Individuals and married couples were honored for their service to the Westbrook community and invited to ride along the parade route in a vintage convertible. The next unit was the noisemakers-fire trucks and ambulances. Spectators rose to attention as the flags passed by. Military veterans led the route carrying the American flag as well as American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VWF) flags. Parades were one of the most appealing elements of Hospital Days. The social hour, like the health center picnic, gave people a chance to socialize with neighbors and friends. After an hour of entertaining music, Kiwanis members served pie with ice cream and coffee. In about 2000, organizers introduced a new Thursday-evening event to Hospital Days: Night of Praise, in which the local Kiwanis organization sponsored an inspirational music presentation from individuals, ensembles, or choirs.
WESTBROOK SENTINEL TRIBUNE FREE
The Sanford Westbrook Health Center provided a free picnic of grilled burgers and hotdogs on the eve of Hospital Days to show appreciation for the support it received from the community. In 1991 the auxiliary food stand found a new home in the Community Center: no flies, no adverse weather conditions, and ample air conditioning. Flies, oppressive heat, and humidity did little to hamper the spirits of those enjoying delicious meals topped off with pieces of home-made pie at the fire hall. The auxiliary’s food stand became, and remained, a mainstay. In total, the hospital received $5,000 from the weekend’s activities.īy 1971, when the event was officially named Hospital Days, the gathering had become a rite of summer that people looked forward to. An auction brought in $1,500, a sale of promotional buttons raised one dollar per button, and a rummage sale netted $1,000. On Saturday, the event’s second day, volunteers served food, including grilled burgers with all the trimmings in the fire hall at noon and a catered evening meal in the city park.
Prior to the event, industrious women cleaned the hall to make it suitable for a lunchroom after fire trucks and equipment found a temporary home elsewhere. Festivities began on a Friday with auxiliary volunteers serving lunch in the city’s fire hall. The first “official” Hospital Benefit Days, held in September 1968, was organized by the hospital auxiliary and the Community Club. The hospital’s auxiliary volunteers, divided into twenty units, continued working together to assist their hospital.
People of all ages were invited to attend, participate in activities, and enjoy good food.įundraising for Westbrook’s Schmidt Memorial Hospital did not end on January 23, 1951, when doors opened to patients for the first time. Henry Schmidt Memorial Hospital in Westbrook combined work and pleasure to organize Hospital Days, an annual public event that raised money for hospital equipment and community amenities.
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