Golden Agers expanding horizons

A major remodel, a new name and a partnership with Flathead Valley Community College mark a growing role for the Whitefish Community Center.

Jerrel Hudson, president of the Whitefish Golden Agers, which runs the center, said members wanted the name changed from the Whitefish Senior Center because they wanted the facility to play a larger role in the community and because "they didn't want to be called seniors."

That doesn't mean the nonprofit organization has stepped back from its supportive role for seniors. Through October, the Golden Agers delivered 4,160 Meals on Wheels suppers this year and served 2,080 congregate meals at the center. Meals cost $3 but there's no charge if a person is unable to pay, he said.

The three volunteers in the kitchen and two delivering meals put in 4,420 hours this year. Two paid employees, site managers Maura Morberg and Marianne Dyon, work five hours a day helping prepare 16-25 Meals on Wheels suppers a day and feeding 12-20 people per day at the center, Hudson said.

The Golden Agers also provided more than 170 free tax returns this year, and Hudson expects that number to rise to 200 next year. Jim Morrell and Doug Gilbertson, both past Golden Agers presidents, head up the program and recently recruited two more volunteer tax preparers, Hudson said. The free tax service will begin again on Jan. 15.

Hudson says the facility is in "excellent" shape. The building was repainted inside and out about four years ago to preserve the structure and improve its appearance. Seventeen Whitefish community members donated $1,000 apiece for new furniture, provided by Wright's Furniture at cost, Hudson said. Plum Creek provided $4,000 for roof work earlier this year.

In April, screws on the metal roof were tightened or replaced and the metal was repainted, Hudson said.

Hudson describes ownership of the facility as "an unusual situation." The city owns the land, the county owns the building, and the Golden Agers run the center at no cost other than utilities and maintenance.

The city also provides the Golden Agers $1,250 a year to help pay for utilities, which average $391 a month, Hudson said.

The Golden Agers sprung into being in August 1974 in response to an article in the newspaper announcing a meeting for individuals more than 55 years old interested in forming a senior citizens group. For the first two years, the organization rented space in a downtown building.

They broke ground for the current center in June 1976 and moved in that fall. Two years later, having already outgrown the building, the Golden Agers built an addition. Memberships dues are $10 per year.

A wide variety of activities are provided at the center — from bimonthly toenail clinics and blood pressure checks to weekly card games and free line-dancing classes. Seniors and others also gather at the center for Stormy Day Storytellers (last month's topic was favorite pet stories' and Reading Riot, a "different kind of book club" that meets at 1 p.m. on the last Tuesday of the month.

"The biggest problem facing seniors is loneliness," Hudson said, noting that many times the Meals on Wheels delivery people are asked to hang around and talk. "I'd like to stay, but I want to deliver the meals while they're hot, so I don't tarry."

The second biggest problem facing seniors is opening child-proof containers. Hudson cited a man in Olney who turned to a hacksaw to get a prescription-drug container open. Hudson says he's had to use tin snips on occasion to remove a cap.

Getting people to the center for both meals and socialization can be a problem now that Whitefish no longer has a taxi service. Eagle Transit will only pick up seniors on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and they won't go outside their Whitefish pick-up zone, Hudson said. He cited a senior in the Monterra who is legally blind. His wife died the day after they moved into the condominium complex, and Eagle Transit won't service the area, Hudson said..

"Many seniors can afford a taxi service," Hudson said. "And if it's a good service, they will use it. We badly need transportation in Whitefish."

A new offering at the center is the Balancing Act classes put on by Whitefish Sport Center on Wednesday mornings. The hour-long sessions are designed to help seniors improve balance and coordination, which Hudson described as "critical" to the elderly. Twenty-class punch cards for the class are available for $30 or $20 for Golden Agers members.

New this year is a partnership between the center and Flathead Valley Community College. A seven-week "preparation kit for caring of the aged" class recently ended, Hudson said, but coming up is a class on 'singing and speaking Spanish," a seven-week class on use of color for interior decorating and a one-day flyfishing class.

"We're turning into a classroom for the college," Hudson said, noting that this is just one example of how the center is trying to include the entire community, not just seniors.

The Golden Agers receives some funding from the Flathead County Agency on Aging, but they also rely on fundraisers — especially the popular Oktoberfest celebration, which was held this year on Sept. 20. German food was prepared by a crew headed up by Allison Newell, beer was provided by Great Northern Brewery, and music was provided by the Don Lawrence Orchestra and Bavarian Echoes.

"We netted $1,100 from the event," Hudson said, pointing out that numerous businesses across Whitefish donated items for door prizes. "It's the biggest fundraiser and biggest activity we have for the year."

Hudson said a relatively small shortfall in this year's budget will be made up soon, thanks to donations from a number of local businesses.

For more information on the Whitefish Community Center and the Whitefish Golden Agers, call 862-4923, e-mail wfgoldenagers@cyberport.net or visit online at www.whitefishcommunitycenter.org.