In 1955, Melvin A. Gerspacher, Chairman of The Gerspacher Companies, established Medina's first locally owned and operated building company to accommodate the influx of people into Medina. Throughout the following years, Melvin's built hundreds of homes for the newly arriving residents. In 1968, the head of the local Senior Citizen Group suggested Melvin build some type of retirement community, but when Melvin approached the Zoning Board with his proposal, they turned him down flat, saying they couldn't allow that type of building in Medina, they had to protect their citizens!

Melvin returned to the senior group, gave them the news, and told them, "If you want it to happen, you're going to have to change their minds." The senior group packed the next meeting of the Chamber of Commerce, and permission was finally granted. The primary condition for obtaining permission was that Melvin had to place a six foot, steel mesh fence around the entire project to protect the community from the seniors. Not wanting to offend his future residents, Melvin decided to put up a wood fence to hide the steel one. Thirty-seven years later, the original fence is still standing, rusting with age, but covered to this day by Melvin's wooden fence.

The new retirement community was an immediate hit, and constantly filled with appreciative residents. In the mid-1980s, Medina was still growing so rapidly, that Melvin decided to build another retirement community which would be nestled among the trees on what, at the time, was still primarily farmland. The new facility was completed in 1986 and named Forest Meadows Villas. This time there were no problems with the Zoning Board.

We visited Forest Meadows Villas recently, and listened as Melvin, his son and Vice President David Gerspacher, and Manager Agnes Keenan offered this overview of the care-free lifestyle of Forest Meadows Villas;

Forest Meadows Villas is an 135 unit independent living facility located on over fourteen acres with a four acre spring fed lake. It's a wonderful place to retire, almost like a city within a city. You'll have a yard filled with beautiful flowers, your own front porch for relaxing during warm, summer evenings, and a garden area right outside the back door of your kitchen. With Forest Meadows Villas taking care of all your home maintenance, you can take a stroll along our lake shore, watch the geese, treat yourself to a paddle boat ride, or just bait your hook and loaf a little.

We have one bedroom, two bedroom, and townhouse units, with ninety percent of our apartments having a covered car porch. We have eye doctors, foot doctors, hearing doctors, and medical doctors who come to Forest Meadows so you needn't travel downtown, and we can arrange for physical therapy or occupational therapy as needed. We have our own doctor, our head nurse lives on the property, and we have alarms in every apartment in case of emergency.

We have a retired minister living on the property who leads Bible studies. Each week we invite ministers from different local congregations to lead our regular Sunday church services. After church services, our sweet shop serves ice cream sodas, sundaes, and free popcorn. Tuesday afternoons are for sing-a-longs, and on weekends we can roll out our 61 inch TV for watching the ball games.

Forest Meadows Villas is its own voting precinct, so you don't even have to leave the property to vote. We have three or four people on hand every year from January to mid-April to help our residents with their income taxes. Our facility is close to many fine shopping opportunities, and we have our own mini-bus service to aid our residents with their travel needs.

Each of our apartments includes a frost-free refrigerator/freezer, self-cleaning stove, and four foot full showers in the upper baths. Paid water, sewer, refuse, and maintenance are included, and our clubhouse is available for showers, anniversary celebrations, family reunions, club meetings, and birthday parties.

Experience and savor a uniquely new life style of relaxed, carefree, yet secure daily living at Forest Meadows Villas. All of your needs will be taken care of in our city within a city, or you can take off for a day, week, month, or all winter knowing we'll be here to watch your home while you're gone.

Forest Meadows Villas provides a maintenance-free lifestyle that allows time to do the things you've always wanted. Call Forest Meadows Villas today, and don't forget to tell them The Advocate sent you!

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