Homewood Celebrates 50 Years of Service in Martinsburg

By CATI KEITH

Staff Writer

The Homewood community came together with staff members, and members of the surrounding community came together to celebrate its 50th anniversary in Martinsburg.

Senator Judy Ward presented a citation from the Pennsylvania Senate which read that Homewood is a retirement community that serves more than 300 individuals.

It provides multiple independent living options, short-term rehabilitation, long-term skilled nursing, and a secure memory care unit.

“The staff are tirelessly working to ensure the independence of older adults and are truly dedicated to the belief that these individuals are the foundation of any society and our nation’s most valuable treasures,” she said.

Robin Stern, executive director of Homewood Martinsburg said a few months ago she was talking to a small group of people about the event.

“Is 50 years really a milestone?,” she said. “After all, we work in an area with businesses that have been around for a lot longer.”

Quickly someone said yes, it was a big milestone.

“This is one anniversary where people can hear first hand accounts of the beginnings of the community,” Stern said.

She said Linda Frederick, who was in the audience, was one of the first nurses at Homewood when it first opened.

Pastor Jerry McCuller said he was blessed to grow up with Homewood as it was his church’s home

“I was four when Homewood opened officially,” he said.

His mother was very active in the auxiliary through the 1970s to the early years of the 1990s.

“I was fortunate to tag along to all the meetings and various events throughout the years,” McCuller said. “ I’m blessed to become a part of Homewood family.”

He was thankful for those who have come before and those they continue to journey with as they live out the mission of honoring Christ by loving and caring for one another.

John Bonebreak said that Rev. Samuel Givler, Jr., the founder of Homewood, was a short man, and very prude.

“He was a Pennsylvania Dutchman, that is where he grew up,” he said. “

Givler came from the Ephrata, New Holland area in Lancaster County.

“A pastor from the Pennsylvania Dutch area was known as Herr Pastor,” Bonebreak said.

He said it was a German expression meaning a pastor who was the authoritarian person in the community that people looked up to and respected highly.

“Rev. Givler was certainly Herr Pastor,” Bonebreak said. “He was a mover and shaker — a visionary,” he said.

As his own Pastor, he said Givler was very concerned about the people in his congregation and especially for the growing number of elderly in the community.

Givler was also a US Army chaplain and Bonebreaker thought he might have been court-martialed twice because of how he would stand up for the soldiers.

Judy Winfield-Hancock, Homewood at Martinsburg chairperson, also knew Rev. Givler.

“It is such a joy to be able to celebrate 50 years — it is hard to believe I have been involved for 50 plus years,” she said.

After the land was purchased those they continue to journey with as they live out the mission of honoring Christ by loving and caring for one another.

John Bonebreak said that Rev. Samuel Givler, Jr., the founder of Homewood, was a short man, and very prude.

“He was a Pennsylvania Dutchman; that is where he grew up,” he said.

Givler came from the Ephrata, New Holland area in Lancaster County.

“A pastor from the Pennsylvania Dutch area was known as Herr Pastor,” Bonebreak said.

He said it was a German expression meaning a pastor who was the authoritarian person in the community that people looked up to and respected highly.

“Rev. Givler was certainly Herr Pastor,” Bonebreak said. “He was a mover and shaker — a visionary,” he said.

As his own Pastor, he said Givler was very concerned about the people in his congregation and especially for the growing number of elderly in the community.

Givler was also a US Army chaplain and Bonebreaker thought he might have been court-martialed twice because of how he would stand up for the soldiers.

Judy Winfield-Hancock, Homewood at Martinsburg chairperson, also knew Rev. Givler.

“It is such a joy to be able to celebrate 50 years — it is hard to believe I have been involved for 50 plus years,” she said.

After the land was purchased and the landbreaking occurred, Winfield-Hancock earned money for Homewood when she was a teenager in the 1960s picking strawberries.

“I found a certificate that said I had given $100 to Homewood; that was a lot for teenagers in the 60s,” she said.

Winfield-Hancock said three of her grandparents, her parents, and numerous other relatives were residents of Homewood.

Thad Rothrock, President and CEO of Homewood, said so many organizations look back after 50 years and they can hardly recognize themselves because their original purpose was lost.

“I believe the heart of Homewood existed in the 1930s when Mr. George Pearson started a home to look after the elderly people and eventually Rev. Givler,” he said.

Rothrock said the staff’s love and care is rooted in their love of Christ.