SELINSGROVE, Pa. — Time to put on your life jackets! These seniors have come to the Shady Nook boat launch near Selinsgrove to set out on a day of kayaking on the Susquehanna. The seniors live at the Meadows Independent Living at Maria Joseph Continuing Care Community facility in Danville. One of the workers there used to own a kayaking business.
"The residents love it we usually have about 8 to 10 residents who come kayaking and then we probably have about 15-20 that just come for the picnic," said Dawn Orzehowski from Maria Joseph Continuing Care Community.
Orzehowski no longer has her kayaking rental business but kept the kayaks for the residents. The facility has been doing the kayak ride and picnic for 9 years. It always falls on the last Friday in July.
"It's just my opportunity to share the river with the people that I love and the residents are like my second family so just to show them how beautiful it is and it's not scary, and nothing bad's gonna happen, and I just love that we're able to do this and we're allowed to do it every year," said Orzehowski.
The residents start at Shady Nook Boat Launch and paddle to the Isle of Que. The kayak trip is about 1 mile long.
"We make sure they have life vests, they had to have a whistle, Dawn and I are there to do anything we can for them, we tied Vera because she said she was getting tired but yet she kept paddling," said Denise Toczylousky from Meadows Independent Living.
Vera McGuire is a 99-year-old resident at the Meadows Independent Living. McGuire started kayaking 60 years ago when she spent the summers traveling. She participated in kayaking down the Susquehanna River with a little help.
"Part of it I did, but Denise helped me too because I don't' have the strength," said McGuire.
Staff at the Maria Joseph Continuing Care Community are already planning next year's kayak trip.