Special Events

Mary Graves Exhibit, Monadnock Room, December 13, 2019

Mary Graves, well-known accomplished artist, discovers another talent! Joanne, in our Activities Department, introduced Zen Doodle to our residents' and Mary became proficient with this medium ink drawing. Mary enjoyed making the Zen Doodle so much she had an exhibit in the Monadnock Room December 13, 2019 where she sold some of the drawings.

The Annual Christmas Party, December 7, 2019

The Annual Christmas Party is always something to look forward to and This years theme was It's a Wonderful Life. As you can see from the pictures a wonderful time was had by all!!!

It's a Wonderful Life, December 6, 2019

The actors and actresses did a fantastic job putting on the play It's a Wonderful Life.

Christmas Preparation Begins, December 2, 2019

Christmas preparation begins for the Annual Summerhill Christmas Party, no detail is to small and all hands are on deck...especially when your frosting 3,000 cookies.

Veterans Day Special Present November 11, 2019

Our Veterans got a special present brought to them by none other then one of our dedicated Summerhill employees that is also a Veteran. Thank you Joan!!!

Veterans Day Lunch November 6, 2019

Halloween 2019

King Arthur Flour in Norwich VT

King Arthur Flour in Norwich VT is nothing short of amazing. It has 2 centuries of flour and baking and is 100% employee owned. The residents had such a wonderful time exploring and eating all the yummy baked goods.

Foxbend Therapy and residents went bowling!!

Alzheimer's Walk 2019

Saturday’s weather might not have been the warmest but with everyone there celebrating and honoring their loved ones there was plenty of warmth to go around at Keene State College. Thank you to everyone who participated in the walk and everyone that has donated through out the year.

Scenic ride to visit Horses in Temple

A giant game of scrabble

Nothing like a giant game of scrable to switch things up a bit.

Aldworth Manor

Nestled in the historic town of Harrisville, NH, Aldworth Manor sits on 170 acres of rolling views of the Monadnock area, miles of trails and breath taking gardens.

Cathedral of the Pines September 8, 2019

Residents enjoyed the Monadnock Region Baha'i Service from the panoramic hilltop of Cathedral of the Pines in Rindge, NH.

Trip To Alyson's Orchard

Crisp mornings and leaves changing we couldn't think of a better excuse to go for a drive in the Summerhill bus then to Alyson's Orchard in Walpole, NH to pick some apples.

Pony visits September 3, 2019

The Newfoundland Pony Conservancy Center is a non-profit rare breed organization in Jaffrey, NH. About 400 of these beautiful creatures survive today, with 23 of them residing in Jaffrey. NPCS comes once a month to Summerhill and this month they brought Heather the pony over for some well deserved snuggles. View their website https://www.newfoundlandponies.org/

Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory & Gardens August 28, 2019

When you walk into the Butterfly Conservatory and Gardens it's warm, the array of color from all the flowers and vegetation, the waterfalls in the background and all the butterfly's flying makes you feel like your in a fairy tale.

Wiskey Tasting August 14, 2019

In an intimant setting in the country kitchen Wiskey Tasting took place with Chef Alymer. Wild Turkey Long Branch was the sip of the evening, along with a lot of smiles.

119 Babies born at Summerhill!!! August 5, 2019

The last 6 weeks have been full of excitement, wonder, patience, and hard work. But that's apart of raising babies right? What started off as a small project for each floor quickly grew to what seemed like a full time job (probably more for Jean K.) Jean gathered some caterpillars (and some more caterpillars) and brought them to Summerhill so everyone could experience the 6 stages of the metamorphosis process. The residents enjoyed walking past the enclosures, seeing the changes from day to day and participating in adding/changing of the milk weed. When the butterfly's emerged from their cocoon's and they were ready to spread their wings the resident's took great pride in naming each and every one as it set off on its new journey.

Breakfast on the patio is happening Wednesday mornings at 7am.

New this Year Chilling and Grilling on Meadows at 4pm on Tuesdays

Ice Cream social in memory of our beloved Jean Peters

Everyone at Summerhill was treated to an Ice Cream social in memory of our beloved Jean Peters From her family Richard, Donna and Toni.

Hampton Beach 2019

On June 25 and 26 2019 the Assisted Living and Meadows took their annual trip to Hampton Beach to see the sand sculptures. It turned out to be a beautiful day to take in The salt air, see the waves crashing and enjoy some lobster on the beach. Those sun kissed smiles say it all.

Fish and Game Bobcat visit 7-15-19

On 7/10/19 One of the 23 Newfoundland Ponies in Jaffrey came for some nose rubs and treats.

