Ozarks Methodist Manor marks centennial

Celebration includes public event, speakers, live music, memorabilia
 
Ozarks Methodist Manor in Marionville celebrated its 100th anniversary on Sept. 26 with an outdoor gathering, live music, speakers, and a meal for guests.
Located on the east lawn outside of Memorial Hall, the celebration centered around a large tent for guests and adjacent smaller tents holding historic photos and staff or volunteers with materials available for guests, including a history of the facility. Wayne Rainey, executive director of the Manor, served as master of ceremonies.
The facility opened in 1925, following the closing of the Marionville College, which operated from 1869 to 1924. Memorial Hall, originally the college administration building, has been kept as a cornerstone of the original facility and recognized as a community landmark. It was built in 1900 and remodeled several times. The original bell still hangs in Memorial Hall.
The home for the aged originally opened in the former girls’ dormitory. Cottages, a unique feature of the Manor, were constructed in 1950 and added to in 1956, 1966, 1968, 1970, 1977, and 1986. Additional residential buildings were erected over the years. The Manor covers 30 acres.
Festivities included several speakers. State Representative Mitch Boggs presented Rainey with a resolution from the Missouri House of Representatives honoring the achievement.
“Senior citizens are the backbone of the community,” Boggs said. “It’s a privilege to take care of older citizens. It reminds us of community, friendship, and belonging.”He noted the Manor provides a model for faith-based community centers. Under former governor Mike Parson, Boggs said the state began developing a Master Plan on Aging as a statewide strategy to create better systems to provide services.
Rainey led a recognition of two staff members: Brenda Garner who has worked at the Manor for 51 years, and Pat Jenkins, a 45-year employee who retired in 2019. Each received flowers for their contributions. Garner praised the contributions that volunteers have made to the facility’s ongoing success.
Rainey further observed that while national statistics show a 100 percent turnover rate for employees in long-term care facilities, the Manor has a turnover of only 24 percent.
Doris Rapp, longtime mayor of Marionville, spoke as a town historian, recounting how she had been able to access the Memorial Hall cornerstone when she helped assemble the town’s official history. Gene DeLosier, whose father served as Manor administrator for 22 years and whose mother had been the daughter of the college’s administrator, spoke about how the Manor “will always be home.”
Fred Richardson, the author of 13 books, a volunteer, and more recently a resident at the Manor for two-and-a-half years, told the stories of four residents. Carolyn, he noted, had lived there for 20 years. Berniece McCall, a past Rosie the Riveter in Chicago, had moved in at age 100 and was now 103.
Board member Arlen Davidson, charged with speaking on the future of the Manor, said the most immediate need is more renovation on Memorial Hall, which houses offices, the chapel, and space for some activities, like the quilters’ sewing room in the lower level. “It will be expensive, but we decided to try and make it happen,” he said.
Davidson had worked in the residential healthcare industry as a career. He came to help the Manor at the request of a former colleague and has continued three years. “I’m not the same,” he said. “I realized this is a place that honors God. A lot of places are called a faith-based ministry. God is in this place. That’s what makes it special. I’ve never seen more dedicated employees.”
Lunch was served with the help of the Family, Community, and Career Leaders of America from Marionville High School. Music was provided by the Long Time Runnin’ band from Republic and the Manor Melody Makers choir, composed of residents, staff, and volunteers.