This is such a good idea, I’m surprised it hasn’t caught on in a more widespread fashion.
Residents of the Sunny Hill Nursing Home of Will County in Illinois recently visited the Midwest Classics on 66 Museum in Wilmington that Mike Bell of Perth, Australia, and Jeff Hubrich of the Joliet and Wilmington area opened in July.
The Daily Southtown reported the visit was such a hit for residents who participated, the nursing home will do it again:
Sunny Hill Activities Director Danette Krieger said the nursing home held a car show in the parking lot at the county-owned nursing home on Aug. 18 and “we realized that we have a lot of car buffs living here and the residents, especially the men, loved spending time by the old cars and reminiscing about their own automobiles and fast cars they have driven in the past.”
Krieger said one of the participants suggested that she talk to Bell and Hubrich about bringing a group to the museum; late last month the group rolled on down the highway.
Bell said, “There was a lot of reminiscing about what they used to drive.” The museum currently showcases everything from two 1915 Model T’s to muscle cars and today’s vehicles. And there are pickups, which prompted stories of driving their fathers’ trucks when growing up on farms.
One resident wasn’t sure why he was on the trip, Bell said. “He said he’d worked on cars for 40 years and didn’t need to go see them.” It wasn’t long, Bell said, and the resident was acting as a tour guide, sharing what he knew about the vehicles with the others.
Overall, there were “lots of smiles on their faces.”
The story brings to mind one from 2013 about 84-year-old Carl Johns, terminally ill with liver and bone cancer in a nursing home in Victorville, California, who’d always dreamed of driving a 1956 Chevrolet but couldn’t because of family obligations.
Soon, a bunch of owners of classic cars — including the driver of a Chevrolet Bel Air — took Johns on a cruise down Route 66. By all accounts, it was one of the happiest days of Johns’ life. He died less than a month later.
Classic-car museums sprinkled down the length of Route 66 should offer discounts or even free admission to nursing-home residents. It’s certain plenty of old nursing-home residents are car buffs like the ones in Will County.
Classic-car clubs can bring their vehicles right to nursing homes, where they will spark fond memories for many residents. Clubs can turn such events into fundraisers for Alzheimer’s research or some similar charity.
(Image of a Sunny Hill Nursing Home of Will County resident at the Midwest Classics on 66 Museum in Wilmington, Illinois, via Facebook)