Jon "Bowzer" Bauman, star of Sha-Na-Na, stopped by 400 Towers on Friday evening to talk with residents about Medicare, Social Security and his career in music and television.
Though Bauman's appearance was sponsored by Kathy Hochul, his talk was pretty non-political. Bauman mostly stuck to the facts of the programs and proposals, at least as he sees them.
Above, Bea McManis escorts Bauman into 400 Towers as Bauman displays Bowzer's trademark muscle flex.
Wii Bowling is a popular activity at 400 Towers. A dedicated group of players assemble each evening for bowling and golf.
Jim Beach scored a perfect game Wednesday evening at 9:45pm. Beach had come close several times in the past few nights. His whoop and holler alerted those in the room that he finally reached his goal.
Congratulations, Jim.
Over 80 residents of 400 Towers celebrated the beginning of the holiday season with a traditional turkey dinner on Saturday evening, Nov. 20.
Kudos to Pat Larson and the volunteer kitchen staff for all their hard work. It was delicious
.bataviablogmistress.blogspot.com/2010/11/cold-and-blustery-saturday.html
Nine players vied for six prizes at the 400 Towers' Ray Ladd Pool Tournament, Thursday, Nov. 18.
Dennis Meyers,came out as the winner of this year's double elimination event.
Bob Clark placed second with Dan Grentzinger, third.
Also participating were Joe Battaglia, Sam Rooney, Bill Benedict, Patty Larson, Jason Phelan, and Hank Larson.
Dan Grentzinger Dennis Meyers Bob Clark
photo by B.McManis
This fine group of people are residents at 400 Towers. They came out today for a little lunchtime talk about The Batavian. They asked a few questions and talked about how they get their news. Bea McManis, in the back row with The Batavian sweatshirt on, organized the event and said very nice things about the site, its news and its readers.
52 residents, at 400 Towers, are playing Wii Games. with 26 residents on the board with 200+ games.
Sam Rooney became the second player to post a 300 game. He joins Dennis Meyer, who now has 5.
Meyer, Bea McManis and Bob Clark competed in a Wii Golf game, this week, that had both Meyer and McManis posting holes in one.
The residents are also playing Tiger Woods PGA Tour on Wii.
Wii Games are sponsored by the 400 Towers' Resident Council.
June 25, 26 Starting at 9am - 5pm each day.
Let us know if you read about our yard sale on thebatavian.com.
Meet your friends at the gazebo in front of 400 Towers then wander through one of the biggest yard sales in Batavia.
Clothes, kitchen ware, furniture, glassware, jewlery, and more.
Refreshments available
See you there.
400 TOWERS ANNUAL YARD SALE*
FRIDAY, JUNE 25 - SATURDAY, JUNE 26
Starting at 8am, Friday and Saturday
THIS IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST YARD SALES OF THE YEAR.
*SPONSORED BY THE 400 TOWERS' RESIDENT COUNCIL
Wii bowling was introduced to the residents of 400 Towers a month ago. It only took a month and one day for Dennis Meyers to post the first 300 game at 12:10am today 4/16).
Dennis, an avid bowler (and pool player) was reluctant to start Wii bowling while he was still competing in league bowling two nights a week. After watching for a few nights, he decided he would try it. He was hooked.
Meyers has become a coach for those just learning. One of his success stories is MaryAnn Harkness, who bowls from a wheel chair. MaryAnn, a left handed bowler, had the distinction of having a bowling technique named after her. The slow moving, and often ineffective attempt, was lovingly named the "MaryAnn ball". That term may fade into history after working with Dennis.. So much so, that on April 15, MaryAnn not only bowled two 200+ games, but beat her mentor's score in one of the games.
There are over 40 residents now playing the Wii Bowling. Plans are underway to have a Friday night handicap summer league.
Residents can check out the system from the towers' Snack Shop to play at a time convenient for them. There are scheduled times for open bowling on Sunday evenings and Thursday mornings. Open bowling is also available most evenings after 9pm.