Let us help you get ready for the holidays

Call to order a pie made by our family for your family.

Pies available during our baking days.

924 - 6238

November 10th, Saturday at 2 PM

Monadnock Room

Please join us to hear acclaimed classical guitarist, concerto soloist and chamber musician John Muratore.

John has been the featured soloist at the Academie Festival des Arcs (France), St. Petersburg (Russia) Chamber Concerts, the Atelier International Concert Series in Paris and AIMS (American Institute for Musical Studies) in Graz, Austria.

The Boston Globe has described him as “a fleet-fingered and musicianly performer” and has characterized his playing as…“unleashing so many different varieties of tone and color in quick succession…a kind of aural iridescence.”

He has performed with numerous ensembles while on the faculties of Dartmouth College and Boston University and is guitar program coordinator at the All Newton Music School.

Free Admission

Limited Seating, please RSVP ~ Call 924-6238

Fantastic, Imaginative and Fun costumes on Halloween Day at Summerhill!

Our residents were impressed with the costumes and politeness of over 40 children coming from the Rindge Recreation Dept.

Kids went trick-or-treating door to door and ended the day with a wonderful parade for all to see. Family members and staff brought in their precious children who were just as happy to collect sweets from jack-o-lanterns our residents had!

Thank you to all the Resident and Staff joined in on the fun! Happy Halloween!

Nicole Francoeur from the Alzheimer's Association and Owen Houghton, a longtime Alzheimer's advocate, joined our amazing pie crust maker and resident, Jean for a day of fresh fruit pie baking.

With the Walk to End Alzheimer's in Keene taking place on Sept. 15th, our residents have been very busy baking delicious pies!

For over 5 years, they have enjoyed picking fruit in season, preparing and baking to gladly support the Alzheimer's Association.

Family members, staff and neighbors from the community will wait for pies hot out of the oven. They are pleased to support such a worthy cause.

A highlight of summer is having lobster!

This year, the evening started with fun visiting the seaside parrot photo booth by the deep blue ocean view.

The staff even joined in on the fun; dressing up and taking part in lobster shenanigans.

All to the delight of our residents, who love that we go all-out for this scrumptious seafood dinner.

Over 50 lobsters are served with sweet corn and clams. The fun evening is finished off with delicious blueberry pies that the residents made themselves.

Before the night is done, the residents are exclaiming they can't wait for next year's lobster feast!

The residents of Summerhill love getting out in the fresh air and having a back yard cook out!

There’s nothing like a special barbecue dinner every week to keep the summer hopping when shared with good friends. Aylmer prepares a feast that is server table side while our residents savor an al fresco evening.

Cheers to good times!

Can You believe that it's already August?

At Summerhill, our residents make the most of each sun shining day!

In going here and there for fun during these hot and humid days, we're happy to freshen up snacking on watermelon! Between entertaining and interesting activities and trips, many of our days are on the GO - GO - GO!

Keeping us hydrated and cool runs at the top of the priority list in making it a GREAT day!

The residents of our Memory Care wing had a delightful time at our Teddy Bear Picnic.

Everyone sat down to a china cup English tea while wearing sun hats under colorful umbrella’s.

Chocolate covered strawberries were nibbled on as many reminisced about teddy bears in their lives.

A perfect day at Hampton Beach!

Our residents look forward to going on this scenic ride up the NH coast to see the impressive sand sculptures. This year we met and talked with the winner, AbramWaterman from P.E.I. After which, we stopped for a lobster lunch and ended the day with delicious ice cream!

It’s quite magical to smell and hear the sounds of the ocean and recall happy beach times with family and friends.

Residents and daughters enjoyed a wonderful tea party in the Monadnock room on May 11th.

Over 45 guests came, most of them wearing favorite hats while visiting with family and friends and enjoying a true English tea to celebrate.

Place your bets the race is on! Residents picked their favorite horses and cheered them on! Several won prizes but fun was had by all to attended!

The Summerhill resident's donned their "Red Sox" shirts and hats to show their enthusiastic loyalty in being a SOX fan!

Our chefs put on a skit of "Who's on 1st base" while hot dogs with all the fixings, peanuts and popcorn or Cracker Jacks were served to celebrate the opening season.

They all feel it's going to be a GREAT season. Go RED SOXS, GO!!

Storytelling at Summerhill

It has become a tradition at Summerhill, that the night before the Christmas party, the residents are invited to a pajama party and storytelling event. This year, the Story of “A Christmas Carol” was told.

