No kitchen. No problem.  

Christmas dinner with all the trimmings went ahead on schedule for residents of Rocky Mountain Manor in Powell on Christmas Day. It just took a little resourcefulness by Cindy Ibarra, Manor facility director, and the help of a Manor board member and his family.

Daily meals are prepared by the Powell Senior Center kitchen and brought to the Manor for service in the dining room at noon. The senior center was closed on Christmas Day, but that didn’t foreclose on Christmas dinner for Manor residents.

Roast turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing and pie were prepared by Blair’s Super Market. The cooked food was delivered on Christmas Eve and refrigerated overnight. Longtime Manor board member Wes Metzler and family took it from there.

On Christmas morning, the dinner was heated in home kitchens of Wes and Coleen Metzler and their son and daughter-in-law, Andy and Jodee Metzler, then carried to the Manor.  

“It’s kind of been a family thing,” Wes said. “Jodee was the captain, and their daughter Gabi helped.  Our family has always loved going to the Manor. Whenever the grandkids were in town, they went over there.”

“There were others who joined in to help,” Metzler added.

After heating at home, the food was transferred to hot plates at the Manor. Gene Jensen, maintenance supervisor at the Manor, and his wife helped ready the individual plates for serving.

Decorations and table settings made for a festive Christmas dinner for 24 residents who remained in the facility for the holiday.

All 52 rooms in Rocky Mountain Manor are rented and occupied.

The holiday season was brighter at Rocky Mountain Manor this year after a COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 restricted interactions in the facility. In the last year, the deaths of four Manor residents have been attributed to the virus. During the worst of the COVID-19 presence in November and December of 2020, there were no meals served in the Manor dining room and no group activities.

A practice that was born of the COVID lockdown a year ago, called the “Twelve Days of Christmas,” was carried on this year.

“We started it last year, leaving gifts outside each apartment door, since we couldn’t get together for activities or regular meals,” said Ibarra, who has been facility director for about eight years. “The residents liked it so much we did it again this year for the 12 days leading up to Christmas.” 

She noted that the “Twelve Days of Christmas” has been supported by donors from within the area — including Hickory Street Catering, which provided boxed meals to each Manor resident’s door on Christmas Eve as the grand finale to the 12 days. The meals could be microwaved in individual rooms.

“Our community is really kind to our facility,” Ibarra said.

Manor staffers continue to wear masks, but in general, she said the facility is “pretty much back to normal life and normal activities.”

“We didn’t do the big Christmas party this year when board members and their families join the residents for a dinner, because that could be a group of up to 90,” Ibarra said. “Hopefully we can get back to that next year.”