Chinook Seniors launch first "trip along the Hi-Line"
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Steve Edwards
During a stop at the saloon exhibit in the Havre Beneath the Streets interactive museum, Chinook seniors (l-r) Ray Reid, Clarice Morse and Art Kleinjan enjoy a laugh over a hand of cards Reid put together while the others weren't looking. Suddenly Reid held up the cards and shouted, "Look, a full house!" The group was on a senior tour from the Chinook center.
Ten members from the Chinook Senior Center took part in the maiden voyage of what Director Kristi Norby hopes will be a series of "short trips to destinations along the Hi-Line." The group visited Havre Beneath the Streets. Several seniors noted they had visited the tourist attraction in the past but for most it had been "many years ago." The former visitors were impressed with the improvements in access to the exhibits and the amount of memorabilia added over the past years to the underground interactive museum.
Norby, relatively new to the job as director at the center, said, "I got the idea for a short trip when another of our senior members put together an afternoon trip to visit some cemeteries up in the north country of Blaine County. There was a great turnout for that excursion and I heard several of our seniors say how much they enjoyed the trip. It got me thinking that maybe the center could sponsor some short trips." She's already thinking about other places, within an easy drive, that would be appropriate for seniors to visit.
Already there's interest for additional outings. Norby explained, "There are a lot of our members who would like to do short trips but they are hesitant to drive, especially by themselves, to a place they may not be familiar with. And it's usually more fun to travel with a group of people." There's even some discussion about organizing a multi-day trip even involving people from other senior centers.
The tour of Havre Beneath the Streets takes about an hour. The group had a seasoned tour guide, Mary Schubring, who said she'd been doing tours for eleven years. She has done tours for seniors and knew that some older folks would need breaks during the walking tour to sit down and rest. Schubring made sure there were adequate stops for rest and everyone had a comfortable visit.
While the group was preparing to begin the tour there were a couple of moments of panic when several couldn't find the admission tickets they had just purchased. Norby, who can stay calm in dealing with seniors said, "This reminds me of handling a kindergarten field trip." That brought a big laugh from the group. We all found our tickets and headed underground. It was a great maiden voyage for our "trip along the Hi-Line."