It wasn’t just read out of the book, it was acted out as well, in full costume. We had a visit from Jacob Marley (Brandon) himself, and of course the ghost from Christmas Past (Joanne), the ghost of Christmas Present (Caitlyn) and the ghost from Christmas yet to come, (Bob). We even had a visit from Tiny Tim (Caitlyn’s brother) and of course Ebenezer Scrooge.

It was a fun filled evening complete with toasting Hot toddies and warm chocolate chip cookies. Can’t hardly wait till next year.

December 2, 2017

The Summerhill 2017 Christmas party depicted the wonderful era of the Christmas Carol. As guest arrived they were greeted by charming Christmas Carolers; students from Mountain Shadows wearing traditional Dickens style bonnets. As the partygoers promenaded through the party they were swept away by an ice sculpture of Ebenezer Scrooge himself. Their good fortune was a delightful presentation of gobs and gobs of succulent perfectly cooked shrimp accompanied by a horse radish laden cocktail sauce.

The guests then strolled on to the cocktail bar which included a popular Dickens era creamy spiced Christmas rum libation. As they listened to Christmas Carols and munched on tiny hors d’oeuvres, they met friend with friend and family in good cheer, while reminiscing of days gone by. And like magic, a roasted turkey was sliced into slivers with stuffing and cranberry sauce and made into delicious Panini sandwiches which tasted just like Thanksgiving. We can’t forget the wonderful house made crab cakes resting a top of a warm asiago cheese and roasted vegetable polenta.

The night would see dancing and storytelling and lively music as they counted down the Twelve Days of Christmas. The piece de resistance was the Waffle Sundae Wild Cherry Jubilee. The night was made complete with all the Toys for Tots gifts so generously left under the Christmas tree for less fortunate children in town.

Next year promises to be even bigger and better than the last.

~Aylmer H Given III

The Residents worked very hard this year Making and Selling over 350 Apple Pies this year!

We Raised over 3,200.00!

Thank You to Residents, Family, Friends & Staff for all your support!

Hampton Beach Here We Come! June 2017

On a sunny early morning, some of our Assisted Living and Meadows residents settled into the Summerhill bus and headed for the blue green ocean waters of Hampton Beach. Many of us reminisced about taking our children to the ocean and were flooded with our own delightful childhood memories of beachside excursions. Jean Kundert shared the highlights of our journey and our intrepid Chef Aylmer drove the bus for all to enjoy a fun filled day at Hampton Beach to view the magnificent Sand Sculptures and boy, they did not disappoint!

We were greeted by a noble sandcastle complete with four towers, a smiling sun and many more. These were created on a grand scale and so detailed you would have sworn they were done in clay, not fragile sand. The smell of the salt sea air, feel of the sand and sounds of the seagulls was just heavenly while the sea breeze kept us comfortably cool.

After spending some time at the beach, admiring the sculptures, a walk along the boardwalk, Jean and Aylmer treated us to a scrumptious seafood lunch at Browns. It is a quintessential coastal seafood favorite restaurant we love to stop at! After lunch, we all boarded the bus once again for a picturesque ride along the coast road, looking at all the grand estates and trying to select which one we’d live in, if we won the lottery. The views were breathtaking, and we were all a little disappointed when Aylmer had to turn the bus for home.

We all agreed, we could not have asked for a better day to go to Hampton. A salty breeze kept us cool, a bright sun warmed our hearts but best of all, the day was shared with good friends!

One resident exclaimed, she’d take a trip to Hampton any time of the year. It was a fantastic change to go from the wonderful mountains and wood lands of the Peterborough to the salt marshes and ocean side of Hampton. We do hope you’ll join us next time – it’s well worth it!

December 4, 2016

It all started on Friday night with a reading of the very popular Clement C. Moore poem, “Twas The Night Before Christmas”. A special guest and early appearance of Santa and Mrs. Claus, along with a few elves from the North Pole made for a memorable evening. Mulled cider and cocoa was served as residents sat before the fireplace listening to this enchanting tale. Santa was so full of cheer that several ladies were delighted to sit on his lap and share wishes for the new year. Even though some of the residents expressed having been “Naughty”, Mrs. Claus found them all on the “Nice” list.

It was wonderful to hear of various Christmas and holiday family or personal traditions that several residents spoke of from their childhood and later years. Many commented on enjoying such a fun night and having the occasion to get to know each other ever more.

Christmas 161203 1 “Twas The Night Before Christmas” was the theme of our Christmas gala this year.

