Life Under The Willow Tree

Host: Don Helin Guest: Esther Jacoby Description: In this podcast, we showcase Esther Jacoby’s background and experiences, which include her musical and her scholastic education. She discusses her family, as well as what she refers to as her role as an “Accidental Accompanist." A highly talented musician, Esther is now the accompanist for the Willow Valley Chorale and the musical group Bridget and...

Email: wvbikeclub@gmail.com Website: https://wvbikeclub.wordpress.com/ Bike Club Video: https://youtu.be/NplGjkyURu0

Host: Carol MacAllister Guest: Dick Coyne Description: Dick Coyne and his wife moved to Willow Valley in 2019 after a substantive career in the US Department of Health and Human Services. He spearheaded the program that ensures children enter public school with the key vaccines that prevent highly contagious, devastating childhood diseases. Then he created a system within the Department that put e...

Host: Candy O’Donnell Guest: Ray Loewe Description: In this podcast, Ray Loewe describes the Conference Event that he is planning for June 12th, 2025, at the Willow Valley Conference Center. The purpose of this conference, The Magic Continues, is to learn about tools and techniques to live life to the fullest. This conference, similar to Mr. Loewe’s Conference Event held last year in 2024, is part...

Ray Loewe interviewed Morgan Poillon and Lauren Renehan about the Willow Valley Marlin and Doris Thomas Memory Center. The Center's web page is foundation.willowvalleycommunities.org You can find the live camera at the construction site on the web page.

Host: Ray Loewe Guest: WV Pastor Garrick Fleming Description: What happens when a life event gets in the way of living your life? And, more importantly, how do you get back on track? Host Ray Loewe & guest The Reverend Garritt Fleming discuss four valuable concepts that work: The Rope of Hope, The Power of Faith, The Power of Community, and The Importance of having Accountability to someone.

Host: Carol MacAllister, Clinical Social Worker, retired Guest: Erika Snitzer, Licensed Associate Professional Counselor Description: Erika is a Licensed Associate Professional Counselor at the Samaritan Counseling Center in Lancaster. Willow Valley is contracted with her through Samaritan, to provide counseling services to WV residents in need of professional support as they navigate the many tra...

Host: Carol MacAllister Guest: Barbara (Bobbie) Walsh Description: Today, we all take vaccines for granted, and some even ignore them, but most seniors remember the diseases that plagued our childhoods and for which vaccines were miracle cures. Bobbie Walsh was one of those unsung heroes who worked tirelessly for 32 years creating vaccines for many diseases, but notably smallpox, which killed 300...

Host: Carol MacAllister Guest: Jane Armstong Description: We welcome Jane Armstrong, a SouthPointe resident, who has mastered the art of ventriloquism to enhance her teaching skills and connect with others in a fun and engaging way. Don't miss this lively and fun presentation as Ms. Armstrong shares the stage with her firefighting Dalmatian dog, Tops.

Host: Ray Loewe Guest: Brittany Hemperley, Mgr. of ...... Description: Brittany Hemperly manages Pursuits, the new Willow Valley shop that opened in North last October, in the space previously occupied by the Pharmacy/Drugstore. Rose Bahurka helps her during weekday shop hours from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Brittany describes the wide array of products available at Pursuits. Interviewer Ray Loewe could...

Host: Carol MacAllister, Lakes Resident Guest: Glennda Hart, Willow Valley’s VP of Resident Services Description: Today, Glennda Hart tells host Carol MacAllister of her long career at Willow Valley, beginning at the Willow Street Restaurant and Smorgasbord owned by our WV founders, John and Florence Thomas, who also had an adjoining motel. Folks came from all around to enjoy the delicious food an...

Host: Dale Johnson & Ellen Haas Guests: Mystery Description: Our podcast team recently experimented with a new AI tool called Notebook LM by Google. We fed it five of our previous episodes where residents discussed life at Willow Valley Communities. The software then generated a new 10-minute podcast based on these insights. Join Dale & Ellen as they delve into the details of this experiment, high...

Guest: Marian Yoder, WV resident Host: Dale Johnson Description: Spring Run resident Marian Yoder has spent her life forging her own path, redefining expectations to create the life she truly wanted. Raised in a conservative Mennonite community on a dairy farm in Lancaster County, she remained deeply committed to her faith while grappling with the cultural constraints of her upbringing. Her choice...

