The Whaleback Senior Citizens’ Club was formed approximately eight years ago. The first executive of the club consisted of Mrs. Kathleen Carey (President), Mrs. Pearl Gabriel (Vice-President), and Mrs. Loretta Alexander (Secretary/Treasurer). The first meetings were held in the Kippens Community centre, and are still held in the seniors’ clubroom in the basement of the centre.
The Whaleback Senior Citizens’ Club offers a lot to the seniors of Kippens. The club sponsors a monthly dance which is open not only to the seniors, but to the public. This dance offers the people of the community a chance to get together and socialize, to spend time with each other, and to have a good time in the process. In addition to the dances, the seniors’ club hosts card games and outings, and they sponsor occasional suppers which they prepare themselves and to which people are invited. On the 69th wedding anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. John White of Kippens, the Seniors’ Club prepared an anniversary celebration supper, to which eight community residents were invited. The Seniors’ Club also hosts an annual supper in the fall of the year.
The Whaleback Senior Citizens’ Club is also responsible for some very important changes tot he Community Centre building itself. With the help of government grants, the Seniors Club installed a sophisticated fire alarm system in the Centre, they installed the heavy fire doors, and fixed the “Exit” signs over the doors. They also made the Centre wheelchair-accessible by installing a ramp to the front entrance of the building. Sunday morning church services were, for a time, held in the Community Centre, and the Seniors Club bought a lot of the chairs to accommodate the large number of people who attended mass there. The Seniors Club was also responsible for renovations done to the Centre’s washrooms. Members of the Seniors Club were among those who volunteered to do the work on the building.
The Whaleback Senior Citizens’ Club certainly contributes a lot both to the seniors of Kippens as well as to the Town of Kippens in general. It is an organization, which provides seniors of the area with a chance to socialize with others who have the same interests, and at the same time to perform valuable community work.
The current executive of the Whaleback Senior Citizens’ Club is made up of Ted Russell (President), Pearl Gabriel (Vice-President), Peter Gabriel (Treasurer), and Loretta Alexander (Secretary). Monthly meetings are held in the Seniors’ Club room in the basement of the Kippens Community Centre, and there are currently 27 members with the club. People fifty years of age and over are eligible to join the Senior Citizens’ club, and new members are always welcome.
Did you know?
The first school in Kippens was a one-roomed structure and the building was yellow in color. Grades one to eleven were taught in this one room.
Did you know?
J.B. Lainey once owned a sawmill in Kippens. It was located next to where Mr. and Mrs. Peter Gabriel’s house is now. Mr. Lainey also owned a general store in Kippens.