Imagine a hot summer day, a pontoon boat on the Tennessee River, and fishing off its banks.

Participants at the Tanner Senior Center in Limestone County enjoyed an impromptu day like that recently at Joe Wheeler State Park, plus a group lunch outing at Fuqua’s Southern Soul Food in Rogersville.

“It was really nice,” said Martha McWilliams, 72. “And I caught a fish, or at least I thought I had a fish, for the first time — ever!”

Martha is one of the newer participants at the center, going for about a year now.

“I call ‘em old folks down here even though I’m older than most of the ones here,” Martha said laughing. “I don’t usually stay all day, but I like to get out of the house. I go to the gym and workout, and I come here to the center. I like Bingo and being around other people.

“And sometimes, I get them to dance,” Martha added.

Sitting next to her is Pat Southard, 70. She’s been going to the Tanner center for about two and a half years, but beforehand she went to the Athens center for nearly eight years until it changed to an Activity Center only.

“We have fun here,” Pat said. “We play cards, sing, dance, and meet and greet people.”

She added that since Martha started coming, she’s the “clown of the center,” always bringing fun.

There’s a lot of fun-loving personalities that shine bright at the Tanner Senior Center. But a friendly competitive spirit emerges when the Bingo cards come out.

“I have to have one with a 66 or 7 on it,” Pat said.

“I gotta find me one with a 74 or 66 on it,” Martha added looking through the cards.

Those are their “winning” or “lucky” numbers. Janie Anders, 77, has a different strategy. She balanced her Bingo card on her knees and picked it to play as she worked a puzzle on the table.

Why do people come?

Thomas Kirk, 77, and his wife Martha, 72, have been coming to the center for about two years.

“We just came to the center one day and kept coming back,” Thomas said. “We have a good time and I like everybody here.”

Sitting with the Kirks is Greg Whittier, 64, who has been a center participant for four years, following a brain injury.

“Coming here gives me something that I can do,” Greg said. “It’s a good place.”

He enjoys working on puzzles, playing solitaire and games on the computer.

“I enjoy the food,” Greg added.

Rhonda Barbour, 70, said her daughter-in-law suggested going to the center might be good for her.

“Now I look forward to coming and I try to come all the time,” Wanda said. “I don’t get to see anybody at home and coming here is being with friends.”

Retirement and food

Smiling, Annie Swinney said at one time she was 55 and now she’s up to 73 years old.

Annie has been attending the Tanner Center for 10 years. She started after she retired.

“When the plant closed, I started coming here,” she said. “I enjoy coming together, having friends, playing games, especially Bingo. But there’s a lot of activity here.”

Mary Jane Hammer, 75, said she enjoys the food and especially the group trips to restaurants.

“I love going to Mildred’s in Ardmore,” Mary Jane said. “But the fact is, we have plenty of food here, every day!”

About the center

Sharon Davis has been the center manager for three and a half years but has a long history in Tanner where she has also worked as a bus driver and homemaker.

“I know everyone from driving the bus and I love them, and I love it here,” Sharon said. “It’s the best job I’ve ever had.”

Each weekday, the center provides 15 to 20 hot meals, and another 40 Meals on Wheels are delivered through a dedicated network of volunteers from the Mental Health Center, Birdie Thornton Center, retirees and homeschooled students.

Sharon said the center features a variety of activities, like the recent outing to Joe Wheeler State Park, which was organized by the Limestone County Council on Aging.

She said newcomers are always welcome at the Tanner Senior Center.

“Just call or better yet just stop by.”

Tanner Senior Center, 13589 Lucas Ferry Road, Athens, 256-230-6400

If you want a quiet, hum drum place to pass the time, then the Ider Senior Center is not the place for you.

“We like to laugh and cut up,” Sharon Culpepper, the center manager, said. “We pick on one another in a fun way and we don’t expect you to do anything except what you want to do and feel like doing.”

The center is in a building that originally was a grocery store and restaurant before it became the town’s gathering spot for seniors. It’s at the Alabama Highway 117 and Dogwood Drive intersection, which was once the location of town’s four-way stop. Today, the 4-way stop is just up the road at the Alabama Highway 75 intersection.

