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Struthers City Schools hosts dinner for senior citizens
Struthers City Schools hosts meal for elderly
By SARAH Lehr
STRUTHERS
As local musician John Gabriele serenaded attendees at a senior citizen picnic, Milly Chopp joked that she might start dancing with her walker.
Chopp was one of about 150 Struthers residents to show up Thursday evening for a dinner sponsored by Struthers City Schools at Mauthe Park Pavilion.
Admission to the third annual event was $2 per person.
Jo Ann White, a friend of Chopp’s, had attended last year’s barbecue, as well.
“We came; we enjoyed; we ate,” White said.
School board member Ron Carcelli said the barbecue is intended as a thank you to the city’s elderly residents.
“We owe them so much for the support of our levies and our kids,” Carcelli said.
Superintendent Joseph Nohra added, “We
wouldn’t have our schools if it weren’t for them.”
The Struthers school board also hosts a turkey dinner for senior citizens in the fall.
Donations from school board members helped finance Thursday’s festivities, and the district’s cooking staff provided hot dogs, hamburgers and side dishes.
Members of the boys high-school basketball team volunteered at the event, which included a raffle for prizes.
A group of ladies who live at the Struthers Manor apartments on Poland Avenue arrived en masse at the barbecue.
They pointed to their friend and neighbor Audrey McKnight, 78, as the impetus for their attendance.
“She rounds everybody up,” resident Mary Louise Balogh said. “We all follow her.”
McKnight said the picnic is particularly important for senior citizens who don’t otherwise have opportunities to leave the house and be social.
“We appreciate the way they take care of us and look after us – the whole city of Struthers,” McKnight said.