Steamboat Springs — Watching a Lawrence Welk holiday special on tape in the community room of the Doak Walker Care Center on Tuesday, Rosa DeVault and Beatrice Parkins put on more of a show than the crooner ever could.

Decked in red and green sweaters and Santa Claus hats, the women had wreaths matching their sweater colors on the front of their walkers – including battery-powered blinking lights.

A gift from DeVault’s niece, the ornamentation added a flash of flair to the room as the residents of the Doak prepared for holiday activities.

The Doak has activities planned throughout Christmas week, including Nintendo Wii bowling, a holiday social and a Christmas Day dinner of turkey and prime rib.

Parkins, who originally is from Jamaica and lived for many years in New York, said she was sad she wouldn’t be able to visit her family in Jamaica this year.

Because of a hip operation, Perkins said, she would be staying in the care center and visiting her “extended family” of friends and visitors, including a family she worked for in New York.

Resident Bettie “Boop” Pierce said she knows what to expect for gifts this year: more Betty Boop memorabilia. When Pierce took an airplane from her native Mississippi to be near her son, Ed Pierce, she didn’t take much with her other than a Betty Boop figurine. When she arrived at the center, she said, she became known as Bettie Boop – a name that has stuck.

“Before that, it was just plain Bettie,” she said.

– To reach Zach Fridell, call 871-4208

or e-mail zfridell@steamboatpilot.com