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Senior Citizens Club celebrates 40 years
By Joann Liao
The Sunnyvale Senior Citizens Club celebrated its 40th anniversary this month. In the years since it was founded, the club has been active in promoting the interests of senior citizens in the Sunnyvale community. "We've been the ones who've really been pushing for the new senior center that's going to be built in the community center," said Michaelena Hughes, past president of the Senior Citizens Club.
"[The club] has been very instrumental in helping with the new senior center," said Glen Hannon, senior leisure services coordinator for the Sunnyvale Senior Center and Parks and Recreation. "They've been very important in the community."
The club was founded in the spring of 1959 by Edna Koerner, a retired dentist. The goal of the group was to provide companionship and the opportunity to participate in activities such as cards, crafts, community singing and travel. The charter membership of the club was 34; in the last 40 years, the club had over 500 members at its largest, according to Hughes.
Estelle Bennett, last year's Senior Citizens' Club president and a club member for 22 years, remembers the days before the membership was divided into two clubs. "We had so many people we had to split in two. But we've lost so many because they were the older generation," Bennett said. "We've lost a lot of members in the last year. But [new members are] coming in, slow but sure."
Back when the club divided, half of it kept the name of Sunnyvale Senior Citizens Club while the other half changed its name to the Bayview Senior Citizens' Club. Both are still in existence. The Bayview Senior Citizens' Club meets on Thursdays.
At its Tuesday meetings at the Sunnyvale Community Center, the Sunnyvale club members play games and socialize. Meetings begin at 9:30 a.m. and last until 4 p.m. "It's a great place to be," Bennet said. "We play games like Bingo, or card games. You can stay and shoot pool. We have a lot of things going on." Meetings begin with a recounting of the past week's events, including the deaths of members or the welcoming of new ones, according to Bennett.
The Sunnyvale Senior Citizens' Club has a membership of about 115. Around 64 members attend each meeting, according to club president Jean Sim. "The club gives seniors a place to come and make friends," Sim said. "It's so seniors are not lonely. We really, really make wonderful friends [at meetings]. It's really a happy place."
Anyone over 52 years old can join the Senior Citizens' Club, which is sponsored by the Parks and Recreation Department. Dues are $5 a year. At Tuesday meetings, members bring in 50 cents to help pay for refreshments. People join by showing up at a regular meeting and expressing interest.
To celebrate its 40th anniversary, the Sunnyvale Senior Citizens' Club held a luncheon on July 13 at the Radisson Inn in Sunnyvale. The Aloha Noni Dancers, a Hawaiian dance troupe from San Jose, performed.
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
