Mar 01, 2024

Resident-come-calendar-star fulfils bucket list item, reminisces on favourite holiday

Untitled design - 2024-03-01T103857.686
Margaret Scholz with Uniting’s Bettie Taylor fulfilling her wish to visit the Pharaohs Exhibit at The Australian Museum in Sydney. [Source: Supplied]

Ever since she was a little girl, aged care resident Margaret Scholz has been fascinated with all things Egyptian so, naturally, she was thrilled when one of her bucket list items came to fruition with a visit to the Ramses: Gold of the Pharaohs Exhibit at The Australian Museum.

Using funds raised by Uniting Starrett Lodge aged care home’s Movie Magic Calendar – who Ms Scholz featured as Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s – the 87-year-old former Registered Nurse (RN) was able to reminisce on her time in Egypt, which included dining by the river Nile during her excursion.

Before entering the exhibition with Uniting Lifestyle and Wellness Coordinator Bettie Taylor, Ms Scholz said she was “so excited” as she had wanted to engage in something like this since her trip many years ago. 

The Movie Magic Calendar gained national attention by appearing live on Channel Nine’s Today Show in December last year and since then, sales of the calendar have gone through the roof with almost $2,000 raised so far to fund bucket list opportunities for participating residents.

Untitled design - 2024-03-01T104123.137
Ms Scholz as Audrey Hepburn’s Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. [Source: Supplied]

Ms Taylor said she is working hard behind the scenes to ensure they can facilitate as many bucket list items for the residents as possible. 

“It is so exciting for them to be able to do something they’ve always wanted to do and wonderful that we can help make that happen,” she said.

So far, Ms Scholz is the second resident to tick an item off her bucket list thanks to the funds raised from sales of the calendar. David Baines, who featured as Jack Nicholson’s character in the iconic horror movie ‘The Shining’ was able to visit Fighter World, an aviation museum in Newcastle a few weeks ago.

Ms Scholz said it was exciting to be a part of the calendar.

“Dressing up and being photographed like an actual star and then appearing on live television!” she said. 

Ms Scholz grew up in Leeton and then moved to the Central Coast to attend high school in Gosford before she became a qualified RN at Hornsby Hospital. She worked at several other hospitals during her career, including Concord Hospital, before retiring in 1990.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Timeless words and imagery from the ‘greatest speech of all time’

“…Our knowledge has made us cynical. Our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery we need humanity. More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost….” Charlie Chaplin, The Great Dictator (1940) Every now and then... Read More

Grandparents Who Help Care For Grandchildren Live Longer

Does caring for others help you live longer? Research seems to say so. A study by Edith Cowan University in Western Australia has found that elderly people who care for others live longer than those who don’t. The research included interviewing a group of older adults, some who provided occasional care for grandchildren or other... Read More

Mock village offers normalcy in the middle of hospital dementia care unit

At Charlie’s Village, dementia patients of The Prince Charles Hospital in Queensland can visit the hairdresser, grab a coffee and escape the standard clinical setting right in the middle of their care unit. Read More
Advertisement