Seniors Center caters to the not-so-senior citizen

By Krista B. Ledbetter
of The Northwestern

Old. Retired. Gray-haired. 80-years-old. Inactive.

It's those words that come to mind when a handful of Oshkosh women hear the words "senior citizen." While none of these women consider themselves a senior citizen, they are all participants in programs at the Oshkosh Seniors Center. However Darlene O'Neill, Kathy Zillges and Mary Whalen are all in their 50s and, thus, old enough to be a participant at the seniors center. "I don't feel like a senior citizen, but I guess I am," said O'Neill, who still works as a hair stylist in Oshkosh. Her clients, she said, are shocked to learn she regularly exercises at the seniors center.
"'How old are you?' they always ask me," O'Neill said, laughing. "I always make sure to tell them, 'Well, you only have to be 50 to participate.'"

The words 'senior citizen' often carry a stigma and many people, like O'Neill, Zillges and Whalen, who are in their 50s, find it hard to realize they're already part of that population. Molly Yatso Butz, program coordinator for the Oshkosh Seniors Center, said participants at the facility's Fox Fitness Center range in age from 50 to 94, a gap of nearly five decades.

"We offer exercise programs in a variety of intensity levels because of that gap," Yatso Butz said. "That's one of the most challenging parts of working for the seniors center. We have to cover the varieties of structure, values and importance of almost five generations."  Many people, she said, likely don't take advantage of the benefits of seniors centers because they don't realize they are, in fact, senior citizens. Zillges said she doesn't consider herself a senior, but the exercise programs available to her are too good to pass up.

All three women participate in the center's weight-loss exercise class, one of the more advanced classes, which meets twice a week. Yatso Butz, who teaches the class, said for a while it was a struggle to provide enough classes for everyone's fitness capabilities. "So many younger people are coming in and are in need of a more advanced class, or the previous participants are getting stronger," she said. The average age of participants, she said, is between 60 and 65, and those in their 50s are the on the young end of the senior citizen spectrum.

Whatever their own personal stigma might be about the term "senior citizen," each of the women shared a sense of humor about being labeled one. Whalen, who has a son in his early twenties, said he often doesn't let her order from the senior menu at area restaurants when she's with him. And O'Neill finds herself at particular stores on days designated for seniors, and doesn't realize she's eligible for the discount. "I bought flowers one day, and remember whispering to the cashier, 'Can I have the senior discount, please?'" They asked her for identification. "That's a good time to be asked for ID."

Krista B. Ledbetter: (920) 426-6656 or kledbetter@thenorthwestern.com.