Men recycle metal for rec equipment
ZELIENOPLE — In the middle of the summer's heat, a pile of air conditioners offered more than temperature control for members of the Passavant Retirement Community.
When the window units were being replaced, Passavant's maintenance staff and several residents decided to recycle the units by extracting and selling their valuable metals.
Those efforts paid off with cash in hand that was used to pay for new equipment for Passavant's recreation center.
"It was the heat of the summer, but we knew when we finished the day there was a bottle of beer waiting for us," laughed resident Don Wunnenberg, who along with resident Bill Fugate and maintenance staff worker Tim Goebel worked to recycle metal headed for the trash heap.
The group extracted copper and aluminum from the air conditioners, along with some brass and copper from used and broken plumbing fixtures.
Proceeds were used to buy a new pool table, a ping-pong table and a 9-foot shuffleboard table for Passavant's recreation center, located in the administration building.
The metal was cut up into smaller pieces and separated according to grade. The metal was then stored in 5-gallon buckets until taken to the metal salvage dealer.
A total of 947 pounds of metal was taken by Goebel in his truck to the dealer in New Castle and sold for the amount that allowed the purchase of the three pieces of recreation equipment.
"The timing was just right. The price for metal was high. We got a good deal on the prices of the equipment. It just all worked out," Goebel said.
The equipment has been in use in the recreation center for the past three weeks, with lots of use during Men's Night, held on the first and third Monday and featuring food, fun and socializing.
"There were more than 30 people at the last Men's Night, which is very good," Goebel said.
The equipment also is available to everyone on campus on the last Saturday of the month.
Not only does the recreation center have the three new pieces of equipment, other traditional table games such as cards, dominos, chess, backgammon, checkers, bean bag toss and an indoor version of horse shoes is played. A television also is used for sporting events such as Monday Night Football.
The Men's Night started about two years ago to get more men involved in activities and socializing, Goebel said."We try play games and help them keep active and not sitting around," he said.Fugate said with the new equipment, there has been a lot of companionship and some new guys showing up who haven't participated the past."A lot of the guys grew up in old pool halls," Wunnenberg said. "We also have a lot of veterans here that would play ping-pong while waiting for their planes. It brings back a lot of memories for them.""We have retired ministers that come down and play. They're some of the most competitive players we have," Fugate added.Passavant also is planning another round of air conditioner replacements next summer at which time the men hope to duplicate their activities for the recreational benefit of the residents.The Passavant Retirement Community houses about 650 seniors on its 42 acres in Zelienople.The senior community, operated by Lutheran Senior Life, has a variety of senior living options, including independent residents, cottages, apartments, assisted living and nursing care.In addition to Passavant, Lutheran Senior Life operates several other Butler County senior communities, including St. John Specialty Care Center in Mars, Crown Pointe Senior Living Communities in Butler and several facilities in Beaver and Westmoreland counties.
