Butterfield residents will create lasting memories this holiday season by gathering with friends, family, each other and their churches. Whether it’s baking Christmas cookies, volunteering in the community, shopping for loved ones, or hanging a special ornament on the tree, everyone has a favorite holiday tradition. See how these Village residents plan to spend time in celebration this year, and some of the reasons why they are grateful to call Butterfield home.
Roy & Butch Clinton
Butterfield Move-In Date: March 2017
Tell us why you chose to make Butterfield home.
Butch’s vision loss brought us to BTV. The campus is low vision friendly, and she has adapted quite well. The courtyard provides an ideal spot for Butch to walk and visit with folks. So many amenities enable us to choose how we spend our days. She no longer has to endure my cooking thanks to the Dining Room and Bistro.
How will you and your family/friends celebrate the holidays this year?
Family and dear friends entertain us for the holidays now. It’s great to get together and catch up with their busy lives. Butch and I make an annual trip to Eureka Springs in December to enjoy the holiday décor.
What holiday traditions did you bring with you to Butterfield?
I am the eyes for Butch to make her marvelous oatmeal cookies. A laborious task but very rewarding. Decorating for any holiday was great fun for her. She still tries venues around the apartment.
Will you/your family embark on any new traditions this year?
Thanks to the wizardry of Ancestry.com we have found a new family of cousins. We have met once and hope to pursue more get togethers over the holidays.
What are you grateful for this season?
I am grateful that we live in a community that strives to help the less fortunate. Those endeavors strengthen us all.
Dorothy Mitchelson
Butterfield Move-In Date: December 2017
How will you and your family/friends celebrate the holidays this year?
My family and I are celebrating three ways. My son Gary and his wife Barbara will visit in November. My daughter Tracy will visit over Christmas. My daughter Dana and her husband Chris live in Fayetteville. I can show off my new home, and the wonderful decorations and activities here at BTV.
What holiday traditions did you bring with you to Butterfield?
A tabletop Christmas advent wreath, a small Christmas tree and decorations.
Any new traditions you plan to embark on this year?
The best tradition this year will be my family, all my new friends at BTV – and enjoying the Christmas decorations in the Commons Center lobby and all over the Village!
What are you grateful for this season?
I am so grateful to have made my decision to move to BTV, meeting the people who live here and staff members who are dedicated to our well being, and to giving back. We have so many opportunities to do that.
Gay Harp
Butterfield Move-In Date: September 2017
Tell us why you are happy to call Butterfield home.
To me, making my home at BTV is seeing old friends and meeting new ones. It means I can enjoy participating in the Performance Hall events and special dinners at the Lodge. And I know that I can always find a good time in the game room!
How will you celebrate the holidays this year?
I will celebrate the holidays this year at BTV by creating new memories. I will have the usual Christmas decorations, but on a smaller scale. I enjoy gift shopping for loved ones, cooking and baking pies for special family events, attending holiday open houses and events with friends.
What holiday traditions did you bring with you to Butterfield?
I have a large extended family who loves to celebrate on Christmas Eve. My late husband Max began a new tradition several years ago when he suggested we forego the usual Christmas Eve meal and prepare food for a Mexican feast, complete with all the trimmings. We have always gathered in my late mother’s church fellowship hall, having an attendance of 75 at one time, but over the years that number has dwindled and we are now down to 40.
Any other plans for you and your family at Christmas?
My daughter Maxi, her husband Roy and son Spence will spend the day with me preparing and eating the traditional Christmas Day dinner of turkey, ham and all of the usual Christmas fare. Maxi enjoys making Christmas candy, while I prefer to bake the cookies and pies. One of my favorite hobbies was making beaded ornaments, and we will enjoy those and some of the other Christmas decorations that remain after I downsized for my new residence. We will also enjoy a nativity scene, another Christmas “treasure” that has been around for a very long time. We will make our usual drive to downtown Fayetteville to see the Lights of the Ozarks.
What are you grateful for this season?
I am always thankful for good health, and grateful that Maxi and her family are able to “come home” for Christmas and enjoy the holiday traditions we have made over the years. This time of year, I am also very thankful to be blessed with many good friends and reflect on the blessings I have been given.
Tom & Linda Townsend
Butterfield Move-In Date: June 2017
Since you moved to BTV, what are some of the ways you’ve made your house feel like home?
We’ve furnished our apartment with pieces from our former home so it feels familiar and comfortable. We’ve enjoyed renewing old friendships and making new ones.
How will you celebrate the holidays this year?
Hopefully, we will get to spend time with each of our children and grandchildren, enjoying food and fun. For several years, we’ve had a special time together with extended family for Christmas Day brunch at the home of our son and daughter-in-law.
What holiday traditions did you bring with you to Butterfield?
We have a special nativity scene that was made for our family more than forty years ago by a relative, and has been displayed every year since. Displaying it allows us to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. We also look forward each year to the Christmas Eve service at our church. As in the years past, we’ll bake a birthday cake for Jesus.
What are you grateful for this season?
God’s provisions for each of us individually and as a family, our family and friends and Tom’s improving health.
Janet Poole
Butterfield Move-In Date: June 2018
Since you moved to BTV, what are some of the ways you’ve made your house feel like home?
I have some of my favorite things and furniture in my apartment. And I have a bedroom especially for my grandchildren when they are over.
How will you and your family/friends celebrate the holidays this year?
I’m sure there will be new ways to celebrate the holidays now that I live at Butterfield. I will still enjoy shopping for my children and grandchildren and shopping for children in the foster care system. And attending a Christmas Eve service at my church.
What holiday traditions have you brought with you to Butterfield?
I will put my favorite Christmas ornaments on my Christmas tree and decorate with white poinsettias.
What are you grateful for this season?
I am grateful for my family, my friends, my health, and being able to call Butterfield my home.
