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ByAlanRivett
CLINTON -_ Thursday's an^ important day.
for ley Haggarty. For some senior
citizens, each day brings nothing new,
Othkg exciting. But, Thursdays are special
for Shirley.
It's the ,day when she departs from her
COMfortable, apartment on James Street in
Clinton for the Huron Day Centre for the,
Homebound located in Huronview, east Of
Clinton.
Thursdays begin at 9:30 a.m. By the time
Shirley makes her way down the stairs to
the main floor of the senior citizens' apart-
ment, a volunteer driver from the day cen-
tre is waiting for her in the parking lot.
Arrival at the centre always means say-
ing hello to everyone. It also means sitting
around the table with a cup of coffee, chat-
ting with the centre's clients who come from
all over Huron County. "The coffee pot is
always on," says the soft-spoken 81 -year-
old.
Friendships
Most importantly, it means seeing
familiar faces she's come to know at the
centre. Over the seven years she's been
coming to the centre, a number of her
friends she's met are gone. It's hard, but she
has accepted it.
"I've seen a lot of them come and go. I
don't like to see it happen but it catches up to
people.
" When I first came here, I promised
myself I wouldn't get too attached to
anyone, but you can't help it, you become so
attached. I've formed a lot of friendships,"
Shirley said in reflecting upon her years at
the centre.
After coffee it's off to the craft room to
spend a morning doing her favorite pastime
- knitting. With a bag full of yarn and some
knitting needles, a couple of hours soon slip
by.
Exercises
It's 11 o'clock and that means it's time for
exercises. While sitting in chairs, they
engage in "maintenance" exercises put to
music which are designed to keep the joints
and muscles supple. Some even take a
whirlpool bath to enhance the blood circula-
tion.
Shirley, however, sometimes foregoes the
exercises in order to pay a visit to the hair-
dresser at Huronview. When she arrives
back at the centre, it's time for lunch.
Lunch is always good and nutritious.
Shirley appreciates the white linen table
cloths on the tables which gives them an
"old-fashioned" touch. She also appreciates
the blessings being given beforethe meal. '
The afternoon, however, is the highlight of
Shirley's day. She, along with eight or nine
other clients at the centre, go to the Clinton
Crown Lanes to bowl a few games.
"I like to bowl. Years ago, my husband
and I bowled for a few years. But, I hadn't
been bowling for a long time before I came
to the day centre," she said.
Although Shirley's average isn't the
greatest, it doesn't detract from the fun of
bowling. Currently her average is hovering
around 100, but she proudly admits to bowl-
ing a 185 game.
Senior Games
A bowling team from the centre travelled
to St. Marys this summer to compete in the
Senior Games. Shirley said the centre's
team did well, finishing fourth out of seven
teams in the day -long tourney.
After an hour or two of bowling, it's back
to the centre for a cup of tea to wrap up the
day. It's 3 p.m. now and time for the
volunteer driver to return Shirley to her
Clinton apartment.
Shirley joined the day centre in 1979 large-
ly due to the urgings of her daughter. She
wasn't fussy about going at the time partly
because she had never heard of the day cen-
tre before and partly because of health pro-
blems. But she decided to give it a try. The
rest, as they say, is history.
"After going for a while I really got to en-
joy it," she said. "I never rniss it unless I
was so sick that I'd have to be in a hospital. I
like being with the people and I'm glad I
went."
Volunteers
Helping with sing -songs and card games,
serving and cleaning up after lunch, taking
clients on jaunts outside of the centre - it's
all in a day's work for volunteers at the
Huron Day Centre.
But Muriel Jones, a volunteer for the past
seven years, doesn't consider her Mondays
• 41(4 . •
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• •
•40,44
Along with the social aspect, the clients at the Huron Day Centre, Huronview resident; Harold Pepper, Clinton; Sam Anderson,
located in the far east wing of Huronview, enjoy a variety of ac- Goderich; Murray Rollinson, Auburn and Annie McNichol from
tivities. One of their favorite pastimes is a morning round of cards. Seaforth. ( Alan Rivett photo)
Playing a game of euchre are, clockwise from left, Pat Thurlow,
spent at the centre to be work. It's her
nature to help people.
