I’ll bet you didn’t know the Northern Wake Senior Center was literally built by seniors.
In 1987 there were a lot of savvy energetic seniors in and around Wake Forest, and many of them met each day to have lunch at a nutrition program held in the Sunday School Building at Wake Forest Baptist Church. That year the church decided to make substantial renovations to the building and had to kick the seniors out.
That did not sit well with R.H. Forrest, the sometimes peppery former school teacher, principal and school superintendent, and he started talking about the need for a senior center which could house the nutrition program, Meals on Wheels, exercise and other programs.
Before long, they had organized themselves into the Northern Wake Senior Citizens Association with Forrest as president; E.G. Macon Jr. as vice president; Tom Arrington, secretary; and Inez Hall, treasurer; with Miriam Fonville, Annie Belle Bullock and Luna Marshall as directors. A building committee was organized, and many other older residents became part of the efforts: Nannie Brandon, Worth Jackson, Thelma Wright, Mabel Shearin, Hope Newsom, David Hafer, Hattie Merritt and Ida Holding among them. For those too young or too new to town to recognize the people, the group was integrated from the beginning.
The town, Wake County and the state pitched in grants and funds, and the association was able to buy a site on the new East Holding Avenue in 1989. So far, so good, but no building.
They had several fund-raising projects, including a day-long festival on the future building site with pony rides and other attractions. Still not enough money.
Even so, the groups went ahead with a ground-breaking in the spring of 1993. Their faith was rewarded very soon when Bertha Harris, a retired school teacher, gave them a check for $250,000.
In 1994, after the building was complete, the Northern Wake Senior Citizens Association donated the land and building to the Town of Wake Forest. With the recent renovations, the building and land are now worth just over $5 million.
Harris also gave $100,000 to beautify the town cemetery on North White Street and asked that her nephew, Hayes McNeil, along with Bob Snow, Jenny Brewer, Hazel Jones, Ruth Snyder and Edwin Alford be named to a committee to oversee how it was spent. This was the start of the current Cemetery Advisory Board.
Following her wishes that the gift be an endowment, the town has kept the money in a separate account, spending only the interest.
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3 Responses
My Grandmother, Allene Williams, worked tirelessly to see this center become a reality. As a retired nurse having served as a nurse to Dr. George Mackie and then at Northern Wake Hospital here in the Town of Wake Forest until 1986, my Grandmother served with everyone named and many others to make sure the seniors had a place in town for their events and activities and that it served everyone. Ms. Bertha was like the fairy who sprinkled life into the first Senior Center. She made the dream come true. I think that all of the “first” group of Seniors would be proud of what has been done to grow the Center with the Town’s needs to serve their population. They worked hard, fought many battles and struggled to find the funding to not be in debt. Their legacy lives on in a beautifully renovated Senior Center.
My father, Tom Arrington, was a co-founder with Mr. Forrest. It had also been Daddy’s dream for many years — but he was more of a “behind-the-scenes” leader, and therefore sometimes didn’t get the credit he deserved (not that he cared). He would be so proud of what the center has become.
Thank you for the History of the Senior Center! Great reminder of amazing people in our community! Miss them!