A FAMILY TRADITION Pleasant View celebrates decades of care

PHOTO FROM PLEASANT VIEW’S WEBSITE
Pleasant View Skilled Nursing & Rehab celebrated its 50th anniversary last week but the center at 401 Snyder Ave., Barberton, has a history that began decades earlier at a home in Norton. The company continues to be owned by the same family and a fourth generation is now one of the administrators.

 

Seven siblings own Pleasant View Skilled Nursing and Rehab and they all came together at Pleasant View July 9 to celebrate the 50th anniversary and invited past and present employees. From left, siblings and owners Robert Morris, Lucy Majorkiewicz, Joseph Morris, Teresa Morris, Richard Morris, Margaret Elsner, Edward Morris. 

PHOTO BY CHRISTINA McCUNE | BGNN
Pleasant View Executive Director Richard Morris July 9 at the 50th anniversary celebration.

By CHRISTINA McCUNE
BGNN managing editor

BARBERTON  Fifty years ago, Pleasant View Skilled Nursing & Rehab opened at 401 Snyder Ave.

But the story of Pleasant View began decades before then.

The history begins in the 1940s in a house in Norton with a nurse named Olive who had an especially big heart. She ran the rest home which had room for more than 20 beds. Her son, Ken Morris, and his wife, Eileen, carried on her tradition and they both became licensed so they could take over and run the business.

Fast forward to 2025 and Olive Allenbaugh Morris’ seven grandchildren continue to carry on their parents’ and grandmother’s tradition and continue to own Pleasant View, which is now a 121-bed skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility.

About 25 years ago, Pleasant View expanded to offer the 49-unit Pleasant Pointe Assisted Living next door at 220 Third St. SE.

The seven siblings – one from as far away as California – returned to Barberton for a 50th anniversary celebration of Pleasant View at the Snyder address, which included a lunch, games and some awards recognizing longtime employees. Many employees and retirees and family members enjoyed the luncheon and reuniting with each other.

Executive director Richard Morris welcomed everyone to the celebration. His nephew, Matt Morris, is an administrator representing a fourth generation running Pleasant View. He began working there at 18 in the dietary department and worked in different departments to understand the inner workings as he worked his way up to administrator. One of Richard’s sisters, Teresa Morris, is the administrator at Pleasant Pointe. Other siblings are Robert Morris, Lucy Majorkiewicz, Joseph Morris, Margaret Elsner and Edward Morris.

In 1975, Pleasant View welcomed its first resident at the Snyder Avenue address.

Robert Morris said it’s interesting to note that his father was an only child. He had seven children and he cared for residents like they were his family. He came from a small family but he quickly grew it.

“He truly cared about the families and the residents,” Robert Morris said about his Dad, Kenneth. “I think he really treated everybody like family.”

A true testament to the dedication of the family and the care they have provided is what the many longtime employees who have since retired had to say about working with the family and at the facilities.

Sharon Welch, of Barberton, began working at Pleasant View when she was only 17 years old. She was known as a cook and a “tray girl” at the time. Her mother worked there as an aide. She attended Kent State University and worked her way up and retired as dietary manager after 44 years.

“I enjoyed the residents,” she said. “That was No. 1. We enjoyed taking care of the residents.”

Her sister, June Mayfield, also of Barberton, also worked there. And both Sharon and June had children – representing a third generation of their family – who worked at Pleasant View.

“I miss the residents,” said Welch, who retired December 2023. “We worked as a team. We were all here for the same reason. It was our life. … It was a lot of work but we didn’t consider it work.”

Nancy Ridenhour, of Portage Lakes, worked for 29 years in the laundry department.

“I enjoyed the parties they had,” she said.

Christmas and Thanksgiving parties for residents and staff were a highlight through the year.

Ridenhour said the staff and residents all felt like a family. She said she used to enjoy visiting with residents and making them laugh. She has retired but she returns to Pleasant View because her sister is being taken care of at the facility. She said she knows she’s in good hands there.

“I miss the co-workers,” she said. “I miss the residents.”

Paula Stefan, of Norton, and Peggy Canada, of Barberton, both were caregivers at the original convalescent home in Norton and also worked at the Snyder Avenue facility. The two have been friends for decades. They both have fond memories working for the Morris family and taking care of the residents.

“They trusted us,” Canada said. “We would make sure everything was done.”
Stefan said she became close to the family.

“I would come back in a minute,” Stefan said.

• This story has been updated from the print version to make a correction to a family tie.