Seniors in Northfield began meeting at various churches in the community in 1960, with programs and refreshments sponsored by the local Community Education and Recreation office.  In 1973, a city-wide questionnaire was circulated to identify the needs of older residents and the priorities that emerged included transportation, a senior center, and a dining program.  A local non-profit organization, the Community Action Center, submitted a proposal for Older American Act funding for transportation services and for a senior program coordinator.  Elaine Thurston, the first Senior Coordinator was hired in 1975 and the CAC began operating a Leisure Lounge in a local church and local restaurants provided catered meals twice a week.  A request was made to the city of Northfield for a permanent senior center.  In 1977 a bond issue was passed to purchase a former church property on the corner of Woodley and Division Streets, and the newly named Community Services building was opened under the management of the Community Action Center. The sanctuary space of the church and the first floor living spaces of the parsonage became the new senior center.  During those years the senior organization had around 700 members and a budget that grew to $39,000.  In 1978, a five-day dining program co-located in the senior center and was managed by a separate non-profit, SE Citizens Action Council (SEMCAC).

Northfield Senior Citizens participated in two collaborative efforts to expand programming capacity; one in 1988 and another in 1990.  After both projects failed to materialize, in 1995 the senior organization set about planning a stand-alone facility, raising funds, purchasing land on which to build, and hiring an architect.  In the process of soliciting gifts, one family asked the organization to consider merging its needs with those of other community groups, and offered to contribute a sizeable sum to a multi-user project.  Agreements were reached between five partner groups to commit capital to what is now known as the Northfield Community Resource Center.  The five groups included Northfield Senior Citizens, Northfield Public Schools, Community Action Center, Three Rivers CAC (Head Start), and the City of Northfield.  The city’s contribution included a 2.4 million bond referendum.  Altogether, the senior organization privately raised 1.4 million dollars for the senior wing of the NCRC.  After paying for construction of its space, Northfield Senior Citizens turned over ownership of the facility to the city, in exchange for a city commitment to pay half of the structure’s operational costs. 

The Northfield Senior Center, designed and funded by Northfield Senior Citizens, is a prototype for the future.  Fitness, continued learning, and connections to others are built into the facility’s warm water pool and exercise room, its spacious and welcoming lounge and activity spaces, and in its ample parking and lovely landscaping.  By relying on seniors to design for seniors, the center has turned the stereotype of old age upside down.  The most poignant testimony to the vitality and opportunities that are available are the words of one new member, “At last, I’ve turned 50 so I can join the Senior Center!”

Back to top