Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
PIERCETON - In the recreation room card tables sit ready for a fast game of euchre.
Off to the side leather-upholstered chairs and a top quality couch are arranged for conversation.
The dining area will seat 100 around new tables and padded chairs.
As soon as the building passes state inspection, the Senior Club will be open for business.
And the officers are still pinching themselves to make sure it's not a dream.
"We certainly have a beautiful building," club member and vice president Shirley Kreger said.
Standing on the corner of First and Market streets, just south of the railroad tracks, the senior center - town utility building was built over an eyesore.
A long-abandoned gas station collapsed into a pile of bricks in July 1997. The rubble sat there until Jim Perry of Whitley County and his sister, Margaret Sue Flack, Texas, gave title to the town in April 1999.
Two side ramps and a set of stairs lead into the gray, siding- covered building. Brick columns support a porch roof. Directly inside is the dining room, built to accommodate 100.
To the left are the kitchen and one entrance into the recreation room. A spacious office is on the east side.
Senior Club officers, Ray Werstler, president; Kreger, vice-president; Donna Orr, secretary; and Alice Meeks, treasurer, have been very involved in the selection of the interior color scheme, ordering furniture and kitchen design.
"At first we were frugal," Orr said. "As seniors we're always trying to save a penny. Bob Murphy told us to send our bargain basement furniture back and order the good stuff. We had $25,000 (from a Build Indiana Funds grant) to spend on furnishings.
"This," she said, patting the couch cushion beside her, "is going to last a long time."
The facility won't be open for senior activities until the building passes state inspection and the contract obligations are finalized with Easterday Construction.
The Pierceton Senior Citizen Club meets the third Monday of the month. Annual dues are $2.
Currently the group meets from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. in the community room on the west end of town hall. The Lion's Club shares the space and REAL Services lunches are served there, too.
Having the senior center will open up a whole new world to residents 55 years old and older.
"We'll still have monthly meetings," Werstler said. "But there will be many more activities."
The garage bays on the north side will house an Emergency Medical Service ambulance and police cars.
The utility superintendent's office will be on the lower level along with garage space for town trucks and storage.
The seniors will be responsible for daily maintenance of their portion of the facility.
Outdoor work will be done by town employees.
More than half a million dollars in state and matching funds have gone toward the site's clean-up and construction.
An open house and ribbon- cutting are planned in late March.
