Salado Center Senior offers area residents an enriching environment
By AMY ROGNLIE | Photos courtesy of SALADO SENIOR CENTER
Walk in the door of the Salado Senior Center, and you will be greeted by warm smiles, a hearty welcome, and the busy hum of a lot of happy people. Celebrating its one-year anniversary on June 17, the senior center has already been a resounding success and is serving a great need in the community.
“I was feeling not needed and in the way, (but) the Salado Senior Center gave me worth and wanted me to be there,” said center member J.L. Alley.
The center’s mission is to provide a safe, friendly, enriching environment for seniors to engage with others who share the desire for independence and a more complete community life. Currently, the senior center meets at Salado United Methodist Church, and has more than 270 members. Membership is free, and everyone age 55 and older is welcome to join the fun. The center is open every Monday and Thursday and is bursting at the seams with 75 plus seniors attending each day, some from as far away as Morgan’s Point, Jarrell, Belton and Georgetown.
“It just keeps growing,” board member Dave Swarthout said. “We’d love to eventually get our own building so we can be open five days a week.”
For now, the board is working on adding a third day to the schedule. The center offers game time each Monday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the coffee pot is always on. Snacks (sometimes homemade) are available all day, with popcorn being a fan favorite. There is almost always a dominoes game or bridge hand going on, with plenty of laughter sprinkled in. The crochet group is also popular, and the outdoor pickleball and cornhole area sees some great matches played. Thursdays are bingo days, and exercise classes like yoga or tai chi are offered as well.
“Sometimes folks come in to do one thing, like play dominoes or bridge, but then they get involved when they see all the other activities we offer,” volunteer Trish Weigand said.
The arts and crafts classes are a big hit, including projects such as painting birdhouses or learning to quilt. Seniors are also treated to presentations from groups such as the Central Texas Master Gardeners. In addition, members can attend a book club in conjunction with the Salado Public Library, take a seminar on Medicare, learn about fraud prevention, or play mahjong. If that is not enough, the Salado Senior Center’s staff throw a huge party each month for all the members who have birthdays.
“We go all out,” said Jane Avila, the center’s activities director. “We have a theme each month, and a whole team of hostesses that decorate the center.”
Local artists play live music and dancing is encouraged. The June birthday celebration theme is “Back to the ‘50s” with plans for a soda jerk, poodle skirts and records from the ’50s along with live music.
“My favorite part about volunteering at SCC is meeting people and seeing them change and blossom,” Weigand said. “That’s the most wonderful thing. Some people don’t have anyone, and coming to the senior center gives them something to look forward to; to have a support system — almost like family.”
SCC’s board and staff members are all volunteers, but they apparently have as much fun as the seniors.
“We feel like we are the ones who are blessed,” Weigand said. “All the staff says that all the time.”
The senior center’s big first anniversary celebration on June 17 will include a lunch where donors and volunteers will be recognized. The village of Salado elected officials will be present, and local musician Paul Cox will provide live music.
Salado Senior Center
Address: 650 Royal St., Salado
Phone: 254-271-2415
Website: saladoseniorcenter.org
Facebook: facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090906063707
