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No 'Humbug' at Balfour
Louisville Times
December 13, 2000
By Amy Partain
Staff Writer
LOUISVILLE — The Grinch and Scrooge would not survive in the cheerful holiday setting of Balfour Retirement Community for Boulder County in Louisville. But the residents who live there thrive on the holiday cheer that abounds, thanks to the decorations and spirit of Robert Sytten, facilities manager. Residents and visitors are greeted in the lobby by several animated decorations and a train surrounding a large tree. Garland swags beneath the ceiling of the dining room and a second holiday train makes its way along a ledge in one wing of the facility.
This is the second year Sytten has decorated the building, which opened in May 1999. The display this year is bigger than last year's display, and Sytten plans for the display to grow each year.
"This building is too big to just put up a tree or to be chintzy with decorations," he said.
Sytten plans to decorate an additional room each year until the entire building is filled with decorations. Last year he started with the lobby and this year added the dining room and areas of the second floor. Next year he hopes to add the great room.
"I love anything that moves and I hate things that just stand still," he said. "Unfortunately they had better decorations a few years ago when I was doing this for Manor Care. They had this Santa that climbed a ladder. It was great."
Since he thinks on grand scale for his decorating, Sytten said he waits until the Christmas season is over and buys most of the decorations at half to a quarter off the regular prices.
This year it took Sytten three days to put up the decorations, but he is looking forward to the day it takes him a month.
As much time and effort as Sytten puts into his decorations at work, one would think his home would have to be a holiday masterpiece. But Sytten is Jewish, and therefore does not decorate his home for the Christmas season.
Sytten said as a boy he wanted to have a tree, but wasn't able to have one until he was an adult and owned his own business in California. His home still does not have a tree, but he is able to enjoy decorating for the season through his job.
"If you are Jewish you don't decorate, it is like a slap in the face," he said. "The first time I ever put up a tree was when I owned my hobby shop."
Sytten pays homage to the eight years he owned the shop by using only the best trains as part of Balfour's decorations.
The elaborate holiday decorating that Sytten enjoys started when he worked at Manor Care in Boulder before coming to work at Balfour. He said one year he saw the tree that was put up at Manor Care and thought it pitiful that one tree was the extent of the decorating, so he asked to take over.
"I love old people with a passion," he said.
"They deserve the best and they are here to have the best of things. It is like having millions of grandmas and grandpas. They are so sweet and appreciate even the littlest things you do for them."
His biggest worry, Sytten said, is what owner Michael Schonbrun will think about the decorations. Not that Sytten needs to worry, because Schonbrun feels Sytten and his decorating add a sense of family to the Balfour community.
"The most compelling thing about the decorations is the delight the residents take in the property that looks like a cross between their own homes and FAO Schwartz, the famed department store in New York, and the country clubs many they used to belong to," Schonburn said.
"It helps them to feel very much alive and that they are part of a living, thriving community."
Schonbrun said one of the biggest issues in having a successful senior living facility is making it feel like home or at least reminding residents of a place where they felt special.
"Much of what Robert does, both in his day job and his decorating, helps provide that feeling," Schonbrun said. "He customizes their living quarters so the rooms will accommodate more of their possessions and pictures. He helps make this a real home for them. His entertaining and decorating are all particularly valuable in making the Balfour experience a special one."
Christmas is not the only holiday Sytten decorates for. He said Easter is actually his favorite holiday to decorate, because he made all of the decorations he uses for that holiday. He also decorates for July 4th and Halloween. In the summer, the residents have a luau complete with a miniature erupting volcano.
One addition Sytten hopes to add to next year's Christmas decorations is a snow scene, created by a snow machine that creates plastic flakes. Eventually, Sytten hopes to add decorations to the exterior of the building, but said that is least important to him.
"Outside decorations don't impress people unless they are really elaborate," he said. "Right now I'm more into the detailed lighting structures I can do inside."
Sytten is also looking forward to having a new canvas for his decorations when an assisted living center is completed across the street from the retirement community.
The only hindrance to his plan might be that Schonbrun insists the Christmas decorations not go up until the day after Thanksgiving. In addition to decorating and taking care of the facilities, Sytten also plays songs on a keyboard about four hours each week and entertains the residents with his accordion and unicycle. He maintains two aquariums, one saltwater and one freshwater, in the building, and plans to replace one with a 500-gallon aquarium.
People like Sytten who thoroughly enjoy what they do are rare, Schonbrun said, and Balfour is better for having him on staff.
"What Robert does is a labor of love, not just an obligation he has to do to get a paycheck. He does everything in such a cheery way," Schonbrun said. "They broke the mold when they made Robert. Sometimes you are fortunate to find someone who was born to do a kind of work, and Robert is like that, which is why we feel so blessed to have him."
Although he has had other jobs, including owning the hobby shop and working for Disney for a few months, Sytten said no job has been as wonderful and fulfilling as the one he currently holds.
"I love this job," Sytten said. "I've never had a job I loved as much as I love this one. I get to play a lot and that is part of what makes it great."