Chatt Senior Center will be celebrating 50 years of service to the area’s seniors, and the community in general, with a brunch and open house on March 19.
The event runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. A brunch of a country scramble, fruit and drinks will be served from 11 to 1. It’s all free and open to the public.
Event organizers want to use the open house as a way to say thanks to the community that has supported centers from the beginning and to show people what the center has to offer in hopes that they, too, will take advantage of the center’s many services.
Spokesman Judy Magill said the center is most grateful to John Chatt and the gifts he left that included both the building that now houses the center and a monetary gift to help keep it running. Magill called the money a gift to the seniors of Tekamah, the principal of that gift isn’t used, only the interest on it is.
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“But what’s made the center last has nothing to do with that,” Magill said. “The merchants and the people of Tekamah have been behind us all the way.”
She said a good example of the community’s support is the center’s meal program. Records show 1,025 meals were served in 20 days in February. Plus area churches take turns delivering daily meals to homebound residents. The carry-out meals that first were offered during the COVID pandemic have become permanent due to the amount of use the program receives.
Information on the center’s meal options is available by calling the center at 402-374-2570.
The center offers a Veterans Day dinner every year and monthly birthday parties with entertainment.
A Tai Chi class starts in April through the Elkhorn Logan Valley Public Health Department. The Silver Sneakers exercise program holds classes twice a week and an aerobics class also is offered, as are periodic health screenings and other health-related benefits
The center also offers plenty of recreation. Card games are played weekly. A quilting group meets regularly. The center also boasts two pool tables, an exercise room and an expanding library. The exercise room is available to the public during the center’s regular business hours 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, a physical therapy provider from Blair rents the exercise space for its local clients but it is still available for walk-ins if the equipment isn’t being used. There is no charge to use the equipment, but donations are gratefully accepted.
The center also can be rented for evening or weekend events.
Scrapbooks of the center’s history also will be on display during the open house.
“We hope people will stop by, get acquainted and start taking advantage of the center,” Magill said. “The more the merrier.”
