Special to the Times
The Lake Butler Senior Social Club is still around and going strong after more than five years of existence.
The club was originally the brainchild of several staff members at Lake Butler Hospital. They were looking for a way to get seniors out and about and involved in the community.
The first meetings were held in the hospital’s atrium and featured a variety of programs for senior citizens, ranging from nutrition and healthy living to arts and crafts.
The club grew, and more and more seniors marked their calendars for the meeting days.
Eventually, right after the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the club moved its base of operations to the public library in Lake Butler, which has served as the club’s home ever since.
The library’s name has changed to the Mary Brown Public Library, but the club remains the same, and many of the original members still attend. They meet on the first and fourth Tuesdays of each month from 10 – 11:30 a.m. There are almost always programs and refreshments, and parties are frequent. The library staff delights in creating special programs for their senior friends, from educational presentations and fun programs to learning new skills and creating practical items and works of art.
When the library staff realized that three of the club’s members were all celebrating their 90th birthdays in June, they swung into action to create a special event to celebrate with them.
The staff and the club members came together to help their friends celebrate 90 years of life with a pizza and birthday cake lunch.
All enjoyed the celebration in the company of the birthday girls, Jean Estes, Diana Marko, and Wanda Godwin.
Later in the month, the club got together again for its annual Ice Cream Social, which featured several kinds of ice cream and a wide selection of toppings.
Everyone seemed to have a good time at the events, participating in the activities and, most importantly, getting out of the house to socialize with friends and neighbors.
