NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Many seniors have been in quarantine for their safety since March, and some are finding ways to keep themselves busy.
News 3 recently met Mary Gross, a resident of the Warwick Forest Assisted Living Facility in Newport News. The meeting was brief, and everyone stayed within safety guidelines. During that time, Gross showed off her nearly 300 baby hats that she has crocheted since March!
89-year old Gross just learned the art about a year and a half ago.
“My grandmother had tried her dead level best to teach me to crochet, and I never could do it,” explained Gross. “But I picked up this a year and a half ago and it didn’t take very long to do.”
About four hours a day, broken up among the morning and afternoon, is how long she spends making the hats. She says it takes her about a day and a half to make one.
“It keeps me out of mischief,” she joked.
Her son Glenn visits whenever possible, but he says the months that he couldn’t see her were tough.
“As the loved one goes up in age, gets advanced in age, you quickly realize the amount of time you have to spend with them is starting to decrease,” said Glenn, who also commended the staff for being “first class” when it comes to maintaining safety protocols.
Tracy Tyler is an administrator with Warwick Forest Assisted Living Facility.
“They’re just very restricted, so to see her [Mary] doing this is a positive thing. She’s keeping her spirits up, and I’m all for that,” Tyler commented.
The handcrafted hats were delivered to Riverside Hospital to welcome newborns.
