This Month’s Featured Article

This holiday season, the Noble Horizons Auxiliary will present their first two-day holiday market from 10am to 4pm on Friday, December 6, and Saturday, December 7. This departure from their popular, quarter-of-a-century tradition, the Festival of Trees, will bring about a new variety of delightful holiday activities and offerings while incorporating well-loved elements from past years.

The formation of a community cornerstone

Noble Horizons began construction in 1972 thanks to the beneficence of Sharon, CT, residents John and Ethel Noble. The Cobble Road property, situated right outside the village of Salisbury, CT, instantly garnered the interest of the surrounding neighborhoods. Noble Horizons senior living provides retirement, rehabilitation, nursing, and memory care services.

According to Auxiliary members Verena Drake, Meredith Dittmar, and Judy McKernon, “Since the population at Noble is drawn primarily from either residents of, or those with family connections to, Salisbury and adjoining towns, the word ‘belonging’ may best describe the feeling residents and visitors have living on or visiting the campus. One is sure to find someone you know when visiting Noble’s campus.”

Indeed, Noble Horizons is a notable community presence, offering a plethora of resources year-round. The Taconic Learning Center, which provides local citizens with lifelong learning opportunities, uses Noble’s space to conduct its courses. Noble also hosts art shows, as well as lectures and presentations from nearby experts on a variety of subjects. Indeed, they recently put on The Right to Bear Art, an art show made possible by the generous contributions and vibrant collaboration of talented artists, volunteers, local businesses, community members, and Noble staff.

Furthermore, with fifty cottages dotted across Noble’s landscape, the campus serves as a very admired living opportunity. This housing is aptly located adjacent to the nursing and rehabilitation units. “The cottages are quite unique in that each cottage has its own outside space, yet neighbors are close by, and there is a strong sense of community among cottagers,” the Auxiliary members explain. “Not infrequently, a cottager’s spouse needs care within Noble’s inpatient nursing units, bringing access to their loved one just a few steps away.”

The Auxiliary’s impact

The Noble Horizons Auxiliary first met in 1975, and since then, the organization has seen almost fifty years of fulfilling engagement with the surrounding region. The Auxiliary consists of volunteers who regularly contribute time, as well as those who focus on special events. Since its founding, the group has remained committed to its guiding purpose, which is “to help make life for Noble Horizons residents as pleasurable and as fulfilling as possible.”

Former president and current vice president of the Auxiliary Judy McKernon shared in a 2020 volunteer spotlight that her mother Fran Wagner’s initiative in the founding of the Auxiliary, with about fifteen other local women, has continued to inspire her own dedication to the organization.

And not only that, but the volunteer opportunities have fostered new friendships and connections in the midst of true work and commitment. Since its inception, the group’s bank balance of just $58 in 1976 has grown to allow an annual budget of $25,000 in recent years, reflecting just how much the Auxiliary has grown and thrived over the decades.

With volunteering and the local community as central facets of the Auxiliary’s mission, the group is committed to hosting entertaining and successful fundraising year-round. These efforts and activities, which include the holiday market, a book and tag sale, and the Country Store, open the door for incredible opportunities in the Noble community.

Gifts such as day trips to museums, performances, and restaurants; fresh dining room flowers; an annual, catered lobster dinner; pet-related expense coverage; large-print books, periodicals, and video collections for the library; entertainment and clubhouse social events; holiday gifts; arts and crafts classes through the Audrey Whitbeck Fund; and Netflix subscriptions are all made possible through the organization’s work.

In 2019, the Auxiliary even reached a remarkable $1 million milestone. According to a blog announcement about this achievement, the group now contributes more than ten times the amount they raised in their first year, which was less than $2,500. “The profits from the Auxiliary have also made possible an expansion of the on-site library, a refurbished chapel including a new organ, two new vehicles used to take residents to doctor appointments, and a baby grand piano for the Noble Horizons’ community room.”

The Auxiliary members point out, “Auxiliary is a term seldom used anymore, and yet it perfectly describes what the many volunteers belonging to this organization do: ‘providing supplementary or additional help and support.’”

