Senior citizens from Cameron, Elk, McKean and Potter counties
got out of their senior centers on Friday and played various games
from 9 a.m. until noon June 9 at the University of Pittsburgh in
Bradford.

Bocce, a wheelchair race, bean bag toss, basketball and croquet
were among the activities offered in this year’s Four County Senior
Games. They were spread out across the lawn behind the
Frame-Westerberg Commons and in the Mukaiyama University Room
inside the building, as well as on the basketball and tennis
courts.

Wanda Shirk, 55, spoke about the importance of staying active as
one grows older before the activities began. Shirk was on the show
“Survivor” and is a Northern Potter school teacher.

Many of the seniors said they came to make new friends and meet
up with old ones, as well as get some exercise. “We can go out and
go do things we think we’re good at,” said Dorothy Curley of Kersey
with a laugh.

A few participants were playing in place of a loved one or
friend. “I’m here because I just like to shoot pool,” Lishia Janke
said, and explained she was playing in place of someone who
couldn’t attend due to cancer.

Representatives from the various senior centers present ran the
activities. Many said they came not only to get a day out of the
office, but also to enjoy themselves. “It’s nice to see them get
out and have this much fun and still be competitive,” Barb Kiel, an
employee at the Potter County Office of Aging, said.

Bill Orzechowski, a member of the Senior Games Committee, said
he liked hearing all the seniors’ stories about the changes that
have occurred in the area.

Participant numbers had dropped this year, according to Mark
Benson, chair of the Senior Games Committee, to 160 participants
from the 250 a few years ago. “It does make things run smoother,
though,” he said. Kiel said she believed the distance might have
been a factor. “The vans from Potter County have to leave at seven
in the morning.”

The Senior Games originated in the 1970s, according to
Orzechowski, at the senior center in Smethport. By the late 1970s,
the center was inviting other senior centers from the area to
participate in the games.

According to Benson, 1985 was the first year the event took
place at Pitt-Bradford. Originally it had been held at Hamlin Lake
Park in Smethport.

Benson has been chair since 1987 and involved in the Senior
Games since 1986.

This year the Senior Games were sponsored by the Bradford
Ecumenical Home, Area Transportation Authority, The University of
Pittsburgh at Bradford, Sweden Valley Manor, Potter County
Commissioners, Potter County Human Services, Northern Tier
Community Action Corp., State Rep. Martin Causer, R-Turtlepoint;
Cameron County Echo, Area Agency on Aging, Charles Cole Memorial
Hospital and the Bradford Senior Center.