By Jacqueline Kimball
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE
When Mary Jo Buckingham and Joan Eckhardt become neighbors at Hickory Chase they’ll continue a pattern that started when they attended West High School together. They sang in the choir, joined friends for milkshakes at The Chatterbox, and went to dances at Buckeye Lake. They even worked together at Ohio Bell. And now both of these northwest Columbus neighbors have joined the Hickory Chase priority list. Each wants to reserve her place in line for a home at the Erickson retirement community under construction in Hilliard.
Their friendship has never wavered, especially during the recent past when they were caregivers— Buckingham for her husband and Eckhardt for her father-in-law.
Eckhardt joined the priority list several months before her friend. Actually, she’d signed up at a different retirement community, “But when I became more aware of what was happening at Hickory Chase, I changed my mind. I’m so impressed with John Erickson. Everything he does is to make seniors happier.” She wishes she’d joined earlier.
Because of her experience, Ekhardt encouraged her friend to take her time and research a range of retirement communities. So Buckingham did, and she concluded that Hickory Chase was the place for her because of its 100% refundable entrance deposit, its myriad of amenities and activities, and its affordable monthly service package. The monthly service package includes all maintenance and repairs on the apartment home, employees’ wages, taxes, all utilities except for telephone, and one meal a day at Hickory Chase’s Audubon Restaurant or Meadowlark Café.
Buckingham has also contacted friends she considered knowledgeable about retirement communities. “They’ve all talked about moving to Hickory Chase,” she says. “That’s helped me decide I’m making the right choice.”