The Country Store

Open to not only residents, employees, and visitors, but also the whole community, the Country Store is one of the most visible features of the Auxiliary’s support of Noble Horizons. Located in the Wagner Building, right down the hall from the main entrance to the facility, the store is managed and staffed completely by Auxiliary volunteers and has offered an exciting array of merchandise for just short of thirty years.

Providing everything from home furnishings – including platters, bowls, candlesticks, picture frames, and linens – to clothing items such as capes, sweaters, scarves, handbags, and jewelry, the Country Store has something for everyone this holiday season. Shoppers can also find candy, greeting cards, books, puzzles, and sundries.

There is a noteworthy, global spin on many of the products tastefully curated at the shop as well. This year, visitors can find dripless candles made in Germany, crocheted animals hand made in Armenia, and hand-knit winter beanies from Nepal. Sterling silver and gold-plated jewelry is sourced from the US, Turkey, and India, while tabletop items, spanning from rice bowls to placemats, originate from Japan and Italy.

The Country Store is open Monday and Thursday from 11am to 2pm, and Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from noon to 3pm. As the $1 million milestone blog announcement observes, the Country Store “has been described as something of a hidden gem within the community and represents the Auxiliary’s commitment to connecting life at Noble Horizons to the surrounding area it has been a part of for so long.”

Pivoting the fundraising focus in 2024

The Festival of Trees was one of the many fundraisers started by the Auxiliary to support the residents of the Noble Horizons retirement community. This popular event gave townspeople, school children, and professional organizations the chance to witness a winter wonderland first hand, and donate their own extravagant, imaginative tree creation.

The Auxiliary members note that post-COVID, multiple developments necessitated a reevaluation of the group’s main winter event. These changes, primarily due to local demographics, have ultimately altered the interest and participation in the past. For example, with an influx of new residents in the area, it has been notably more difficult to draw in those who can allocate the necessary time for volunteering.

First started by families, friends, and neighbors, the Auxiliary grew organically for many decades, “as in most small towns, somebody knew someone who was friends or family with a Noble connection.”

In addition to many professionals working past the common retirement age, the group has noted other trends, such as people seeking community involvement through other means. It is also worth mentioning that many people have started recycling trees or downsizing, meaning a lessened interest in acquiring a fundraiser tree. Furthermore, an uptick in the “snowbird” trend has meant many community members travel to warmer climates during the holiday season.

Thus, when it comes to a decrease in volunteerism, the Auxiliary members comment, “COVID accelerated trends or lay bare developments already on the horizon. No pun intended.”

This year’s new Holiday Market

While the Holiday Market is indeed a new offering replacing the Festival of Trees at Noble, it is not an entirely unfamiliar event for the organization. In past years, the Auxiliary held a one-day holiday fair at the beginning of the Festival of Trees, as well as a gala and silent auction at the end.

With the market as the focus of the holiday festivities at Noble on December 6 and 7, shoppers will be able find a selection of exciting, seasonal products including holiday decor, greenery, wreaths, centerpieces, and decorated trees; baked goods; jams and jellies; handmade knits; jewelry; and artisan wares.

Door prizes, a raffle, musical entertainment, and kid-friendly activities will also be provided for visitors! Additionally, you will be treated to free coffee, hot cider, and donuts while supplies last, and soup, sandwiches, and sweets will be available for purchase.

Volunteer Nina Mathus created the Children’s Corner at the Festival of Trees, which was “a special place for young visitors, filled with whimsy and color to match the festival’s theme.” To the community’s delight, Nina will continue the magic this year and resume her cherished role as Mrs. Claus during the holiday market festivities!

The Auxiliary members explain that in addition to being a key social gathering, this year’s event will also serve a civic function, too. “We believe the market will be a special early holiday activity for family members and friends outside of Noble while also engaging with our many longstanding volunteers and residents,” they say.

“The Auxiliary’s commitment to supporting quality life in the Noble community is strong. To those who have been our wonderful supporters and volunteers in the past, we are so grateful! Please help to make the holiday market a great success!”

To learn more about the Noble Horizons Auxiliary and upcoming events, including this year’s holiday market on December 6 and 7 from 10am to 4pm, please visit noblehorizons.org/get-involved/auxiliary. Noble Horizons is located at 17 Cobble Road in Salisbury, CT.