To say the last three years have been difficult for the Marshalltown Senior Citizens Center is an understatement.

Up until 2018, it was housed in the same building on State Street for over 45 years before leadership got word that the city would not be renewing its lease with the center. Then, the tornado hit and, as Senior Citizens Center Director April Long put it, rapidly accelerated the timeline of looking for a new home.

From there, the center was moved to a temporary location but ultimately settled in at the Fisher Community Center, which was expected to become a permanent home. The twin factors of the COVID-19 pandemic and the August 2020 derecho, however, changed their plans once again.

Long and her board of directors stayed patient through the pandemic and eventually discovered a perfect downtown spot at 207 E. Church St., directly across the street from the Maid-Rite. Since officially reopening on Oct. 4, the trademark events and programming have gradually been rolled back out again, and the familiar faces are settling in for a puzzle, a game of cards or just a warm cup of coffee. Long said they’re still seeking people who want to join cribbage and bridge clubs and plan to restart public dances before too long.

“I just really missed playing cards,” Mike Foreman said on Wednesday morning as he checked his hand in 500 with Ron Benge, Ron Kauffman and Tom Logeland.

Long said the new location is a great fit because of the abundance of senior housing in the downtown area, and she liked the visibility of being right along the main drag. Plus, she wanted windows because “light just makes everybody feel better.”

“When I walked into this space initially, I just knew this was the right place for us to be,” she said. “It really ticks all the boxes — location, ADA compliant, easy to get into and out of, ample parking, good lighting and all of these windows — so it’s been a good spot for us.”

The space required extensive renovations, including removing a wall and plumbing and adding a bathroom, because it was previously used as a beauty salon. It took between two and three months to get it ready, but the people who visit the new and improved Senior Citizens Center have offered overwhelmingly positive feedback thus far.

As a demographic, senior citizens have been hit particularly hard by COVID-19, and the loss of a sense of community during the pandemic was difficult to replace.

“A lot of seniors are isolated. They’ve lost their spouse. Their children no longer live in town, so the Senior Citizens Center really is a second home to many people,” Long said. “To be able to come back and have that peer companionship and that sense of belonging and that sense of family, it’s everything… It’s been vital that we reopen and offer our services and activities again.”

The Senior Citizens Center will host its annual Holiday Craft Bazaar on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. after taking the year off in 2020 due to the lack of a home and COVID, and Long is excited to showcase the new location to the public. A group of volunteers creates all of the goods that are sold, including handmade quilts, table runners and other home decor.

Long admitted that like some of the seniors she works with, she was feeling a bit “lost and adrift” as the center looked for a new home. Now, however, she couldn’t be happier to be back at work doing what she loves.

“It’s been wonderful to be back and to meet new people,” she said. “That’s been a lot of fun, getting to know some new folks, hearing their stories and being of service to them… We’re slowly getting our feet back under us and getting everything up and running again.”

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.