Thanks for the memories

Park Avenue students interview residents at Mount Alverno Center for ‘Memory Book’ WARWICK - If there is one thing the residents of Mount Alverno Center enjoy doing more than anything else, it’s sharing their memories with others. And it’s even better when a young person is genuinely interested and listens intently. That may have inspired the Park Avenue School Student Council, all Grade 5 students, to come up with the idea to create a “Memory Book” for the residents of Mount Alverno Center, a state-approved adult home with an assisted living program on the Warwick campus of the Bon Secours Charity Health System. The students, accompanied by their teacher Jude Mehlenbacher, art instructor Nicole Heller and school secretary Mary Luthin, visited Mount Alverno Dec. 5 and using a list of pertinent questions, interview many of the residents. Their answers along with other notes and drawings will be included in a “Memory Book” which the students plan to donate to Mount Alverno for the pleasure of the residents, their families and staff members. “Do you like it here?” asked Logan Graney, 10. “Yes! Very much,” answered Rose Mawson. “Do you like sports?” he continued. “Yes, of course,” she answered. At the same time other young reporters were also asking the senior citizens to recall childhood events, talk about their families, careers, favorite movies and so forth. “These are wonderful children,” said Mount Alverno resident Lena Levatinno. “I can’t believe how bright and well mannered they are.” The residents smiled and laughed as the youngsters hurried around the room with their notebooks in hand. At one point, A.J. Messineo, 10, presented his drawing of the USS Arizona, a battleship of Pearl Harbor fame, to Frank Lemanski and his wife Josephine. “I gave him my drawing,” said Messineo, “because when I asked him a question he told me he was a World War II veteran.” “We are thrilled that the Park Avenue School students were able to visit us in preparation for their wonderful Memory Book,” said Mount Alverno Administrator Lisa Fedorka. “The cooperation we receive from the Warwick community is outstanding and a constant source of joy for all our residents.“