The Christmas Party started with guests being fully transported to Santa’s Village, entering the holiday garland elevator with a greeting of “Twas the Night Before Christmas”. This set the tone for a fairy-tale memory making evening.

The sun-room captivated many with spectacular ice sculptures of Rudolph and his sleigh offering jumbo shrimp cocktail and stone crab claws. All of Summerhill was a Christmas display designed to bring out the kid in all of us. Oh what joy!!

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse at the Grandfather clock cheese extravaganza. Then the stockings were hung by the chimney with care in our living room where tasty gourmet grilled panini sandwiches were served.

A twinkling was heard not on the roof but in our dining room with the party tradition of dancing and singing - The Twelve Days of Christmas being an all-time favorite!
To finish off the night the Country Kitchen was transformed into an endless dessert and chocolate waffle bar, not a single person went away hungry and a good time was had by all!

Thank you to the families who brought in presents for the local community toy drives.

You can view a selection of photos below.

Once again, our resident Veterans joined other Veterans from the community for a special gathering to honor their service to our country. Our eight residents look forward to meeting fellow Veterans to talk about how they served. A very special lunch was served to show Summerhill’s appreciation for each of these Veterans. We look forward to doing this again next year. Please consider joining us.

This year’s gathering was extra special with the gift of a quilt for each Veteran that was presented by Quilts of Valor® Foundation. This now nationally organization was started by a Blue Star mother, Catherine in Delaware. She was inspired after her son was deployed to Iraq. Initially these quilts were given as healing quilts to returning service men and women touched by war.

As of 2015 the Quilts of Valor® Foundation has awarded over 124,000 quilts. Today groups sew quilts together at quilt shops, churches and community rooms and homes. They are aptly lifetime gifts stitched with love, prayers
and healing thoughts.

Many thanks to two local ladies, Jan Hicks and Mary Schneckenburger for bringing these beautiful quilts to these Veterans. You may learn more about Quilts of Valor® Foundation by contacting them on their website www.QOVF.org

The Rindge Recreation Department bus of young children dressed in fabulous and creative costumes joined other Halloween attired family members of our residents and staff. They went door-to-door trick or treating and greeting everyone with smiles.

The kids (and even some adults) then paraded around the building to show off their marvelous costumes! Afterwards we had punch and cookies. Thank you to all that came and shared in the fun!

Our resident started baking for the Alzheimer's Association fundraiser in June using fresh strawberries and rhubarb making delicious pies. Many of these were sold to the family of our residents, visitors and staff even before they came out of the oven!

Soon the residents went blueberry picking and tasty blueberry pies were made while the orders kept coming in for more pies. Before you know it, we had apple donations from many to keep the Summerhill Bakers busy working together in pealing, cutting and mixing the filling for tasty fall apple pies. Jean and one of our residents managed to keep up making the best homemade crusts – as many customers exclaimed!

180 pies were baked so far this year. We continue making apple and pumpkin pies until just before Thanksgiving. So, if you want a delicious pie for the holidays let us know. Many thanks to all who support the Alzheimer’s Association!

Anyone who has felt a connection with a pet and experienced that unconditional love and acceptance, knows the value of a pet’s companionship. These qualities make animals ideal therapeutic visitors for our residents.

August 11, 2016

Our Assisted Living residents very much look forward to our summer Lobster Bake which is a fine evening of indulging in steamers, lobster, corn on the cob along and potato salad. The tables were set with sand, mini beach balls and boats to mark the occasion. Jarvis played the guitar while Bob played his drums and residents sang songs before the group sat down to enjoy this feast.

August 8, 2016

Twelve Assisted Living and Meadows residents shared in our annual trip to the Butterfly Conservatory and Gardens. This amazing Lepidoptera source in Western, MA features 4,000 exotic and domestic butterflies in a tropical environment within 8,000 within this conservatory. After our fun outing, we enjoyed a picnic lunch outside followed with ice cream to celebrate this event.

August 3, 2016

Our residents reached out to the dedicated Police, Fire & Rescue Departments of Peterborough with gifts of homemade pies to express heartfelt THANKS for all they do for our community!

June 21, 2016

The bus was filled with our Assisted Living and Memory Care residents for a fun filled day along Hampton Beach to see the wondrous, amazing and creative sand castles created from artists from all over New England and beyond. After much fun and laughter, we drove up the coast to see all the lovely homes and then headed to Brown s Seabrook Lobster Pound for a delicious lunch. Ice cream was a must for desert before heading back home.

