Ames getting ready for retirement in Gillett

BY ERIC HRIN

GILLETT - Phyllis Ames is retiring as the manager of the Gillett Senior Center, but don't worry - she won't be going anywhere.

Ames, 73, of Gillett, said she plans on sticking around at the center, showing up and interacting with the seniors there.

Her last day as manager, a position she's held for the last nine years, is Dec. 31.

As for retiring, Ames said she has mixed feelings about it.

"I'm sort of glad to give it up; it will give me some more free time, but I'll still be here."

She had been thinking about retiring for four months, but she made the final decision in early November.

Ames said she is stepping down for health reasons.

"I just can't do the things I used to do," she said.

Looking back over the years, Ames said a highlight four years ago was moving the senior center from the gym inside the building, which is a former elementary school, across the hall to two rooms. It was a good move, she said, because the gym didn't have the most pleasant of surroundings and had bad acoustics.

For the move, two former classrooms were made into one room to serve as the senior center.

Decorated with holiday trimmings, it's an environment that seems welcoming and inviting.

"The seniors did all the painting, what work they could," she said. Someone was hired to do the other work, such as plumbing and electrical work.

Ames has enjoyed seeing the center grow as more seniors have come on board, though the center has lost some as well. Ames is proud of a memorial outside the senior center in their memory. She looks upon it as another highlight of the center.

She said people have wished her well.

"They thanked me for the times I put in, and said I did a good job, and they're going to miss me, but I said, 'I will still be here.'"

In addition, Ames looks back fondly on trips the seniors have taken to such places as Seneca Lake and Mifflinburg, Pa.

She recalled how she came to take the manager position.

"I had filled in as an assistant manager before, and I kind of enjoyed the job, and it was a little extra spending money."

"The usual," she said with a laugh. "I've come to enjoy the people that come each week."

The Area Agency on the Aging, serving Bradford, Sullivan, Susquehanna, and Tioga counties, runs the center, and AAA Executive Director Bill Farley said Ames has done a "superb" job.

"Phyllis was a dedicated individual and a very caring soul, and we really appreciated her efforts. We're sad to see her go."

He said she has done a "wonderful" job, both with the senior center clients and the building.

The new senior center manager is Joyce Steigerwalt of the Gillett area.

"I think she will be fine," Farley said. "She will have big shoes to fill, but she is experienced and we're hoping for a smooth transition."

Linda Leonard, the South Creek Township secretary, also admires Ames.

"I have had a lot of interaction over the years with Phyllis and we have been able to work together very easily. We have worked together as Girl Scout leaders, in the South Creek Volunteer Fire Department, in township government, and with the senior center. She is a loyal friend and she has always been dedicated to the best outcome for the citizens of the township. She will be missed when she leaves the job and the person who has to fill her shoes is going to be very busy. I wish her the best in her retirement."

Eric Hrin can be reached at (570) 297-5251; e-mail: reviewtroy@thedailyreview.com.

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