SOUTHSIDER VOICE PHOTOS BY B. SCOTT MOHR Mary Kijovsky (left) who resides at St. Paul Hermitage with her sister, Elizabeth Besse (back, left), attended the blessing of the renovation project with Anna Mae Shaw, who will soon call the center home.
By B. Scott Mohr
Editor
Residents, staff members and friends of St. Paul Hermitage gathered Sunday to celebrate the completion of the center’s 18-month, multimillion dollar renovation project.
“At long last this day has come,” said Sister Rebecca Marie Fitterer, administrator of the retirement community, which opened around 1960. Throughout the years the Beech Grove facility has transitioned into a place that can accommodate residents with comprehensive health-care needs.
“We took our wish list and made it happen through the generosity of many donors,” she said. “It’s hard to work on a building when it’s occupied. We pretty much gutted two floors and started over. It was months of dust and inconvenience for everyone, but the staff and residents were so cooperative.”
The project included remodeling residential quarters, the dining and common areas, the beauty parlor, the library and offices. In addition, a physical therapy department was built.
The speakers included Beech Grove Mayor Dennis Buckley, who issued a proclamation recognizing the efforts of the hermitage.
As the remarks came to a close and residents filed out of the chapel to attend the blessing by the Rev. Gerald J. Kirkhoff, they were given bottles of holy water to bless their renovated rooms.
A reception followed in the dining hall, where everybody enjoyed food and camaraderie.
Editor
Residents, staff members and friends of St. Paul Hermitage gathered Sunday to celebrate the completion of the center’s 18-month, multimillion dollar renovation project.
“At long last this day has come,” said Sister Rebecca Marie Fitterer, administrator of the retirement community, which opened around 1960. Throughout the years the Beech Grove facility has transitioned into a place that can accommodate residents with comprehensive health-care needs.
“We took our wish list and made it happen through the generosity of many donors,” she said. “It’s hard to work on a building when it’s occupied. We pretty much gutted two floors and started over. It was months of dust and inconvenience for everyone, but the staff and residents were so cooperative.”
The project included remodeling residential quarters, the dining and common areas, the beauty parlor, the library and offices. In addition, a physical therapy department was built.
The speakers included Beech Grove Mayor Dennis Buckley, who issued a proclamation recognizing the efforts of the hermitage.
As the remarks came to a close and residents filed out of the chapel to attend the blessing by the Rev. Gerald J. Kirkhoff, they were given bottles of holy water to bless their renovated rooms.
A reception followed in the dining hall, where everybody enjoyed food and camaraderie.
Pat Clouse (left) and Jo Ann Schwab, receptionists at the hermitage, are joined by Schwab’s husband, Otto.
Sisters Bernardine (from left) and Joann, members of the Sisters of St. Benedict, enjoy a bite to eat with Carolyn Gallagher, who resides at the hermitage.