apple pie week
A SWEET TIME AT THE SENIOR CENTER BY ANNA SWARTZ
REC PE Open Face Apple Pie
Ingredients 9-inch pie crust Enough thinly sliced Granny Smith apples to generously fill crust 1 ¼ cup sugar 1 stick margarine or butter 1 tablespoon flour 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 egg ¼ teaspoon salt Directions Thinly slice apples. Stir together flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon. Add egg and mix. Add melted margarine or butter and mix well, then pour over apples. Bake at 450°for 10 min., then lower to 350° for 30-40 min., or until apples are tender. From the kitchen of Wandena Swartz & in memory of her mother Wanda Sisk, who handed down this recipe
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pple Pie Week, scheduled for the week of September 12, makes life a bit sweeter at the St. Clair Shores Senior Activity Center. Just ask Joyce McKinnon, who has been helping with the annual event for two decades. She says that member volunteers start peeling apples on Sunday and work through Thursday. Pies are for sale on a first-come, first-served basis on Tuesday through Friday and typically disappear within 30 minutes.
Money raised is used to supplement the cost of the center’s meals program, which offers low-cost lunches for seniors (50+) at 11:30 a.m. every weekday. A suggested donation of $5 donation is requested for those over 60, and $6 for those under 60. These meals are open to everyone, not just Senior Center members or St. Clair Shores residents. Senior Center Coordinator Matt Hubinsky says these meals are referred to as “dining with your friends,” as it is a congregate meal program. “A lot of wonderful friendships are created as a result,” he says. The appeal (pun intended) of this occasion for McKinnon? “I enjoy peeling apples,” she says. “And I get to talk to my lady friends.”
These friendships were all formed at the Senior Center. Originally a group of 24, McKinnon refers to her crew as “the birthday club,” since she met them when the center brought out cake and coffee in honor of everyone’s birthdays each month. Since McKinnon met these women and men, their group has dwindled to 14.
22 the shores
A 67-year St. Clair Shores resident, McKinnon and her husband Marvin live within walking distance of the Senior Center. At the age of 87, she drives these days and faithfully shows up about five times every week. Her favorite activities include exercising and playing rummy.
