Senior Center to celebrate 40th birthday with barbecue

MOSES LAKE - The Moses Lake Senior Center will celebrate 40 years in the business of serving senior citizens, and raise money to pay off the newly paved parking lot, with a barbecue and dance Saturday afternoon from 2 to 4 p.m. at the center, 608 E. Third Avenue. Don Wentz & the Country Boys will play from 4 to 8 p.m.

Tickets are $10 each for people 13 and older, $5 for children 9 to 12 years of age and $2.50 for children 4 to 8 years of age. Admission for children three years of age and younger is free.

The money will be used to pay costs associated with the parking lot upgrade, said general manager Carry Liles. The parking lot was old and uneven, and had to be fixed before it turned into a safety hazard, Liles said.

The senior center first opened its doors in 1972. "The lady that started this - Sally McLanahan - that was a dream she had. That dream has grown from one little room to the whole building," Liles said.

There's something going on the building every weekday, starting with the coffee drinkers who drop in about 7 a.m. The pool players hang out from about 9 a.m. to noon or so. "Everyone is welcome," including any ladies, said Tom Wooten, president of the pool sharks club. There's a $1 donation.

The center also offers exercise classes at 10 a.m. every weekday. Lunch is served every weekday at noon. People who are 60 years of age and older are served for a suggested donation of $3.25, while people younger than 60 years of age must pay $7.15.

There's a band, and there's been a band for years. "The only things available to begin with were a kazoo, two lids from the kitchen, a piano with sticky keys, an accordion, a beat-up drum and a lady who could play the piano," according to a reminisce published in the senior center's bulletin.

The quilt club, the Creative Cut-Ups, meets Friday; its members make three quilts a year as prizes in fundraising raffles. There's a needlecraft group that meets every Tuesday from 9 to 11 a.m.

Then there's the thrift store, which started out in a back room and now fills about one-third of the building. It provides steady income, and the senior center accepts any and all donations of merchandise. "We take anything and everything. As long as I don't have feed it or water it," Liles said.

The thrift store provides steady income, and the senior center accepts donations for it. "We sell just about anything. We've also sold boats and trailers and cars," Liles said. Senior center members will do estate pickups, where they remove the furniture and belongings after a death.

It's also a center of charitable activities. A one-time distribution of coupons that can be used at farmer's markets is scheduled for Wednesday.

The last Wednesday of each month except July, the Second Harvest program sponsors a food pantry from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. for anyone who needs the food. Some senior center members are part of the Gleaners program, and share some of what they find with the center.

Liles said the building is available for rental to outside groups. "You need it, we rent it," she said.

With all the activities, "we always need volunteers," Liles said. People who want to volunteer can contact Liles at the senior center, 509-765-7809.