Homestead Village Celebrates the Grand Opening of the Stauffer Spring House

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February 19, 2025

 

The Stauffer Spring House, now open at The Farmstead at Homestead Village, is a place where residents and their invited guests can gather for meals, fitness, and fellowship.  The new Spring House Chef has been in the restaurant business for over 40 years, has owned his own bakery, and also has experience in senior living.  He makes all pastries, such as Danishes, muffins, and flatbreads, from scratch and is a great addition to the culinary staff at Homestead Village.  


The story behind the Stauffer Spring House name is meaningful for donors Peggy, Judy and Roger who named the club house in honor of memories of summer picnics at the neighboring Lime Spring Farm.    

As told by Homestead Village Residents Peggy Neff and Judy Sandt; 

 

A little slope-roofed shed that the Stauffer family called “the spring house” contained all the chairs, games amenities, and the wood for an open, stone fireplace. This shed, with its contents and two privies, facilitated having a gathering space for picnickers. It was a wonderful time. Each summer through the 1950s and 1960s, Peggy Neff (a long-time Homestead Village Resident who formerly lived at Lime Spring Farm) would walk to the lime spring and pick watercress galore. Then, her mother would use it to make sandwiches. 

Her Aunt Gertrude Stauffer had a stone foot bridge built circa 1960 making crossing from the east bank of the spring to the west side picnic area a straight shot from the parking area. 

Aunt Gertrude insisted that the farmer keep one field, just east of the lane, unplanted. She wanted to be sure there was ample parking for picnickers. They all worried that cars would get stuck in the mud. Aunt Gertrude welcomed neighbors and friends who requested having their family reunions there; and, civic groups their annual picnics. Various grades from neighboring Rohrerstown Elementary School would walk from the school to have picnics in the lime spring. Horseback riders could ride a sleepy Running Pump Rd. to and from “the Tennis and Riding Club” (Now Tennis and Yacht Club) to and from Lime Spring farm. They’d walk out the front lane to Marietta Pike and ride up into Chestnut Hill. Or, take a side lane (approximately where Farmstead and Noll Drive are) up to Rohrerstown. 

Peggy remembers games of badminton and quoits. Special to her was entertaining the children (Judy Stauffer Sandt and Andy Stauffer). They looked through the picnic area grass for 4-leaf clovers and walked to the stone footbridge, where she told them to look for fish. She added, “Of course, we never saw any fish.” Hearing the whistle of an approaching train, they’d take the short walk down the lane to the railroad bridge. As the lengthy open-car train neared the overpass, Peggy instructed the kids to wave frantically to the engineer for the reward of his return waves and a toot of the whistle. 

Flashing forward to the present, or about 80 years, our desire for socialization and communal recreation endures. And with these fond memories in mind, Peggy Neff, Roger, and Judy Sandt, who now live at Homestead Village, have stepped up to provide financial support for the club house at Homestead Village; naming it the “Stauffer Spring House.” Though the location and the building will be new, its purpose as a gathering place remains largely the same. The Stauffer Spring House will provide a commons for meals, camaraderie, learning, fitness, and celebrations.   Several other donors who wish to remain anonymous have also contributed towards the project.  We look forward to the Stauffer Spring House being a center for Homestead Village residents for years to come! 

About Homestead Village

Homestead Village is a CARF-CCAC accredited Life Plan Community (Formerly known as a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC)) that encompasses 262 cottages, villas, and carriage homes, 111 apartments that are dual-licensed for personal care, and a 60-bed skilled nursing center. The community is situated on 90 beautiful, tree-lined acres just minutes from vibrant downtown Lancaster, with convenient access to shopping, health care, and cultural opportunities. Homestead Village’s newest expansion, The Townstead apartments, will add 73 additional luxury apartment homes and revitalize campus amenities.

Campus amenities include the new Stauffer Spring House club house and restaurant, Plow and Pineapple Cafe, chapel, indoor pool, fitness center, walking track, woodshop, community event center, pickleball court, and more! Adjacent to campus is Rader Park, which features walking trails, shared community garden plots, and a quiet meditation grove. Resident opportunities include a variety of wellness, volunteerism, travel, and life-long learning programs, as well as a continuum of care services. 

Homestead Village provides enhanced senior living with a THRIVE WHERE YOU ARE® philosophy. To learn more, visit https://www.homesteadvillage.org/ or connect with Homestead Village on Facebook.