The Raph J. Froio Senior Center celebrates three decades of forging community

Pittsfield Reporter

PITTSFIELD — Three decades ago, the building at the center of North Street known for its prominent marquee — once home to the Capitol Theater — was given a second act as the Ralph J. Froio Senior Center. On Thursday, the center celebrated the milestone and the community that made it possible.

Pittsfield is home to more than 13,000 seniors. Theresa Bianchi, the chairwoman of the city's Council on Aging, said the center serves as a "foundational" part of the city. "I believe that it's an integral part of our community," Bianchi said. "I think it's part of the identity of Pittsfield and that the senior center is really a community." At the center, seniors say they find a cure for loneliness. New friendships are forged over quilting clubs, golf lessons and wine tastings. Old friendships are recemented over lunches at the center's cafe or annual picnics.

The center's role as a center for community was on full display on Thursday as more than 160 gathered together under tents and at tables in the center's parking lot. Jim Clark, the director of the Council on Aging, said Thursday's celebration was about recognizing the two to three hundred people that make up the center's community. "It's just kind of a way to thank them," Clark said.

Seniors said that their experiences at the center were more than enough reward. Amy Alexander said the community at the senior center welcomed her with open arms several years ago — even when she was still a bit younger than the average members of the crowd. "I didn't feel the gap," Alexander said. "It's such a happy place." She's found joy in the artistic community that flourishes in a weekly class taught at the center. "We play," Alexander said. "[Before the class] I was afraid to draw, but then I did it and I love what I’m doing."

A crowd gathers to enjoy a cookout, music, and sunshine in celebration of the Ralph J. Froio Senior Center's 30th anniversary in Pittsfield.

A calendar full of classes and trips to local cultural venues draws crowds but Clark said what brings people back is the social connection they find inside the former movie theater. That's true for Marianne Algerio, a frequent volunteer at the center and member of the center's friends board. Algerio and her husband Ed started coming to the center about seven years ago. When Ed passed away two and a half years ago, Algerio said the center became her "saving grace."

"I didn't want to stay in the house alone," Algerio said. Algerio started volunteering, taking advantage of the opportunity to spend a little more time with her daughter Danielle Raimer who's the center's outreach coordinator. At 330 North St., Algerio said she's found her space.

A crowd gathers to enjoy a cookout, music, and sunshine in celebration of the Ralph J. Froio Senior Center's 30th anniversary in Pittsfield. Seniors will be especially hard hit by the effects of a national default on it's debts.

"I’ve met so many friends," Algerio said. "It's just a wonderful space."

Meg Britton-Mehlisch can be reached at [email protected] or 413-496-6149.

In the midst of high-level negotiations over the national debt limit and looming default, local nonprofits are bracing for a possible loss of revenue and, at the same time, an influx of new clients.

Pittsfield Reporter

Meg Britton-Mehlisch is the Pittsfield reporter for The Berkshire Eagle. Born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, she previously worked at the Prior Lake American and its sister publications under the Southwest News Media umbrella in Savage, Minnesota.