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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Rainy days weren't fun at Possum Hollow farm.
"It was really muddy when it rained," Mary Dolan remembers. "It was terrible."
Dolan spent her childhood summers at the farm near Washington, Indiana. Her aunt raised chickens just like the ones Cheryl Shireman raises on Shireman Homestead farm in Columbus.
A recent afternoon was rainy, but 91-year-old Dolan had the chance to make a happier, drier barnyard memory at Cambridge Square Apartments in Bloomington.
Shireman carried Henny Penny swaddled in a blanket to keep the orange chicken warm as she walked the hen around a room of seniors gathered in Cambridge Square's common area. Dolan and other apartment residents stroked Henny Penny's feathers and asked Shireman questions about chickens' lifespans and egg-laying behaviors.
Asked one resident: Does Henny Penny like being carried around like any other pet?
"She's tickled pink," Shireman replied, and the seniors laughed. "How would you like somebody to pick you up and carry you around all day?"
The apartment complex is mostly home to seniors older than 62 who can live independently. No matter their ages, almost all the Cambridge Square residents who fawned over Henny Penny could recall a childhood memory about living on a farm or working on a farm.
"When they're gone, those stories are gone," Shireman said. "If we listen to the stories of the past, they have so many things to share."
Shireman remembers as a young girl visiting nursing homes to perform with the other kids in her tap, jazz and ballet dancing classes. The seniors loved having visitors, and Shireman loved the feeling of making someone's day.
"It dawned on me as I got older . oh my gosh, some of these people don't have a family anymore," Shireman said.
Shireman has spent the past nine years growing her farm and nonprofit, Shireman Homestead, where she rehabilitates farm animals and holds educational events. Shireman's newest enterprise has been transporting the farm's chickens, ducks, miniature horses, teacup piglets, rabbits and other animals to schools and nursing homes to interact with students and seniors.
"Animals can be so therapeutic," Shireman said. "Animals have unconditional love."
In the second week of May, National Nursing Home Week, Shireman hopes to bring animals such as Blossom the donkey, Tiny the pygmy goat and Henny Penny to at least 50 nursing homes and assisted-living facilities across the area.
"I think it definitely boosts the mood," said Kristine Sills, service coordinator for Cambridge Square Apartments, who invited Shireman and her animals to visit the residents.
By the time they reach a nursing home, a senior may have few family members or dependable resources nearby, Shireman said. And some of the elderly men and women she's visited have a lifetime of memories about dealing with difficult people.
Neither Blossom, a 3-month-old donkey with hooves painted with sparkly pink nail polish, nor Lucky, a white Pekin duck, had a cross word for the Cambridge Square residents. The barnyard critters were happy to let seniors such as Carolyn Pelfree pet and coo over them and reminisce.
"I love all animals," Pelfree said. "If we saw an animal that's not got a home, my dad would take it in."
Shireman, who also grew up on a farm, collects these stories and makes stories of her own on the road. Elderly people with disabilities open up around Shireman's animals, she said, often to the surprise of their nurses.
"This is the most exciting time of my day, when I come to visit," Shireman told the seniors. "You make my day, being able to visit you."
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Source: The (Bloomington) Herald-Times, http://bit.ly/1Vq8CyQ
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Information from: The Herald Times, http://www.heraldtimesonline.com
This is an AP-Indiana Exchange story offered by The (Bloomington) Herald-Times.
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