The system was purchased by the 400 Towers' Resident Council.
Lou O'Geen, the 2008 Ray Ladd Memorial Pool Tournament champion, didn't get an opportunity to defend his title Saturday at this fall event held in the 400 Towers community room. Lou, a yearly participant, was home recovering from oral surgery.
Dan Gretzinger, Pat Larson, Carol Gozdziak and Joe Greene fell to the tournament leaders in double elimination play.
Joe Battaglia lost his bid for a trophy to Hank Larson. Larson finished third.
Bob Clark faced tournament leader, Dennis Meyers winning the first game but Meyers held on to win the top spot and bragging rights for the year.
Ray Ladd Jr. sponsors the event in memory of his father who was a long time resident of 400 Towers. Mr. Ladd was known for his sense of humor, his delicious apple spice cake, and for contributing to the neighborhood spirit of the 400 Towers' community.
Everybody was in good spirits when I stopped by 400 Towers this evening, just as the annual bake sale was wrapping up.
Invitations were extended to all Council at Large candidates and those running for County Legislature. No speeches but just the opportunity to listen to the concerns of seniors and to offer suggestions or promises of help.
Issues brought up, as I walked around and listened, were snow removal in front of the Bank of Castile; the fees - per apartment - for trash pickup and transportation problems for seniors that will have go to the new Med Tech building for services.
Joe Gerace, City of Batavia Repulican Committee, arrived with cider and Pauly's Pizza for the residents to enjoy. Pies and cake were provided by the 400 Towers' Residents' Council.
Mingling with the residents were Frank Ferrando, Tim Buckley, Julie Wallace, Phil Ricci, and Sara Burk-Balbi - all running for Council at Large. Rose Mary Christian, Bob Radley, Hollis Upson, Chris Charvella, and Jay Grasso represented those running for County Legislature.
The Residents' Council would like to thank all the candidates for taking time out of this busy campaign season to spend the afternoon with them.
The 400 Towers Residents' Council is sponsoring a Snack Shop staffed by resident volunteers.
Featuring a variety of snacks and beverages, available at reasonable prices. The net proceeds will benefit the Residents' Council General Fund.
Today is our kickoff day and shake down cruise day. One thing we discovered, we could use a display rack that holds small bags of chips and other snacks. If you know of any used display racks for sale (or even better, donated), please let me know.
A big thanks our volunteers: Bill Benedict; Bob Clark (purchasing), Alan Galton, Joe Greene, Marie Greenlees, Judy Hale, Bill Heany, Henry Larson, Pat Larson(staffing and purchasing), Dennis Meyers, Barb Odachowski and Barb Villa(staffing and purchasing).
Also, a big thank you to Sharon in the BHA office and George in maintenance who worked extremely hard to help us get the project off the ground.
Bea McManis, Chairperson - 400 Towers Snack Shop
Geoff Clough, a talented entertainer from Geneseo performed a Tribute To Bob Hope at 400 Towers Thursday night.
He began with a brief biography of Mr. Hope which included:
Leslie Townes Hope was born in London in 1903, the fifth of seven sons. His father, a stonemason, moved them to Cleveland, Ohio in 1907. Hope performed locally for several years and was discovered by comedian Fatty Arbuckle in 1925. A year later, he met George Burns and they traveled the vaudeville circuit with a pair of tap-dancing conjoined twins. He performed on several musicals and by the mid-1930s had begun doing films. It was around this time Leslie Townes Hope changed his name to Bob Hope, in response to a persistent nickname following him around: “Hopelessly.” Most of Hope’s fame came from his long tenure with radio and television (his relationship with NBC lasted over 60 years). Though never an Oscar winner, Hope is remembered as one of the great hosts of the Academy Awards, hosting or co-hosting 18 in all.
Quotable: “Welcome to the Academy Awards or, as it’s known at my house, Passover.”
Songs and stories filled the evening as we remembered Bob Hope in films, radio and TV.
