City: Kill Devil Hills, NC

Category: Retirement

Telephone: (252) 441-1181

Address: 300 Mustian St.

Description: The Thomas A. Baum Center is named after a Dare County native who was a pioneer in ferry transportation. His daughter, Diane Baum St. Clair, arranged for the town of Kill Devil Hills to purchase the land, known locally as the Baum Tract, on very generous terms. Dare County bought a section of the land, which today is home to the senior center, water plant, library, two public schools, the local chamber of commerce, and the town’s administration and water departments.The senior center was dedicated in 1987. The 10,000-square-foot-plus building houses the senior center and the county’s older adult services. A handful of paid staff and countless senior volunteers operate the center, which is the hub for senior activity north of Hatteras Island. Dare County residents or property owners who are age 55 or older may use the center for free; if you are younger than age 55 but your spouse meets the age requirement, you also may use the center. The facility includes a multipurpose room with a stage where the center’s drama group, Center Front, performs various productions annually. The Outer Banks Senior Chorus, which performs two concerts per year, also uses this room for practice sessions. The Baum Center is home to the Wright Tappers, a seniors tap-dancing group, and the Dare Devils, the official cheerleaders for the Outer Banks Senior Games. Line- and square-dance groups round out the foot-tapping activities. And going hand in hand with its name, the multipurpose room does double-duty for aerobic classes three days a week. A full-service kitchen is used for social functions and fund-raisers such as the popular annual eat-in or take-out spaghetti supper. The center does not offer daily lunches on the premises.Head to the lounge to chat, relax, or read a paperback book borrowed from the center’s honor-system library. Adjacent to the lounge is the game room, where you can play bridge weekly, work puzzles, play cribbage or canasta, or sit in on seminars in history, tax aid, or health education, to name a few. The center also hosts support-group meetings for such organizations as the Outer Banks Cancer Support Group and the Amputee Coalition of Coastal Carolina. Twice a month seniors gather at the center for an afternoon movie with popcorn. If you’re an outdoor lover, eat lunch on the deck or watch for resident deer and foxes. Five picnic tables and various chairs encourage relaxation or conversation. The nearby yard is host to a football target that tests throwing accuracy, horseshoe pits, and spin-casting targets. Outer Banks Senior Games contenders practice discus and shot put as well as archery using bales of hay for targets. The recreation room comes alive as competitors play a leisurely game of billiards, table tennis, or shuffleboard. There’s plenty of elbow room in this spacious area, complete with three pool tables, two Ping-Pong tables, and several huge, floor-painted shuffleboard games. Coffee is available in the kitchenette just off the recreation room, and cups are in the cabinet. Donations are welcome. Bring your lunch and store it in the refrigerator or heat it in the microwave.Off the rec room is a craft room complete with two sinks, a projector, storage space, seven tables with four chairs each, and a sewing machine. Check the center’s newsletter, Senior Soundings, for craft courses and special activities that take place in this room. The newsletter comes out by the 15th of the month and is available at both county senior centers and the three public libraries.The center has an information and referral room where you can sign up for programs on preparing healthful food, bird watching, growing perennials, and acrylic painting. Some activities have a small supplies fee; scholarships are available. A wall of pamphlets cover topics such as taxes, health, and fire safety. Countywide information is available via the computerized Senior Connection information and referral system. Questions on Alzheimer’s disease, in-home services, marriage licenses, and the like can be answered by using this program staffed by trained volunteers.A small computer room is set up with Internet connections. An exercise suite features a treadmill, a rowing machine, and four stationary bicycles, and a staff exercise specialist offers regular exercise programs. Seniors can take advantage of the center’s 20-seat conference room complete with a telephone and white marker board. Community groups also use this space from time to time.The senior center plays a vital role in providing transportation for elderly and disabled Dare County residents. A paid staff member is on hand at the center to schedule free rides to doctor appointments and hospitals in Chesapeake and Norfolk, Virginia, as well as Greenville, North Carolina. The transportation volunteer needs 24 hours’ notice. Rides also are available for shopping trips and getting to and from the center and to the nutrition site at Mount Olivet United Methodist Church in Manteo, where lunch is served Monday through Friday. Seniors are asked to make a $1 donation, but it’s not mandatory. Menu selections may include herb-baked chicken with mixed vegetables and rice pilaf or spaghetti with a tossed salad. Two-percent milk and dessert top off the meal. The meals are prepared off the premises by the Columbia 4-H center. A day’s notice is all they need to make sure the food count is correct. If you can’t make it to the luncheon, home delivery is available. The Baum Center is open Mon through Fri from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. and for special functions.