‘Malted milk and the cookies’ reunited at Adult Day Program
When Pete Domeier walked through the front doors of the Caring Partners Adult Day Program in Rochester, he brought smiles back to the faces of those who remembered him. For others, they quickly noticed his easygoing nature and positive attitude.
Pete came dressed for the party wearing cargo shorts, a t-shirt under a short sleeved dress shirt left casually unbuttoned, and a hat. “I don’t want to get sunburned,” he joked, tipping his hat in response.
It was Beach Party day at the Caring Partners Adult Day Program and participants dressed for the occasion wearing bright colors, sunglasses, and plenty of patterned clothing. The building was decorated with beach toys, buckets, shovels and shells.
Pete’s part was to strum along to the summer songs and play the old classics.
“It’s been four years,” Pete commented. He used to be a regular volunteer at the adult program, but moved away so he could help his own parents and be closer to them. That was in 2011, “So good to be back,” he smiled.
However his Salvation Army story didn’t start with volunteering, but addiction and a little happenstance.
Starting to Volunteer
In 2010 he decided to quit smoking, and a doctor recommended that he go to the Good Samaritan Health Clinic at the Rochester Salvation Army where he could participate in the Smoking Cessation program. For about four months he met with a counselor every week and received free medication to help him quit.
It wasn’t long after his successful treatment that he started to volunteer.
A flexible work schedule allowed him to set up, serve and cleanup lunches for the afternoon meal. He essentially worked one week and would volunteer the next, which allowed him multiple days in a row to volunteer and really bond with everybody.
The more he volunteered, the more he struck up conversations and it got to the point where Pete would stay later and later everyday. It was during a conversation when he made a quick compliment about a guest’s guitar and even more quickly everybody realized he could play.
That’s the point where he went from volunteer to “leader of the pack.”
Bringing Music to the Adult Day Center
Nearly every day after that he would bring his guitar and sing for the crowd, but Pete didn’t want to just share his music, he wanted to include everybody.
“We should write a song,” he said. That would be the beginning of a mad-lib like writing process.
Pete would write lyrics down and ask a participant for a color, or an animal, or whatever blank that needed to be filled. Then he would ask participants for five cords and he’d create a melody. The writing was a hit, so much so, the group recorded an album. They called themselves “Malted Milk and the Cookies.”
“I’m Malted Milk,” Pete declared, “And these are my cookies.”
Pete and the group built a tight bond and since his move out of Rochester, he hasn’t been able to find anything like the experience he had at the Adult Day Program.
During his return visit he was back to his old ways and picked up right where he left off. It came as no surprise when he jumped in to help serve lunches and clear the plates. Afterwards he also grabbed the guitar and “Malted Milk and the Cookies” was back on center stage.
“You may not play dance music, but that doesn’t mean we won’t dance anyway,” proclaimed Cyndy Gove, director of the Caring Partners Adult Day Program.
“It’s fun playing for the folks here,” said Pete, once again taking in the energy of the eagerness and excitement that fills the room. “It was very inspirational to do that with them,” he smiled.