David Kilby, Managing Editor
CRANBURY — Betty Heller held her 90th birthday party a few weeks ago, but it was no normal 90th birthday party.
Great Scott the Magician, known throughout the state for his talking blue and gold macaw and the handful of tricks up his sleeve, gave Ms. Heller and her fellow Monroe Village residents a day to remember.
Ms. Heller’s family wanted to make her life a bit more exciting, since they thought life in a nursing home can get kind of dull, and her family believed Great Scott’s show would do the trick.
”Seniors are treated like second class citizens,” said Sherry Miller, Ms. Heller’s daughter who helped organize the party. “We have a moral responsibility to give them a reason to get up in the morning. They’re viewed as citizens that need to be taken care of physically and not mentally. The two are connected.”
She said a few people with Tourette’s syndrome were at the party, and they usually just want to sleep all day, but the day of the party they were active the whole day.
”The director of Monroe Village, John Warner, came and said it was amazing and that the seniors were so delighted,” she added. “People even the day after were raving about how great the show and food was.”
”My mother has dementia and doesn’t say much,” Ms. Miller said. “She sat through the whole thing mesmerized. She was so happy. They had doves flying around and they got to touch the doves. These are people that are never touched (except to be washed). They have no stimulation. People just think they need to be fed and cleaned.”
Irwin Yellowitz, the first cousin of Ms. Heller’s husband Murray, is a retired history professor of the City College of New York, and he said he enjoyed the party.
”Betty enjoyed having friends and family there,” Mr. Yellowitz said. “There were two magicians that did a variety of amazing tricks. There was good food and it was a very nice birthday party.
”My understanding is that when people are in nursing homes they don’t get the kind of stimulation they had before. Having family come together is a terrific event,” he added.
Ms. Heller and her husband, Murray, 91, are both at Monroe Village but are in different parts of the complex, but they came together for the party.
About 25 or 30 people attended the party.
”Seniors at Monroe Village were absolutely jubilant at Betty Heller’s 90th birthday celebration,” Ms. Heller continued. “It was an extraordinary event with magicians, live animals, a talking macaw, and gourmet dining. The party was a result of personal efforts by the family and was a huge success! The event revealed how positive stimuli and distractions from a routine existence was extremely beneficial to an elderly population. Nursing homes do plan a schedule of events within their budgetary capabilities but any outside initiatives would probably be a welcomed contribution! Monroe Village helped make this a stupendous event!”

