Malta Senior Center to Celebrate 50th Anniversary

The Malta Senior Center will celebrate their 50th anniversary on Saturday August 17, 2019 from 1-3 p.m. with cake, coffee and lemonade.

The event is open to the public.

The Moose Hall, formerly located where the Malta post office sits, was home to the first senior center. Hugh Simanton was the director of the group. In the period of 1968-78 members numbered roughly 260. The period of 1978-96 numbers were around 360. Along came the building fund in 1996 with approximately 130 members of which five are still living.

The senior center had meals at the Moose Hall and many dances.

April 1, 1996 the members purchased the building the senior center now occupies from Larry Matthews for $50,000, which seemed an unsurmountable task in the beginning. Noel Emond was instrumental in raising the funds and fulfilling the dream of a new center. Emond also had the foresight to convince the Malta Food Bank, then housed in the Carnegie Library basement, to move to the east side of the senior center, thus providing rent to the center for the food bank’s space.

Current president Barbara Wiederrick Stevens’ parents were members in the 1978-96 era as well as an aunt during the 1968-78 and into the 80s. Likewise, other board members had a grandmother, aunt or uncle, mother-in-law and father with the majority of those members being in the beginning of the organization.

The center doesn’t have dances at this time, however, many other events keep the center busy. TOPS, pinochle, whist and bridge. Bingo will return this fall and is eagerly looked forward to. Church events, gatherings for family events, anniversary celebrations, safe driving classes to lower insurance costs, endorsed by AARP; any number of events are held at the center.

Current officers are Barb Stevens, president; Leonard Leader, vice president; Margaret Leader, treasurer; and Sharon Kindle, secretary. Jerry Depute and Marlyn Orahood fill out the board of directors.

Other events the center has lined up is the annual Indian Taco dinner, brainchild of Board Member Marlyn Orahood with a September 21, 2019, Saturday, from 11:30-1:30 featuring a free will offering.

Tuesday, October 8, 2019, the center will host an elder abuse/scam session sponsored by the Montana State Auditor. This will be at the Great Northern Lodge Room from 11:30-1:30 with a meal provided, and will require a RSVP.

Later in October will be the Fall Harvest Soup dinner at the center, date to be announced.

In the meantime, the center has had two new windows installed with three more to follow in the spring. The windows were purchased from Davis Glass and installed by Handley Construction. Grants and donations were utilized for the windows.