Seniors stay active

-Ethel MacQuarrie is working on a braided mat at the weekly meeting of the 50 Plus senior’s Club in Montague on March 24.

By Charlotte MacAulay

The bus tours are a great way to pass the time when your a senior said Brudenell woman.
The 50 Plus Club is a seniors club in Montague that has been going strong for 29 years.
The club is currently located in the basement of the Montague Baptist Church on Brook Street and they meet every Wednesday from September till May.
The day begins with a line-dancing class where there are anywhere from 8-17 participants.
“It dwindles a bit during the winter when a lot of people go away,” said instructor Ethel Nicholson who has been line-dancing for 12 years.
After a lunch together, members spend the afternoon doing crafts and playing uker.
A lot of the members enjoy the bus tours the club offers.
The last one was to Nova Scotia to see the Anne Murray Museum and The Joggins Fossil Cliffs on the Fundy coast.
Club member Ethel MacQuarrie, Brudenell, took a break from the dancing at last Wednesday’s meeting to work on a braided rug and talk about the club.
Ms MacQuarrie, 80, has been coming to the club for a number of years.
She looks forward to the activities every week.
“It (line-dancing) is real good exercise and I love the bus tours.”
The tours are something her and her husband can do together and it’s a great way to spend a day.
“I didn’t even know that (Joggins) was there. It’s an amazing site to see,” Ms MacQuarrie said.
She said the club is lucky to have such a nice room to do their activities in even though they do have to pack up their equipment every week.
“It’s a nice space we have here and the kitchen has everything we need,” Ms MacQuarrie.
The club, which has members from all the surrounding communities, holds a monthly meeting on the first Wednesday and it is usually attended by over 30 members, Ms Nicholson said.
“We always had to rent and move around a lot since it was first formed in 1981.” she said. Ms Nicholson said they would really like to have their own space and have tried , but things have never quite fallen into place at the right time.
The 50 plus club is one of 12 in Kings county and by the end of this year there could be as many as 20. Thousands of seniors are active in clubs located all across the Island said Linda Jean Nicholson, Executive director of the PEI senior’s federation.
The federation is the umbrella organization for the Island that helps provide access to different programs for the clubs.