By Pete Soyer
The Rudyard Senior Center gives people a home away from home.
Freda Hansard, a member of the center, said she has been going there since it opened in 1973.
She said the senior center provides people with different activities and a place to go to get out of their homes.
The Rudyard Senior Center has about 40 members. The center sees about 20 visitors every day who come to play cards, eat lunch, play pool or just visit.
"There are two pool tables the men use consistently and a noon meal five days a week," she said.
The Eagle's Nest Cafe provides lunch for the seniors for $3 each. The cafe is in the same building as the center, but is a separate entity, Hansard said.
The center holds a birthday party every other month in honor of all the birthdays in those two months. Hansard said the center has birthday cake, and the members play bingo and sometimes have musical entertainment.
On holidays the center has a special dinner and sometimes musical entertainment.
There is usually a game or two of bingo or pinochle, she said. The center tries to have entertainment for everyone, "but of course the men play pool."
The best thing about the senior center is it gives seniors a place to go, "keeps us occupied," she said.
The friendly association with people keeps the seniors coming back too, she said. "There's lots of real good visiting."
Hansard has been going to the center for 28 years because "it keeps me from having to cook dinner every day," she said, chuckling.
She added that she plays cards and pool as well.
Not many women play pool so "I have to challenge the men once in awhile," she said.
The senior center is used by the community for other events. A foot clinic is held every other month, and wedding and baby showers are held there also. "It is a community center, too," Hansard said.
