ROSS HOME, N.E. VALLEY

Evening Star, Issue 18533, 16 January 1924, Page 2

ROSS HOME, N.E. VALLEY

STOKE LIKE AW HOTEL, CORRIDORS GRAZED AND HEATING INSTALLED. A considerable sum of money was recently voted by tbs committee. of the Presbyterian. Social Service Association towards tlhe improvement o.f the Ross Homo tor the aged in North-east Valley, Dimedan, and the Fletcher Construotion Company, which erected the building, has expanded the extra money to the best advantage, without charge for oversight. As a result the home is now almost perfectly equipped, and the inmates as well ns the staff will be much more comfortable during cold weather. A heating wistafetAon is' one of the improvements that, has long been desired. Room for the boiler and the other Apparatus was found in the basement of the south wing. Provision was thus mode for an abundance of hot water for the baths and basins, also for heating the corridors, the bedrooms, the sitting room, and the dining room. The temperature anywhere can be brought to the required degree.

There is a common belief in many minds that an open fire is the more cosy to sit by, and 'it certainly looks nice, but it cannot warm a big room equably. Sitters on the outer circle on cold nights envy those who have rushed the closer seats. The committee thought at the very first that the <uso of radiators would be better! but the cost was going to be a consideration, and members wore Influenced by the idea- that the old folk might prefer separate fires in the bedrooms, tbranking them'more homely; so the experiment of separate fires was tried for four years, and it waJs found that they entailed too much expenditure of labor and money, besides involving the inmates tn a certain amount of dteoomtfoit if they fidgeted from under the bedclothes after the fire had died down. All the best information on the subject pointed to the radiator system as advantageows, and, thanks to a generous donation for that purpose, the committee has made the change, and is confident as to the results. The fireplace in the bedrooms are, however, left intact, so that if any inmate who is sick wants an open fire for cheer or -for extra heat it can be sot going at once. Another great benefit to the home is the glazing and warming of fcho corridors that lend (from the main building to the wings. Heretofore these corridors have been open passage-ways. Now they' are enclosed with glass sides, with windows here and there that cam be opened to regulate the temperature. The inmates are free to do as they like about that matter, and alter an evening in the social room ...they cam walk under cover, without getting chilled, to their bedrooms. This means a great deal to a community of eldarly folk. The average age, counting in every one of the fifty that makes the Ml complement, is eighty-three years. It appears to a visitor that the one thing now needed to complete the appoin tments of Ross Home is the infirmary wing that has long been, talked about, but cannot be built till the money comes forward. Such a wing would cost about £2,000, not a large sum if a few of our well-to-do citizens saw a duty, or rather a nrivilege. in that direction.

In the laundry /block a modern drying room Iras 'been constructed, so that clothes cleansed by the electric washer and squeezed by, the electric wringer can be dried in any weather without delay. This is important, for the washing da,ys are live per week. Nobody who visits Ross Home win fiat i to admire the gardens. They are extensive and well kept. Evidently Mr Yv. Boy takes a delight in, his work. Sister Yeung says eo, and she sees it going on, every day, and knows what the gardens prodeco.