CLUB FINDS NEW HOME AT DAY-CARE CENTER

If the Golden Age senior citizen club decides to hold a talent show, Roberta Riley would be a natural for a comedic skit.

Riley, one of 13 members of the club, wove fast-paced wit and wisdom into the club's first meeting at its new headquarters on 4 N. West End Blvd.

"I'm not even sure I'm old enough to be here," quipped Riley, a member of the club for four years. Members must be 60 or older to join. Senior citizens 60 or older may also use the day-care center without joining the Golden Age club.

Although Riley's peers said she definitely qualified to be a member, Riley declined to give her date of birth.

"Don't tell anybody I'm that old," she joked. "Talk to some of these other ladies; they'll be able to fill you in on the history. I'm just around for a few laughs."

Like the rest of the members of the club, which began in 1966, Riley contributes more than mere laughs. "Everyone knows how to do something to contribute to this club," Maggie Carol, the only original member of the club, said.

Carol, 91, pointed to three multicolored dolls knitted out of wool and shaped by something as simple as bleach containers.

"We'll sell these and other items at bazaars or local functions," Fern Hubbard said.

The Golden Age senior citizens club has a new place to call home thanks to the adult day-care program run by Michael and Helen Sterling.

Michael Sterling was able to rent the new headquarters through a Senior Citizens grant.

"Shelba Branscum helped us write and apply for the $16,000 grant," Michael Sterling said. Branscum, who is a Human Environmental Studies professor at Southeast Missouri State University, helps coordinate programs for senior citizen groups in Cape Girardeau and Jackson.

The grant, which expires in December, was obtained through the Senior Citizens Fund.

The money is used to pay for rent, transportation and the Sterlings' administrative salaries.

The Golden Age senior citizens club met on the third Tuesday of each month at the Nutrition Center on Clark Street. However, when it became too difficult for the members to get transportation to the meetings, an alternate site was the most logical answer.

"We had no problem with the Nutrition Center, but this is just a better location for us all to meet," Hubbard said. Tuesday's meeting included discussions about future trips and how to get one of the club's T-shirts, resplendent with the words "The Golden Age Club, Cape Girardeau, Mo.," stenciled in red letters with gold trim.

Michael Sterling said the club has discussed publishing a Golden Age cookbook complete with recipes that have been handed down for several generates.

The senior center is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. "Seniors can come here any day of the week and don't have to be a member of this club," Michael Sterling said. "The club is just one of several things we do for senior citizens here."

The adult day-care program is designed to provide care and supervision to meet the needs of older adults in a facility other than a senior citizen's homes.

For more information call 334-8337.