Local seniors cruise to four ports without leaving Delco
RIDLEY TOWNSHIP » Not many people can say that they cruised to four ports of call in four different countries on one single Friday night without ever leaving Delaware County. Over 100 local “cruisers” can say just that. As part of the Senior Community Services ongoing 40th anniversary celebration, senior center members, guests and staff from each SCS senior center in the county — Chester Senior Center in Chester, Schoolhouse Center in Ridley Township, Good Neighbor Senior Center in Darby Township and Friendship Circle Senior Center in Darby — boarded two huge luxury buses to take part in a “Progressive Dinner Cruise.”
The Progressive Dinner Cruise was intended to bond the four different senior centers under the SCS umbrella.
“The SCS senior centers are one of Delaware County’s best kept secrets,” Michele O’Brien, SCS director of volunteers and Friday night’s cruise director, said as the bus “cruised” down MacDade Boulevard. “Each center is in its own little world, with its own distinct personality. As part of our yearlong anniversary celebration, we thought the dinner cruise would be a fun way for members from each center to get a glimpse of our other centers since they are always hearing about them.”
Everyone on the trip knew what “countries” that they were going to visit, but the food, décor, entertainment and other details was intended to be kept a surprise — even to staff — until their “cruise ship” arrived. Volunteers at each center decorated, cooked, served and played host to the guests.
The cruise began at Schoolhouse Center, where after registering and getting their embarkation instructions, the buses “set sail” for Chester Senior Center at 721 Hayes St., which had transformed itself into Cancun, Mexico for the evening, with south-of-the-border themed music, food, sombreros, maracas, piñatas and more. Guests were treated to wine and appetizers. From there, the buses cruised to their next port-of-call, The Thousand Islands, at Friendship Circle Senior Center, 1515 Lansdowne Ave., Darby, on the campus of Fitzgerald Mercy Hospital. Upon entering, guests were presented with leis around their necks and an island-themed ambience. Friendship Circle volunteers served salads and fresh fruit sangria, while guests socialized and were treated to Caribbean-type music. After the salad course, guests boarded the buses to head back to the USA, specifically to Charleston, S.C., a place that’s called Good Neighbor Senior Center, every other day of the year.
Located at 1085 Hook Road, next to the Darby Township administration building, Good Neighbor was the site for the dinner’s main entrée. This port-ofcall served southern-style comfort foods of ribs, southern fried chicken, collard greens, mac-n-cheese, sweet potatoes, sweet tea and a host of other homemade, down-home kind of dishes, “just like mom used to make.” The décor was “40th anniversary” and the number was placed on everything from wall hangings to napkin stickers. The Good Neighbor volunteers cooked all the food, decorated, set up and cleaned up and made sure the night ran smoothly.
The final port of call was Schoolhouse Center, 600 Swarthmore Ave., Folsom, where the cruising excursion had begun and dessert was served at night’s end. In the five hour window of time, from when the participants first embarked on the cruise, until they returned to the same center, the place was transformed into Paris, France. The rooms were lit up by hundreds of little white twinkle lights surrounding the Eiffel Tower in one room and “the Louvre” in another room.
During the final “nightcap” at Schoolhouse, Arthur Weisfeld, the founder and executive director of Senior Community Services, pulled a winning raffle ticket for the upcoming SCS 40th Anniversary Gala at Paxon Hollow Country Club on Oct. 27. Patricia Thierry of Chester was the luck winner of two Gala tickets.
During its 40th anniversary year, SCS held a special event each month, including its annual volunteer recognition luncheon in April and its May art show at Delaware County Community College. In addition to October’s Gala, SCS will finish out the year with a Caregiver luncheon in November during National Caregiver Month and a special 40th anniversary wall calendar published in December, along with its annual Christmas party.
Weisfeld thanked the many who were involved in planning and executing the anniversary Progressive Dinner Cruise.
“We don’t do many things like this, when all of the centers participate in a single event together and that’s why tonight is so special,” he told the crowd. “This night has given me a really good feeling of unity and harmony among all the centers. It was really wonderful to watch the hosts and the guests interact and really enjoy themselves. Thank you for this exceptional night.”
Senior Community Services is a non-profit organization that began in 1977 through the joint efforts of County Office of Services for the Aging and concerned citizens. SCS has developed into a strong community organization, encompassing the four multi-purpose senior centers and a broad array of services for homebound and other elderly persons throughout Delaware County.
The SCS centers served 26,000 noontime lunches to participating seniors last year. Additionally, volunteers prepared 155,000 hot meals in the centers’ kitchens for low income elderly who have no other means to get proper nutrition, through its Senior Suppers Home Delivered Meal Program.
The mission of SCS’ four nationally accredited Senior Centers is to nurture the mind, body and soul of active older adults. Seniors can participate in a large variety of activities, including art lessons, exercise, crafts, card games, intergenerational activities, cultural celebrations, holiday parties, veterans recognition, dance, foreign languages, knitting, sculpture, jewelry making, table topic discussions, woodcarving, cooking lessons, weaving, reading and discussing, gardening, and more. The seniors at these centers exhibit in art shows, take day excursions and overnight trips, listen to informative lectures, participate in workshops and enjoy lunch and occasional dinners together. Additionally, SCS operates many programs in the community to help seniors such as the Aging At Home program.
Nearly 7,000 individuals made 83,743 visits to SCS Centers in Delaware County last year. The centers are always looking for new volunteers to lead a class, help out in activities, and to give a hand in countless other ways.
Local residents over age 55 can register to become a member at any of the four centers or find out more information about them at www.scsdelco.org/.
“What a beautiful night,” said Pearl Williams of Darby Township, who is a member of Good Neighbor Senior Center and was visiting Schoolhouse for the very first time. “Each senior center was really different, but the people were so nice and so friendly at all of them, This was a well-put-together affair, with lots of nice fellowship. It sure was a lot of fun to do something like this on a Friday night!”