IN THIS ISSUE:

• Message From Sue

• Ticket Order Form &

• A “People of the Park” visit with The Moorefields

Message from Sue

Summer Newsletter 2019

Hello my dear Silveridge friends! I hope my letter finds you immersed in a memory filled and joyous summer!

It has been “the worst of times and the best of times” for my family. I lost a brother in May and have another brother very ill. Prayers are appreciated for my brother David and my family. On a good note, Jeff and I celebrated our 50^th Wedding Anniversary. The kids and grandkids did a reenactment of our 50 years together — complete with renewal of our wedding vows. We will top it off with an Alaskan cruise and then on to our Silveridge home where a new season awaits us!

My summer letter will also be online along with news from my co-editor Dale Dauten. Since the summer flies by quickly I want to get you “charged up” with all the activities and entertainment events and what clothes to pack adventure for our 2019-2020 season. Praying that we can put last year’s storm damage behind us and look forward to our newly remodeled clubhouse and fixed internet. Please check the website calendar for complete listings of events and times and remember that start dates are subject to change as our club leaders arrive at different times.

We will kick off our events with a poolside cookout on 0ctober 24th followed by our popular costume Halloween party and dance on the 31^st. Our Free Welcome Back Luncheon and program will be on Thursday, Nov. 7^th We will honor our veterans on Monday, November 11^th with Barleens Opry celebrity, Howard Schneider performing. (Dinner Delight)

Boogie Tuesdays and Wednesday Bingo will start the first week of November. Armand always has something up his sleeve with new Bingo games! Bring your favorite dancing shoes. We have 17 Boogies planned. I have some returning favorite bands such as Johnny K and Kompany, Come Back Buddy, Junction 87, and The Big Zephyr, (playing for our Sweetheart Ball) and returning hit band DJ and the Midnight Sun and more. I have added some new bands as well –Hippie Gold (A salute to Woodstock — dress in your Hippie finest). Gordy and Debbie will ring in a New Year Boogie and a concert in January. Ladies; don’t forget your poodle skirts for our Come Back Buddy Band. New this year will be a 70’s dance night with Johnny K. “Grey Wolf” will be our New Year’s Eve Band. Plan to party until 12:30AM! I have Prom night again and a Karaoke Fun Night. Have I got you excited yet???

December 16th will be our 8th annual Christmas Parade so be thinking how you would like to decorate your golf cart or any other moving vehicle. Still in the planning from last year is a “Chili Cook-off” following the parade with our local Fireman judging. Entrance to the event will be something for a senior. Who will be the winners for the best Chili and golf cart? Our talented decorators will have our park and ballroom glowing with Christmas lights and decorations.

You will want to add all these Dinner Shows to your list:

Dec.12th: “In the Christmas Mood” A Holiday Music Spectacular with a new agent- Khris Dodge Entertainment. Featuring 4 stellar vocalists/dancers and a rousing 6piece band, the show is filled with holiday magic with a modern twist. His show will definitely put you in the Christmas mood!

Jan. 16^th: “Groovin to the 60’s” JR Mc Alexander brings his talent once again to the Silveridge Stage. Enjoy talented singers and actors performing to The Mamas &The Papas, Peter, Paul& Mary, Simon & Garfunkel just to name a few!

Feb 6^th: Cahal Dunne, “The Funny Irishman. “Back by popular demand Cahal will make you laugh with his stories and wow you with his musicianship.

Feb. 13^th “Best of Broadway,” Our Valentine Dinner Show (Wear Red) Jr McAlexander will put you in the mood for love with Broadway’s biggest modern hits and a 10 Piece Orchestra featuring Rogers & Hammerstein, Andrew Lloyd Webber to the Jersey Boys, Mama Mia and Carole King. What a show this will be!!

Feb. 29^th (Saturday) The #1 Jimmy Buffet Tribute Show “Adventures in Parrotdise” Lights, Camera, Action: Welcome to Margaritaville! This show will have you dancing in your seats! Wear your beach clothing AND BE READY TO become a beach bum and a Parrot Head!  This is a “Hot- Hot -Hot” Tad Show.

Along with our popular dinner shows I have 6 concerts to entertain you plus our ever popular Strollling Strings and the POPS Orchestra! (* Because the Strolling Strings had limited performing dates, they will be on a Monday, Concert only)

Jan. 23^rd: Country Legends Show with Gordie and Debbie. Hear all your country favorites such as Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, George Strait, Alan Jackson and the list goes on and on.

Jan. 30^th: Todd Oliver & Friends” (BYOB and Appetizers Tables of 10) Todd Oliver, Ventriloquist & Comedy will make you laugh with his furry friends performing. If you liked Jimmy Travis, you will love Todd Oliver!

Feb. 20^th “December of ‘63” A Tad Show. Another “Best of 10” What more can I say? Don’t miss this one!

Mar. 5^th: The Eagles. One of These Nights. Another Best of 10 Tad Show. This was the biggest hit show of 2018 and I promise you, the same biggest hit of 2019!

Mar. 12^th: Silveridge Variety Show. Every other year Armand Gagnier searches for hidden talent among our residents. This is always a delightful evening to see our own stars perform.

Mar. 19^th Dancing with the Stars.  Who will be our Silveridge Dancing with the Stars this year and win the Mira ball Trophy? What fun to see our talented dancers along with the ballroom dancers who will be dancing to hits from Hollywood.