On a recent Thursday morning, Polly Adkins, 87, is working on a puzzle, while Rook card games are underway at two nearby tables. This is a slow-paced day compared to Tuesdays, which are BINGO days that draw in a larger crowd. But today, the conversations and games are friendly.

Jackie Frazier, 76, Helen Landers, 77, Sherry Landers and her twin sister Terri Landers, both 41, are playing for bragging rights.

Helen said playing cards and the fellowship of being able to talk to others makes the center enjoyable.

At the next table over, Rickey Garner, 67, his mother Beatrice Garner, 90, and Frankie Durham, 70, are just playing for fun with a ghost player for their fourth player.

As the oldest participant at the center, Beatrice says she’s come to the center on an off for many years.

“I love coming because it makes me get out of the bed and go instead of wearing my housecoat and gown until I get back in the bed again,” Beatrice said. “It’s easy to stay at home and just hibernate so this gives me a reason to keep going.”

Frankie is one of the newest center participants. He stopped by one day to see how it works because he thought it would be good for one of his relatives. “She doesn’t come all the time, but I come all I can,” Frankie said. “The people here keep me coming back, these are all good people.”

Rickey said his mother got him started about two years ago.

“I enjoy meeting people and playing cards or whatever game it is, I like to play,” he added.

Lunch is served around 11. Today it’s a chicken noodle casserole, sauteed tomatoes, peas and carrots, a whole wheat roll and white cake.

Craig Nichols, 69, started coming to the center in February after a neighbor told him about the hot lunches. He comes in before lunch with a thick novel about Pearl Harbor. Craig said he doesn’t care for playing cards or puzzles, but he loves to read, so he finds himself a comfortable spot and reads until lunch is ready.

He moved to Ider in 2006 from Wisconsin to be closer to his son and his family in Fort Payne.

Craig has traveled the world, often to run marathons. He likes the Ider area but lost everything in the 2011 tornadoes, including his beloved Rhodesian Ridgeback dog, Muffin. He’s slowly rebuilding his book collection but hasn’t considered a new dog yet because he’s considering a move to Belize. He has a fiancée there.

As a bachelor, he said cooking meals for one isn’t his thing. Coming to the center for lunch satisfies a need and he can get out of the house for a bit and sit and read while he’s there.

The Ider Senior Center nourishes with food, provides social interaction, and it’s also filled with people who encourage one another.

At age 41, twins Sherry and Terri Landers aren’t seniors yet, but they come to the center everyday with their half-sister, Helen. The sisters each have a different form of cancer but maintain a positive outlook and have a lot of support from the center.

Jackie said she’s lived in Ider about 40 years and been coming to the Senior Center for almost 16 years. She loves the fellowship and playing cards, even when her team gets beat.

While everyone was busy with their activities, a man stopped by to talk with Sharon about bringing a music program back to the center.

“We had a music program before Covid and it was very popular so I’m excited that he stopped by,” Sharon said. “I told him he could come any day between 9 and 10 a.m. so I’m hopeful this works out for our center because I’d love to bring back our music program.”

She’s always looking for ways to improve the center’s offerings.

Sharon said she was the 13^th child of 15 siblings. Her father died when she was 12 and her mother died when Sharon was 33 and there will still 8 children still at home. Being at the center makes her feel like she has a “thousand” mothers and fathers.

“I love on them, and they love on me,” and it fills a big void in her life.

“When I first got here seven to eight years ago, I told them I am not here to manage you but to take care of this place to keep it open and running for them,” Sharon added.

Ider is a small town of about 730 people located on top of Sand Mountain in DeKalb County, where it has an active Senior Center. About 16 percent of the of town’s population are 65 and older.

During the week, depending on the day, the center provides nine to 12 hot meals and delivers 16 meals to homebound participants.

Tuesdays are the busiest days in Ider because that’s BINGO Day. Every other day includes card games, puzzles, occasional group trips, “and just whatever they want to do. If we don’t already have it here, I’ll find it,” Sharon added.The community and its leadership are also supportive of the center, with the Mayor Wendy Lassetter donating rocking chairs and ferns for the front porch,

The Senior Center also serves as polling site for Ider voters. Joyce Hicks, 81, said she dropped in one day to see what the center was about and now she comes every chance she gets.

For more information about the Ider Senior Center, call 256-632-3367.