"You have to enjoy helping other people.
1t gives me a feeling of satisfaction and
fulfilment to know that I'm helping others,"
she said.
She lives in the same Clinton seniors'
apartment building as Shirley Haggerty.
While Shirley is a client, Mrs. Jones, 79,
says she continues to enjoy her role as a
volunteer at the centre.
On a typical Monday, Mrs. Jones helps the
clients with a variety of activities. Besides
assisting with meals or taking clients for
whirlpool baths, a Monday may include a
trip to the museum or bowling, or just an
afternoon drive. She enjoys the overall
aspect of the centre and finds the residents
really receptive to the work of the
volunteers.
"They really appreciate everyone who
works with them. They really enjoy the
company," said Mrs. Jones, a retired school
teacher.
In addition to the volunteer work, Mrs.
Jones is active as the president of the cen-
tre's New Horizon Committee. Consisting of
10 people, the committee meets on a yearly
basis to apply for a New Horizons Grant
which enables the centre to purchase new
items in order for the clients to undertake
new activities.
On the suggestion of a friend who was a
client at the day centre, Mrs. Jones became
involved in volunteer work. It's a decision
she has never regretted.
"She saidrd be good at it, so I tried it and
I've been there ever since... I don't think
that being a volunteer is for everyone. You
have to have a certain amount of ability and
you have to enjoy being with people," says
Mrs. Jones.
Important Role
While talking with Rosemary Armstrong,
the co-ordinator of the Huron Day Centre,
you know she's a firm believer in role of the
day centre for area senior citizens. In fact,
she's has a number of plans for expanding
the centre's programs beyond their current
bounds.
always, funding is the primary stumbl-
ing block. But, at least a few of her big pldns
will soon become reality.
The centre recently received some good
news in the funding department with a New
Horizons Grant from the Ministry of Health
and Welfare. The program is set up to help
senior citizens groups create projects of
their own choosing. In recent years, the
grant has helped to buy furniture for the day
centre, she said.
The money, in the amount of $4,553, will be
used to purchase a new piano for the centre,
says Mrs. Armstrong. The centre currently
uses a piano on loan from Huronview.
"We use the piano a lot. The clients enjoy
playing the piano and they love gathering
around for sing -songs," says Mrs. Arm-
strong, an employee of the centre since it
opened in 1977.
Hopefully, with the new piano, the centre
will be able to start a musical group and
choir. Tentatively called the Day Care Song
Birds, the group will also include violins and
mouth organs, she said.
"When we start our own choir we'll be
able to go entertain somebody else for a
change instead of them always entertaining
us," said Mrs. Armstrong.
A portion of the grant money will be used
to buy a velo bind machine. The machine
will be used to establish a small book bin-
ding operation for the centre. It can produce
year-end report booklets up to one inch thick
.for.businesses..and, best atall,jtcan be run,
by the clients. aHopefully, it'll be a money-
making project," she said.
Other agencies have also helped in the
funding of new equipment. The Atkinson
Foundation donated money for the purchase
of a whirlpool bath and exercise equipment
for use by the clients and the Stroke Club
which meets at the centre every Wednes-
day.
The biggest provider of funds for the day
centre, however, is the Ministry of Com-
munity and Social Services which con-
tributes 50 per cent to the centre. Additional
financial support is received through the $6
user fee charged to the clients, Huron Coun-
ty Council and from donations from service
clubs and church groups in the area.
Finances aside, Mrs. Armstrong says
another lingering problem is an apparent
identity crisis which the day centre has
struggled with since its opening.
Even though it has been open for eight
years, Mrs. Armstrong says senior citizens
still believe the centre has ties to Huron -
view, which still conjures up images of a
"poorhouse" where they'll be locked up and
forgotten. It's a stereotype which she says is
misguided.
"The day centre has nothing to do with
Huronviow. We have to keep stressing this.
Turn to page 2 •
:WeVALIA - ,,rerrreerr e • e'er?. 41,WeeWee'
Muriel Jonei\(ieft) and Shirley Haggarty have had a long association with the day ceil-
tre. Mrs. Jones has been a volunteer on Mondays for the past seven years while Mrs.
