By Tricia Pursell
SELINSGROVE — They stop by to play cards, talk, enjoy a meal — even to exercise.
Valley seniors rely on senior centers to not only pass the time, but to make their lives a little bit richer.
“I believe overwhelmingly the centers are like a lifeline,” said Holly Kyle, director of the Union-Snyder Agency on Aging Inc., which oversees centers in Selinsgrove, Lewisburg, Penns Creek, New Columbia, Beaver Springs, and western Union County. “They are a place for folks to gather and spend time together with people.”
Four of the centers are celebrating their 35th anniversary this month — Lewisburg celebrated on Sept. 16. The New Columbia and Beaver Springs centers were also established in September 1974.
Two original sites in Middleburg and Mifflinburg were combined into the Penns Creek Adult Resource Center several years ago, and then West End was added later for Union County.
Selinsgrove Senior Center, at 8 N. Water St., will host a 35th anniversary celebration on Thursday, complete with music and decorations. Last week, several members were busy making tiny cross-stitch baskets with the number “35” stitched in them to hand out to the nearly 80 people expected to attend. All three Snyder County Commissioners are also expected to attend and speak at the celebration.
Diane Curley, Selinsgrove site manager for the past three years, said she and the members began planning an anniversary celebration about a year ago.
“Little by little, it began to take shape,” she said.
Curley took over for Joan Spangler, founding member, who passed away in 2007.
In fact, many of the members have been lost due to illness and death.
“People get older and pass away,” Curley said. They become frail and have to move to nursing homes. Others lose interest or have another interest that takes up most of their time, she added. And the younger seniors, many times because of economic conditions, are too busy baby-sitting their grandchildren or running other errands, to attend events at the center.
There are currently between 80 and 100 members at the Selinsgrove location, though not all of them are active, Curley said.
Curley plans to implement a few new ideas and maybe even revive activities that were popular in the years past, in order to draw more interest.
“People like it the way it is,” Curley said, “but as the economy changes, you need to change with it. We need to draw in younger people and keep them.”
To make a center last for 35 years, Curley said it also takes “commitment from older people.” After all, she said, “It really is their place, their space to come in and be comfortable.”
According to Kyle, the average age of most center participants is 75. “They are likely to need those social connections that they might not otherwise have in their lives.”
Like member Anne Lane, for example. “It’s a nice place for people to go when you’re alone like I am,” she said of the Selinsgrove center. She has been a member for about six years, and is currently in charge of putting photos from their activities and trips into the center’s many scrapbooks.
Ruth Bahner, 86, said she likes mixing in with the people. She lives alone, and it’s nice to get out, she said. She also enjoys going on the many trips. Her sister, Cardella Shamp, passed away in January. At 103, she was the center’s oldest member.
“I’m very active,” said Dora Basom. She began coming to the center in 1963. She used to live alone, and now resides at Penn Manor. She comes to the center twice a week.
Nick and Leona Lair have been members for 10 years. Leona is the treasurer.
“We have a lot of fun ... for old people,” she joked. “It’s important to have friends.”
“You need your family, but you need friends too,” agreed Erma Hawley, whose husband Butch is the president. A native of Selinsgrove, she said many of the people at the center are those she knew when they were all kids growing up together.
Membership is free. Members must be 60 or older. There is a suggested donation of $2.50 per meal, which is served at 11:30 a.m. This month, on Monday nights, dinner will be served instead of lunch, for the same donation. The center also offers local and special trips, bingo, pinochle, speakers, rummikub and a number of other activities, in addition to local trips to restaurants and markets, and special trips to places such as a casino or a dinner theater every other week.
Speakers are scheduled regularly, and share on topics such as health issues and the latest scams of which to beware. Regular blood pressure checks and health screenings are also available.