Many of the residents shared special memories of when they were at the beach, time with their families there, taking in the smells of a summer day on the water and of course, people watching! Some of our resident s families were surprised and thrilled we make this an annual trip. We can t wait to go next year.

May 16, 2016

Our spring outing to Vermont Country Store located in Rockingham, VT is a lovely scenic ride traveling alongside the Connecticut River. Eight of our Assisted Living and Memory Care residents went on this annual jaunt with great anticipation for the treats from this old fashioned purveyor of practical and hard-to-find products. Beyond browsing through the home goods and clothing section, our residents love to taste the samples of cheese, dips and jellies before selecting their goodies to take home.

Margret and many others have been knitting gifts of hats for newborns and comfort dolls.
These cuddly dolls have been sent to Aides orphans in sub-Saharan Africa, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Ethiopia, Nicaragua, Uganda and Jamaica.

Close to 1,000 dolls have been delivered by local doctors traveling on mission trips.
These small gestures bring great comfort and joy to many children and offer a soothing effect while at medical clinics.

Peter Smith, graciously spoke about and displayed his family antique hand tools from the 1800 – 1930’s. The residents enjoyed testing their knowledge of tools in playing a game of "Guess the Tool". Many learned even more about how the they were used, i.e. carving beams. It was a great educational experience for us all! Thank you Peter for your time and sharing these fascinating tools.

Summerhill Assisted Living held a Volunteer Appreciation lunch on November 19th, 2015. Below is a list of the volunteers honored at this lunch.

Margot Graham has been reading to Summerhill residents for 25 years.
Christine Falcone comes once each month with Msgr. Gerry Belanger from Divine Mercy Catholic Church in Peterborough and plays piano during mass.
Neil Falcone is Chris’s husband, also from Divine Mercy Catholic Church in Peterborough. He is a Eucharistic Minister, assists with monthly mass at Summerhill, and helps deliver communion to residents who are unable to come to mass.
Rev. Jamie Hamilton is Rector at All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Peterborough, and provides pastoral care to several Summerhill residents as well as Episcopal worship at Summerhill once each month.
Rita Klug volunteers in the Meadows.
Cathy LaRoche is Barbara LaRoche’s daughter and runs the weekly Wednesday evening Assisted Living knitting group.
Jane Meneghini is a Eucharistic Minister from Divine Mercy Catholic Church in Peterborough. She assists with monthly mass and Summerhill’s weekly Rosary prayer group.
Mico Moran calls BINGO in the Meadows, and in the past helped distribute mail. (Jacob came as Mico’s aide.)
Pastor Lourey Savick is the minister at the Peterborough United Methodist Church and provides pastoral care to several Summerhill residents.
Ruth Wright plays scrabble with residents in Assisted Living.

View the Photos Summerhill Volunteers - Appreciation Lunch

On January 20, 2016 Summerhill welcomed the advisory Board of Monadnock at Home for their annual meeting. In all, it was attended by about twenty members. They joined together in the Pub at 12:30 for social time and then sat down to a luncheon After all had enjoyed their meal, they moved to the Monadnock Room for their meeting. It sounds like it was a very successful afternoon and Summerhill looks forward to welcoming them back.
We also wish to thank them for the generous gift they gave to Summerhill’s activity department. Very kind and much appreciated.

Our annual Christmas celebration was filled with Christmas cheer as residents laughed, danced, and ate the night away. Both the Assisted Living and Meadows residents, alongside family and friends were all given the chance to experience the magic of Christmas. This year’s theme was "The Polar Express," based from the beloved children's book and movie. Director of Culinary Services, Alymer Given and the kitchen staff delighted our taste buds that evening with exceptional and delicious food cleverly presented. Once again, he amazed us with crafting three Polar Express ice sculptures that did not disappoint. We marveled at the jingle bell, Santa Claus and train that directed us to the shining "BELIEVE" written in lights. Talented Customer Relations memory maker, Jean Kundert was behind the camera throughout the night capturing candid moments and treasured pictures! This year’s photo booth was a hoot with special guest "conductor Tom Hanks" by our sides! The "HOT HOT chocolate" room was every chocolate lovers dream come true. Listening to the "12 days of Christmas," sung by our beloved residents, staff and family was a treat for all. The residents were able to gift their families with the 1,200+ cookies they worked hard with Jean to make. Add this all together, plus the open bar and the night was one for the books. We want to thank the generous families who contributed toys in support of Toys for Tots. Our elf stayed busy collecting the many that were brought in! Thank you also to everyone who worked hard to ensure our beloved residents and guests would enjoy the night. It was certainly a magnificent success!