Frank Builds Connection with His Models
Every summer growing up, my mom boarded a plane—four kids in tow—to visit her parents in Pennsylvania. One of the highlights of the trip was walking into the dark basement room where my grandfather had his model trains. I think I was old enough to drive a car before I was allowed to run his trains. We’d watch for hours, mesmerized by the details that my engineer grandfather included in his model, watching trains disappear into tunnels, traverse over bridges, or zoom past coal mines.
I was taken back to that memory when I met with Frank, a long-time resident of Prairie City Landing in Folsom. Frank builds the most incredible models—no trains, but every other form of transportation you can imagine, from buses to cars, ships to planes to rockets. And like my grandfather’s railroad, they are all placed within sets of exquisite detail.
Each of Frank’s models is an invitation to dream, to engage, to appreciate adventures big and small, real or imagined. In one, a group of 1950s cars cruises down Main Street; another shows the Prairie City Landing bus in front of the community, ready for the next off-site adventure. Frank’s dioramas extend to the realm of imagination, such as a rocket to take residents for a tour around the moon or the Prairie City Landing Concorde that whisks residents away to Hawaii for an afternoon on the beach.
The Prairie City Landing plane whisks residents away to dreamy places in Frank’s model.
Surprisingly, Frank never built a model railroad, but he spent his downtime building things. “I’d feel lost without my tools,” Frank confessed. “Do-it-yourself stuff and building things was my hobby. That was my golf, my type of release.” He built a family room in his house, fences around his yard, patio covers, and closet organization systems. “At times I thought I’d like to have been a builder.”
To date, Frank has built 52 models. Some he keeps, some are placed around Prairie City Landing, and many are given as gifts to friends and team members. In the six years that Prairie City Landing has been Frank’s home, he has formed many close friendships. “It’s a good place. A lot of us found our family here,” Frank said of his community.
Frank knows his Prairie City Landing family well, and that knowledge inspires his creations. “One gal did a lot of cruising in her time in San Diego,” he learned, so he built her a model of San Diego, with a ship on one side and the Padres logo and cars on the other. Another grew up in San Francisco, so he created a model of downtown San Francisco, complete with the Coit Tower, for her. Recently, one of Frank’s friends turned 100, and he created a model with a 1925 Model T that read, “Ford gave us the Model T. God gave us Maria.”
Similar to Frank’s birthday gift to Maria, a 1932 Ford invites others to share some of their history.
“It’s fun to tie it in with all the people here,” Frank said of his models.
The fact that his friends, team members, and Prairie City Landing feature prominently in all his designs was not a foregone conclusion. When Frank first started looking into senior living, he was quite resistant to the idea. “I wasn’t ready to do it,” Frank said of his move to senior living, “but I’m not a cook, so I had to do something!”
He toured 13 communities, none of which enticed Frank. Continuing his search online, he came across Prairie City Landing. “When I walked in, I knew it was different,” Frank remembered.
He immediately recognized the flurry of activity at Prairie City Landing. He knew it was a place where he could be doing things, not sitting around. He also appreciated the larger apartments with amenities like walk-in closets and fully-equipped kitchens with an island.
Frank has made good use of his closet space, storing his tools and three cabinets full of the odds and ends he has collected to make his models. And his kitchen island is his workspace, allowing him a sturdy surface with access to all sides of his project.
Frank is ready to create a new model, with his tools and materials on the island in his apartment.
One of Frank’s models recalls his initial moments at Prairie City Landing. Displayed on the reception desk was Frank’s model of that same desk with Snow White inquiring about an apartment with 8 beds! Frank’s sense of humor gently nudges us to find joy.
Frank’s models illustrate his sense of humor and gratitude for his home at Prairie City Landing.
“Everything I’ve done has a meaning that either ties into Prairie City Landing or ties into our age or era,” Frank reflected. His models, full of creativity, call us to imagine the possibilities. His generosity reminds us of the significant impact one has when he shows appreciation for those around him.
“This has been a real joy,” Frank said of his building and creating. A joy we at Prairie City Landing are very fortunate to share with Frank!
What interest or project would you bring to our community? To learn more about apartments large enough to support your pursuits, please reach out to our Counselors.
Moving to Senior Living should make your world bigger. Learn more about our community in our FAQs Guide: Your Questions Answered by the People Who Make Tenfold Communities Amazing.