Host: Dale Johnson Guests: Ed Mitchell & Peter Keller, WV Spring Run Residents Description: This podcast features an interview with two Willow Valley residents, Ed Mitchell and Peter Keller, about their newly formed Environmental Interest Group. The group's goals include environmental stewardship, engaging residents in environmental initiatives, and leaving a positive legacy. Their activities invo...

Host: Don Helin Guest: WV resident Phil Fretz Description: In this podcast, WV resident Phil Fretz shared his journey through prostate cancer, from his discovery of its presence to the final treatment, a period covering ten months. A WV resident for less than two years, Phil found out at a routine visit to his urologist. The diagnosis followed a PSA count that jumped from 3 to 8. His treatment opt...

Host: Don Helin Guests: Phil Fretz and Stone Stafford Description: Art in the Morning: A Renaissance Program is designed to bring new meaning to displays of art in many art forms — paintings, drawings, quilts, photographs, or sculptures, as well as writings inspired by those pieces of art and readings by individual writers. The artist will have an opportunity to explain the motivation for the art....

Host: Carol MacAllister Guest: Shelly Hockenbrocht, Lead Morning Hostess and Mentor Description: Shelly Hockenbrocht is the kind of employee HR Directors dream of hiring. Eager to work hard and learn everything, Shelly started at Willow Valley at age 17, still a Junior in high school. In her Senior year, she worked full-time in WV in culinary, afternoons and evenings. Thirty-nine years ago, when t...

Fun in Lancaster County Lancaster Central Market (Ann), located at 23 North Market Street in downtown Lancaster, is the oldest continuously operating farmers' market in the United States. It is open year-round on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays and offers everything from local produce and meats to cheeses, crafts, and handmade items. Walking Tours of Downtown Lancaster (Tom): The visitor center n...

Host: Carol MacAllister Guest: Alice Pero, WV resident, a retired nurse, and Quester member Description: WV resident Alice Pero introduces us to QUESTERS, a non-profit organization that promotes education, preservation, and restoration of artifacts, memorials, historical buildings, and landmarks. Host Carol MacAllister loves history because she believes if we fail to learn from the past, we are do...

Host: Carol MacAllister Guests: Pamela Bailey, Sr. Director of Resident Health & Wellness Services and Andrea Petrokonis, Credentialed Nurse Practioner Description: The Willow Valley Integrity Health office is a fully operational Primary Care Provider, offering routine exams, preventative care, acute illness visits, chronic disease management, diagnostic tests ordering, vaccinations, and many othe...

Host: Bill Adams Guest: Aaron Sherman, Odyssey Group Wealth Advisors Description: This podcast interview explores the differences between charity and philanthropy, emphasizing the latter's strategic and long-term approach to giving. The interviewee, a wealth manager, outlines a process for individuals and families to engage in thoughtful philanthropy, beginning with meeting their own needs and the...

Host: Don Helin Guest: Creg Scott, Design Architect, Historian on C Emlen Urban Description: Greg Scott is a partner emeritus and the co-founder of RLPS Architects in Lancaster. PA. He is also the author of the “Design Interventions” columns in the Lancaster newspaper. Greg is the author of URBAN LEGEND, the first hardcover book ever written about Lancaster’s most notable architect, C. Emlen Urban...

Host: Carol MacAllister Guests: Jerry Schramm and Allison Connelly, LEMS staff Description: We all depend on and even take for granted Lancaster’s EM Services, but did you know they receive no tax dollars, and Lancaster City is thinking of taking away their yearly contribution to this non-profit service to balance the city budget? That means a cutback on this life-saving service! Membership: OUR m...

Host: Carol MacAllister Guest: Pat McGee, WV Resident Services Office Manager Description: “Call the front desk; they’ll know.” That is a refrain spoken daily by WV residents, new and long-timers, for indeed, it seems our Concierges do know everything about Willow Valley and our community. They are supreme multi-taskers as they answer the phones, receive and log in packages, help residents registe...

Host: Dale Johnson Guest: Dr. Michael Mumma, Astrobiologist Description: We welcome Dr. Michael Mumma, WV resident and renowned astrobiologist. He explores the fascinating question of intelligent life in the universe. Hear his thought-provoking insights on why other intelligent life might be expected – or why it could be rare or even non-existent. He also shares the latest technologies being used...