Lou O'Geen, the 2008 Ray Ladd Memorial Pool Tournament champion, didn't get an opportunity to defend his title Saturday at this fall event held in the 400 Towers community room. Lou, a yearly participant, was home recovering from oral surgery.

Dan Gretzinger, Pat Larson, Carol Gozdziak and Joe Greene fell to the tournament leaders in double elimination play.

Joe Battaglia lost his bid for a trophy to Hank Larson. Larson finished third.

Bob Clark faced tournament leader, Dennis Meyers winning the first game but Meyers held on to win the top spot and bragging rights for the year.

Ray Ladd Jr. sponsors the event in memory of his father who was a long time resident of 400 Towers.  Mr. Ladd was known for his sense of humor, his delicious apple spice cake, and for contributing to the neighborhood spirit of the 400 Towers' community.

Everybody was in good spirits when  I stopped by 400 Towers this evening, just as the annual bake sale was wrapping up.

Invitations were extended to all Council at Large candidates and those running for County Legislature.  No speeches but just the opportunity to listen to the concerns of seniors and to offer suggestions or promises of help.

The 400 Towers Residents'  Council is sponsoring a Snack Shop staffed by resident volunteers.

Featuring a variety of snacks and beverages, available at reasonable prices.  The net proceeds will benefit the Residents' Council General Fund.

Today is our kickoff day and shake down cruise day.  One thing we discovered, we could use a display rack that holds small bags of chips and other snacks.  If you know of any used display racks for sale (or even better, donated), please let me know.

A big thanks our volunteers: Bill Benedict; Bob Clark (purchasing), Alan Galton, Joe Greene, Marie Greenlees, Judy Hale, Bill Heany, Henry Larson, Pat Larson(staffing and purchasing), Dennis Meyers, Barb Odachowski and Barb Villa(staffing and purchasing). 

Also, a big thank you to Sharon in the BHA office and George in maintenance who worked extremely hard to help us get the project off the ground.

Bea McManis, Chairperson - 400 Towers Snack Shop

Geoff Clough, a talented entertainer from Geneseo performed a Tribute To Bob Hope at 400 Towers Thursday night.

He began with a brief biography of Mr. Hope which included:

Leslie Townes Hope was born in London in 1903, the fifth of seven sons. His father, a stonemason, moved them to Cleveland, Ohio in 1907. Hope performed locally for several years and was discovered by comedian Fatty Arbuckle in 1925. A year later, he met George Burns and they traveled the vaudeville circuit with a pair of tap-dancing conjoined twins. He performed on several musicals and by the mid-1930s had begun doing films. It was around this time Leslie Townes Hope changed his name to Bob Hope, in response to a persistent nickname following him around: “Hopelessly.” Most of Hope’s fame came from his long tenure with radio and television (his relationship with NBC lasted over 60 years). Though never an Oscar winner, Hope is remembered as one of the great hosts of the Academy Awards, hosting or co-hosting 18 in all.

Quotable: “Welcome to the Academy Awards or, as it’s known at my house, Passover.”

Songs and stories filled the evening as we remembered Bob Hope in films, radio and TV.

"Do you know how many Presidents sat in office during Bob Hope's lifetime?"

The answer, 18. 

Residents enjoyed the sing-a-long, remembering songs that Bob Hope made famous.

The evening ended with Irving Berlin's "God Bless America".

Thinking ahead to the holidays, the residents of 400 Towers will attend an Art Class led by local artist Lorie Longhany.

Two projects, a wooden Christmas tree wreath and hand painted Christmas cards are on the agenda for Sat. Sept. 26.

Sponsored by the 400 Towers' Residents Council, the art class is open to all residents at 400 Towers. 

Lorie reunited with fellow LeRoyan, Lou O'Geen.  Mr. O'Geen, a talented artist in his own right, shared several drawings he did a few years ago.

Lorie Longhany and Lou O'Geen

Post WW2 pen and ink drawing by Mr. O'Geen.

City station is being dispatched to 400 Towers, 400 E. Main St., Batavia, for a general fire alarm.

It was all smiles Thursday at 400 Towers for the celebration of Ruth Stell's birthday. She was born in 1909 and turned 100 on Aug. 13. She was all smiles, too.

"I feel so very young, " Ruth explained. "You just have to live a good life, that's all you can do. Trust, and go on living."

The centenarian has lived in Batavia for more than 70 years.

Ruth has been an inspiring presence for 38 years at 400 Towers. Her friend Henry Larson said she brings joy to many residents because she is an excellent baker.  He -- and most others -- especially love her banana cupcakes.

Ruth is very happy with her life. She opens her apartment to potential residents and lets them look around as part of a tour. Her place looks like something right out of Good Housekeeping.

"It's amazing how she can have so many memories in one place and still, it looks so inviting!" said Gregory Larson, executive director of the Housing Authority at 400 Towers. Ruth's place is full of knickknacks and stuffed animals, but there's plenty of room for visitors and her bird Snoopy.

Ruth says she saw the most beautiful sights in her 100 years when she was 80 and took a trip to Hawaii. To her, the biggest change from her childhood to now is the invention of airplanes.

When asked what her secret was, she whispered to me, "I tell everyone it's Oil of Olay -- I've been using it for years."

Happy Birthday Ruth!

For at least the second time today, and at least the third time in the past week, there's a general fire alarm at 400 Towers, 400 E. Main St., Batavia.

Bea, what's going on there?

UPDATE: Burnt food in West Tower.

The 400 Towers' Residents' Council sponsored an Evening with Geoff Claugh, Thursday night. 

Mr. Claugh led a sing along with music from the 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s.  His performance was humorous, musical, and interactive.  He closed the evening with Irving Berlin's "God Bless America".

Mr. Claugh, from Geneseo, is a talented musician and music teacher.  His list of programs is extensive.  He will be performing A Salute to Bob Hope,  at the Towers, in the Fall.

The Residents' Council is holding a Yard Sale, June 5, 6, and 7th to benefit the Councils' annual picnic .  Refreshments will be available.

Donations to the Yard Sale are appreciated.  Contact Pat Larson, 343-3475 to arrange drop off of donations.

The residents of 400 Towers kicked off their guest speaker season on a sweet note. Bob Pacer from Oliver's Candy is the first in the series to discuss the history of Batavia businesses. Mr. Pacer took the residents on a trip to the equator to show where the cocoa beans are grown and discussed the journey embarked by that bean to it's final destination to Oliver's Candy.

Oliver's Candy has been part of the Batavia landscape for 75 years. It started as a small business selling it's product door to door in the village of Batavia. Today, Oliver's can boast of a large mail order business shipping to the four corners of the globe.

The residents learned about the candy making process and which candies are still made by 'hand' and which are made using modern technology.

This year's series is a business tour of the City of Batavia. Speakers from established businesses and those who recently chose to call the city the home of their new ventures will be featured between now to May, 2009. Invitations to the series are currently in the works. Any business who would like to be included on the calendar can contact Bea McManis, 400 Towers Residents' Council Activities Coordinator at 585-297-5512.