Submitted by Maggie DiGiovanni
Special to the EAN
Editor’s Note: We want YOUR good news. Please email information and photos to Sarah Stephens at [email protected].
When you walk into the Eclectic Senior Center at 19 Fleahop Road, you know right away you are among friends. When you open the door, everyone calls out a greeting. First-timer or long-timer, there’s always a greeting.
It’s been that way for years, even going back to before 2008 when the senior center moved into its own building next to Panther Palace Park. For 35 years or more, the Eclectic Senior Center has been a place for fun, conversation, games, and a nice meal. Pam Haskins supervises the kitchen, and Robin Nummy volunteers and delivers meals to the homebound. There are 21 homebound seniors.
In the old days when the center was behind the school it was called the Eclectic Senior Center at Castleberry Park. Now, it is the Eclectic Senior Center. If you are 60 or over, you have a home away from home.
“We have a good time, the meals are great, and you can sit, talk and get to know each other,” says Minnie Johnson, the center director who has been there for more than 15 years.
The center population varies from 12 to 15 or more. “We get a bigger turnout on Wednesdays when we have bingo,” Ms. Minnie said with a glint in her eye.
Over the decades the center has had a series of directors who have worked hard to make the center a place seniors want to visit. These include Linda Reed, Ruth Roberts, Mary Gavin, Patricia Green and now Minnie.
Thursdays are exercise day. Willie Toney, once a Marine (and always a Marine) and a Martial arts expert, leads the house in band exercises. The look of concentration on everyone’s face is proof that exercise is taken seriously. About 15 minutes in someone says to Toney, “you’re a glutton for punishment.” It is said good naturedly and everyone sighs with relief when the exercises are done. There’s time for a quick game of cards and conversation before Pam Haskins plates lunch.
The senior center is part of the Town of Eclectic’s government. “We employ the staff, and we consider it just like any other department,” says Town Clerk Shannon Duck. The town works with Central Alabama Aging Consortium to supply the meals.
There is room for many more seniors at the center. Many are widows and widowers looking for companionship and diversion. “They say they’re tired of seeing the four walls at home,” says Minnie.
The center is a place that gives everyone a sense of purpose. Every day is a little bit the same and a little bit different, just enough to give everyone a sense of stability and a bit of variety. Says Shannon Duck, “We’d love to get them a bus so they could go on field trips.”
Currently, a grant is being prepared to make the bus a reality. Although another bus stands in the parking lot, it is used sparingly, as riders are never quite sure if it will get them to their destination. Should that happen, the return to home base is in doubt until, with a collective sigh of relief, the seniors prepare to depart the vehicle as it chugs into its slot.
The town is hoping to raise interest in the facility, among both seniors and other residents. Members who attend work to pull others in for a day of friendship. Whether handing out flyers to a welcome breakfast, or being approached by an enthusiastic senior in the local Piggly Wiggly supermarket parking lot, do not be surprised if someone asks, “Are you over sixty? You are? I hope you will join others over that magic age at the Eclectic Senior Center.”
Although the last invitation may seem a little unusual, the rising number of new members attests to it working. The senior center is one of Eclectic’s gems in the town crown. If you are at least sixty, drop by. One thing is for certain; they’ll greet you as you come through the door.
Monday, July 28, 2025, at 6 p.m., a public meeting will be held at Eclectic City Hall, 145 Main Street, Eclectic, AL 36024 regarding the bus grant. All are welcome to attend.
See photos below including karaoke, exercise class, and card games. Karaoke features Robin Nummy and Greg McCain. Exercise shows Mr. Willie Toney at the head of the exercise class. Other pictures are of various people playing cards and visiting at the Eclectic Senior Center.
