June Resident of the Month

_{June 16, 2023}
Diving into June, we sat down with our Resident of the Month to get to know more about him. Frank Bishop was born near Beaver Center, Pennsylvania. His father worked in the construction of bridges and roads, and then had a farm. Frank was one of four boys and two girls. He went to school until the eighth grade at Beaver Center, then finished his schooling in Conneautville. Frank graduated at the age of 16, after completing 12 years of schooling in just 10 years!

Frank met his future wife, Claire, when she came to Beaver Center from Erie, Pennsylvania. He and Claire married and went on to have two daughters and a son.

Frank went on to work various jobs. He said, “Anything I could do to make a dollar.” He went on to join the Army, under the Reserve Forces Act. He served six months of Active Duty, stationed at Fort Knox, which was the Armor Headquarters, working with tanks and machine maintenance. Frank was in the Army Reserve for 4-5 years. He served on the Jefferson Village Council and as interim Mayor, then was later elected Jefferson Village Mayor.



Frank was also a caller at the Jefferson Grange Square Dances for 30 years. Music was always important in Frank’s family. Frank’s mother had a collection of instruments: a piano, a violin and an old guitar. His older brother, Merwin “Merk,” played his accordion in a band with two guitar players, and Frank always enjoyed listening to them. He thought about playing himself and asked his parents if he could use his mother’s old guitar, which was somewhat warped after being stored up in the attic. Frank’s father said, “If you can learn anything on that old guitar, we’ll get you a better one!”

Frank was able to learn to play a little and decided that the better guitar that he wanted was that of his brother’s friend, Fritz. He paid $70 for the Gibson, a wartime production made of mahogany rather than spruce, and Frank loved the tone. "That guitar sounded so good it damn near played itself,” expressed Frank. He still has the guitar after all these years. When he had some repairs made on it, the music store told him how valuable it was and asked if he’d be interested in selling it. Frank says, “That old guitar is better known in some circles than I am!”

Frank played in bands, jam sessions and was a long-time volunteer here at Jefferson Healthcare Center, singing and playing guitar for over 20 years! He knows the words and music to over 3000 songs and has always enjoyed playing for the elderly population. He recalls at least three times when folks would ask to hear an old song and after he’d played it, they would say, “I never thought I would hear that again,” and they cried. When asked about how she knows the words to so many songs, the Activity Director here at Jefferson Healthcare, Laura, replies, “I learned them from Frank.”

Thank you for your service to our country and for the years of volunteering at our skilled nursing facility. It's truly been a pleasure serving you, Frank!