"Do you know how many Presidents sat in office during Bob Hope's lifetime?"
The answer, 18.
Residents enjoyed the sing-a-long, remembering songs that Bob Hope made famous.
The evening ended with Irving Berlin's "God Bless America".
Thinking ahead to the holidays, the residents of 400 Towers will attend an Art Class led by local artist Lorie Longhany.
Two projects, a wooden Christmas tree wreath and hand painted Christmas cards are on the agenda for Sat. Sept. 26.
Sponsored by the 400 Towers' Residents Council, the art class is open to all residents at 400 Towers.
Lorie reunited with fellow LeRoyan, Lou O'Geen. Mr. O'Geen, a talented artist in his own right, shared several drawings he did a few years ago.
Lorie Longhany and Lou O'Geen
Post WW2 pen and ink drawing by Mr. O'Geen.
City station is being dispatched to 400 Towers, 400 E. Main St., Batavia, for a general fire alarm.
It was all smiles Thursday at 400 Towers for the celebration of Ruth Stell's birthday. She was born in 1909 and turned 100 on Aug. 13. She was all smiles, too.
"I feel so very young, " Ruth explained. "You just have to live a good life, that's all you can do. Trust, and go on living."
The centenarian has lived in Batavia for more than 70 years.
Ruth has been an inspiring presence for 38 years at 400 Towers. Her friend Henry Larson said she brings joy to many residents because she is an excellent baker. He -- and most others -- especially love her banana cupcakes.
Ruth is very happy with her life. She opens her apartment to potential residents and lets them look around as part of a tour. Her place looks like something right out of Good Housekeeping.
"It's amazing how she can have so many memories in one place and still, it looks so inviting!" said Gregory Larson, executive director of the Housing Authority at 400 Towers. Ruth's place is full of knickknacks and stuffed animals, but there's plenty of room for visitors and her bird Snoopy.
Ruth says she saw the most beautiful sights in her 100 years when she was 80 and took a trip to Hawaii. To her, the biggest change from her childhood to now is the invention of airplanes.
When asked what her secret was, she whispered to me, "I tell everyone it's Oil of Olay -- I've been using it for years."
Happy Birthday Ruth!
For at least the second time today, and at least the third time in the past week, there's a general fire alarm at 400 Towers, 400 E. Main St., Batavia.
Bea, what's going on there?
UPDATE: Burnt food in West Tower.
The 400 Towers' Residents' Council sponsored an Evening with Geoff Claugh, Thursday night.
Mr. Claugh led a sing along with music from the 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s. His performance was humorous, musical, and interactive. He closed the evening with Irving Berlin's "God Bless America".
Mr. Claugh, from Geneseo, is a talented musician and music teacher. His list of programs is extensive. He will be performing A Salute to Bob Hope, at the Towers, in the Fall.
The Residents' Council is holding a Yard Sale, June 5, 6, and 7th to benefit the Councils' annual picnic . Refreshments will be available.
Donations to the Yard Sale are appreciated. Contact Pat Larson, 343-3475 to arrange drop off of donations.
The residents of 400 Towers kicked off their guest speaker season on a sweet note. Bob Pacer from Oliver's Candy is the first in the series to discuss the history of Batavia businesses. Mr. Pacer took the residents on a trip to the equator to show where the cocoa beans are grown and discussed the journey embarked by that bean to it's final destination to Oliver's Candy.
Oliver's Candy has been part of the Batavia landscape for 75 years. It started as a small business selling it's product door to door in the village of Batavia. Today, Oliver's can boast of a large mail order business shipping to the four corners of the globe.
The residents learned about the candy making process and which candies are still made by 'hand' and which are made using modern technology.
This year's series is a business tour of the City of Batavia. Speakers from established businesses and those who recently chose to call the city the home of their new ventures will be featured between now to May, 2009. Invitations to the series are currently in the works. Any business who would like to be included on the calendar can contact Bea McManis, 400 Towers Residents' Council Activities Coordinator at 585-297-5512.
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