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