EDWARDSVILLE – On the surface it looks like any other day here at the Edwardsville Senior Center. Folks knitting, singing and sharing stories over cups of coffee. It’s a place where 90-year old Mary Sisky feels at home.
"Here at Edwardsville, we get a kiss and a hug every day," said Sisky of Pringle.
About 40 seniors from Luzerne County share meals at this center and laughs every day over lunch.
"We`re just like a family, just like a family, if anybody has a problem, they`ll tell someone, first thing you know it we`ll say a prayer for them,” said Sisky.
But this is the last time lunch will be served here. Just a few days ago the seniors got notice their center will close. The heating, air conditioning and electrical all need repaired or replaced at a cost of about $30,000 dollars.
“I got a lot of good friends here, a lot of good times here and I think it`s wrong to put us out in the street like this,” said Harry Hillard of Edwardsville.
Myron Mahalak says he’s going to miss shooting the breeze with ‘the guys’ and all the other friends he’s made.
I got to know everybody, you know all these young girls, you know 75 and 80,” said Myron Mahalak of Edwardsville.
But as the doors close here in Edwardsville, the about 40 seniors that come here every single day say they`re not giving up hope just yet.
"Absolutely not, no way,” said Mary Ann Pointon of Edwardsville.
Mary Ann Pointon helps serve lunch and attends this senior center. She and others plan to keep the heat on the Edwardsville Borough, which owns this building and the agency on aging to find a solution.
"You`re putting 40 people out for a few repairs that have to be done and I think it`s a shame," said Charles Reisser Sr. of Kingston.
But until a better solution is found, many of the seniors will attend the center in Kingston. But they say no place will ever replace their home here.