Butterfield Residential Care Center's Butterfield Express August 2017

Butterfield
EXPRESS
Volume 28, Issue 8
August 2017
Butterfield Residential Care Center is an affiliate of CMH, Bolivar, Mo., 417-326-6000
Facility Location: 1120 North Butterfield, Bolivar, MO 65613, 417-326-5200
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Resident of the Month 1
Activity Photos 2
Upcoming Events 3
Residents’ Birthdays 4
New Residents 4
Discharges 4
Please join us
this month for
Ozark Empire
Fair History
presented
by the
Polk County
Genealogical
Society
Tuesday,
Aug. 11,
at 2 p.m.
Loreta Giberson
Resident of the Month
Loreta Giberson was born on July 30, 1923,
in the sandhills of western Nebraska to George
A. and Myrtle A. Collier. She was born at
home in Cherry County in what had originally
been a “ dug out” home. Loreta was the young-
est of six children, four brothers and one sister
who died as a toddler. The Colliers lived in south-
west Kansas before traveling by covered
wagon to western Nebraska where they turned their
homestead into a large ranch. Loreta and her broth-
ers boarded in the small town of Mullen to attend
school during the week. The entire family helped
out on the ranch when they weren’t in school. Hav-
ing four older brothers, Loreta learned to hold her
own early.
Responsibility and hard work were always a part
of ranch life. Loreta remembers standing on a chair
helping her mom cook for ranch hands. Always a
good cook, Loreta cooked large meals for 20-25
ranch hands during round-ups and branding. Loreta
married her high school sweetheart, Harold M. Gib-
erson, and the family moved to Fremont,
Neb. When her husband, Harold, enlisted during
WWII, Loreta moved back to the sandhills with her
toddler son and baby daughter to her parents home
in Dunning, Neb. The letters written by Harold
from the South Pacific, the Philippines and Japan
were full of stories of day-to-day combat and life in
strange lands with different cultures, and were
looked forward to with anticipation. These letters
are treasured by Loreta’s children today. A
YouTube video, telling of the small community of
North Platte, Neb., where the many trains filled
with young men greeted by local ladies with warm
smiles, coffee and sandwiches, brought a vivid
memory to Loreta who remembered going with her
dad to North Platte to deliver beef to be served to
the endless trains full of young men headed off to
war.
After the war, Loreta and Harold were active
in local VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) groups
and Loreta was elected president of the of Nebraska
Veterans of Foreign Wars Ladies Auxiliary at the
young age of 30.
Still on the ranch, two more daughters were
added to the family, and in 1955 the Gibersons
moved to Urbana, Mo., and went from ranching to
dairy farming. Along with raising an active
family, Loreta opened a quilt shop, was ac-
tive in her church -- where she was choir
director -- and was active in the community
and Jolly Janes, a county extension service
group. The Gibersons were selected as Fami-
ly of the Year by the Dallas County Farmers
Extension. Loreta traveled the area with her
businesses of selling Fashion, 2-20 Jewelry
and Abrey cosmetics, where she was suc-
cessful enough to earn a new car and trips to
national conventions.
Loreta and Harold had four children:
Nelson, of Bolivar, Mo.; Nila, of Loch
Lloyd, Mo.; Karon, of Parkville, Mo., and
Peoria, Ariz.; and Leila of The Villages, Fla.
Loreta enjoys her nine grandchildren, scat-
tered throughout Missouri, New York, Cali-
fornia and Tennessee and her 12 great-
grandchildren. She was happy to be able to
recently attend two great-granddaughter’s
college graduations, on the same day at the
same university.
Loreta loves to travel and has been to
Scotland, England, Wales, France, the Baha-
mas, Caribbean Cruises, Hawaii - several
times - and many of the other states.
Wherever she goes, she enjoys meeting new
people and visiting.
Loreta moved to Butterfield in December
2015. She enjoys painting, watching the
Peacocks, coloring, participating in the
outings and activities, and she enjoys not
having to cook!
Are you a caring individual who would like to assist in caring for the elderly?
Butterfield Residential Care Center has opportunities in its volunteer program.
For more information, call Tammie Martin, BRCC administrator, at 417-328-6380.