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What Our Residents Say

“This is elegant living at a modest cost where you have no worries, complete trust, charming people and helpful staff. Life is exciting and I am happy

and content, and my family is relieved because I am so happy.””We can relax and enjoy life without worrying about lawn care and house work. Elmhurst takes care of everything.”SMPS visit 026

“After living alone for a long time, I enjoy the friendship of the people here.”

“Who wouldn’t like living here? All these beautiful antiques, a big front porch, and three delicious meals a day. Wonderful biscuits and pies!”

“This is the best place in the country… home cooked meals every day, and you don’t have to dress up to go to breakfast!”


Everybody has a story, and the Goodwin sisters, Penny and Charlene have a doozy! These two sisters, born four years to the day apart on June 21, have enjoyed professional careers in their chosen fields that saw them make moves to the same state, Georgia, before deciding to retire to their McMechen hometown and eventually, to Elmhurst where they each have had their own apartments on different floors since September. This sibling duo have recently become impromptu entertainers during our weekly Wednesday social hours, performing on ukulele and guitar and singing old favorites. Attendance at social hour has increased markedly since “entertainment” was added to the event!

Although the family moved to Lorain, OH for their dad’s job on the railroad, McMechen is home. Penny graduated from Union High School. Charlene finished school in Ohio. Both attended West Liberty State College where Penny majored in elementary education and Charlene in dental hygiene. Penny has a master’s in reading and also in education administration. Charlene obtained a masters in education and in healthcare policy and administration She earned a doctorate in adult education from the University of Georgia. She worked in a private dental practice for seven years before teaching for 30 years as an assistant professor of dental hygiene in Georgia. A brother also was an educator in Georgia.

Ukulele Lessons: The sisters are self-taught musicians, Charlene on guitar, and Penny on the ukulele. Both women learned to play the ukulele at the same time as kids living on Caldwell Street in McMechen. The story is one for the books! Street pavers were working on the street by their house that summer. Charlene was about five, Penny four years older. One of the workers would spend his lunch time sitting on the curb playing his ukulele each day. The four Goodwin kids were mesmerized and sat on their side of the street while he performed. Their mother was not one to miss an opportunity to introduce her children to the world of music, so she went to Nick’s Music Store in Wheeling and came home with four ukuleles for her curbside kids. The paving worker was more than happy to teach his young pupils a few chords during his lunchtime concerts. By the time the street was paved, the kids were hooked and continued to learn to play!

Tuba Tale: This one is straight out of an old Andy Hardy movie. Penny, sick in bed, could not attend the Saturday night dance in McMechen. Her parents and two other couples, including the late Dr. Tom Dickey, were playing canasta in the kitchen when the strains of a tuba could be heard coming up the street. Suddenly, the door opened and Penny’s beau at the time, a member of the band, came in playing his tuba, marching up the second floor stairs, into Penny’s bedroom where she was resting, walked around the bed, and back down the stairs and out the door, playing the tuba all the way back to the dance! Needless to say, everyone was astonished and bemused by this young man’s gesture! There are many more tales that we’re sure the Goodwin sisters can share…just get to know them and share your story while enjoying the music!