Social clubs eager to expand
Horseshoe Seniors and Golden Nuggets give seniors place to dance, socialize
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For many of the area's longtime community members , seeking a place for social outings presents a challenge.
However, a large group of seniors have found a home in one of two clubs in Altoona.
The Horseshoe Seniors and Golden Nuggets clubs were started in the late 1980s to provide the area's seniors with a place to gather on a regular basis where they could eat, dance and get to know other community members.
"It's a longstanding group of seniors who get together once (or twice) a month to have dinner and dancing at the Bavarian Club," Jan Mutmansky, one of the club members, said. "It's been in existence a very long time."
Both the Horseshoe Seniors and the Golden Nuggets meet twice a month on Thursday evenings. They gather in the upstairs ballroom of the Bavarian, where a three-course meal complete with coffee and dessert is served.
In addition to the meal, one of the club's greatest attractions is the music. Rich Hagens, the DJ, typically plays a variety of 1940s and '50s songs, and the dance floor is always open.
"It's important for the seniors that are there to have some place if they want to dance," said Don Beatty, who took over running the clubs three years ago. "There isn't any place around that will play the '40s and '50s music anymore."
For a fee of $12, local senior citizens are able to enjoy dinner and a night of dancing and socializing.
"We have a good DJ that will take requests and play music, but softly enough that people can sit and talk if they're not up dancing. It's only $12 a person for the night, nothing else to pay unless you want to buy soda," Beatty said.
In the coming year, the clubs are hoping to attract even more community members.
"The goals that we have are to try to get larger numbers of people coming to each dance, because in the past, we've had as many as 80 people come to our dances, and we're dwindling down to about 40," Mutmansky said. "At that number, our club is not meeting expenses, and we're losing out because of the rental and paying for the musicians and the meal."
Those involved in the clubs enjoy the opportunity to get to know other senior citizens in the community, and they encourage others who are looking for a social activity to get involved in one or both of the clubs.
"This is a type of thing where people who are retired and people who have been a part of the community for a long time can get together and have a pleasant evening," Mutmansky said. "It's very nice to be able to do this with a group of other people."