(1955 to 1963)

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In September of 1955, Jack O. and Mabel Phillips along with Grover and Nellie Phillips purchased the Bradley home and established a nursing home. In December of 1956, Howard W. and Eloise Shaffer bought the property and the nursing home business, branding it the Golden Age Nursing Home.

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Eloise was a nurse by training and oversaw the home’s operations while husband Howard was the facilities manager.

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The Schaffers operated the nursing home at the Bradley home until 1963. Records show that they had as many as 62 residents and 20 employees at one time while at the Bradley home. Recollections from family members are that patients who were no longer mobile lived on the third floor in the ballroom, which afforded more mobile patients the lower two stories.

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The Bradley home served as the Golden Age Nursing Home until 1962. At this time, both the nursing home and Centerville Community College were looking to expand their operations. Centerville Community College purchased the home for $50,000. The Golden Age Nursing Home built a new facility that opened in 1963 on the South side of Centerville, along Highway 5, where it still stands today.