Steppin’ out: Senior citizens mix it up at local center

Jeffrey Libby

Thursday, Aug. 9, 2001 | 10:51 a.m.

The women outnumbered the men by about 10-1 and, as it turned out, even the youngest singles, in their 70s, had outlived a husband or two.

It was the first-ever single senior social in Boulder City and was held in the dining room of the senior center, which also serves as the pinochle room three nights a week.

The music came on about 15 minutes late, but it was still early, about 6:45 on a Wednesday evening.

The song was "At the Hop," by Danny and the Juniors, recorded in 1957.

The song had barely begun when Helen Ott, who was sitting near the front at Table 12, wanted someone to dim the fluorescent lights. That done, the initial awkwardness quickly passed.

The clapping began, then the laughing and, not long after that, nearly all of the 30 people in attendance were on the dance floor.

About 4,385 of Boulder City's 15,000 residents are 65 or older -- more than double the percentage of seniors in towns and cities in the rest of Clark County and the state.

Kevin Polk, the 30-something director of the center, said the large population of seniors can be attributed, at least in part, to Boulder City's small-town atmosphere.

Most people go to the same bank. Many of the shops and eateries in the old downtown have counters that serve as meeting spots. The businesses have names such as The Coffee Cup and Evan's Old Town Grille.

When town officials ask for volunteers to plant trees, 200 people show up ready to work.

"The rest of the valley is almost unrecognizable with the explosive growth," Polk said. "This place is a place where it's pretty much the same as it's always been."

Many of those who attended the dance said they came to Boulder City after long marriages, which ended with their spouse's death. Most came from California, and in Boulder City landed at the home of a daughter, son, or in one case, "a nice son-in-law."

As for the dance, the seniors just wanted to have fun.

Was Ott looking to make a love connection?

"Oh, God, no," she said. "No mating. We're widows and buddies. If we didn't have each other we'd be home watching soap operas, waiting to die."

Ginny Dyson is 74. She and Ott are the youngest in the crowd, said Dyson, who also denied any interest in romance. At first, anyway. "You never know though, if enough men come... ," she said.

Ott laughed. She said she had two new hips. Dyson bragged about a new knee. And Vera Lemp, 82, leaned over, then patted a new shoulder.

"We're bionic people. We're full of titanium," Lemp said.

Although some women were sticking together, others in the group broke ranks and paired off.

Fran Johnson sang Bette Midler's "The Wind Beneath My Wings," to begin a session of karaoke. It was the same song she would sing at night in Northridge, Calif., where, during the day, she worked as a maid.

She's marrying Andy Jacobsen, 79, on Sept. 8. The ceremony will be around the corner at the new Lighthouse convention center. Both lost mates 10 years ago after more than 35 years of marriage.

They say the new love was sparked as they played cards at the senior center about three years ago.

"I finally looked up from the cards, and I said, 'My God, what a beautiful woman you are,' " Jacobsen said.

It was sealed at the front door of Johnson's home.

"We'd been out two or three nights in a row and he'd end things with a peck. I thought, 'What is going on here, am I chopped liver?' " Johnson said. "So I gave him a hug like this and laid one on him. From that day on I let him in the house. And he's been a perfect gentleman."

Councilman Mike Pacini, who organized the event and also performed DJ duties, said the idea stemmed from his 18 years working the check-out counter on aisle No. 7 at the grocery store.

"I've seen a number of couples dwindle into one. Some come up to the store four or five times a day. I've had a lot of them break down right in line," Pacini said. "They've spent 30, 40, 50 years with someone. Now they're alone. It's tragic. So, I had this idea of a function."