"We had 50 people here to the grand opening," said Springville Senior Center director Brenda Weimer. "Getting back was a really big thing."

Senior citizens in St. Clair County are happy to be back together after a year of COVID-19 restrictions kept them out of senior centers.

Last week was the first full week of the centers being reopened. At the Senior Center in Springville, the re-opening on Friday, June 18, drew a crowd.

“We had 50 people here to the grand opening,” said Springville Senior Center director Brenda Weimer. “Getting back was a really big thing.”

In the past year when the center was closed, she said, usual participants at the senior center missed out on being together. “A lot of them read or just stayed home,” she said.

Prior to shutting down due to the coronavirus pandemic, the center would average between 30-40 people each day. In the first week, attendance was back to those levels and sign-up sheets for upcoming trips were full.

On Wednesday of last week, seniors worked on pottery. Afterwards a small group stayed to play a highly competitive game of dominos. Even with some grumbling over the game, it was clear they were happy to be back in the senior center.

“She keeps us under control,” joked Jean Redish of Weimer.

Weimer said they’re seeing some new faces, too, thanks to online activities during the shut-down. “We did a lot of online activities,” said Weimer.

The center reopened without any restrictions, but Weimer continues to sanitize the center and ensures there is plenty of hand sanitizer and disinfectant on hand for everyone to use.