Haggarty has been a client every Thursday for the past seven years. Here, they look at a
summary of a recent volunteers workshop. ( Alan Rivett photo)
4
Rpbert Groves helps Myrtle Barker from the car after a trip to the Huron
Centre for the Homebound.
I may not be completely bilingual but
you could. say I'm conversant in the
language of football. I have a vague
familiarity with the rules and the pur-
pose of the game.
I know that a wide receiver or running
back on either team has to run, dodge,
trip, jump and stumble his way down the
field past an army of 300 pound attackers
(called tackles) to the end zone in order
to score points. And, I know that •
touchdowns are six points, field goals are
three points, converts are one or two
points and safeties are two points.
I know that tackles usually take
steriods, that kickers usually have short
careers if they miss one convert and that
retired quarterbacks usually end up on
TV whether it's on commercials or on
Monday Night Football as "experts."
And, I know that just about any football
player who's anybody (or athlete for that
matter) ends up in a light beer commer-
cial.
And, most importantly, I know that
football players look best when they're in
a huddle.
So, with all that knowledge, another
female reporter (who also feels she has a
vast knowledge of football) and I figured.
we'd take the male -dominated company
football pool by storm back in early
autumn.
We had a strategy. We decided to pick
the winning team by the players who had
the best buns.
Before I begin to hear accusations of
sexism and treating men as sex objects,
let me explain that our strategy didn't
work for a variety of reasons.
.For AM(!trot kewy,wolka,. neither,,,C1IL
.'t'hthegarnes"ao we had no dile
about the physical attributes of any of the
players. Consequently, we were using the
less sophisticated "close your eyes and
pick" method more commonly known as
the roulette wheel method.
When we finally did watch some
games, we were in a quandry about
which of the "tight ends" to pick. I mean,
how can anyone (within reason, of
course) look bad in football pants?
Next, we considered actually reading
the sports pages of the newspaper, listen-
ing to Jimmy the Greek make his predic-
tions, taking in the extremely intricate
sports knowledge floating around the of-
fice and taking a look at Sports Il-
lustrated. Then, we thought, "Nah!" We
weren't that interested.
We then considered phoning Phyllis
George but our winnings were so few we
didn't have enough money for the long
distance bill.
As a last resort, I even tried calling on
my mother's spirit fur some advice. My
Mom, when she was alive, was one of the
best football fans I ever knew. She knew
every statistic on every player in the
NFL since the first Super Bowl. I've even
known her to stump football junkies with
her knowledge of football trivia.
Unfortunately, her knowledge did not
rub off on her daughter and we remain
(now going into week 13) in last place in a
field of 30.
But, we've decided there are advan-
tages to being in last place. For instance,
everyone knows who you are and wat-
ches your progress ( ? ) every week. A
prize for last place was also suggested
earlier when one man thought he might
be giving us a run for our money for the
bottom position. But, once he moved up a
few positions, the idea was dropped.
Plus, any time you manage to pick the
most winning teams in one week and win
$10 ( which we've done twice now), the
thrill of victory is phenomenal. The thrill
is intensified when you realize that even
people as high as sixth place haven't won
a red cent so far. ( And, it's so much fun
to rub that in. )
Our latest method has been to pick the
teams which have won the week before.
It doesn't always work and we have been
accused of being "fair weather fans" but
we've learned that football is a ruthless
business; there's no room for sentimen-
tal favorites no matter how good their
buns are. (Sorry Dwight Clark and Joe
Montana—we'd have to pick Refrigerator
Perry if he were up against you both. )
As you may have guessed, we really
haven't taken the whole thing too serious-
ly. Our two wins must be infuriating to
those who watch every football game
faithfully, read every newspaper write-
up and recite every football statistic in
their sleep.
And, we're quite irreverent about the
game. We've been known to ask when the
• football teams will play the Stanley Cup
just to exasperate the die-hard fans.
We're having fun but we refuse to lose
sleep over a bunch of padded men runn-
ing around on fake grass and falling all
over each other for a strange -shaped
ball.
We're just hoping we stumble across
one more win so we'll have played the
whole season for free.