Grant helps BEST THING in McClusky

Everyone knows you can’t buy much for a dollar.

Wilma and Erwin Pfennig, Helen Hollenbeck, LeRoy and Alice Lauer, and Lloyd Bauer (left to right) are Capital Electric members from McClusky. They appreciate the co-op’s Operation Round Up program, which allowed the senior center members to insulate and reside the building.

A loaf of bread costs more. A two-pack of soap costs more. A gallon of gas may soon cost four times as much.

But Melvin “Doc” Schindler remembers when a dollar bought a bargain.

Back in 1975,membership dwindled at the Episcopal Church In McClusky. Some people moved, while others simply died.

“They either went up, or they went down,” one resident jokes.

Without enough members to sustain the church, “Christ’s Chapel” closed its doors and the members dispersed to one of the town’s seven other churches.

It was a break for the senior citizens of McClusky, who were looking for a place to shoot pool, put together puzzles, and play board games and cards. They bought the church for $1.

To better fit their needs, they fixed up the bathrooms and added on a kitchen. To pay for the renovations, the ladies made quilts and raffled them off.

LeRoy Lauer, Clifford Neff, Melvin “Doc” Schindler and Lloyd Lauer play a game of pinochle.

Since 1975, the Sheridan Senior Center has been an affordable “second home” for more than 30 area residents. Approximately 20 of those members attend daily to play games and get a hearty laugh.

You won’t find them surfing the Internet or watching much TV. Doc says the senior center is a social club, and if people are tired, they can “watch the fire burn.”

The members manage to keep expenses to a minimum. They do charge 50 cents for a cup of coffee, but take turns bringing lunch so they don’t have to pay for catering.

To raise money to pay the electric and telephone bills, the members hold a monthly potluck with entertainment. They also rent the center for small parties.

Recently, the center needed some exterior updates that potlucks and quilt-making wouldn’t cover. Doc and his friends knew that electric cooperatives take pride in helping rural communities prosper, so they talked to Rusty Lasher, a longtime McClusky resident who has served on Capital Electric Cooperative’s board of directors for many years.

Helen Hollenbech and Mildred Kissee put together a scenic puzzle.

Lasher suggested they contact the cooperative and apply for an Operation Round Up grant. Several senior citizen center members were also members of Capital Electric Cooperative, so they were familiar with the co-op’s program of rounding up participating members’ electric bills and awarding those pennies in the form of grants, to help people and groups who need financial assistance. So Doc picked up the forms from co-op headquarters in Bismarck, and Mildred Kissee filled them out.

The members of the senior center were thrilled to learn they would earn an Operation Round Up grant in February. The money helped them to insulate the walls, reside the building, fix some lights and put up a new sign.

According to Doc, the newly enhanced Sheridan Senior Center is the “best thing that happens in McClusky.” The center is open Monday through Friday from1-5 p.m., along with some Saturdays. Anyone age 55 or older is welcome to become a member, although one member jokes and says, “We might vote and let you in if you’re younger, as long as you pay your dues.”

Membership dues are still a bargain. Back in 1975, they used to cost (you guessed it!) a buck. Today, members pay an annual fee of $10.

For more information on the Sheridan Senior Center in McClusky, call (701) 363-2789.