This year is the 70th anniversary of the Senior Citizens Center of Oak Park-River Forest, the oldest senior center in Illinois. During Celebrating Seniors Week, May 8-15, we are hosting an Open House at Dole Library on May 14 from 1 to 3 p.m. Please come by and learn about our programs and history.
Almost half a lifetime ago in 1988, I enjoyed three years as the center’s executive director. The Park District of Oak Park had provided our first location at what then was called the Farson Mills House (today, Pleasant Home). The center shared the second floor, along with the Historical Society of Oak Park-River Forest, with Carol Kelm as its curator.
How great it was working with center members like Dwight and Millie Follett; Frank and Shirley Peterson; Elsie Jacobsen; Hal and Georgia Herman; Ilse Jacobson a Holocaust survivor who taught German; John Clark on the piano; and so many more. The large Mills Orchestra played downstairs weekly. There was bridge and the Men’s Club with different speakers each week. Upstairs were looms for weavers, ceramics, and painting. Other handicrafts were lapidary and caning. Elderly members went up and down the home’s wood stairs, which worried me at the time. This was just before the ADA of 1990 was enacted.
A special event was the celebration with dancing on the main floor of members who had celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary — not as common 40 years ago as today. I was with the center for our next move to the Oak Park Arms in 1989 and remember especially fondly our Holiday Craft Fair in their ballroom. Members who had made items all year long, sold their personal best at tables filled with weaving, lapidary, pottery, paintings, hand- and machine-sewn holiday items, and so much more.
In 2019, the Senior Center partnered again with the Park District of Oak Park to offer lifelong learning opportunities to active adults over the age of 50. This collaboration helps the center continue its mission to serve our communities’ seniors.
Join us at the Dole Library on Wednesday, May 14, from 1 to 3 p.m.
Abby Schmelling
River Forest