Medina hosting Walk to End Alzheimer’s on Sept. 7
Photos by Ginny Kropf: (Left) Nicole Tuohey, left, holds a frosted elephant cookie, while her mother Mary Lou Tuohey holds a string of “elephant chains” Nicole has made. Every time a customer buys a cutout elephant cookie at Case-Nic Cookies, Nicole adds a link to the chain, with the goal of stringing them the entire block of Main Street. All money raised benefits the Alzheimer’s Association. (Right) Lisa Robinson gets instructions from Mary Lou Tuohey at Case-Nic Cookies on how to fill out a basket raffle form to support the upcoming Alzheimer’s walk on Sept. 7.
MEDINA – Supporting the Alzheimer’s Association is a tradition near and dear to the family of Nicole Tuohey and her parents.
Nicole’s maternal grandparents both died from Alzheimer’s, her Grandpa Bradley at age 65 and her Grandma Bradley at age 89.
With the help of her mom, Mary Lou Tuohey, Nicole makes sure the public is kept aware of the disease and the toll it takes.
A poster in Case-Nic Cookies, the store run by Mary Lou on Main Street, lists Nicole’s “NOT” Fun Facts of a loved one having Alzheimer’s.
Some of her memories are, “Grandpa couldn’t remember he had a wife, four children and six grandchildren. Grandpa wore diapers, had to be fed and couldn’t dress himself. And Grandpa never got to know me.”
Nicole has the same memories of her grandma. “She couldn’t remember her husband died of Alzheimer’s. She couldn’t remember how to sew, play golf, read books or do crafts. Gramma spoke ‘gibberish’, wore diapers and had to be fed. Gramma had a doll named Andrew that she held and cuddled, just like she did to me.”
Now Nicole has one last “NOT” for fun question.
“Since Gramma and Grandpa Bradley both had Alzheimer’s Disease, do you think my Mom will get it?”
On Sept. 7, many members of Nicole’s family will participate in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, while others will be helping with events at State Street Park and Case-Nic Cookies.
Since opening her store, Mary Lou has allowed non-profits to use her store windows for basket raffle fundraisers. During the Covid pandemic, when customers didn’t come in the store, Mary Lou devised a system where customers could pick up a form in the doorway, mark their choice of baskets, leave the money for the tickets in an envelope and drop it in the mail slot.
This month, the basket raffle is for the benefit of the Alzheimer’s Association, and the drawing will take place after the Walk to End Alzheimer’s on Sept. 7.
The walk starts at 10 a.m. in State Street Park, goes along the canal, back down Main Street and East Center Street back to the park.
Mary Lou and her family first participated in the walk in the early 1990s, when it was at Art Park in Lewiston. Then it moved to Albion for a few years, before coming to Medina.
In the earlier years, regulations prevented the basket raffle from taking place at the site of the actual walk, but this year the raffle will be allowed to take place after the walk in State Street Park.
Activities in the park will also include kids’ games, a bounce house, pizza for sale and free frosted elephant cookies.
The cookies were an idea of Mary Lou’s, who sells them in her store for $1, with the money going to the Alzheimer’s Association. The elephant symbolizes memory – an elephant who never forgets, and a person stricken with Alzheimer’s who never remembers. Nicole makes links out of construction paper, and for each elephant cookie sold, she adds a link to her chain. Her goal every year is to have enough to stretch them the length of the main block of Main Street.
Nicole urges everyone to support the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, whether by walking, donating a basket, supporting the basket raffle or buying an elephant cookie.
