In practically any bustling, growing city you can find an activity or community center. If it’s a really large city they’ll have a “Y” with activities for all ages.
When I lived in San Francisco I used to enjoy going to the sauna at the Jewish Community Center. Ach! The stories they told! Then, in New Orleans, I joined the “Y” to take a karate class and swim. I don’t recall there being lots of classes or dances.
When I came back home to visit my parents from time to time, I enjoyed taking my mom to the Bonita Ceramics Center or the Tuxedo Center for a painting class. And we used to have a “Y” in what is now the WTOK-TV building. Imagine that!
The beginnings of the Meridian Senior Citizen Center came 32 years ago. We are still called the Meridian Senior Citizen Center — despite efforts to change the name to entice people who don’t want to go to a senior citizen place at all.
My out-of-town friends think I work in a nursing home. People call on the phone and ask if they can drop off their mother for the day. Whatever!
I had driven by the small sign for a couple of years before I heard they had a really knockout yoga class. I was the youngest member in the class at age 50! I paid $20 for an eight-week, three-times-a-week, yoga class. People over 55 paid $10! (for 24 classes!).
I had noticed other things happening out here. There were classes going on all around me; I only came for yoga and went directly home. It amazes me how narrow my sight was.
If only I’d known then they were teaching stained glass. I did notice the gourd design class, which intrigued me. I believe at that time it was lack of advertising, I didn’t know there was coffee available all the time, or sewing classes.
A warning ... our community center is just plain hard to find. We are in what was once a private elementary school in the middle of a residential setting, lots of one-way, dead-end streets — but it’s beautiful.
One of the reasons for a name change is that it sounds like we are an age-segregated‚ facility.
Statistics do show that although the center is open to ages 21 and above, the majority of people attending classes are over the age of 55 — by a ratio of about 80 percent to 20 percent.
Perhaps if we opened our doors to more night classes and Saturday classes, we might see more of the younger, working age clientele. Right now it is open primarily to persons of leisure on Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. But two years ago we began to open Monday until 8:30 p.m.
Classes are usually taught on an eight-week basis. Computer and line dancing fall on a monthly schedule. New teachers offer new classes frequently, but we need at least six people to make a class. Teachers are paid by the city of Meridian.
But, activities at the center are not limited to classes. There are plenty of free things to do: play bridge, scrabble, skip-bo, dominoes. We have both a snooker and a billiard room. The ceramic studio is open all day Tuesday and Thursday. Club meetings take place here monthly; they are advertised in The Meridian Star.
Come see us. The coffee is always fresh and hot. A $2 lunch is served on Tuesdays from 11:30 a.m.
Barbara Wells is director of the Meridian Senior Citizen Center.
Meridian and its Neighbors
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Discussion
July 20, 2006
Let me tell you about ...
Meridian’s special community center
- Meridian and its Neighbors
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Meet Bruce Clopton
Bruce Clopton has lived in Meridian almost all his life, and wouldn’t want it any other way. Bruce, a partner at the Insurance Center of Meridian, lives in the same house in which he was raised, one that was designed by his father, the late architect Brad Clopton.
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Now on Sale — KATRINA: A Time to Reflect
Katrina: A Time to Reflect, a hardback, full-color pictorial review of last summer’s record-setting hurricane, is available for pickup at The Meridian Star’s office, 814 22nd Ave.
Books are available for purchase at $20.00.
The 120-page book features photographs taken by The Meridian Star staff and its readers. Sections are devoted to both East Central Mississippi and the Gulf Coast. -
THANK YOU ...
The Meridian Star thanks all the people in the community who collaborated on “Meridian and its Neighbors” by writing stories — and gratefully acknowledges help provided by the city of Meridian, the Meridian/ Lauderdale County Tourism Bureau and the East Mississippi Business Development Corp.
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A shining new star in Meridian
On Sept. 8, the doors will open on a vibrant new hub for performing arts, education and conferences in the heart of Meridian’s historic downtown.
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NAS Meridian celebrates 45th anniversary
It’s been a long journey for Naval Air Station Meridian from the once-small auxiliary air station to the major jet training air base where pilots from around the world are trained. In fact, the base celebrates its 45th anniversary this year.
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Meridian Community College: Just the right size for your success
Meridian Community College President Scott Elliott always tells entering freshmen that he has two major goals for them — to get the highest quality education possible and to enjoy a total college experience.
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Let me tell you about ...
In practically any bustling, growing city you can find an activity or community center. If it’s a really large city they’ll have a “Y” with activities for all ages.
- State Games packs ’em in For two weekends every June, it’s impossible to stay in a Meridian hotel or, for that matter, any hotel within a 60-mile radius of the city unless you thought ahead ... way ahead, like the year before.
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EMBDC: Welcoming new businesses
Meridian is in the midst of an economic revival that will continue to enhance the richness of our community for decades to come.
- Come visit a growing city The growth and expansion we’ve been experiencing continue to add to our economic vitality, and we’re delighted to share our projects and programs with our neighboring communities.
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