FiftyNorth—Northfield’s version of a senior center
“It’s okay to grow older. Just don’t grow old.” I have found myself saying this a lot lately—to friends and to family, but mostly to myself. No one wants to grow old but growing older is exciting and adventurous, at any age. Each stage of life offers something unique and, as different as we may be, aging is the same for everyone. So, when the children grow up and out of the house, marry and give you grandchildren, you know you have entered the Twilight Zone stage of life known as “old age.” Feeling old is not a prerequisite, neither are greying hair and poor health. What, then, is? That is a good question. Mark Edelen at the website after55.com gives a good answer as seen through the eyes of various organizations. He begins with the U.S. Census Bureau—it states that the median age of the population is 38.5 years placing all people over that age on the senior side. If your children haven’t made you feel old by then, wait for that first membership card from the AARP to arrive after you turn 50 years old or your friends start telling you about all the great senior discounts available out there –for those who are 55 or 60 or 62 or 65. Government agencies for Social Security and federal health insurance programs have their own age requirements. This is just the beginning.
However you define “senior citizen,” look around you and take in the local offerings. As you age, there is more to do than knitting in front of the television or walking on the trails. Northfield boasts a special place “where active adults gather.” That is FiftyNorth. It all began in the 1960s when early members took special interest in improving the health and social interaction of older area residents. By 1976, the Community Action Center opened a Leisure Lounge in the First United Church of Christ Congregational hosting Senior Dining. Over the next few decades, these seniors with a vision brainstormed, raised funds, and collaborated with four other community organizations giving the Northfield Senior Center a home of its own in the newly constructed Northfield Community Resource Center. To match the “active, determined, creative, and energized” spirit of the people behind this facility, the Northfield Seniors decided a new name was in order. Thus was born FiftyNorth, representing the age required for membership and the upward and onward direction for their members. These active and curious seniors now not only address health issues and fellowship but also explore many facets of fitness, the arts, and lifelong learning.
The facility itself goes beyond the original goals of the group: it includes a fitness center and pool, rooms for a variety of classes, activities, and social functions, and lunch at the Sunshine Café. The fitness center boasts exercise machines for cardiovascular workouts and everything you need to begin or enhance your regular routine of strength and weight training, balance, flexibility, and more. Along with open room use you will find personal trainers available, exercise classes from morning move and stretch to Silver Sneakers to country dancing to table tennis to off-site bicycling. This isn’t your grandmother’s idea of exercise. Offerings in the arts include the fine arts and the performing arts: writing, painting, and crafts, music, dance, and theater. And lastly, for the inquiring mind, they offer lifelong learning classes that cover pertinent health topics—diabetes, neurological disorders, dementia, fall preventions, home health care—and a vast array of others from history, current events, and computers.
For a good read and great information about life at the center, take a look at FiftyNorth’s newsletter, the FiftyNorth Report, available at their website. The Report covers the latest news, what is showing at their gallery; FAQs about trips, activities, classes, and AARP Smart Driving; volunteer opportunities; and membership information. They offer memberships on many levels including walk-ins, medical passes, and special usages. They are located at 1651 Jefferson Parkway in Northfield. Visit their website for a virtual tour and more information. Better yet, stop by for a tour face-to-face and see for yourself what FiftyNorth is all about.
“To me, old age is always fifteen years older than I am.”
Bernard Baruch, American financier on his 85th birthday
Credit: StockSnap @pixabay
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