 The nation’s first senior center, as we know it today, opened in 1943 in New York City to provide educational and recreational activities, as well as case management services, to help the elderly maintain their independence. Fast forward 68 years, and though the purpose basically hasn’t changed, the face of today’s centers is definitely receiving cosmetic surgery, even here in the Wyoming Valley.
Brenda Lispi, senior center services director for the Luzerne/Wyoming Counties Area Agency on Aging, says Baby Boomers are starting to make demands for more physical activity, which is evident on schedules for the 18 centers the agency oversees, available at www.aginglw.org.
There’s Line Dancing and Art Drawing classes at the Charles T. Adams Senior Center in Wilkes Barre; Zumba Gold, a popular new exercise in which you use your hips like the Rumba, in Pittston; and Healthy Steps Exercise in Shickshinny and Dallas. Aerobics classes are offered in Tunkhannock, and Tai Chi and a Gospel Folk Drama Group thrive in Kingston. Staff and volunteers offer a wide variety of activities at each Center.
“Our Center members come to play,” said Sandy Acornley, Center director in Kingston. “They have the attitude that they’re here to enjoy themselves and be entertained.”
All of the Centers have a walking group, according to Lispi, and the Pittston Center has a group that hikes in Francis Slocum State Park.
Many traditional offerings, such as Bingo and shuffleboard, card games and board games, are still offered at each Center; and, guest speakers address topics ranging from healthy eating to dealing with gambling addiction. Healthcare workers provide health checks and volunteers bring a broad array of activities to each Center, speaking on and teaching many different subjects. Perhaps most importantly, there’s socialization.
Anna Gazey, who is 98 years old, comes to the Lee Park Senior Center almost every day.
“I enjoy the people, who are very nice,” she said. “I like to learn about different things. I’m very independent.”
Gazey and her husband, Jake, who is now deceased, used to volunteer at the Center. She now lives in Lee Park Towers and considers it “the most wonderful place in town.”
“We all know each other and check up on each other,” Gazey said.
Senior Centers are open to anyone aged 60 or older and their spouses. There are six full-time centers in the region: Hazleton; Charles T. Adams in Wilkes-Barre and Kingston; and Rose Tucker in Nanticoke, Pittston, and Tunkhannock. Center hours vary and can be found at www.aginglw.org, www.paseniorcenters.org, or by calling the Area Agency on Aging at (570) 822-1158.
A small donation is requested at each Center for yearly dues- for example, $4 a year at the Lee Park Center. No one is turned away if he or she can’t pay. Throughout Pennsylvania, most senior centers receive funding through the Area Agency on Aging for their area. Funding also comes from local organizations, private grants, and municipalities, as well as individual fund-raising activities.
“We’re trying to get more variety in the menu,” Lispi explained. “We’ve added fancier breads, and our Health Plus meal is very popular.”
More traditional fare is still available.
Daily lunches are provided by the county, and a $2 donation is requested. The state awarded grants totaling $3.7 million from Recovery Act Funding last year to improve the nutrition programs for older Pennsylvanians. The funding was used to upgrade kitchens with energy-efficient equipment, comfortable café environments, and the improvement of meals with garden-fresh produce.
You don’t have to be close to the lunch table of Margaret Bullock, Sylvia Scanlon, Janice DeRemer, and Agnes Humnel to know they’re enjoying their lunch.
Humnel worked in the cafeteria of the Wilkes-Barre School District and, upon retiring, decided that she would volunteer with the seniors. She and her friends enjoy the daily meals at Lee Park.
“I hardly ever cook,” Scanlon said.
DeRemer added that she doesn’t have to buy as much food as she did before eating lunch at the Center and feels she’s getting a well-balanced, nutritious meal.
All of the ladies at the table enjoy coming to the Center each day.
“It makes me shower and put my makeup on!,” she concluded.
Luzerne County Senior Centers
Dallas Senior Center
22 Rice Street, Dallas
(570) 675-2179; Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
Butler Twp. Senior Center
413 West Butler Drive, Drums
(570) 788-4881; Monday- Friday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
Edwardsville Senior Center
57 Russell Street, Edwardsville
(570) 287-3381; Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
Freeland Senior Center
701 Chestnut Street, Freeland
(570) 636-1530; Monday- Friday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Hazleton Senior Center
24 East Broad Street, Hazleton
(570) 459-1441; Monday- Friday, 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m.
Kingston Senior Center
680 Wyoming Avenue, Kingston
(570) 287-1102; Monday- Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Mountaintop Senior Center
460 South Main Road, Mountaintop
(570) 868-8517; Monday- Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Email:
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Rose Tucker Center
128 West Washington Street, Nanticoke
(570) 735-1670; Monday- Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Pittston Senior Center
441 North Main Street, Pittston
(570) 655-5561; Monday- Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Plains Senior Center
50 Second Street, Plains
(570) 824-5542; Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
Plymouth Senior Center
160 East Main Street, Plymouth
(570) 779-9664; Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Shickshinny Senior Center
Main & Vine Streets, Shickshinny
(570) 542-4308; Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Charles T. Adams (Wilkes Barre Senior Center)
5 East Market Street, Wilkes-Barre
(570) 825-3484; Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Jewish Community Center (not run by the Area Agency on Aging)
60 South River Street, Wilkes-Barre
(570) 824-4646; Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Lee Park Senior Center
140 Lee Park Avenue, Wilkes-Barre
(570) 825-9883; Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Wyoming County Senior Centers
Lake Winola Senior Center
100 Winola View Drive, Factoryville
(570) 378-3428; Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Falls Senior Center
RR#1, Box 110Q, Falls
(570) 388-2623; Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
Wyoming County Senior Center
101 Dymond Terrace, Tunkhannock
(570) 836-2324; Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. |
