Austintown seniors get their kicks learning new licks

By Justin wier | jwier@vindy.com

AUSTINTOWN

Austintown is a long way from Hawaii, but if you wander into the township’s senior center on a Wednesday afternoon, you’re likely to hear the sound of ukuleles emanating from a back room.

On a recent Wednesday, a few members of the Austintown Senior Center on Westchester Drive were strumming a rendition of “My Darling Clementine.”

Richard Wyant started teaching weekly ukulele classes at the center in March. He picked up the instrument a few years back as a hobby. In his research, he began to notice that a lot of ukulele societies and clubs were composed of seniors, and he wanted to try to create a ukulele club in Austintown, so he reached out to the senior center.

He said the classes are laid back; it’s all about the fun and joy of playing the ukulele.

“It’s a very ‘take your time and enjoy it’ type of thing,” Wyant said. “There’s no pressure.”

Julia Kramer has been attending the classes since they started. She’s part of a core group of four or five people who regularly attend each week.

Kramer had a background playing guitar and piano and thought it would be fun to try something different. She even happened to have a ukulele sitting around.

For her, the highlight was a recent Christmas concert. The class performed five songs, including “Jingle Bells” and “Silent Night,” for the members of the senior center. She said people are still talking about how much they enjoyed it.

“They were marvelous,” Kramer said. “I was so surprised by how they just joined right in and sang.”

The concert was a topic of discussion at a recent township board of trustees meeting.

Because of the Christmas concert’s success, Wyant said they are planning a spring concert. He hopes the concerts will become a regular thing.

Kramer said they aren’t concerts in the traditional sense of a recital.

“It’s like the good old days in the ’60s, when we would do a sing-along,” she said. “When the audience responds, it just brings out the best.”

Wyant said he would like to see more people attend the classes. They are scheduled from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. every Wednesday. He said learning the ukulele is relatively easy; it just takes practice.

“We’re just having fun,” Wyant said. “We’re having fun, and we’re learning something new.”