Helen Estes, 89, sits under the dryer while getting a perm on Tuesday, June 18, 2019 at King's Daughters Home in Mexico, Mo. Hairdressers come to the home twice a week.
The sun rises near the Audrain County 4-H Center on Friday, June 21, 2019 in Mexico, Mo.
Staff members attend to residents during breakfast on Monday, June 17, 2019 at King's Daughters Home in Mexico, Mo.
Residents attend exercise class on Monday, June 17, 2019 at King's Daughters Home in Mexico, Mo.
The sun sets outside King's Daughters Home on Sunday, June 16, 2019 in Mexico, Mo.
Surrounded by her family, Helen Estes, 89, gets ready for the day on Sunday, June 16, 2019 at King's Daughters Home in Mexico, Mo.
Director of Nursing Kristina Miller wakes up Norma Precht, 93, on Thursday, June 20, 2019 at King's Daughters Home in Mexico, Mo.
Mary Allen, 95, folds her hands while resting in her chair on Sunday, June 16, 2019 at King's Daughters Home in Mexico, Mo.
Mary Lou Enslen, 87, holds her hand over her face while waiting in the gazebo during a fire drill on Thursday, June 20, 2019 at King's Daughters Home in Mexico, Mo. Enslen has dementia.
Yucca flowers bloom outside a house on Thursday, June 20, 2019 in Mexico, Mo.
Onilee Crossland, 92, changes into her pajamas on Wednesday, June 19, 2019 at King's Daughters Home in Mexico, Mo. Crossland purchased her chili pepper earrings during a trip to Texas.
Mandarin jello sits out at dinner on Wednesday, June 19, 2019 at King's Daughters Home in Mexico, Mo.
Doris Alton, 90, peeks out from the bathroom door on Tuesday, June 18, 2019 at King's Daughters Home in Mexico, Mo.
The family of resident Mary Lou Enslen, 87, right, celebrates her husband Harold Enslen's, far right, 90th birthday on Saturday, June 15, 2019 at King's Daughters Home in Mexico, Mo. Mary Lou has dementia, and former Mexico mayor Harold still lives in their house three blocks away. Harold is on the waiting list for the Mexico Veterans Home, but still visits his wife every day.
Lorene Kendall, 98, comforts Nancy Heckman, 81, as Heckman's husband Bill visits her on Thursday, June 20, 2019 at Kings' Daughters Home in Mexico, Mo. Nancy has Alzheimer's and was unable to recognize her husband at the time.
A tree on Highway D on Sunday, June 16, 2019 in Audrain County, Mo.
Virginia Buckner toasts to her 92nd birthday alongside sons John Buckner, left, Chuck Buckner, right, and daughter-in-law Cindy Buckner during a luncheon on Sunday, June 16, 2019 at King's Daughters Home in Mexico, Mo. "Not bad for a country girl," Chuck cheered during the toast.
A Bible turns in the wind in memory of recently departed Ruth Chapman, 96, on Saturday, June 15, 2019 at King's Daughters Home in Mexico, Mo. When a resident dies, staff open the window for the soul to escape before placing a Bible and a yellow rose on their bed.
CMT Katie Bryant helps a resident who wishes to remain unnamed put on her bra on Thursday, June 20, 2019 at King's Daughters Home in Mexico, Mo.
Residents board the bus before going to an outdoor concert downtown on Tuesday, June 18, 2019 at King's Daughters Home in Mexico, Mo.
Trees and Yucca plants reflect in a pickup truck window on Thursday, June 20, 2019 in Audrain County, Mo.
Mary Anne Whalen, 88, and Norma Precht, 93, eat breakfast on Sunday, June 16, 2019 at King's Daughters Home in Mexico, Mo.
Friendship Baptist Church Pastor Glenn Forman hands out hymnals before church service on Sunday, June 16, 2019 at King's Daughters Home in Mexico, Mo. Various local churches take turns traveling to the home's chapel for weekly mass and Bible study.
Jean Mackey, 90, looks out the window hoping to see Clydesdale horses in town for a parade on Wednesday, June 19, 2019 at King's Daughters Home in Mexico, Mo.
A rainy Highway D on Sunday, June 16, 2019 in Audrain County, Mo.
A table is set for a birthday luncheon in the Angel Room on Sunday, June 16, 2019 at King's Daughters Home in Mexico, Mo.
A photo of Mary Lou Enslen as 1949 Miss Auxvasse hangs above her bed at King's Daughters Home on Saturday, June 15, 2019 in Mexico, Mo. Mary Lou has dementia.
Justin Myers, left, and his children Landon, 6, Hudson, 2, and Cora, 4, visit his grandmother Wynema Myers, 83, on Monday, June 17, 2019 at King's Daughters Home in Mexico, Mo.
Mary Allen, 95, takes a nap on Monday, June 17, 2019 at King's Daughters Home in Mexico, Mo.
Director of Nursing Kristina Miller catches her breath after morning medication rounds on Thursday, June 20, 2019 at King's Daughters Home in Mexico, Mo. A single mother of two, Miller has been working longer hours since her daytime nurse recently quit.
Ina Kahmke, 98, reads before bed on Wednesday, June 19, 2019 at King's Daughters Home in Mexico, Mo.
The moon sets as Friday, June 21, 2019 begins in Mexico, Mo.
Mary Allen, 95, sits for a portrait on Tuesday, June 18, 2019 at King's Daughters Home in Mexico, Mo.
A resident is guided back into King's Daughters Home after a fire drill on Thursday, June 20, 2019 in Mexico, Mo.
King's Daughters activity director Terra Hannon leads a game of UNO with Naomi Jean Harp, 77, and Lorene Kendall, 98, right, as a recently deceased resident's body is wheeled away on Tuesday, June 18, 2019 in Mexico, Mo.
Jane Brooks, 87, left, and Patricia Brown, 69, rest together on Thursday, June 20, 2019 at King's Daughters Home in Mexico, Mo.
Not Bad for a Country Girl
Taken during the VII Academy’s The Life That Remains: Photographing America’s Rural Spaces workshop lead by Danny Wilcox Frazier
As 93-year-old Norma Precht says, “This house is old, but it's our home.” King’s Daughters is the oldest, single-owner nursing home in Missouri — and it's only for women. Founded in 1905, the halls are filled with residents' golden glamour shots from what seems like a different life. Although these women are in their winter stages, there's still life within — along with a sense of sisterhood and community.