Duane Hicks
On Oct. 22, 1983, a dream of Sister Betty Kennedy’s came true with the grand opening for a new seniors’ drop-in centre in Fort Frances.
Thirty years later, the Sister Kennedy Centre is being celebrated by those who have kept it a place for local seniors to socialize, stay active, and make new friends.
“After three decades of seniors and handicapped individuals enjoying this wonderful building, we wanted to mark this occasion by doing something very special,” centre executive director Nick Wihnan said during Monday morning’s opening ceremony for the 30th-anniversary celebration.
“It’s definitely a very significant location, worthy of the celebration,” he stressed. “So to mark the special occasion, we decided to go all out.
“And with that thought in mind, we asked each and every one of you to help us celebrate with style.”
Wihnan said this week is packed with activities, noting the first-ever Fort Frances Senior Citizen of the Year has been awarded to Hubert Medhurst, who is in hospital and couldn’t attend.
And Wihnan himself was honoured with a plaque presented by Mayor Roy Avis, recognizing him “for his countless volunteer hours, leadership, dedication, and commitment to the seniors of Fort Frances.”
Deane Cunningham, who was mayor of Fort Frances during the planning and construction of the centre in the early 1980s, was among the special guests invited to Monday’s opening ceremony.
Cunningham said the beginnings of a seniors’ drop-in centre goes back to 1978, when a group of seniors led by Sister Kennedy opened “Pleasant Pastimes Place” in the back of the old Pentecostal Church, next to the Legion.
Operating with volunteers and a New Horizons grant from the federal government, the downtown location proved to be “an excellent meeting place and it soon became a hub of activity for seniors,” recalled Cunningham.
It soon became clear, however, that the facility was not big enough for the number of seniors using it.
“Sister Kennedy had a solution to the problem,” said Cunningham. “She saw a building dedicated to the seniors of the area and large enough to accommodate all the activities we see going on here today.
“And she didn’t mind sharing that vision with everyone,” he added, noting Sister Kennedy attended council meetings and made visits to the mayor’s office, and then CAO Nick Kingerski’s office, “selling us on the need for such a building.”
“Now patience was not one of Sister Kennedy’s strong points,” Cunningham quipped. “The slow pace at which the project was moving frustrated Sister [Kennedy] but it never discouraged her.
“Dedication and drive were her strong points, and ‘no’ was not an answer she would accept,” he stressed.
“She was the driving force behind the building of this facility.”
In July, 1981, council set up a committee to raise the necessary funds, as well as oversee the design and construction of the new facility.
Over the next two years, fundraising successfully took place and construction began in the spring of 1983. It was completed in September, with the grand opening held on Oct. 22 of that year.
“For the past 30 years, this great facility has served the needs of seniors in the area,” Cunningham said.
“The centre provides a place for seniors to come and enjoy a cup of coffee with friends, establish new friendships, or take part in the full range of activities the centre has to offer.”
He added the centre has had great leadership over the years.
“There is a sign in many town facilities that says, ‘Volunteerism is the price we pay for living in a good community,’” Cunningham noted.
“In the case of Sister Kennedy Centre, volunteers are the engine that drives many of the activities that take place here,” he stressed.
“We are fortunate to have so many dedicated volunteers.”
Cunningham congratulated the centre and its volunteers on “30 successful years of providing a wonderful environment where seniors can come and enjoy what the centre has to offer, participate in the activities, volunteer, and remain active in their retirement years.”
Former town councillor and Northern Development officer Dave Bourgeault first became involved with the centre in 1981, when he was asked by Sister Kennedy to be the fundraising chairman.
He was one of a number of residents involved with the fundraising program, and was on and off the centre’s operating board until he finished his second term on council in 2003.
“I am very pleased how the centre evolved to meet the many needs of the seniors population,” Bourgeault said Monday.
He also acknowledged the hard work of all the volunteers, including Wihnan, who keep the facility running so smoothly.
Former mayor Glenn Witherspoon said the second-to-none facilities residents enjoy here were built because of volunteers who took the time, effort, and funding to make them a reality.
“We live here for a reason, we live here because of facilities like this,” he noted.
“This [was] a great facility for the past 30 years,” added Witherspoon.
“Presently, it’s a great facility, and to make is great facility for the next 30 years, we all got to put on running shoes on and make it a reality,” he stressed.
Mayor Avis admitted that 30 years ago, a seniors’ drop-in centre wasn’t a priority to him. But looking back in history showed him there was a need then. And as the local population ages, the importance of the facility into the future is even more clear.
He noted it takes strong community support, a strong board of directors, and support from council and administration to maintain the Sister Kennedy Centre at the level it is today, thanking the volunteers who allow the facility to be enjoyed by all.
Mayor Avis said the wants and needs of today’s seniors are changing and for the facility to be a strong, vibrant organization, the aging population’s needs must be listened to.
Richard McKinnon, who represented both local MP John Rafferty and MPP Sarah Campbell at Monday morning’s opening ceremony, delivered messages from both elected representatives.
“I wish to congratulate the management and volunteers of the Sister Kennedy Centre on reaching this milestone of 30 years serving the seniors and the community of Fort Frances,” read a message from Rafferty, who had to be at the House of Commons in Ottawa.
Campbell similarly wished event organizers “good luck” with its 30th anniversary celebrations.
“Institutions like the Sister Kennedy Centre are an integral and important part of our communities,” she wrote.
“And to have reached the milestone of 30 operational years is something which Nick and all the hard-working volunteers can be proud of.”
Delegates wrapped up the ceremony with a cake-cutting. The carrot cake promptly was divvied up and served to appreciative attendees.
This was followed by Tai Chi, a soup-and-sandwich lunch, and the commencement of the Senior Games, including 500 and floor shuffleboard.
Senior Games will continue all week, along with a potluck supper, appreciation awards, and live music tonight, a dance this Friday from 7-9 p.m. featuring Bob Wepruk and the Borderland Pioneers, and workshops on Saturday.
For more information, drop by the centre anytime this week.
A free shuttle service will be provided for seniors who don’t have transportation.
If you need a ride, call Wihnan at 274-7656.
