BIG SPRING, TX — This week is National Nursing Home Week and this year’s theme is “Creating and Nurturing Connections”. Thanks to the connections of Parkview Skilled Care and Rehabilitation’s Marketing Director Laurie Martinez, one resident at the facility was able to mark an item off his bucket list with a trip to Hotel Settles. Martinez told KBest News that in an intake interview with resident Mr. J.D. Stoker, he revealed that he had been the only African American engineer for the railroad in Big Spring and actually lived at Hotel Settles for several years while he worked there. He told Martinez that it was a dream of his to be able to revisit Hotel Settles and see what it’s like now. When the staff found out that he would be discharging soon and returning to east Texas with his son, they decided to plan a trip to Hotel Settles.
Stoker told KBest News that he had been sent to Hotel Settles by his boss, and it was a really nice place back in the day.
According to Martinez, Hotel Settles rolled out the red carpet treatment for Stoker and he had a great experience.
“He enjoyed it. He smiled from ear to ear the entire time. He remembered so much of it. He remembered different events, different locations, [and] what he was doing at the time,” said Martinez. “Hotel Settles gave him a complete tour and treated him like a king. When we sat down to eat, he put his hands above his head and said, ‘Today I fulfilled my dream. Today’s been the best day.’ We knew without a shadow of a doubt that he had a great time.”
Stoker began working for the railroad on July 15, 1968 and became an engineer in 1976. Overall, he worked 37 years for the railroad and lived at Hotel Settles for many years while he worked there. He told KBest News that he enjoyed working for the railroad and got along well with the other workers. In the end, they were like brothers to him.
“We were just as rewarded as he was. The hotel staff was crying. We were crying to see his joy,” said Martinez.
She went on to say that it was really a special moment to see Stoker so happy.
“To have a part of history inside history…We hear the stories of these people but to actually see one reliving it in person was priceless,” she continued.
Tomorrow, Parkview Skilled Care & Rehabilitation is welcoming the public to join them for a free celebration of Nursing Home Week from 4-6 PM. The event will have a magician, an inflatable waterslide, train rides, face painting, and a live DJ. Martinez told KBest News that it’s the big shebang at the end of the Nursing Home Week and they and the residents are looking forward to seeing the community come out for a good time.
(Photos courtesy of Parkview Skilled Care & Rehabilitation)
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