Woman helps seniors stay active, make friends

ANDERSON, S.C. (AP) - The awards wall at the Jo Brown Senior Center is an eye-catching reminder that competitive bridge is among the daily activities at the Fant Street facility.

The true mission involves building bridges.

"The best part is the companionship," said Linda Lewis, a bridge-playing retired teacher who serves as one of the 20 interest-group leaders. "We're one big, happy family.

"This place keeps us active physically and mentally," Lewis said.

Anderson County Senior Citizens Program coordinator Kelly Jo Barnwell, who pours full-time enthusiasm into a part-time job, gets frequent reminders in the form of hugs.

"I looked around last week and got a hug out of the blue from a lady whose husband of 50 years died two weeks ago," Barnwell said. "We hadn't seen her since his death, and we were hoping she'd come back soon. She said she was thankful for this facility and that her community is here.

"That's what we provide, a community. Every one of those leaders has a group," she said, pointing to a wall of 20 smiling colleagues. "And those groups are important to a lot of people."

Through a variety of interest groups, including duplicate bridge, quilting, crafts, music, coin collection, exercise, line dancing and music, the center serves an average of 360 senior citizens a week.

One big reason for the success is the setting. Most seniors are comfortable with the activities in the surroundings of the Senior Center, formerly the McCants Middle School.

"It's fun, great camaraderie, and you don't need a partner," said line-dance leader Janice Woodell.

Another factor is Barnwell, who has served as director for eight years, but unofficially began training for the job at age 12, when she routinely tagged along as her mother led activities.

One facet of the program, the Tolly Arts & Crafts group, started in 1970. But the center's broad umbrella of activities can be traced to 1981, when Brown and then-Anderson School District 5 leader Prue Gilreath initiated activities at the Coleman Recreation Center (on Murray Avenue, present site of the Anderson Recreation Center) with the help of a state grant. The Anderson County Council took on the project in 1984; it was relocated to the former McCants building in 2004.

Barnwell has been coordinator since 2007.

"She's just like her mother - she's very enthusiastic," OverEasy exercise class participant Annie Geer said of Barnwell. "Her personality draws people."

Myrtle Galloway, who joined the center shortly after she retired from Kmart in 1987, saw the same pattern when Jo Brown was the leader.

"I like the exercise program. I used to clog and line dance," said Galloway, now 89. "I think everybody that goes to the center enjoys it. I'm not able to go as often as I used to, but I loved it there."

With a front-row seat, Barnwell saw the social chemistry unfold as her mother used the exercise classes and crafts activities to forge relationships. A photo taken in the program's first year of exercise classes includes Barnwell, 46.

Barnwell sensed at an early age that her mother loved sharing time with the older population.

"I think it's a gene, I really do, and I think I caught it," said Barnwell. "The senior center was mom's love and passion, even though she died before she was a senior citizen."

Barnwell said Brown had "a big heart for serving the senior community," that likely began in childhood. Brown was raised in Toccoa, Ga., where her mother worked long hours at a textile company while Jo Brown spent valuable hours with older family members.

"I think that's when she fell in love with senior citizens," said Barnwell, who saw her mother in the role of a caregiver and advocate for the elderly.

"It is a gift. Not everybody has the patience to sit at the feet of a senior," Barnwell said.

Barnwell did that just a few years ago, as her grandmother experienced declining health in her early 50s. That grandmother was 54 when she lost a battle with cancer; Jo Brown was 46 when she lost a battle with the same form of cancer.

"Mom had to pack a lot of life into 46 years. That motivates me to pack a lot into living," said Barnwell, a wife and mother of two sons.

"She was keeping seniors active and involved just like we're doing today," Barnwell said, as she prepared for an annual event that began in the final weeks of her mother's life - the JBC Open House, which includes the Sunflower Dessert competition and the selection of the Senior of the Year.

The annual celebration began on July 20, 1996, when Anderson Mayor Richard Shirley proclaimed "Jo Brown Day." Brown received the Order of the Palmetto that day, which happened to be Barnwell's 27th birthday.