Janice Hardy, Cheri Cunningham and Donna Beach were among the line dancers Tuesday at Trafton Center in Sanford, which is marking its 50th anniversary this weekend. The center, part of the Sanford Springvale YMCA, provides an array of programs for area resident over 50.TAMMY WELLS/Journal Tribune
SANFORD — It is 10 a.m. on a Tuesday morning and in one wing of the Trafton Center, people are line dancing to a country tune. In another room, there are several tables of people playing a lively card game called “Hand and Foot,” said to be a bit like canasta.
It’s a popular place for the 50 and over crowd, a place to be celebrated.
Starting on Saturday with the “Stepping Out for Seniors” annual three-mile walk, there will be a celebration of the Trafton Center all week, because the familiar brick building on Elm Street is marking 50 years since the dedication of the Charles A, Trafton Memorial Senior Center on May 4, 1969.
Part of the Sanford Springvale YMCA, The Trafton Center, aimed at those 50 and older, is a place for people to get together and have fun, learn a new skill —Tai Chi anyone? — or pop in for a cup of coffee and a chat with a friend.
Bernice Chadwick of Sanford enjoys a game of “Hand and Foot” with a friend Tuesday at the Trafton Center, which marks its 50th anniversary this weekend. TAMMY WELLS/Journal Tribune
The Trafton Center has its roots in the Golden Opportunity Center, which had a couple of locations before Emile and Ethel (Trafton) Levasseur donated funds to build the new senior center. The dedication, according to news accounts of the day, drew 1,000 people, Gov. Ken Curtis among them.
Among the card players on Tuesday was Cindy Brown, who said she’d been coming to the center for about a month — and she likes what she sees.
“I love the company,” said Brown. “The people are so friendly.”
“It’s like a second family,” said Bernice Chadwick.
The Trafton Center has about 220 members, with 60 to 75 of them dropping by each day the center is open. In all, said director Robin Hewitt Bibber, 18,200 visits were made to the center last year.
Line dancing keeps the toes a tappin’ Tuesday at Sanford’s Trafton Center, where seniors meet to dance, exercise, play cards, and laugh. The senior center marks its 50th anniversary on Saturday. TAMMY WELLS/Journal Tribune
She said there are a variety of programs, from art and pottery classes to exercise, yoga, various crafts, bingo, mah jong, bridge, other card games and more, and while Trafton Cafe is always open for coffee, lunch is served twice a week. And there are excursions — to spots in Maine and New Hampshire and well beyond. Some previous destinations have been to the Smoky Mountains, the Canadian Rockies, and Ireland.
Bibber, who became director earlier this year after the retirement of Thea Murphy, said when she’s in her office, across the hallway from the card players, she can often hear a bit of merriment.
“My favorite thing is listening to the people laugh,” she said.
There’s a lot of laughter, and some good-natured ribbing over the cards.
Joanne Masure, who is a member, has been teaching Tai Chi at the center twice a week, since the early 2000s. She said the practice — both seated or standing — provides balance, and promotes strength and relaxation.
Cheri Cunningham said she and her husband Brice moved to the area five years ago from New Hampshire and dropped by the center to see if line dancing was offered, but at the time, it wasn’t. She’d never taught line dancing in the past — but she does now.
“It’s a nice bunch of people and there and so many different things you can do,” she said of the offerings at the Trafton Center.
Here is a list of special events to help mark the 50th anniversary of Trafton Center:
• Stepping Out for Seniors Walk, registration 8 a.m. Saturday at Trafton Center, Elm Street. Three mile walk begins at 9 a.m. and makes its way down Main Street to Gowen Park, past Number One Pond, and then back to the Trafton Center, where celebratory cake will be served. The Cedar Mountain Bluegrass Band will entertain. Registration is $10, T-shirts are $10 and pledges to walk are welcome. To pre-register ,call 457-0080.
• Monday — Cornhole demonstration at the YMCA.
• Tuesday —Members make Mother’s Day hanging baskets in the Trafton greenhouse at 10:30 a.m.
• Wednesday — Healthy Living Expo, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event, which began at the Trafton Center, has grown so much, a larger space was needed and so will be at the YMCA, off River Street, this year. Lots of demos and vendors for this event, which is open to the public.
• Thursday — Cookout and music on the patio, if the weather cooperates, and inside if it doesn’t. 4 p.m.
• Friday — Happy Birthday Trafton cake at lunch.
— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 780-9016 or twells@journaltribune.com.
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