Senior Center celebrates 50th anniversary, Schroeder to retire

WINSTED —  Residents celebrated the 50th anniversary of The Winsted Senior Center with a luncheon at Chatterley’s Banquet Hall on Friday, Sept. 16.

The lunch celebrated both the anniversary of the center, which is located at 80 Holabird Ave., and the pending retirement of center Director Ellen Schroeder.

According to a history of the center provided by Schroeder, the Senior Center was founded on Sept. 27, 1966.

On that date, eight residents met with the Rev. Harry Eid at the Methodist Church to form a senior citizens group.

The group gathered monthly at the church for business meetings and social hours.

In 1974, the state’s Department on Aging awarded the town a grant to operate a senior center.

The first physical location of the Senior Center opened on Jan. 4, 1974, at St. Andrews Lodge on Wheeler Street.

The first director of the center was Blanche McCarthy Sewell, who served until she retired in 1998.

The Senior Center remained at St. Andrews until 1983, when Sewell secured grants to purchase and renovate the old Garibaldi Hall located on the corner of Holabird Avenue and Chestnut Street.

The building was renamed the Blanche McCarthy Winsted Senior Center in honor of Sewell’s efforts to secure the purchase of the building and its renovation.

Schroeder was named as the Senior Center’s director in 1998.

During her tenure, the town purchased a house on Chestnut Street, adjacent to the center, which was razed for additional parking.

She also secured a grant to purchase a generator that has allowed the town to use the center as an emergency shelter.

Schroeder is scheduled to retire on Friday, Sept. 30, after serving as the center’s director for 18 years.

Schroeder said she will miss working at the Senior Center.

Before becoming the Senior Center’s director, Schroeder worked for 16 years as a middle school home economics teacher in New Milford for sixth, seventh and eighth graders.

After working as a teacher, Schroeder was at Planned Parenthood for nine years.

“At Planned Parenthood, my job involved working less and less with people and doing more administrative work,” Schroeder said. “I was to the point where they made me a regional manager of four offices. I was splitting my time between Torrington, Waterbury, Shelton and Danbury. I had very little people contact.”

Schroeder said she wanted to find a job where she would be “one on one with folks again,” which led her to work as the director of the Senior Center.

“Today’s party is not about me, it is about the Senior Center,” Schroeder said. “The Senior Center is a wonderful organization. It fills a need, and it is appreciated by the senior population.”

Schroeder said the Senior Center currently serves 1,000 residents.

“As we get older, it is so important to stay involved in the community,” Schroeder said. “The Senior Center gives people an opportunity to get out of their homes to socialize. They can have assistance with insurance difficulties and get rides to places with our vans. Seniors can also join us for our lunch every day. The center offers a whole myriad of services that they can tap into.”

Schroeder said she has “very bittersweet” feelings about retiring.

“These folks have all become like my family,” Schroeder said. “I feel like I’ve given a lot in this job, but I have gotten back a lot too.”

At the party, Frances Cooper, chairman of the center’s board of commissioners, had high praise for Schroeder.

“She will be so hard to replace because she is wonderful,” Cooper said. 

“The Senior Center is a wonderful because there are so many people who cannot go to places on their own. They cannot go to parties and lunches by themselves.”

At the event, Cooper read a poem about Schroeder.

“You’ve been our director for 18 years, leaving memories, laughter and just a few tears,” Cooper wrote. “Devoted, loving, great laugh available to all. The phone ringer with a problem, you answer the call. Special programs, dinners, entertainers and much more. Photos, decorated tables with favors not done before. Rent rebates, special trips, you do those too. Calling numbers for big dinners, who does that, guess who?”

Jennifer Kelley will become the new director of the Senior Center.