ESCANABA -- Major League Baseball teams are now in spring training.  And residents at Christian Park Village in Escanaba celebrated by having a spring training party.    

“Baseball you play when you're a kid,” said resident, Pete Peterson.  “You make a lot of good friends, learn a little teamwork."

Marion Wendrick said she's a Detroit Tigers fan.  She fondly remembers baseball as a childhood pastime.    

“I remember playing with the neighborhood kids on the street,” said Wendrick.  When I was in high school, we played baseball in the gym."

But the party helps them on a bigger scale.

“The activities programming is critical,” said facility administrator, Lynnette Johnson.  “It keeps residents in life in general."

The facility is committed to enhancing their quality of life.

“We have an activities director,” Johnson said.  “And then we also have an activities assistant.  So those are the two people who’re in charge of making sure our residents are actively involved."

The baseball party helps them socialize and stay connected.  And there was even a baseball-themed bingo game.   

“Bingo is the biggest one,” Johnson said.  “Bingo is something that they all love to do."

And there are many parties and activities for the 59 residents to participate in.  There are 140 fun activities planned at Christian Park Village every month.  But the activities director also plans things on a smaller scale for residents who want to have fun, but not with a big crowd.