UNITY— The Unity New Horizon Senior Centre celebrated 50 years of fellowship to the seniors of the community at the end of 2024, with the hope the programming will continue for years to come.
On any given weekday afternoon, a lineup of vehicles can be seen neatly positioned in front of the New Horizon Hall, indicating some of the local seniors are taking advantage of the various activities that have been arranged for them. As their membership has seen its fair share of highs and lows over the past, it has been the one place a senior member of the community is always welcomed.
Three men - John Jansen, Val Trautman and Bill Michael - saw a need for establishing a seniors centre for Unity. With some help from then-mayor, Walter Haight, a federal grant, some municipal grants and local donations, the men had enough funds to get the project off the ground.
The Sacred Heart Catholic Church, which was in the Seagram School District north of Unity, was built in 1937. By 1965, the church had closed due to a shortage of priests and was later sold to the New Horizon project in 1974. The corner lot of Main Street and 5th Avenue was procured and the basement was poured before the church was moved to its new home. Once in place, the building was sided and painted white with green trim.
Byron Trapp, a member of the New Horizon Senior Centre, said many hours of volunteer labour were put into transforming the building. Once the centre was operational, membership numbers reached 110 and the centre was open five days a week. By 1977, panelling and carpet were installed in the basement, furnished with two pool tables, a shuffleboard table, and dart boards and set up for carpet bowling.
As time went on, memberships in the 1990s started to decline, resulting in the centre being open weekly on Fridays for cards and games and one Monday a month for a potluck lunch. Members made and sold perogies and for two years held a perogy banquet to increase the finances and do some much-needed repairs to the kitchen, as water had leaked through the ceiling and walls.
A federal New Horizon grant returned in the early 2000s and Unity was in the process of applying when Bev Kenyon (nee Mettlewski) donated $75,000 to the centre from her Bridge of Hope Foundation. The boost in funds allowed the group to do some renovations. The front and side of the building got an addition put on along with redoing the roof over the added space and kitchen area. Other renovations included two new up-to-code bathrooms, new windows, new shingles, and the building was stuccoed. The kitchen walls, ceiling and floors were redone, with new cupboards and countertops and a wall oven. Multiple grants were received, which replaced the furnace and water heater, as well as the installation of a new front ramp and railings. They also paid for new hardwood flooring in the main hall, a new sound system, an overhead projector, some new tables and chairs, the mural painted on the corner of the building and the installation of the electronic front door. Even with much of the work being done to the inside of the hall, focus on the outside was equally tended to with cement curbing, crushed rock and shrubs planted.
Membership numbers have increased once again, giving the seniors the opportunity to gather five days a week again. While the Unity New Horizon Centre is an independent organization, financial aid comes from hall rentals, membership dues and some Sask Lottery grants. Just like their motto says, “No senior in Unity should be lonely”, all new members are encouraged to join.
