Area senior centers offer plenty for young at heart

The National Council on Aging (NCOA) calls local senior centers gateways to the nation’s aging network, connecting older adults to vital community services that can help them stay healthy and independent.

Bartlett, Arlington and Lakeland have senior centers offering a wide range of activities and services.

That’s a good thing, according to the NCOA: Compared with their peers, senior center participants have higher levels of health, social interaction and life satisfaction.

Bartlett Senior Center

Candace Ward, facility manager for the Bartlett Senior Center, explained the center includes six classrooms and additional meeting rooms, computer lab, exercise room, billiard room with two pool tables, book exchange library and TV room, along with several multipurpose rooms.

On a weekly basis, the center offers Zumba and tai chi classes, as well as Spanish and ceramics. The center has its own kiln. There also is a golf league and a cycling club.

Ward said 90 percent of the classes are free. There is a membership fee of $15 annually for adults 50 and older. There is no residency requirement, so adults throughout the area are welcome.

Ward said the center currently has some 1,700 members and estimated that some 150 people visit daily. Tours are conducted daily with no appointment needed.

The Bartlett Senior Center is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday. It is at 5727 Woodlawn St., across from Bartlett High School.

Upcoming special events include a May 5 member plant exchange for bulbs, cuttings and other plantings, and a trip to the Trenton Teapot Museum on June 5.

Ward said, “One of the things we hear most often is how welcoming our members are, that the center brings about a change in independence, with friendly community members here to welcome them.”

Arlington Senior Center

The Arlington Senior Center is housed in a 2003 replica of the Withe Depot built the 1800s.
Director Betty Russell said, “We love our seniors and love on them, we like to make them feel welcome and special.”

Located at 6265 Chester St., the center is open to persons 50 and older, and there is no residency requirement.

There is a membership fee of $12 a year.

The center has one large meeting room, which accommodates about 50 people at capacity and offers a variety of activities each week.

Low-impact exercise is offered on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Sewing is offered on Tuesdays, with a variety of projects, primarily charity work, where a range of hand-sewn items from clothing to blankets are donated to various nonprofit organizations. Members bring their own sewing machines.

A music program is offered on Tuesday afternoons for members to share their talents playing instruments and singing.

Every Wednesday a heath information program outlines information about programs, agencies and companies offering services for seniors.

On Thursdays the center offers its MAGI program (Mature Adults Getting Involved), which includes lunch and games. Friday nights have bingo and a meal.

One of the things Russell finds unique about Arlington’s senior center is the focus on health, with its Wednesday program. The center also holds a fall health fair and other health programs throughout the year in partnership with Saint Francis Hospital.

Russell said, “The biggest benefit of membership in the Arlington Senior Center for seniors is finding a place where they are loved, given a lot of attention in a place where they can learn a lot, feel good, and age gracefully.”

Married for nearly 64 years, June and John Wyatt of Arlington, ages 82 and 85, visit the center every week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They love to dance and can be found on Tuesdays waltzing and doing the two-step during the music program, and on Thursdays they enjoy singing hymns and eating the the potluck lunch.

“It’s a marvelous place to go and be with people our age. We’ve made innumerable friends, and the staff is absolutely wonderful,” June Wyatt said.

Lakeland Senior Center

The Lakeland Senior Center is at 4527 Canada Road, inside the grounds of International Harvester (IH) Managerial Park. The center is open to adults age 55 and older.

There is no membership fee or residency requirement, and almost all of the activities are free.
The 1,700-square-foot facility was completed in 2012. Manager Marilyn Parker, who joined the center in December 2014, staffs the center part-time.

“Our facility is very inviting,” she said. “It has a residential feel and is very modern. Located on 65 acres, it’s very nature oriented, where you’ll see deer, and ducks on the lake.”

Activities include Lakeland Fitness and Silver Sneakers low-impact exercise on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

Mondays also include “Jammin’ at the Senior Center,” when members play acoustic instruments.
The first and third Mondays each month also offer bunko gaming as well as quilting, knitting, sewing and other crafts.

Tuesday’s activities include karaoke and Mexican tile dominos.

Other activities during the week include a Bible study class, beginners’ tap dancing and bingo, along with quarterly luncheons.

A den area for watching TV and a reading nook also are available.

Parker encourages people to visit the center on the first Friday of each month for “Coffee and Chat” from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., to meet, mingle and make new friends.