LAFYAYETTE, IN — Seniors filled the dining room hall of Traditions of Lafayette with laughter and stories at the first meeting of Creative Connections, an event aimed at giving seniors a place to form new relationships.
With more than 30 community members showing up, Traditions of Lafayette Community Relations Director Cindy Downham plans to move forward with the event again, recurring monthly.
It “really took off,” Downham said. “I mean, it was pretty busy there for a little bit. I think next month we’re going to move it into the big dining room so sound doesn’t bounce as much as it does.”
With the primary focus on storytelling and memories, the room reverberated with tales of yesteryear. Linda Herendeen described how she grew up helping run the telephone office in the rural town of Tab.
“Every small town had their own switchboards,” Herendeen said. “And we lived in the Tab telephone office. My mom was the chief operator, but all of us kids had to learn how to do it because you had to do it 24 hours a day. She even had a baby while we lived there, and I had to take off school, stay home and run the switchboard because she was in the hospital.”
Herendeen and her daughter and caretaker, Candy Patterson, saw media reports about the event, seeking the companionship and potential for new relationships.
“A lot of (Herendeen’s) friends have passed away,” Patterson said. “She still has one really good one, but she’s 98. She still lives on her own, so I get them together all the time.”
But with only one friend remaining, finding commonality with others is something Herendeen prioritized. Coming to Creative Connections was her way of taking the first step.
“She asked me to bring her,” Patterson said. “(Herendeen) wanted to meet people her age. I thought there could be a woman just like her that still lives at home, maybe lives with her daughter.”
“I’m a storyteller,” Herendeen said. “Because I’ve had a very interesting life, and I want to listen to other people’s stories.”
Some people came for the stories; others were on scouting missions.
Cheryl Weaver had been eyeing Traditions of Lafayette as a place to find community and used Creative Connections as a chance to see the atmosphere for herself.
“I’ve been a widow for 16 years,” Weaver said. “But, you know, life is so much. I am considering to move into the independent cottages and so now that they are under new ownership, I just didn’t know changes or anything like that were going to be made. And I was also interested in activities like every Thursday afternoon you come in and you play bingo or play euchre. You just get together and chit chat or something like that, just to have a reason to get me out of the house.”
With the event’s success, Downham will redouble her efforts for community outreach.
“We’re going to do it again,” Downham said. “We’ll probably move it to the big dining room, and we probably got 12 to 15 people (from outside of Traditions). I want to keep advertising it.”
The next Creative Connections event will be at Traditions of Lafayette on March 25.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Lafayette seniors find community, combat isolation at new event
Reporting by Elijah Greene, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Lafayette Journal & Courier
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
