a senior dad looking to move closer to your family or any older gentleman who wants to live in a community where everyone feels like family and finds ways to enjoy life together, we invite you to find out more about what makes Magnolia Manor so different.