Park Place: Older by the day ... better by the hour

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Patricia Jones, Waukegan Township supervisor, is one of the driving forces behind the tremendous success of Park Place. She’s shown here at a recent event. | SUN-TIMES MEDIA FILE PHOTO

Updated: March 14, 2012 8:05AM

For senior citizens, retirees and just about anyone, the Waukegan Township’s Park Place is a home away from home, with activities programmed just for them.

Saturday, it marked its 20th birthday and celebrated that as well as Black History Month.

For the double-billing, more than 70 people dined on Creole chicken with rice and corn bread and watched a performance portraying Harriet Tubman, the celebrated conductor of the Underground Railroad. Keith Wilson, the chef who prepared the food, also delighted the guests with a demonstration on soul-food cooking.

Park Place, located on Lewis Ave., just north of Route 120 in the heart of Waukegan, is the township office and the senior center rolled into one. It is a beehive of activities, even on a normal day.

In the billiard room, Lovie Spidle, 82, of North Chicago — dressed up in a suit complete with a tie and the breast pocket tucked with a kerchief — sent a ball rolling with a sharp crack across the table with a strategically aimed stick.

“I come here to play once or twice a week to get out of the house,” said Spidle, chalking the stick for the next strike.

In the adjacent reading room, Benjamin Rivera, 67, of Waukegan was thumbing through a newspaper.

“I come here to play pool and to meet friends. This is better than staying home and watching television,” said Rivera.

There were free copies of a “Prepare & Enjoy Creative Retirement” pamphlet on one table. Presently, a waft of the aroma of coffee drifted into the room from a nearby counter.

“It’s free,” said the man making the coffee.

According to Marty Williams, Park Place director, the facility counted more than 50,000 visits last year. She acknowledged many of the visits were by the same people using, for instance, the library or the computer room during one trip.

The facility offers, she said, something for nearly everyone. Under planning is a café that offers healthy, affordable food.

“Some come here for daily exercises; others come to play cards or watch a movie. We also have a book club,” she said, mentioning other programs such as dancing lessons and card games.

The township, she added, provides free transportation to those in need for medical appointments and grocery shopping.

Patricia Jones, the energetic township supervisor, seems to be always on the go — sponsoring and planning one event after another. At her invitation, Capt. Randall Lynch, Great Lakes Naval Station commander, spoke at the November Veterans Day celebration. Last month, she hosted the Dr. Martin Luther King birthday memorial.

On the calendar for this month is the launching of a chess club and an audition for Lake County’s Got Talent (Feb. 21).

Scheduled for next month are the annual Women’s History luncheon (March 21) at Ramada Inn, with Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Board president, as speaker; the Luck of the Irish luncheon (March 16;) and free kidney and diabetes screening (March 27).

And for Park Place’s 20th birthday, there will be a special celebration every month throughout the year, said Jones.