Once again we will have Music on the Green with Neil Diamond. Don’t forget about the talented Jammers (Our House Band) and all the free movies and popcorn at our SilverScreen theater. Ladies, mark Feb 7^th for our biannual LADIES TEA. Bring your special hats and teacups and be ready for a delicious luncheon and entertainment.

Mixed in with all the fun entertainment are all the classes, exercises and sports. Try something new this year. You are never too old to learn! With our new and improved high speed internet how about taking some computer classes? Maybe you would like to learn how to make a quilt or paint a picture. How about working out with our new Zumba class or Step Aerobics or Tai Chi? Don’t forget favorite sports like softball, tennis, pickleball, golf or hiking-just to name a few. Thanks to our talented and giving volunteer leaders Silveridge can offer all these fabulous opportunities. Most of the classes are either free or minimal costs for supplies. If you have a talent you would like to share, consider volunteering and don’t forget to thank our wonderful volunteers for all the work they do!

We are all thankful that Jerry Colling, our head chef and Tracy Gagnier, assistant and head volunteer coordinator will be back. Jerry and Tracy even have the menus planned for the year! Kudos to all the kitchen volunteers as well. Because of all our volunteers we can offer food at our Boogies, Dinner Shows, Dinner Delights, Bingo, Breakfasts and other events. We know that everything revolves around food!

The 2019-2020 Ticket Order List to be attached to my summer letter online as well as on the Silveridge web pages August 1^st Many of you requested the seating charts for each event. These will be included as an attachment. We ask that everyone (singly or by couple) fill out a ticket order list. You may request a desired seating area and we will try our best to honor your request. You will be happy to know that my assistant Sharon will be back. Sharon and I and our wonderful office volunteers will be at the Activity office to assist you starting October 1^st. You can call us at 480-373-7700 or email me at sractdr@iiiaz.com with your ticket order. Please send in orders to arrive by mail Oct 1st. Ticket order requests will be taken in order they were received. No tickets will be pulled until then. Please send a check made out to Silveridge Activities after we verify your total. We can send your tickets in the mail or you may pick up your tickets when you arrive. We appreciate all your pre-orders. You can also buy your tickets when you return but don’t wait too long as some of the events sell out. Thank you in advance for buying tickets and all your support and enthusiasm for our activities!  I am looking forward to sharing my 10^th year with you. You are my extended family and it brings me pleasure to make your experience at Silveridge truly “golden!” Continue making memories with your family this summer. Stay healthy and God speed your return to Silveridge. Make sure you stop by the Activity Office when you arrive so we can greet you with a hug.

Your Activity Director, Sue

The latest in our series of

PEOPLE OF THE PARK:

Bill & Norma Jean Moorefield

By Dale Dauten, Syndicated Columnist

Of all the people we’ve talked at RV parks, no one has summed up the beauty of the park life as well as Bill Moorefield. Maybe it’s that he’s lived at Silveridge practically since it opened, or maybe it’s the wisdom of reaching the age of 92, but here’s what he told us:

I wouldn’t buy a house.

In a house, you’d be by yourself. You’d spend your time alone.

But here at the park we’re a big family.

This is the life.

Nice. As for being at Silveridge for a long time, notice the shirts in the photo below of Bill and his wife, Norma Jean. The couple moved into Silveridge back in 1986. Norma Jean tells us that back then there was a small convenience store in the lobby area of Silveridge and they sold t-shirts. Thus, “The shirts we have on are over 30 years old.”

THE YEARS BEFORE SILVERIDGE

The two grew up in Virginia, Minnesota where both their fathers worked in the mines. They met at Roosevelt High, and for their first date they went dancing at the Moose Club. After school, Bill went work for the railroad, then joined the Virginia Fire Department. The two married in 1953.

But before the two wed, along came WWII and Bill joined the Navy. He ended up serving on a destroyer, the USS Kidd. Hanging on the wall of their home is an artist’s interpretation of the battle in which a kamikaze pilot flew into the ship, killing 38 crew members. (See below.) The ship stayed afloat and found its way back to San Francisco for repairs. Bill and his shipmates headed back out, but before they could get back to action in the Pacific, along came VJ Day and the end of the war.

(Doing a bit of reading about the USS Kidd, we learned that it was named for Rear Admiral Isaac Kidd who died on the bridge of the USS Arizona during the Pearl Harbor attacks, the first flag officer to die in the war. However, the crew flew a Jolly Roger flag and adopted the Scottish pirate Captain Kidd as their mascot, commissioning an artist to paint a pirate on the smokestack.)

After Bill retired from the fire department, the two set out to travel the world. When asked their favorite trips, Bill focused on a stay in the Bavarian Alps of Germany. That trip was special because their daughter had been studying German in college (while on her way to a Master’s from SMU in music/voice) and served as translator.

Norma Jean recalled a trip for the couple’s 50^th anniversary, a trip through the Panama Canal, made extra special by having eight people from Silveridge join in.

Their traveling isn’t done. The day we visited the couple, Bill had made reservations for the next trip, one to Rocky Point, Mexico.

Finally, Bill left us with this thought, his secret of a long life and long marriage: “Two drinks every night. That keeps us going.”

And speaking of marriages, the two just celebrated their 66^th anniversary, joined by dozens of Silveridge friends in the Social Hall.

PHOTOS FROM THE ANNIVERSARY PARTY

Click below for the rest of Rhonda’s photos