“There Must Be Something We Can Do About It.”
It was 1979 and our founders were on a crusade; we must create a center for seniors. It had to be a gathering place to socialize; a meetinghouse to get support and live out retirement in fellowship. “We are our brother’s keeper” was their mantra. Their single-minded vision and “can do” spirit raised both the consciousness and funds that built our Dennis Senior Center. The mission was completed on September 10, 1981.
The first board of the Friends met like gypsies—sometimes they had office space in an old brick building near the water tower; later, they met in a small room at Carlton Hall on folding metal chairs around a card table.
A grainy, black and white photo is a telling piece of our history. It is hung on the wall of our office today—in the senior center these early pioneers built—underneath a painting called “The Dressmaker” by Marguerite Ickis. The photograph like the painting is a story of how people, together, shape something tangible out of something imagined. Marguerite gave us one of our largest endowments. She gave us what one early director called, “the great boom.”
The old photo suggests it is a day in late spring—one of the two men is wearing a light cardigan and the other, a short sleeved jersey. There are papers, a ruler and what looks like a half-eaten sandwich on the make-shift desk with a Town of Dennis map scotch-taped to a blank wall. The caption inside the frame reads, “There must be something we can do about it!” The two men, already grey-haired and seniors, seem to foresee the heavy lift in front of them. Oren Howell, our first president, looks down at a stack of papers, pencil in hand, as if thinking, “we need to raise a boatload of money!” The town could not help. There were no grants—no state or federal funds. This would have to be done solely with private money. The other man, Earl Haines, stares out of the photo, as if seeing the future—seeing the plot of scrub pines on Route 134 become an open plain for the Cape structure complete with a New England cupola, touting a sailboat for a weathervane. The design would be Eugene Koenig’s from beginning to end. He was the Thomas Jefferson of the group—an engineer who loved architecture and would take pride in designing and overseeing every detail of the building process.
It is no coincidence that our biggest room—a room for painting classes, yoga, card games, matinee movies and concerts is named Howell Hall. Oren Howell was an insurance salesman—a rainmaker who believed that you had to go door to door to bring in large sums of money. Henry Kelley, a retired selectman, also on this first board, remembers Oren coaching directors like disciples on how to ask prominent residents to contribute. “So I knocked on the door of a man we shall call P.A. His family went back to the 17th century in Dennis and owned much of it at one time.” His wife (whom he called Nurse) invited me in for tea and a chat with P.A. After an hour or so of recounting his family history, he got out his check book and wrote a substantial donation for the senior center. As I was leaving P.A. said, “Let me know how it is going. I mean it. If you need more, come back.”
As 1980 was nearing its end, Oren had not yet met the $250,000 goal and knew he needed another vehicle to send out his message. Along with Clifton J. Wood of the Dennis COA, he co-founded a town newsletter, still known today as The Cranberry Scoop. In this first year of the paper, Oren’s voice grew louder.
“I read a lot about the old days, the historical days when people took care of themselves. Make no mistake about it— the natives of 50 and 100 years ago helped each other—helped those in need—else there would not be any past to talk about.”
The people of Dennis heard him. Everyone was picking up a Cranberry Scoop or passing it on to a neighbor or friend—the goal was met in 1981 and as Oren said to the people of Dennis, “this center will be a part of the history of this community.”
The Dennis Senior Center was donated by the Friends of Dennis Senior Citizens to the Town of Dennis, mortgage free, in 1984. It is here because our founders did more than just ask for endowments; they rolled up their sleeves and did the hard work of organizing tag sales, flea markets, art shows, and silent auctions; early members hunting in attics, basements and garages for donations that could bring dollars. This senior center is here because the people of Dennis gave, whether it was $5.00 or $50,000—the carpenters, electricians and plumbers donating time and materials with their hands and friendship.
-Written by Marie Jainchill