Over the last seven years, how many times has the Center asked for your financial support to expand and remodel the Center – most recently to install an elevator? And how many times have you stepped up by giving to the Center? For some of you, many, many times. Because of your generous financial support, and with the help of Chris Zukin and the Uplifting Elevator Committee, The Dalles Chamber, Northern Wasco County PUD, The City of The Dalles, NW Farm Credit Services, and an anonymous donation of $50,000, the Center has raised over $120,000.
That is good news. But there is more good news to report. The Center has recently been awarded a $115,000 grant from The Ford Family Foundation. With that grant, the Center is now two-thirds of the way towards raising the necessary $350,000 to install the elevator and complete the necessary remodel to accommodate it.
The Center is continuing to apply for several smaller grants, and will initiate one last local fundraiser. But just imagine. With your continued support, it is quite possible the Uplifting Elevator campaign could be completed by the end of this year. And that would be really good news.
The Center still has a few tickets left for the 2:00 matinee performance of I Love Lucy On Stage on Saturday, April 11th at the Keller Auditorium in Portland for only $75 including transportation – much less than the $91 it would cost if you purchased a ticket on your own.
But for those of you who may not have considered attending a play at the Keller Auditorium because of poor hearing – which many of us have, Lyn Dalton discovered when she saw Guys and Dolls, that the Keller Auditorium provides assistive listening devices. These devices amplify and clarify sound by cutting down or eliminating ambient noise. (Lyn said it was as if you were right on stage.) Individual headsets with a receiver or a neck loops for use with hearing aids with a “T” switch (Telecoil) are available free of charge. Ask your audiologist whether your hearing aid has a “T” switch and how to use it with an assistive listening headset or neck loop.
The Center’s mission is to promote healthy aging for ALL generations – we don’t discriminate if you happen to be young and inexperienced. So if you know of anyone looking for space to rent whether they are ninety-nine or nine, freckled or bald, have them call the Center. The hourly rates are quite reasonable; and if you are a non-profit with a similar mission as the Center’s, we can make you a deal. For example, the Center is pleased to provide space at no cost for the annual Relay for Life’s Parking Lot Sale on Saturday May 2nd from 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM.
For the Tuesday Night Music and Dance at the Center on April 7th, Andre, K.C and Tom will be playing their own brand of country western – and whatever else they feel the audience will enjoy. The doors open at 6:00, music starts at 7:00, all ages are welcome and donations are appreciated.
Although Juanita Ignowski received several calls from friends after I wrote about the café across the street from The Dalles High School that she remembered, I didn’t receive any calls with the correct name of the cafe – Peter Pan. But I did hear from Marcia Lacock (and winner of five Necktie Quilt raffle tickets) who remembered The Teepee Café, owned by a neat lady who was the mother of John Byers and his sister Muriel, and which was the go-to place for TDHS kids, as was the Handout. When the Teepee closed, it was replaced by a dry cleaning business called Phillips’ One Hour Martinizing. Bring back any memories?
I’ll ask more local questions in future weeks, email me if you have any good ones, but I was reminded of this week’s “Remember When” question last week when I was on the KODL Coffeebreak with Al Wynn.
Who was the actor, and professional baseball and basketball player, who starred as Lucas McCain, a widowed Union Civil War veteran and a homesteader, in a western aired on ABC from 1958 – 1963? E-mail your answer to mcseniorcenter@gmail.com, call 541-296-4788 or send it with a modified Winchester 92.
Well, it’s been another week, with places to go, but nobody to see. Until we meet again, don’t let anyone tell you what you should do at your age – but try to avoid climbing tall ladders.
“Life is so much brighter when you focus on what truly matters.” Unknown author
