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Posts Tagged ‘Covenant Shores’

On Flag Day at Covenant Shores, Mercer Island: “I Stand for the Flag” Trumpet Show

Posted by glennled on July 16, 2019

“I Stand for the Flag” trumpet show at Covenant Shores on Flag Day, 14 June 2019

On Flag Day, 14 June, I returned to Covenant Shores Retirement Community on Mercer Island to perform a different show from the one I had performed about 13 months earlier. That was a show named “Showtune Favorites,” and this one is called “I Stand for the Flag.” It consists of 25 patriotic marches and songs and a bugle call, “Tattoo.” About 60 residents attended—an excellent turnout. To ensure that everyone could sing the last six songs to close the show, Nile Clarke and Chaplain Greg Asimakoupoulos distributed my handout of the lyrics to: 64218777_10157542828875774_385686663021461504_n

The Navy Hymn (Eternal Father, Strong to Save)
This is My Country
America the Beautiful
God Bless America
You’re a Grand Old Flag
The Star-Spangled Banner

It was grand.

On Flag Day, this retirement community was called “Covenant Shores,” but on 25 June, 11 days later, its name changed to “Covenant Living at the Shores.” This reflects its parent company’s own name change to Covenant Living Communities and Services (please see https://www.covliving.org/). For more information on this widely-known and revered Mercer Island retirement community, please see my blog post of 24 May 2018 and https://www.covlivingshores.org.

Fairfield, WA Flag Day Parade—110 consecutive years, 1910-2019

Flag Day

Flag Day commemorates the adoption on June 14, 1777, by resolution of the Second Continental Congress, of the USA flag. In 1885, the idea of celebrating this event was born in Waubeka, Wisconsin when a 19-year old schoolteacher placed a 10″ flag with 38 stars in an inkwell and had his students write essays on what the flag means to them. He became a lifetime advocate of an annual observance, honoring of the birth of the flag. Flag ceremonies on 14 June had become quite prevalent by 1916, prompting President Woodrow Wilson to issue a proclamation establishing Flag Day as an annual national event. In 1949, President Harry S. Truman signed the legislation that designated 14 June 14th as national Flag Day and calling upon the President to issue a Flag Day proclamation annually. It is not an official, federal holiday.

Citizens display the flag at their homes and communities hold parades on Flag Day. And in 2010, the small farming town of Fairfield, Washington (southeast of Spokane, near the Idaho border) celebrated its “Centennial Parade”—the longest continuing Flag Day Parade in the nation, having begun there in 1910. That year, the census count established Fairfield’s population as 612. Please see https://fairfieldflagday.com/. In contrast, Appleton, Wisconsin (population almost 73,000 in 2010) holds an annual Flag Day Parade that draws crowds of 75,000 from the city and its surrounding region. Please see https://www.facebook.com/Appleton-Flag-Day-Parade-90849509066/.

Photos at Covenant Shores by Rev. Greg Asimakoupoulos, Chaplain. Please click on any photo to enlarge it.

: Lyrics handout

: Rev. Greg Asimakoupoulos, Chaplain, with two patriotic residents of Covenant Shores

: “We have lived in the best nation in the best period of human history.”

: L to R: Nile Clarke, Glenn Ledbetter, Rev. Greg Asimakoupoulos, Chaplain, Covenant Shores

: Jupiter pocket trumpet used when playing “You’re a Grand Old Flag”

Waubeka, Wisconsin, Historical Marker

Birthplace of Flag Day, Waubeka, Wisconsin, 1885

Posted in Ceremonies & Celebrations, Shows at Retirement Homes | Tagged: Covenant Shores, Jupiter, lyrics, marches, pocket trumpet, retirement community, songs, trumpet | Leave a Comment »

Trumpet Show at Covenant Shores Retirement Community on Mercer Island

Posted by glennled on May 24, 2018

Covenant Shores, Mercer Island

Fifteen years after moving from Mercer Island to Edmonds, I returned to M.I. to do something I had neither dreamed of nor could have predicted when I lived there for 30 years (1973-2003)—i.e., perform a one-hour show on my trumpet! Oh, I still have my car serviced at Mercer Island Service Center, and I still use my same dentist, Lewis and Gibson, DDS, after all these years. But to play “Showtune Favorites: Hit Songs from Musicals and Movies” for about 50 residents of Covenant Shores (CS) Retirement Community—“Who’da thunk it?”

See? Here’s proof: some of my jokes are funny!

The CS Chaplain, Rev. Greg Asimakoupoulos, longtime family friend, invited me to Fellowship Hall for the show on 17 May. That’s Norwegian Constitution Day—his mother, Star (91), is of Norwegian descent. The day commemorates the signing of the Norwegian Constitution in Eidsvoll 204 years ago on 17 May 1814. More about this later.

“Showtune Favorites” features 25 songs written during 1906 to 1992 which were sung in South Pacific, Oklahoma, The Sound of Music, Show Boat, The Music Man, My Fair Lady, Carousel, The Wizard of Oz, Hello Dolly, Gigi, Grease, Aladdin, and others. The audience sings along with me, as I play. I use two trumpets, one cornet, two mutes, and three mouthpieces.

“Showtune Favorites” trumpet show by Glenn Ledbetter

The finale was “You’re a Grand Old Flag” by George M. Cohan in 1906. It was sung by James Cagney in the movie, “Yankee Doodle Dandy” (1942). I invited Chaplain Greg on stage with me to lead the singing, and Roxanne Helleren, CS’s Resident Life Director, accompanied us on the piano. Suddenly, Chaplain Greg vigorously waved the Norwegian flag! After the laughs, he brought out the American flag, and we burst into song. It was rousing, and the audience clapped in rhythm as they sang.

Covenant Shores opened in 1978, and today, it occupies 12 acres of land on Lake Washington waterfront with a private marina. There are 298 apartments for rent, as follows:

Residential Living: 208
Assisted Living: 32
Memory Care: 15
Skilled Nursing: 43

Floor Plans:

There are 12 different floor plans in the complex of buildings. Please see https://www.covenantshores.org/floor-plans.