Written by Juanita Fox, director of media experiences and storytelling
The following is a speech given at the May 8, 2026 30th Anniversary Celebration.
Good afternoon—and happy anniversary.
It’s a gift to gather—residents, team members, family, friends, and neighbors—to celebrate the place we call home and the mission that calls us forward.
Anniversaries remind us that what feels steady today was once only an idea. So for the next few minutes, I want to retell our origin story—so our gratitude grows and our hope is renewed. And hopefully we’ll even smile a little too as we learn about the men who established Garden Spot Village.
I’ve found, that when God puts something on my heart, it starts as a nudge I can’t ignore.
I imagine Victor Weaver’s vision for a retirement community here in New Holland began that way in the early 1980s. I imagine him sharing it with his wife, Edith, in late-night “what if we…” conversations. Nearing 70, Victor wasn’t slowing down. The visionary entrepreneur in him was still asking, “What’s next?”
That forward-looking spirit showed up early. In 1937, Victor and Edith took 17 dressed chickens to the Sharon Hills Farmers Market near Philadelphia. That small idea—selling ready-to-cook chickens—became Weaver Chicken, growing over the next 50 years into a nationally known, multi‑million‑dollar enterprise.
He also served on the founding board of Philhaven Hospital in 1948 and for many years after that. If you are not familiar with Philhaven, it was founded a compassionate response to what many young Mennonite men witnessed while serving as conscientious objectors in mental hospitals during World War II.
Raymond Horst was also on the board. I couldn’t verify years they served together, but it’s possible that as they drove together, they were dreaming about their next venture–that may have included a dream for a retirement community in New Holland. Regardless, those drives tended to be exciting. One night, as Raymond was driving – just a little too fast, mind you, a police officer pulled them over. As all good officers do, he asked, sir, why were you driving so fast? Raymond responded, with sincerity, “sir, I’m taking this man to PhilHaven.” The officer responded, “well, I’ll make sure I get you there quickly.” And he escorted them to their board meeting with sirens and flashing lights.
Victor was generous, as well. In 1969 he created the United Service Foundation—supporting Mennonite ministries, Camp Hebron, local parks and clinics, and scholarships for his employees’ families at Eastern Mennonite University, Goshen College, and Elizabethtown College. His descendants continue his benevolence today.
Back to Victor’s nudge—in the early 1980s, he began meeting one-on-one and in small groups with business and church leaders across the New Holland area. As I reflect on those conversations, I realize they were the first spark of our envisioned future. In those questions, those conversations, and those dreams, a different vision for aging together was beginning to take shape.
On May 23, 1986, Victor sketched the beginnings of a plan on scrap paper. Across the top he wrote: “How to go about starting a retirement community.”
Underneath, he listed questions about forming a board, talking with people who built similar communities, incorporating, and fundraising—This scrap of paper is the first written trace of his vision.
In his research, he began talking with established retirement communities in Lancaster County – he hired a market research team. These are all the things good businessmen do. Time and again he was told, “It will never work. No one will ever move to a retirement community in Eastern Lancaster County.”
I don’t know about you, but I’m glad he didn’t listen and chose to prove the “experts” wrong.
Victor passed away in 1989 before the vision became reality. His son, Dale, partnered with the leaders Victor had engaged to move the project forward—Raymond Horst (remember him?), Aaron Hollinger and Martin Weaver. The men hired Nevin Kraybill, who we will hear from in a little bit. Together they persevered through incorporation, naming, board formation, and the search for land.
The organization incorporated as a not-for-profit continuing care retirement community on July 26, 1990. The name “Garden Spot Village” was adopted in January 1991. Finding the right land took years.
Several tracts were proposed—and opposed. A site in West Earl Township near Achenbach’s was abandoned due to township restrictions. Another option fell through. Then the Eberly Farm emerged as an option—just south of here.
This proposal drew intense public opposition because it required rezoning agricultural land. Meetings grew heated. People made signs. One man threw himself on the ground thinking a temper tantrum would change their minds. One lasting image from news coverage showed a woman pounding her fist during public comment. How dare the township consider such an opportunity?
Still, the board endured. In spring 1993, Garden Spot Village purchased the 52‑acre Jay and Jean Weber property and the adjoining 20‑acre John Ranck farm. When John Ranck later offered additional acreage, the property expanded to the initial 119 acres that spans from Ranck Road to South Kinzer Avenue.
We broke ground in July 1994. Then, on February 23, 1996, the first resident—Esther Sideman, the first lady of Garden Spot Village—moved in.
That first year, Garden Spot Village had nine cottages and the Gardens North Apartment wing, which included a floor with personal care suites. But the real “grand opening” came after move‑in—when neighbors learned names, found their places at the table, formed clubs and choirs and volunteer teams, and proved that a campus becomes a community when people choose to show up for one another.
That’s what inspires me most: this was never only about buildings.
It was about a promise—a faith‑grounded promise—that people would be seen, known, and supported through every season of later life, with the dignity of choice and the strength of belonging.
And you can see that promise in this room—in the way residents welcome new neighbors, and in the skill and patience of caregivers, nurses, dining, housekeeping, maintenance, and every support role that makes daily life work.
As needs changed, the commitment to “age in place” deepened. In 2001, Mountain View Personal Care, Laurel View Memory Support, and Garden View Skilled Nursing expanded the continuum, enabling residents to remain rooted here as care needs increased.
That growth wasn’t just expansion. It was part of a pro-aging revolution—one that said you don’t have to leave your community when life gets harder. Continuity matters. And we will keep learning how to care better—clinically and humanly.
A pattern emerged: innovate, not for novelty, but for people. Adult day services began. A health center on campus made care easier and more connected—for residents and neighbors.
As needs in the broader community became clearer, new solutions followed—like the Cooperative Living House, created without government subsidies through donations and volunteer labor.
That’s what anniversaries reveal: not one moment of success, but thousands of faithful decisions—by boards, leaders, staff, residents, donors, and partners—to keep choosing people over convenience, welcome over isolation, and purpose over passivity. Thank you for the ways you continue to show up for each other and for helping spark a pro‑aging revolution here at Garden Spot Village.
Juanita Fox, director of media experiences and storytelling for Garden Spot Communities, brings a wealth of marketing and storytelling experience. She is the managing editor for Destination Magazine as well as the co-host for Garden Spot’s Purpose in Retirement Podcast.