Senior Center Spotlight — Boaz

If variety is the spice of life, then the Boaz Senior Center has a popular recipe.

Veterans, a retired truck driver, and retail workers along with homemakers, a pastor, and even a local celebrity are among the 70 people who regularly attend the center.

Then, there’s the activities. Exercise classes are held every day. Movies are shown on Mondays. Bible study is in the morning and square dancing is in the evenings on Tuesdays. Bingo and grocery shopping trips happen on Wednesdays. There’s more retail shopping on Thursdays. And there’s also a day to celebrate birthdays for the month. That’s the regularly scheduled events.

On this month’s calendar there’s an NFL Kickoff party, popcorn day, game day with people from the community, Salsa and Chips Day, Tootsie Roll Day, a day for hearing aid checks, a City Singers sing along, Hershey Kiss Day, Silly Hat Day, Taste of Honey Day, a day to get flu shots, and Pop Tart Day.

“This is the best senior center in the state,” declared Linda Nichols, 73. “Pastoring churches, we’ve moved all around the state and all the centers don’t have all of the activities like we have here.

“A lot of them just serve hot meals which is good. But the activities are important because it keeps your mind active and then there’s the exercise, dancing, pool and dominoes — anything you can ask for you’ll find it here.”

Providing a wide variety of activities that meets the senior’s needs is the master plan of Susan Duvall, the center manager for 17 years. The gym, library, arts and crafts and billiards rooms are all heavily utilized. Before lunch, a blessing is said over the food and the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag is recited.

According to 2023 U.S. Census Data, the city named for Boaz in the Bible, has a population of 10,369. Of those, nearly 15 percent are aged 65 or older.

Susan has a knack for integrating community members of all ages with the seniors. That’s how the Bingo Store came to be.

The Bingo Store

It’s no secret that Bingo is popular. At the Boaz Senior Center, when Bingo starts, all other activities at the center are abandoned. Everyone who plays has a Ziploc bag with their name on it that holds their card and their “Bingo Money” that can only be spent at the Bingo Store.

Every Bingo win earns $1. Danny Hulsey, 73, goes to the center to use the gym and stay in shape, but during Bingo, he volunteers by handing out the Bingo Money.

“They keep it all in the bag and every three weeks, they can go shop in the store,” Susan said.

The store contains clothing, small furniture items, incontinence supplies, walkers, small appliances, purses, socks, jewelry, canned foods and more. Clothes are changed out seasonally and when things aren’t picked up after several months, the center then donates those items to a thrift store.

“We have a lot of good stuff,” Susan said. People in the community donate items to the Senior Center for the store as well as books and puzzles for the library.

Junior Civitan Club

For years, the Junior Civitan Club at Boaz Middle School has held a holiday canned food drive for the center’s homebound participants. Over the years, it has evolved into a competition between each grade with the winning class getting a pizza party.

“For the last five or six years, they started donating the money for that pizza party to us,” she said getting teary-eyed thinking about it. “Last year they brought us 500 cans of food. We packed it up for our homebound. Participants with extra healthcare products, shampoo and soap … a lot of the kids said they picked out things their MaMaw would like.”

Susan said she plans a special day with the kids who play Bingo with the seniors and have snacks.

“They just love it,” she said.

Anything left over goes into the Bingo store. All clothing items and canned goods sell for $1 and everything else is priced in increments of $5. Participants can earn up to $100 in Bingo Bingo Store shopping days are every three weeks.

An Active Center

The center has 70 active participants, 40 of those receive hot meals daily. Another 39 people receive home delivered meals from the center. TARCOG’s Director of Aging Programs Director Sheila Dessau-Ivey said the Boaz Center is one of the region’s most active centers.

“In Boaz, the nutritious meal orders are strong and overall, they have excellent participation,” Sheila said.

The Trouble Table

Liz Wrenn, 91, has been going to the center probably longer than anyone else. She’s one of the oldest attendees and she heads up what is known as the “Trouble Table” — but in a fun way.

“We enjoy ourselves,” she said with an infectious laugh. “Because we may not be here tomorrow!”

Lisa Grant, 75, moved to Boaz eight years ago to be closer to her daughter and joined the Senior Center to meet people.

“I found the table where the most gossip goes on to keep me informed,” she said.

Liz said she provides all the headlines she knows.

“Look if you can’t laugh then stay at home,” Lisa added.

Gail Malone, 87, and Jean Bouldin, 82, have both been attending the center for the past year and a half. Jean said she loves the Tuesday night dancing. Gail said being around others after the death of her husband helped her out of her depression.

Liz said Gail is the prim and proper one at their table.

“Not really,” Gail said. “I just let them carry one. I sit and listen.”

Reasons to attend

Sam Hudgins wouldn’t reveal his age but said he lives alone and has about worn out his TV watching Westerns. That’s why he enjoys the center because he can socialize, play pool and Bingo.

Beecher Hyde, 92, just retired two years ago after 58 years on the air at WBSA 1300 AM Gospel. Throughout his career, a couple of highlights include interviewing Coach Bear Bryant and riding a horse in the Rose Bowl Parade in Pasadena in 2003.

“When I turned 90, I decided I didn’t want to get up at 4:30 in the morning any longer so I retired,” he said. For years, he talked to Susan on the radio about the happenings at the center, helping promote it to the community. “I didn’t really realize what it meant until I started coming here.”

Charlie Hawkins, 88, and his wife Gladys, 85, have been attending the center since Charlie retired.

“When he retired, he said he couldn’t just sit down and do nothing, so he came and had to talk me into it and I came and it’s a really good place to be,” Gladys said. The couple volunteers to help Susan count up the donations given for lunch each day. “It’s the least we can do to help Susan who does so much for all of us.”

Susan said her hard-working and dedicated staff are critical to the center’s success. That includes Gail Williams, Linda Muse, and Melissa Stephens.

“It’s not just a job,” Linda said. “It’s a calling to be here and love on people.”

Anyone in Boaz interested in joining can stop by the center at 112 Church Street or call 256-593-1107 for more information.