I was vacationing with my parents for the summer, Hubby was on a 9 month cruse in the MED and I though it might be good for me to get a JOB, I went to the local paper and found a job opening that looked interesting
I had absolutely no experience in the job, had no idea what the duty's were, just walked in off the street to this older home in town with a reference from my great aunt that was in Eastern Star. She saw me perhaps twice a year but knew I had never gone to jail or been arrested,
My parents were willing to watch my 4 kids while I worked but my Dad though I would do better at a local factory in town.
The woman that hired me was in fact a good friend of my Aunts and hired me on the spot, with the warning that I needed a strong back for the job.
History here the building I worked in had been the home of the last British Governor Wentworth. One walked in the door to see wallpaper that his wife had chosen still on the walls, Crazy expensive for the time and just another reason to boot the blackards out. over the fireplace mantel were the bullet holes from the revolutionists and a close look at the wood floors were the still the imprints of the horses shoes when the men folk road in firring their guns
Governor Wentworth and wife had escaped by climbing out a back window and running for the shore to a row boat that that took them to off shore islands, the Ilse of Shore about 12 miles out.
It was said the home was haunted, residents at times told of awaking to see a man dressed in a cape looking at them.
There were storeys of underground tunnels that went under the street from Nursing quarters to the nursing home in the early 1900's.
So here I was dressed up in a nurse suit, going in for the 11/7 shift in a haunted mansion with History dripping down the walls.
That shift gave us time to investigate the Celle's and attics of the home, gave us time to read everything we could find about the history back then. No ghosts biggest problem w,was the bats , but that is another story.
Sombre of the patients were close to their 90's, when they could not sleep they wandered into the Nurses Lounge and were more then willing to recount for us their life and the life Of the area when they were youngsters/ A couple;e of them even remembered my Dads parents wearing boater hats and the mischief they got into.
History is fun and sad, I read this in the local paper and am trying not to cry.
The Mark Wentworth Home is at 346 Pleasant St. in Portsmouth.
Rich Beauchesne/rbeauchesne@seacoastonline.com
By Howard Altschiller
haltschiller@seacoastonline.com
January 28, 2010 2:00 AM
PORTSMOUTH — Fallout from the collapse of Wall Street titan Lehman Brothers led the 100-year-old Mark Wentworth Home to file for Chapter 11 protection Wednesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, the home's trustees said.
"The home is not going out of business," trustees wrote in a letter to stakeholders. "The home's day-to-day operations will not be affected. All resident funds are safe, separately accounted for and held under trust arrangements distinct from the home's own funds."
Questions?
For additional details on the Mark Wentworth Home and its reorganization plans, call Diane Petrin, communications director, at 436-0169.
Related Stories
Rodier named executive director of Mark Wentworth HomeWentworth Home divests of 'excess' real estateWentworth Home sells $1.5M in real estate All programs offered through Wentworth Connections on Parrott Avenue will also continue without interruption, trustees said.
The historic Mark Wentworth Home, 346 Pleasant St., Portsmouth, has 48 assisted-living and 19 nursing care beds and employs approximately 90 people, board President William Henson said.
Henson said he hopes the reorganization will be approved by the courts in 60-90 days.
In 2006, the trustees embarked on a $14 million renovation project to modernize the home, which includes three buildings, a Revolutionary-era mansion that was home to Gov. John Wentworth, the brick-faced manor building and the Wentworth wing.
The renovation project, which turned an outdated nursing home into a state-of-the-art assisted-living facility, was financed using variable rate demand bonds issued through New Hampshire's Business Finance Authority. The bonds were guaranteed by a letter of credit from TD Bank and the interest rates were converted from a variable rate to a fixed rate through an interest rate swap deal with Lehman Brothers.
The swap deal, Henson said, acted as an insurance policy against rising interest rates. Under the deal, Lehman Brothers agreed to pay the variable rate as it went up or down. The Mark Wentworth Home, in return, agreed to pay Lehman Brothers 3.6 percent interest for the 30-year life of the bond.
On Sept. 15, 2008, Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy, the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history, and brought the entire economy down with it. The stock market dropped more than 500 points that day and the country officially entered "The Great Recession." The Federal Reserve dropped interest rates to historic lows in an effort to prop up the economy.
At the same time, the collapse of the overall economy forced trustees "to reduce daily room rates by nearly 50 percent overnight," which damaged the home's overall operating income, according to the court filing. Mold was also discovered during the home renovation process, which added cost and forced the temporary relocation of residents while the mold was removed.
Once Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy, the Wentworth Home board of trustees tried to get out of its interest rate swap deal, but Lehman refused, Henson said. The trustees stopped paying Lehman because they believed they would never see the upside of the deal when interest rates eventually went above 3.6 percent.
In response, Lehman has demanded $1.9 million from the Mark Wentworth Home; $600,000 in missed payments since the bankruptcy and $1.3 million, which Lehman claims is the "mark-to-market" value of the swap deal, based in part on the current historically low interest rates.
The decision not to pay Lehman has led TD Bank to declare the home in default of its agreements.
"The board of trustees, in recognition of its duties to preserve and protect the assets of the home, engaged legal counsel with significant expertise to assist us," Henson wrote in a statement. "A careful and detailed analysis of our options resulted in a decision to reorganize in a way that would assure the long-term success of the home. A thorough plan of reorganization has been filed with the court as a result."
"This is not a liquidation, and the home is not going out of business," the press release states. "In fact, we expect it to be business as usual for the residents and employees with all programs and services continuing to be provided."
In August 2009, the Mark Wentworth Home sold off $1.5 million in South End real estate, which Henson at the time called "excess."
The largest creditors are Lehman Brothers and TD Bank. Living Innovations has an unsecured claim valued at $209,000. A total of $31,000 is owed to a handful of other creditors, Henson said.
"We're not here because we did anything wrong," Henson said. "We're here because of circumstances and the cards we were dealt .
.BTW I came back 7 years later with my nursing degree and while waiting for an opening in the local hospital actually did what my Father f suggested years ago.. I took a slave Job on the assembly lines and finally retired. after 22 years.-----Possibly the best years of my life.
