LIFE AFTER 50
T
Th e self-sustaining nonprofi t Peninsula Senior Activity Center is a welcoming community to all
Story and photos by LYNETTE RAE McADAMS
Longtime members refresh their memories of the the PSAC’s earliest days by looking through the Center’s
wealth of scrapbooks. Clockwise from left, Mary Cook, Larry Cook and Lucile Robinson-Lee.
The PSAC’s bi-monthly hearty pancake breakfasts are open to the whole community and serve as a primary
fundraiser for the Center’s many needs. Standard menu off erings include pancakes or biscuits and gravy,
served with eggs, sausage and a beverage for only $6. Typically, the kitchen also runs a special, like this
beautiful eggs Benedict, for only one or two dollars more.
Upcoming regular events at the PSAC
Public is welcome; $1 donation requested
Mondays: 10 a.m. Tai Chi
Tuesdays: 10 a.m. Bridge class (RSVP); 11:30 a.m. Bridge; 12:30 p.m. Cribbage
Wednesdays: 10:30 a.m. Yoga; 12:30 p.m. Pinochle
Thursdays: 10 a.m. Tai Chi; 12:30 p.m. Pinochle; 1 p.m. Mahjong
Fridays: 9 a.m. Quilts from the Heart, Sewing Group, and/or Yarn Crafts (call ahead
or check the calendar for details)
10 | January 14, 2016 | coastweekend.com
There’s a place toward the north end of
Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula where
the heat’s always on, the lights are kept bright,
and you can count on a fresh pot of coffee ev-
ery time you walk in. It’s a library and a cafe, a
school as well as a dance hall, a revolving bou-
tique, and at least twice a week, an unexpected
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Looking for a great deal on one of the best
breakfasts on the beach? Fancy yourself as
something of a card shark? Perhaps you’ve
been thinking it might be nice to brush up on
your foxtrot or take a chance on a tango. What-
ever your interests, whatever your skills, con-
sider a visit to the PSAC — the place where
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means to have a “senior moment.”
Located in the heart of Klipsan Beach, just
a few miles south of Ocean Park, Washington,
the Peninsula Senior Activity Center more than
lives up to its name, continuing to evolve along
a steady path toward its primary mission: To en-
hance the quality of life, maintain the indepen-
dence, and add to the well-being of our senior
citizens.
It exists as a gathering place for service
groups and community events; a learning hall
for classes on everything from origami to gar-
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center, open in emergencies; a spot to enjoy an
occasional home-cooked meal with friends and
neighbors; and an overall resource center for
anyone entering their second half of life.
But let’s back up a bit.
Because of course, the Center’s story starts
long before there was ever an actual Center;
like so many of life’s most wonderful things, it
all began as just a dream.
Looking back
“It was pretty simple,” recalls charter mem-
ber Lucile Robinson-Lee, 87, looking over a set
of typewritten meeting minutes from the orig-
inal PSAC planning committee, dated 1980.
“There was a small group of us from the local
AARP who saw there was a real need, so we
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In those days, service clubs and community
organizations, fueled largely by the local pop-
ulation of retirees, hopped around from public
Join the
PSAC today
(Or at least drop
in for breakfast...)
The Peninsula Senior Activity Center is located at 21603 O Lane in Ocean Park, Washington (at Klipsan Beach).
building to public building — meeting one
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then perhaps a local church: “What we really
needed was a place that we could call our own.”
Hoping to obtain support from an already
existing entity, those early members increased
their numbers and their dollars, polished their
idea for a dedicated facility, then shopped
around for sponsorship: “We took it to the
county, we took it to the city, we took it every-
where, but no one would touch it,” says Rob-
inson-Lee, the beginnings of a smile playing at
her lips. “So that’s when we decided we’d just
build it ourselves.”
Powered by sheer will and grassroots deter-
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— 15 to be precise — with rummage sales and
special dinners, cake walks and car washes, all
adding slowly, but surely, to a pot that contin-
ued to grow.
