Seniors Thrive on Joining the Club

Shuffleboard, anyone? How about line dancing, poetry or fashion lessons?

At the retirement community of Seal Beach Leisure World, many of the community’s more than 9,000 residents belong to a group or two. Some are involved in up to a dozen.

And why not? Unofficially, there are about 200 clubs meeting throughout the month and maybe more if you count those regular gatherings held at residents’ homes. But most clubs meet in one of the community’s five clubhouses.

There’s the Bunco Babes & Buddies that meets on the second Monday of the month, the TGIF Club that has dances every Friday, the Open-Mind Forum, hosting lively debates on Tuesday mornings, and the Slavic club, one of eight ethnic clubs, that meets on the second Wednesday of the month.

For Hyman Kwasman, 87, and his wife, who have lived in the community since 1981, the clubs are a big part of why he says that Leisure World is “the best place we ever moved to.”

The clubs “are a place to go and be with friends, to have companionship,” said Kwasman, who is president of the New York Club, a group of former New Yorkers and others who get together once a month to play bingo and go on occasional excursions to places including Laughlin, Nev. “Many people here are alone, they’ve lost their wives or husbands, and this way they have friendship.”

Kwasman is also a member of the chess, table tennis, and pool and billiards clubs. He became president of the New York Club five years ago and says an average of 100 people attend the monthly bingo sessions.

Tom Barratt belongs to six clubs, including the computer club, which has 250 members.

“The clubs cover a whole broad interest range,” Barratt said, “from places people came from to hobbies. People here have the leisure time and they want to do things.”

The Swim Club, which also includes travel as a group activity, has 600 members, Barratt said.

Some club meetings can take up large portions of the day, but the enthusiasm seems never to wane. For example, the Women’s Club holds card games that can start at 10 a.m., break for lunch and last until 2:30 p.m.

“There’s something for everyone,” said Gloria Hampton, who belongs to the Women’s Club and various other card game clubs. She said 190 to 250 women show up to play assorted card games, including bridge, pinochle and “skipbo.”

Kwasman, who is also the caller during the New York Club’s bingo meetings, said the clubs are valuable in several ways.

“Senior citizens have to have someone to communicate with,” he said. “Children or grandchildren are sometimes too busy to talk. At least, some are. Like they say, they have their own lives to live.

“Clubs are a means of getting rid of stress and keeping an edge on your health.”

Alex Murashko can be reached at (714) 966-5974.