BY TOYNETT HALL
Staff Writer
PHOTOS BY TOYNETT HALL Youngsters from Howell’s Ardena and Southard elementary schools visited the Howell Senior Center recently and entertained the community’s older residents. In photo above, Nicholas LaPani, a Southard School fifth-grader, and Charlotte Hoefling get to know each other. At right, Hoefling plays the cymbals. HOWELL – Every day at the Howell Senior Center there is a hot lunch waiting, a room full of people who already know your name, and a program that has been prepared just for the community’s older adults.
The programs run the gamut from crafts and ceramics to exercise and intergenerational activities that foster an interaction between young people and the older adults.
On March 13, students from Howell’s Ardena and Southard elementary schools came to the center to perform songs and play instruments for the seniors. Music, the universal medium, was used to bridge the generation gap between the two groups.
Carol Zur, Howell’s director of senior services, said, “We’ve been doing these programs for about nine years. It’s been a partnership with the school district and the senior citizen department. Each one of the schools once a month adopts the senior center and does some kind of program. These programs help to break down barriers and stereotypes for children who haven’t been exposed to seniors, and for seniors who haven’t been exposed to children.”
Irene Pitkiwicz of Howell, who jokingly said she was 47 years old, talked about how much she enjoys the students.
“You look at them and think about your grandchildren. It’s a nice memory,” Pitkiwicz said.
The seniors joined the youngsters for a rendition of Duke Ellington’s “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing).” The seniors even had a chance to perform with the children by shaking tambourines and playing cymbals.
According to Southard School vocal music director Mary Jo Smith, “It’s just funny how some music is really ageless. I chose some standards, trying to bridge that generation gap so the kids can experience some of the seniors’ music and the seniors can experience some of the kids’ energy and excitement.”
Kathryn Cole, 71, of Howell, has been coming to the senior center once a week for two years. Cole said sometimes older adults are forgotten, and for that reason she said she likes it when the youngsters pay a visit.
“I enjoy listening to them, and it’s just wonderful to hear these young talented people come out and minister to us as senior citizens,” Cole said.
According to Zur, it is a learning experience for both sides. The programs “foster mutual respect and relationships between the children and the seniors. It’s magnificent,” the director said.
Next on the senior center’s agenda is a car wash on April 12 sponsored by the student council of Howell Middle School North. According to Zur, representatives from the student council will come to the senior center and wash the cars of the seniors who drive and the township buses that transport the seniors to the center.