Amid the of holiday season, one community seems to remain hidden in the background: the residents at the veterans home of Ventura, Calif.. In a season where social time with loved ones is cherished, many of the senior veterans face challenges. In the residents’ past, holidays were mainly spent deployed away from home. Now, the present challenge of the holidays is the lack of visitors and engagement.
Many of the residents joined the military as young adults who hadn’t gained their footing in the world quite yet. “I grew up basically,” shared Ricardo Menendez, known as Shadow Dancer, who served on an air-evac team in the Air Force. “I had to learn a lot … how to cook, how to do different things,” he added.
Security and staff member James “Jim” Bailey, a veteran of the Air Force himself, had a similar sentiment. “What I liked about [the military] when I was there, you were treated as an adult,” he said. “You learned to enjoy yourself with less … it was grown-up time.”
Dancer is a native of California, with 13th generation roots in Chumash and Mexican heritage. “It was the first time that I had ever left home for a long period,” he said. “The first one was a culture shock … all of a sudden, overnight, [on] an airplane to San Antonio,” Dancer reflected. His basic training was located in San Antonio, Texas.
“[Training] was more mental than physical … I was always an athlete, so the athletic stuff didn’t matter,” Dancer claimed. Afterwards, he joined a flying squadron as a medic, which traveled all across the United States. “The experience of being in places where I was away from family [on] holidays was a thing to adjust to,” he explained.
William “Bill” Spahr, a helicopter mechanic of the Marines, went from his family in Ohio to traveling with the military. Spahr admitted “It’s not really exciting back [in Ohio].” Spahr bounced from Memphis, Tenn. to Jacksonville, Fla., and even to Okinawa, Japan, over the span of a few years. “Okinawa is beautiful from the air, but not if you have to live there in that humidity and heat,” he joked. “We didn’t do much of anything except drink beer and have fun.”
First Sergeant Mack Edwards who served in the Air Force, was drafted into World War II, and spent his basic training in Tinker Field, Okla.. “I spent Thanksgiving with some people in Oklahoma City who were nice enough to invite me to Thanksgiving dinner,” he recalled. Many of Edwards’ holidays during his service were spent away from home, in the field. “It really wasn’t much of a holiday,” he said.
The holidays hit hard not only for those serving, but for their loved ones, too. Jennifer Robertson, a resident of the home and spouse to a veteran, lost her husband in May of 2024 at the veterans home in Fresno, Calif. “I know that [my husband] was a pretty ‘bah humbug’ guy typically for holidays, but he let me celebrate how I wanted,” she said. “I was a big Christmas person … I really missed him this Christmas.”
The home hosts an array of holiday events, to celebrate not only the major holidays, but also personal occasions like birthdays. “We [usually have] some kind of an event for Thanksgiving, for Christmas, and the [veterans’] birthdays,” Edwards said. “Everybody sings ‘happy birthday’ and it’s quite nice,” he said. His own 104th birthday passed on Jan. 10, 2025.
For holidays like Thanksgiving or Christmas, the home provides themed dinners, as well as decorations. Volunteer groups that come to visit and participate in activities like wrapping presents or singing songs are crucial to providing light and cheer for the veterans. On New Year’s Eve, the home hosted a casino themed night complete with roulette and blackjack tables. On birthdays, smaller programs are held in the dining area, often with a live band and music for an hour or two.
“The biggest thing that I see is that very few people have anybody visiting them,” Dancer said. “People get put into these places and they’re forgotten.” Despite having a local network of sisters, brothers and cousins, he is often first to initiate any visitation from family. “When I see people … with families, daughters and whoever [visits] … that makes me feel good,” he said.
Ruthann “Ruthie” McAllister — who has been volunteering at the veterans home on Fridays for eight years — explained, “People have to come out here and participate, and that’s what [the veterans] look forward to … a lot of them don’t have visitors.” After COVID-19, volunteers stopped coming back, and numbers dwindled: McAllister was one who toughed it out. “I know that they appreciate my being out here … it’s extremely reinforcing,” she said.
“[The veterans] like to talk to us. We’re kind of like the person they like to talk to,” Bailey said. “When people want to come over and vent, they come vent to us.” With many of the staff being veterans or ex-military, they’re more than just employees; they’re bonded through service. “[We] will rag on each other, make fun of each other, but we will protect each other at all costs,” he affirmed.
The veterans home of Ventura, Calif., is a residential care facility that offers services to veterans and their spouses who are 55 and older. Amenities are provided, such as daily meals, transportation, healthcare and 24-hour staff service that assist with medicine, laundry and more. The home is the smallest facility in the state and contains space for 60 beds.
The campus has a restaurant style dining room, recreational and activity areas, laundry rooms and private mailboxes to ensure a safe yet independent environment. However, at this chapter of California state veteran homes, all residents must be able to be self-sufficient or not require full assistance.
Veterans, a community of people who gave everything in service, are often overlooked. During the holiday season, having visitation and time with loved ones is hard or even impossible for many of these residents in the facility. The hard work of volunteers and staff at the home to create an engaging environment is appreciated; but the biggest benefit of all is human connection. “They need you,” McAllister said. “They need you.”
The veterans home of Ventura, Calif., is located at 10900 Telephone Rd. in Ventura, Calif. and continues to cherish and appreciate those who served and continue to serve our country.