“We just stuck with it,” says Robinson-Lee,
with perfect matter-of-factness. “And then
some time in the mid-’90s, the most wonderful
thing began happening — the donations started
‘The folks that built this place came from the greatest
generation, and we called them that for a reason. You had to be
tough to wait 20 years to create something like this, but they
could do anything, and that spirit still lives here.’
coming, and you can’t imagine how happy we
were!”
With generous gifts from individuals such
as Art Newton and Walter and Theon Cline,
along with grants from the Templin and Ben
Cheney Foundations, it looked as though a
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And when the Loren H. Corder Foundation do-
nated the land where the Center still resides, the
deal was sealed.
“We were overwhelmed with gratitude,”
says Robinson-Lee, beaming. “We still are.”
Construction crews, comprised largely of
volunteers, broke ground in September 1998,
and in May 2000, the Peninsula Senior Activity
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Here and now
Almost 16 years later, standing in the entry
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looks around at the freshly painted walls and
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smile before saying, “You have to understand,
the folks that built this place came from the
greatest generation, and we called them that for
a reason. You had to be tough to wait 20 years
to create something like this, but they could do
anything, and that spirit still lives here.”
As president of the Center’s board of direc-
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The PSAC is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Monday through Friday, as well as
evenings and weekends for scheduled
events. A self-sustaining, nonprofi t
organization, the Center operates
on a slim budget and is reliant on
funds raised through membership
dues and community events, like
bi-monthly pancake breakfasts and
special dinners. Membership is not
required for participation in PSAC
events — the entire public is invited
to attend. Active memberships (age 50
and older) and associate memberships
(non-voting, age 21-49) are $15 per
year, and all proceeds help keep the
lights on and the doors open. For more
information, or to donate or volunteer,
call 360-665-3999 or visit www.
peninsulaseniorcenter.com
Getting there: Traveling north from
Long Beach on Highway 103, turn
right on 217th Lane, then right again
in the driveway just past the Family
Health Center.
cadre of people who tell me, ‘You know what,
this is going to fail someday. You have to gener-
ate money all the time and you rely completely
on volunteers — there’s no way that can work
in the long run.’ But they don’t know our volun-
teers. We’ve got some really awesome people
and they do amazing things.”
“As a culture, we like to just throw big gobs
of money at things and hope it sticks, and don’t
get me wrong, we’re immensely grateful for
Multiple card groups meet weekly at the Peninsula Senior Activity Center. Here, members are gathered for a game of partner-
ship pinochle.
Save the date
for these special
upcoming PSAC events:
Jan. 13 & 27: 5:30 p.m. Dance Club
Jan. 18: 2 p.m. Ice Cream Social
Jan. 21: 5 p.m. Monthly Dinner (chick-
en fried steak, mashed potatoes, gravy,
green beans, roll and dessert for $8;
RSVP)
Jan. 30: Pancake Breakfast, $6
every penny we receive here, you’ve no idea,”
Henson continues. “But what really makes a
place run is heart, and we’ve got that in spades.
Just look at this place, there’s nothing else like
it — it’s clean, it’s beautiful, it’s an all-around
joy. More than anything else, it’s like one really
big, really fun club.”
But don’t worry, there’s no secret handshake
required.
“We accept everyone, and we try really
hard to make people feel welcome,” says board
member John Vale, chair of the activities com-
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kitchen crew. “If you walk through that door,
somebody is going to let you know you belong
here.”
“It’s a marvelous thing to reach a place where
you don’t have anything to lose anymore,” he
adds. “We don’t have to show off our money, or
our cars, or our looks. You can come here and
exercise, or dance, or play cards, or even start
your own thing — whatever you want — and
someone’s always going to greet you warmly
and offer you friendship and space.”
“All you have to do is take the chance,” Vale
says. “Come to the Senior Center, and reinvent
yourself.”
Ernie Henson, PSAC president, left, stands with board mem-
ber John Vale in the lending library at the Peninsula Senior
Activity Center in Ocean Park, Washington.
Janet Henson and Diane West, members and volunteers at
the Peninsula Senior Activity Center in Ocean Park, Wash-
ington, sit together at the entrance table to the annual New
Year’s Eve dinner, a popular event that had more than 100
people in attendance.
January 14, 2016 | coastweekend.com | 11