June 16, 2004
Gladys brings carnival to town
91-year-old creates carnival fundraiser for Senior Center
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
When you generate a great idea, you are usually charged with seeing it through.
So discovered Gladys Hill of Elmwood Township late last fall.
Hill, 91, out of the blue blurted out at a meeting before Thanksgiving: the Traverse City Senior Center should have a full-fledged carnival as a fundraiser for programs and a new building. This idea was quite a departure from the bake sale that had been under discussion, but everyone instantly liked it.
"I said, 'Maybe this is a dumb idea, but_'" Hill recalled Monday afternoon, following a meeting for the upcoming Bayside Carnival, scheduled for Saturday June 26. "I guess I opened my mouth and put my foot into it."
"I just pictured it in here and it just exploded," she added. "We got prizes galore and we're getting lot of volunteers now, and a lot of them don't even belong to the Senior Center."
The carnival will feature 'Everything Under the Sun,' as the event's tag line states: from a flea market and carnival games to a euchre tournament and hair braiding. A silent auction, bake sale, kayak demo and dunk tank will also help fill the coffers for the hoped for new building. An antique appraiser will also be on site to evaluate items, with proceeds donated to the cause.
"We'll take anything we get," said Hill, who is a member of the Center's Kitchen Band, playing the kazoo, teapot and birdies. "We have over 1,500 prizes and more than 1,000 of them were donated."
The Traverse City Senior Center is bursting at the seams, with nearly 3,000 members age 50 and over. The center features dozens of regular and special activities every month.
Director Lori Wells said volunteers like Hill help keep the center going and make the dream of a new building a reality.
"She is not a long-time volunteer, this is kind of her first big thing," Wells noted. "She's kind of one of those people I've been wondering why I haven't asked her earlier because she's just come out of the woodwork and been fantastic."
Hill's buddy Jean Cline, 81, is also helping with the carnival. The pair make a formidable team, determined to enlarge the offerings of the center and hopefully the center itself. They noted that some afternoons every table, nook and cranny is filled with activities.
"They have so many new things they want to start here, but there's just not room," said Cline, also an Elmwood Township resident. "There was something going on every night except Wednesday, so they started Wacky Wednesdays. You share a meal and then do whatever you want for three hours."
Hill has been a member of the Traverse City Senior Center since 1997. She attends a variety of programs in addition to the Kitchen Band, such as chair exercise and crafts. Although a new volunteer, she is taken with the concept of contributing to the community.
"I like volunteering, it gives me something to do," she noted.
Cline agreed that volunteering is the thing to do, if someone wants to make a difference.
"Somebody has to do it, things couldn't run if people don't help out," she said. "There's a lot of volunteers here."
The Bayside Carnival will be held on Saturday, June 26, from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the Traverse City Senior Center. For more information, call the center at 922-4911.