Senior Center Valentines party a success

The Lincoln Senior Center celebrated Valentine’s Day on Friday with a special roast beef lunch.

The original sign-up sheet had room for 30 attendees, but Senior Center Coordinator Diane Ironi increased the limit and had about 40 people arrive for lunch, gifts, and entertainment. Ironi said she hadn’t seen this large a response to a Senior Center event since the annual Christmas party lunch in December.

Attendees were seated at tables and served roast beef, mashed potatoes, rolls, and apples and carrots.

“It was really good,” said Darlene Templeton, who attended the event and said she got to see some people she hadn’t seen in a while. Desserts were provided by a variety of people and included several different kinds of cookies.

Jesse Sallin, who brought handmade Valentine’s-themed potholders for attendees, noted that each place setting had gifts of candy and beads and said, “It was really pretty.” Templeton added that attendees also received cute little glass birds.

Shirley Dietz, who learned about the event from Sallin, said, “It was wonderful. I just loved it. I told Diane what a good cook she was and how delicious it all was and how kind she is. And we had good entertainment!”

Jim Oly provided the musical entertainment. He played the ukulele and sang “You Are My Sunshine” as well as other tunes.

“Oh, he is hilarious. He made all of us laugh, anyway, which is good,” Dietz said of Oly.,

The Lincoln Senior Center serves lunch Monday through Friday at 11:30 a.m. for a $5 donation.

In addition, seniors are invited to participate in a variety of weekly activities at the Senior Center, including dominos and wood-carving. Monthly lunch menus are available in the Senior Center, and the weekly lunch schedule is available in the paper.