Holy Family Marks Dominican Week
Three-year-old Je-Don Vaughn couldn’t resist.
After watching the double-dutch jump ropes spin for several minutes, he had to try it. He jumped and jumped.
Even after the ropes tangled around his little legs, he kept jumping, a smile covering his face.
His mom, Donna Vaughn, watched from the sidelines.
It’s the third year she’s brought her children to Holy Family Hospital’s Community Ice Cream Social.
This year the Dominican Week celebration was combined with the Blockwatch Night Out Against Crime.
“This is a time for all of us to come together,” said Donna Vaughn. “This is a nice, quiet neighborhood with a good school nearby.”
Tuesday night, the hospital served up heaping scoops of vanilla ice cream and invited the neighborhood to “build-your-own-sundae.” Toppings were ladled from huge bowls of chocolate, butterscotch, strawberry and pineapple. Whipped cream, nuts and cherries topped the creations.
When it was done, the 1,000 neighbors enjoying the balmy night had eaten 85 gallons of ice cream.
A hundred jump ropes were handed out to children. Hundreds of adults and children had their blood pressures checked. Hundreds more hugged McGruff the Crime Dog.
A crowd gathered in front of the hospital’s main entrance for the ice cream, then flowed to the various events and displays throughout the parking lot.
Children lined up to clamber inside a fire department ladder truck.
One 5-year-old was pretend-pouting.
“Meg won’t let me climb up the ladder” he said, pointing to his caregiver, then glancing way, way up to the top of the ladder towering far above the action.
Tables were set up on grass near the hospital’s main entrance. The Norm Seeberger Band, a three-piece brass ensemble with loads of oompah-pah, kept toes tapping.
The band has entertained at the hospital social for the past few years, a tribute to the German heritage of the Dominican Sisters who founded Holy Family Hospital.
When Holy Family opened its doors in 1964, its mission was to provide quality health care and build a close relationship with the community.
The Dominican Network that founded the hospital has now melded with Providence Services. But some of the original Dominican Sisters, who came from Germany to work at the hospital, still live in the community.
Sister Isentrude sat at a table with some of the other sisters, taking in the sounds of the band and watching excited children dash by.
She came from Germany in 1937 with a group of 22 other sisters. She has been part of Holy Family Hospital since 1969.
“Now we come for all the celebrations,” she said.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo