Editor’s note: This week we introduce a new contributor to our Grant County Seniors column, Carolyn Stout. Carolyn is a member of the John Day Senior Center board. We want to thank departing columnist Elsie Huskey for her years of dedicated service.

JOHN DAY — 2025 has gotten off to a good start for the center. Glen and Rosanne Palmer used the center to serve a wonderful Christmas dinner for those needing a good hot meal. The Palmers donated $150 toward the power bill of the senior center. The season of giving didn’t escape Earl Carlton, who blessed the center with an array of canned goods. Weekly someone will inquire about securing a wheelchair, a cane, a walker or other health-related equipment, and our supply received a boost when Blue Mountain Hospice donated several pieces to our equipment room. Many thanks to those blessing us.

The John Day Senior Center, located off NE Dayton Street near the Elks Club, serves a nutritious meal every Monday and Thursday at noon. Shay Lewis and his assistant, Tammy Hyde, prepare the food for takeouts, dine-in and deliveries to those signed up for the Meals on Wheels program. On a normal workday, you can find volunteers Veleda Grant, Chris Robbins, Nancy Nelson and Ari Montwheeler taking part.

Twice a week we deliver an average of 50 meals to those who are homebound. We haven’t found robots to deliver those, so we heavily rely on volunteers. Our driver routes go to Canyon City, John Day, Mount Vernon and many places between those towns. Beginning next week, I will make the effort to list the volunteers who delivered meals.

The menu offering Monday the 13th is hot pastrami and cheese sandwich, salad w/veggies, fruit and CHOCOLATE mousse. Thursday the 16th you can enjoy spaghetti with garlic toast, salad, veggies, fruit and dessert.

The John Day Senior Center is blessed to have the Blue Mountain Old Time Fiddlers in a circle playing good old-time music. I counted nine of them last Monday. They are a great group, and others who play an instrument, or sing, should check them out and see if you’d like to play a part (pun intended).

Tammy Hyde did the calling for this week’s bingo, and she’s always a hoot with her Southern accent. Just under 20 played, and 17 folks won games.

You can enjoy bingo every Tuesday at 1 p.m. and the second Saturday of every month at 6 p.m. at the senior center.

We are blessed to have a wide array of volunteers who serve seniors gathering at the center as well as those who are shut-ins. We may very well have the best volunteers, but there’s always room for more. If you’d like to join our team, call 541-620-2050 and check what areas we have need of. Most likely we have a need that is waiting for you to fill. Always open to filling a need if we can. Got an idea? Call me and let’s talk.

In my mind, I figure this column is read mostly by seniors. If so, you will recall your childhood school days revolved around the 3 R’s: reading, ’riting and ’rithmetic. Those talents were critical to life. Hopefully, it didn’t take long to learn the other R’s critical to life: respect for self, respect for others and responsibility for all your actions.

There’s no doubt about it, life’s road can be treacherous at times. Staying connected to others makes that road easier to navigate. Meaningful connections are important to our mental and physical health. Strive to live a healthier life by connecting with others.

Allow me to challenge you to regularly make a positive connection to someone’s life, starting today. One way to do that is to invite a friend to have lunch and fellowship at a local senior citizen center.

MONUMENT — I just love our community! I was not able to attend the Tuesday lunch due to being sick, and I was able to ask Kathy Woodell if she could take the notes down for me for my article and she was more than willing and happy to do it. I had to ask her kind of last minute, too, so it is doubly appreciated! I love that the people of Monument are willing to step in and help when there is a need.

Our greeters at the table were Sue Cavender and Linda Abraham. They checked in all the guests, collected and counted up the money. Jan Ensign filled out the paperwork. Ellie Lucas led everyone in the flag salute and made the announcements. Lonnie Lawrence prayed the blessing over the meal. There were about 50 attendees at the lunch.

Our cooks, Terry Cade and Carrie Jewell, prepared nacho casserole, refried beans, Spanish rice, fresh green salad and all the fixings, and a dessert for the lunch. According to Kathy, the meal was good and so was the company. We thank our cooks for their hard work and dedication.

We’ve received another grant from the Gorge Community Foundation via Lisa Neuberger to help pet spaying and neutering. The grant cannot be used to fix feral cats. Ellie Lucas is the contact person via the senior center phone number, 541-934-2700. She will check every Tuesday for messages and return calls.

Qualified applicants may have one dog and one cat spayed or neutered per year. You must be a resident of north Grant County (Monument, Long Creek or Kimberly). Residents of other neighboring areas will be considered on a case-by-case basis, determined by the board of the  Monument Senior/Community Center.

Judi Bustardo of Alder Creek has a sewing machine that she is donating to the sewing group in Monument. There is also another sewing machine in a cabinet that Max Breeding had donated previously for anyone who wants to come to sewing but does not have a machine to use. These will be available to anyone needing a machine to sew with when we have our sewing day. We thank our generous supporters.

Well, I guess I am kind of glad that I am sick now and get it over with at the beginning of the year, if ya know what I mean. Better now than later, I guess. LOL. I don’t like being sick but I have been getting babied by my kind neighbor and friend, Sue Cavender. She brought over some yummy chicken soup, fresh bread, and a tasty dessert!

Like I said, I love my community! It was such a blessing because I was thinking to myself, “What am I gonna do about dinner?” The Lord provided through a loving friend and I am so thankful to the Lord and to my wonderful friend! God is good! He is good, all the time! Praise the Lord, hallelujah!

John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

PRAIRIE CITY — Today’s birthday in history is very special to those of us who were teenagers back in the last mid-century Who else but the “King,” Elvis Presley? His quotation: “Some people tap their feet, some people snap their fingers, and some sway back and forth.” He sang pretty good, too. (Ahem.)

Ginger led the flag salute and asked the blessing. Carla Wright was the winner of the $5 gift card donated by Len’s Pharmacy. Our volunteers today included Mary, Sharon, Carla, Delores, Teresa and Tom. Our sponsor was the first grade class, who came last month. We want to thank them again for their generous donation.

After all the feasts of the holidays, it was good to just have a normal meal. We enjoyed a bowl of beans and ham, cottage cheese with pineapple, cornbread, beets, and — drum roll, please — BROWNIES! A very satisfying meal, to be sure. Thanks to our wonderful cooks, Pam and Pam, for preparing such good food for our dining pleasure. As I’ve remarked before, any meal I don’t have to cook is a good meal! So come on in and enjoy with us.

Did you notice the drawing of the hand and pen on page 29 of the January issue of the Ruralite magazine? It looks like one of those famous ones done by Al Hirschfeld in years past. He used only one line to make fabulous portraits. I find it fascinating, because I can’t draw anything. Then there are those who can make a picture out of any squiggle or scribble or scrawl. OK, well, to each his own.

Well, confession is good for the soul, right? I was so excited about putting a lining in the long vest I forgot that linings need to be slick. The material that I used was definitely not slick. So I spent a few days removing the material from the vest, castigating myself for being so stupid. Blame it on old age …

So I went to the fabric sale and got the only piece of satin there. But when I got it next to the vest, the color was just not going to work. And since I am not going to run off to any fabric store just for a yard of satin, I asked for help from the daughter-in-love in Portland. Sent a sample of the vest material. She has access to the stores — and friends who sew! Stay tuned … 

Did you make your New Year’s resolutions? Since we didn’t get to present our Christmas Ensemble due to illnesses, I haven’t been singing for a month. So my resolution is to do the vocalises — from bass to soprano — every day AND practice the harp at least every other day. Fingers get pretty sore after an hour, so that is often enough. It has been a challenge to make the hands go the “harp way” after 65-plus years of the “piano way” and the “string family” way. I’ve only had the harp for 20 years, so better get with the programl

Rev. 14:2, 15:2,3 The sound I heard was like the sound of harpists playing their harps. They held harps given them by God … and sang the song of the Lamb.