Ratliff Care Center hosts senior prom for residents, family and friends to beat post-holiday blues

One of the perks of retirement is a flexible schedule.

So when someone hangs a disco ball, turns down the lights and plays The Commodores' "Brick House" or Bobby Darin's "Splish Splash" on a Tuesday afternoon, there's nothing to stand in the way from dressing to the hilt and slipping on the dance shoes.

Colorful gowns with white corsages were the choice of many of the ladies, which blended well with the suits, ties and corsages of the gentlemen at the "Celebration of Life," the first winter ball hosted by the Ratliff Care Center in conjunction with Pyramid Tri-County Home Health on Tuesday.

Extra bling was optional, like the paper crown worn by 85-year-old Phil Barnhart, or a tiara, donned by 97-year-old Katheryn Riddle.

They were just two of about 40 residents seated around the dance floor, along with family and friends.

Phillip Barnhart is escorted to the dance floor by his great-granddaughter Haleigh Halter during the "Celebration of Life" winter ball on Tuesday at Ratliff Care Center in Cape Girardeau.Laura Simon

Some danced on their own, others swayed between the handles of walkers or twirled in wheelchairs. Others were content to listen to the music and take in the festivities.

In addition to his crown, Barnhart wore glasses and a comfortable smile that was accompanied by a sense of humor.

"This here works real good, it keeps the hair out of my eyes," Barnhart said with a laugh about his crown, lifting it to reveal a sparsely covered scalp.

Barnhart, a former bus driver for the Cape Girardeau Public School District as well as Southeast Missouri State University, was having a good time parlaying the royalty he was bestowed. He was crowned "king for a day" last winter at the Valentine's Day event, which he said was much smaller in scale.

"I'm kind of a cutup a little bit," Barnhart said with a smile and a gleam in his eye. "I think that's why I got elected."

Riddle's regal look was topped in warm fashion, complete with a quick smile, attentive eyes behind glasses, a gray shawl and white corsage.

She also possessed a light spirit that worked its way to her feet on this occasion.

"I love people, and I learned to dance when the jitterbugging was in," Riddle said.

The 1939 graduate of Cape Girardeau Central High School said she was a cheerleader during her high school days, recalling the route taken on foot from the old high school on Pacific Street to Houck Stadium for football games. She still possesses spunk, demonstrated by her willingness to take to the floor and the tiara, which she said she received from family and friends at her 90th birthday party. She does not reserve it just for special occasions like the winter ball.

"I have a cute little statue on the table by my bed, and I can set the crown there on it and it stays there all night," Riddle said. "When it's time to go, I grab my crown."

There was some clowning around, evidenced by a waiting line for fun portraits in a small room off the main area.

Among those to enter the room was 90-year-old Dorothy Haselbauer, whose party ensemble was a purple dress with floral patterns along with Christmas slippers. When her time arrived, she draped a pink boa over her shoulders, slipped on a bright blue hat and a clown's nose. The 1944 graduate of Jackson High School hammed it up from her wheelchair when the camera flashed.

"This is nice," Haselbauer, a four-year resident of the facility, said about the event.

The event arose from a discussion Kasie Smith, a registered nurse and recruiter for Pyramid Tri-County Home Health, had with Leah Shrum, Ratliff's director of nursing, about post-holiday blues, which can affect people of all ages but especially the elderly.

"The holidays, everyone has their families come in, but once January hits, they kind of get back in that lonely phase again," Smith said. "So our sole purpose was to come in here and kind of keep the movement going and keeping them happy and out of that depression part. That's where this stemmed from, to get them going again after the holidays."

Mike Ratliff, administrator of the Ratliff Care Center, mingled about the festive room.

"The residents seem to be having a blast," Ratliff said. "It's such an incredible experience to get to take care of folks like this. You learn so much. I've taken care of people who were in World War II, I've taken care of teachers and doctors, every imaginable occupation that there is and to hear some of the stories they tell."

Among the crowd was 90-year-old Norman Hardin, who worked 38 years for Missouri Pacific Railroad in De Soto, Missouri.

He took to the dance floor but also sat back and took in the scenery. He complimented Charlotte Dow as she passed in her full-length pink dress with a satin finish.

"Oh, they look gorgeous, don't they?" Hardin said.

Hardin's family has been blessed with longevity, with his father living to be 101 and his mom to 98, and he's the ninth of their 10 children to reach the age of 90.

He's been a resident since July, and the atmosphere and chatter in the room appealed to him.

"We talk to each other and get to know each other better than we do by just passing by," Hardin said.

Eight of his 10 children are living, and his daughter Janet Skinner and great-granddaughter Azalea Silvers, who was going to celebrate her third birthday in a couple of days, were among those in attendance.

Azalea, with blond locks and a yellow sweater over her pink dress, was in full bloom, providing entertainment with her spinning and prancing on the dance floor.

"She's a little piece of dynamite," Hardin said as he glanced over at his great-granddaughter.

The dance lasted for two hours, but Dean Hagler took his date home a few minutes early. Hagler, 89 and a former construction carpenter, wore a grey hat and dark blazer as he wheeled his wife of 66 years, Pearl, in a velvet red dress, back to her room.

Ratliff engaged in friendly chatter with the couple before they made their way down the wing.

"The mechanics of what we do, following doctor's orders, medications, treatments, that's kind of mundane," Ratliff said. "But, really our goal, our focus is to help them live their life and enjoy what they're doing."

jbreer@semissourian.com

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