The Senior Scene

For folks 55 and older looking for social interaction, interesting classes to take, exercise and one heck of a great lunch served every weekday, the Sumner Senior Center is the place to be.
Many seniors are finding they qualify to take the Senior Sneakers exercise program for free through their insurance company. That class began on Oct. 14 with instructor Cindy Parn

ell leading the group Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2 to 3 p.m. Classes include 25 minutes of cardio workout and 20 minutes of weights and body conditioning.
Other activities taking place at the center include yoga, ping pong, Tai Chi, painting, ceramics, woodcarving, line dancing, bingo and darts.
The $3 daily lunch is serve on average to 40 or 50 folks a day. “Lunch is a big draw for us,” said Melissa Holt, who loves her role as the center’s program director. “It is a great job and is very challenging and rewarding.”
On Oct. 10, the center hosted an Oktoberfest. Lunch included sausage, sauerkraut, strudel and live German music by Gary Hausam.
Among those attending were Taffy Tomcho and Kathy Campbell, who met at the center a few years ago. They became friends instantly and enjoy everyone they have met there.
Dee Parrish volunteers at the center every day from 8:30 to. Noting that she lives right across the street from the center, Parrish said the friends she has made there seem just like her family. She was on hand for Oktoberfest, smiling and greeting everyone as she passed out food for the guests.
The center also has a cozy lounge area, library, classroom, a space for hearing aid checks, massage and footcare, and a card room. Music and dancing take place three times a week.
One of the two to three monthly trips includes a visit to a local casino.
The center is located at 15506 62nd St. Ct. E. and is open Monday through Friday from 8 to 4. “Everyone is welcome to drop in, and there is no membership fee,” said Holt. “We are always open to new ideas, and we welcome any suggestions or recommendations people have for programs or activities. We also offer speakers that come in quite often to educate our seniors.”

People who want to reduce their stress, gain flexibility and keep moving can benefit from chair yoga.
“We move all the joints in our body so it helps maintain flexibility and range of motion,” said Diane DeMars, who teaches chair yoga at University Place Senior Center.
Her Wednesday afternoon classes at the center, which is at 2534 Grandview W., are called Heart and Soul Chair Yoga, begin the second Wednesday of each month and run from 3 to 3:45 p.m. Fees are $25 per month for a three-class series, and everyone is welcome.
DeMars said chair yoga also creates a sense of well-being.
“It helps folks be able to bend over comfortably, reach into their cupboards and look over their shoulder,” she said.
DeMars has been teaching yoga fulltime for almost 20 years. “I started before it was popular,” she said
She began attending yoga classes 25 years ago and fell in love with the activity.
“It is an amazing, practical class, and now it has gotten to be a fad. If I’m packing boxes and start to feel back pain, I stop and do yoga poses and the pain stops. Yoga is a very practical, everyday practice that you can use in your daily life. It is more than just a class,” she said.
Class participant Norma Washington would agree. She said she suffered from anxiety and panic attacks prior to taking yoga.
“Now I’m armed with the proper breathing techniques and stretches and haven’t suffered one attack,” Washington said. “My increased flexibility and strength has also been beneficial to my overall health.”
DeMars said that focusing on breathing helps make movements safer and more energy-efficient.
“You use less energy when you are moving with the breaths,” she said.
As people age, their balance can suffer and yoga helps with that as well, said DeMars. People who “come to class and learn to breathe better and help with their balance” have enhanced their life, she added.
Another class member said she has vertigo problems, and chair yoga has helped her immensely. She said she has a tendency to get frustrated easily, and chair yoga has taught her breathing skills to calm herself. After classes, she feels better and continues to do the movements when she gets home
Class members said DeMars is knowledgeable and cares about each student.

When customers enter Grannies’ Attic Thrift Store in Puyallup, they are struck immediately with the cleanliness of the store and the friendliness of the all-volunteer staff.
“They call us the Nordstrom of gift shops,” said Pam Scholer, a longtime volunteer at Grannie’s.
Grannies’ Attic falls under Celebrate Seniority, a MultiCare Health System member program of education and outreach that has three focuses for adults 55 and better – volunteerism, healthy living and social events, said Deborah Gurney, MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital Celebrate Seniority supervisor.
Grannies’ Attic supervisor Kat Boyle said she has a staff of 75 volunteers. The store, which is open six days a week, has donated over $1.2 million to the Puyallup hospital’s programs and patients. The reason the store is so successful, said Boyle, is “it has a grannies’ touch.”
“When you walk in, you are greeted by a grannie who will ask what you are looking for,” she said.
Boyle has been in her position at Grannies’ for eight years and said, “This is the least glamorous job I’ve ever had, but it is the best thing I’ve ever done.”
Saying she was looking for something that would give her life focus and meaning, she added, “I’m edified daily because I work with the greatest generation and certainly the generation work ethic. That work ethic will never be duplicated.”
Eighty-six year old volunteer Pat Tribby has been working at Grannies’ for seven years. Most of the volunteers are women, and all are 55 and up.
After her husband passed away, Tribby said she thought volunteering “would be a good thing to do. I love the fact that I’m doing some good.”
Tribby, who prices items and works the floor, volunteers two mornings a week for a four-hour shift.
Scholer is the head ironing person and lead cashier and takes great pride in her work. She has been volunteering for 11 years, four days a week. “I love it here, it is my second home,” she said
Two days a week, Scholer stands at the ironing board, making sure all clothing items are neatly pressed before going on the floor for sale.
“We go through everything, and if it is wrinkled, we iron it,” she said.
Jeanne Spann is a floater and moves around the store, chatting with everyone.
“I enjoy visiting with people,” she said, adding that she also picks up empty hangers, straightens items for sale and relieves the cashiers. “The enthusiasm at Grannies’ is very healing.”
Volunteers are flexible about filling in for each other, and they say their work environment is like one big family.
Boyle appreciates each and every volunteer.
“Most days I wish I could just sit at the feet of my volunteers and glean from their experience and knowledge. They work hard and selflessly with such empathy and compassion for those we serve, like the children of CTU (children’s therapy unit),” she said.
Grannies’ has pledged $350,000 to the CTU endowment, making sure that no child is ever turned away.
“Every penny we make goes right back into the community,” she said.
The real difference in Grannie’s, said Boyle, is the store’s price point.
“We literally do it 50 cents at a time. Our average sales are low, and when we say we’ve donated $1.2 million, it is 50 cents at a time,” she said.
Boyle said she couldn’t do her job without her volunteers.
“It is a herculean effort to run this store. Every one of us does our very best. When you work alongside the grannies, they know the quality of work and the value of a hard day’s work. They set the bar very high,” she said.