Tamberline Kendig, 67, known as BamBam, is getting ready for a party. She and her group of friends are just a few of those planning to attend the Redmond Senior Center 75th Anniversary celebration.

For Kendig, the senior center is a crucial part of her day — and her social scene.

“This place is full of angels … there’s something in the air here,” she said.

Senior Center administration has pulled out all the stops to celebrate the center’s birthday.

“The 75th (anniversary) is a big deal,” said James Morris, the center’s marketing coordinator. “That’s a big celebration, a big milestone that the senior center has gone through, especially recently with Covid-19, it’s a testament to us and our commitment to the seniors and (the center) for surviving so long.”

Morris has worked for the center for six months, but he already calls the people here his “second family.” Morris enjoys seeing his marketing results bring more members in and growing the senior family.

“I love everyone here,” Morris said. “I love this stuff, it doesn’t feel like a job. It’s just something I love doing.”

Morris said the center recently started happy hours twice a month and it’s been a big hit, especially the karaoke. He said the seniors were surprised about how much fun the happy hours were.

“I remember when I sang my last song, I was singing ‘My Way’ and I looked out there and all the seniors had their phones up with their flashlights on,” Morris said.

Morris said he sang first to encourage other seniors to, and soon enough, there were 30 others joining in.

Singing will be part of the 75th anniversary celebration, which will run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sept. 14 and 2-6 p.m. on Sept. 15. On Saturday, The Notables Swing Band performs, a raffle and silent auction is held with plenty of beer, wine and appetizers.

On Sunday, the celebration will continue at Blacksmith Public House on SW Evergreen Ave., with live music by the Sleepless Truckers and Glenn Lowe and a raffle and prizes. General admission is $25 and VIP access is $100, which includes premium seating, a gift bag and access to the after party. Tickets can be bought online.

The Dry Canyon Art Association donated 15 pieces for the silent auction. The auction will also feature gift baskets. The money from the event will be put back into general funding for the center, Morris said.

The center holds other events such as line dancing, book club, bingo, poker, manicures, pickleball and even a temporary tattoo event. Morris said 95% of the seniors got temporary tattoos that day.

“Laughing is a big part of living and I want to make sure they laugh too,” Morris said, chuckling about how excited everyone was for happy hour karaoke.

According to Morris, The Redmond Senior Center has come a long way since it was founded in 1949. Four volunteers decided that the city needed community care for seniors and started “Little House.” At the time, Redmond’s population was only 2,532.

By 1975, the center had grown exponentially and was relocated on the corner of Fourth Street and Elm Street. With the bigger space, new activities and programs were offered. The city’s population had grown to 5,415. The center was renovated and expanded in 1991 as the population grew by another 2,000 people.

Like Morris mentioned, the center faced significant challenges during the Covid-19 pandemic and had to shut down.

“We had to go into survival mode,” Morris said.

It was important to keep Meals on Wheels going, as many seniors relied on having their food made and delivered to their doorstep, Morris said. Meals on Wheels delivers over 160 meals a day and additional meals provided at the center itself. In 2020, Redmond’s population was at 33,776.

Currently, the center is set to introduce a new innovative wellness program that prioritizes physical and mental health but taking a holistic health approach. Services will include fitness classes, nutritional counseling, isolation-reducing activities and mental health workshops. Additionally since the start of this year, 17,959 Meals on Wheels were delivered, 4,478 meals were served on site and 98 months of pet food was produced for the Passion of Pets program.

“That’s my favorite thing they do here,” BamBam said about Passion for Pets. “There’s quite a few shut-ins. All they have is their little dog or cat and they can’t afford to feed them. So Passion for Pets takes donations and they get food, toys, things like that.”

Besides the pet program, BamBam loves playing card games with her friends, specifically Spite and Malice, and they play every Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.

“We don’t let each other lose,” BamBam said about there not really being a winner. “Unlike poker, in which case I’d take your two dollars.”

Olaf Bolken, 87, taught the group the card game. He also said he’s a bit of a dancer and has danced “with all the women.”

“And I’ve danced with all the men!” Theresa Thorson, 77, joked. Thorson has visited the senior center since 1985. She calls herself Mother Theresa, but “the bad one.”

Thorson visited Rena Meeks, 55, in the hospital. BamBam said she also had her senior center friends visit her during a hospital stay.

“They really help me a lot,” Meeks said. “I’m disabled so I don’t work anymore, so I’ve spent a lot of time here and made a lot of new friends.”

The group is really tight and basically have plans with each other every day. They went over to Bolken’s house Sept. 1 for dinner and have another week of poker and Spite and Malice.

“I think I’ve made the best friends I’ve ever had in my life,” BamBam said. “This place has been life renewing.”

Meeks used to teach yoga at the senior center but had to stop due to her health, although she said she may start it up again soon.

The group never ran out of good things to say about the senior center. They especially liked the food by their Cuban chef, Jose Perez. They all plan to attend the 75th anniversary celebration.

There are 160 active members that used the center this August, but Meals on Wheels Coordinator Janean Baird said there’s more inactive members.

“You just never know who’s gonna walk through those doors,” Director Randy Graves said. “But they’ll tell you everything.”

Morris hopes the 75th anniversary celebration will draw in even more members.

“We want to make sure that we’re here for another 75 years, so these celebrations not only bring awareness to the community that we are still here and going strong, but it’s almost like a thank you for your support. Now let’s have some fun,” Morris said.