At Home In Melrose’s July 26th ice cream social held in Mike and Sandy Festa’s extraordinary Boston Rock Road gardens made us all forget the weather.

The guests—Melrose residents who had attended the May 21st At Home In Melrose (AHIM) open house and the friends they were encouraged to bring—enjoyed Mike-led tours of the gardens, lots of ice cream with toppings, and some good conversation.

The former Massachusetts Secretary of Elder Affairs, longtime advocate for seniors and AHIM Steering Committee member, Mike spoke about the importance of people remaining in their own homes as they grow older, and the usefulness of organizations like At Home In Melrose.

Addressing the question of whether membership in a group like AHIM is really worth the cost was Betsy Peterson, a charter member and current Board member of Beacon Hill Village. Beacon Hill is the first “retirement village” and the prototype for comparable groups being developed across the country. Betsy spoke enthusiastically about why she joined Beacon Hill and why she stays with it. Mary Edwards, AHIM’s president, concluded with a summary of AHIM’s current status and distributed a new brochure listing the services AHIM anticipates providing to its members.

The guests listened attentively and posed lots of questions afterwards. Asked “Do you think you’ll want to join At Home In Melrose?” the majority answered with an eager “Yes!”

Stay tuned, everybody!