WHITE RIVER JUNCTION – Martha Dupuis walked onto home base at the Maxfield Sports Complex with great pride and gave Alec Struver some instructions.
“I don’t want the ball next to my stomach,” Dupuis, of Wilder, told Struver, the administrator of the Bugbee Senior Center, who was preparing to throw a softball to Dupuis in the home run contest last Friday morning at the first-ever Bugbee Senior Games.
“I want it a little further out here.”
Struver, 29, complied, but the practice ball he sent in Dupuis’ direction missed her racket.
“That’s not a good punch,” rebuked 72-year-old Dupuis. “It’s not me, it’s you. I’m not going to punch you for something that’s terrible.”
The people around them – including volunteers in the outfield, athletes waiting to bat, and spectators – laughed along.
Many in the group wore navy blue Bugbee Games T-shirts, which were sold for $20, to raise funds for the week-long event that began Thursday, August 15 and ended Wednesday.
As Dupuis continued her performance, the trash talk continued and those present made more jokes.
“Don’t hit the pitcher,” someone shouted as Dupuis threw a ball back to Struver.
“Why not?” Dupuis replied.
Most of the criticism from the audience was directed at Struver, who, however, took the situation calmly.
It was all just fun, of course. And that’s what the Bugbee Games were all about – but not only that.
“We’re also doing this to show people that just because you’re older doesn’t mean you’re inactive,” said Emily Santaw, 75, Bugbee’s CEO and a 500-meter runner. “People are already talking excitedly about next year.”
The idea for the games came from a brainstorming session among Bugbee staff about holding events at locations other than the senior center, which had proven popular.
First, they decided to host a lawn tournament. Then, in June, Bugbee Principal Mark Bradley attended the National Council on Aging conference, where he was inspired by a presentation on the role senior centers can play in fighting ageism. When he returned home, he raised the issue with his colleagues in White River Junction.
“When we thought about it, we said, ‘OK, if we’re going to do lawn games, why don’t we add a home run derby and pickleball?’
“Then it became this big thing,” Bradley said in a phone interview the day after the Games ended.
The event cost about $5,000, with funding coming from the nonprofit’s general fund. They briefly considered waiting another year—it was going to be the largest multi-day event Bugbee had ever hosted—but decided to go ahead and chose the theme “Aging Leads to New Purpose.” The first week of July, they announced the game schedule and were excited to see who would show interest.
“We knew it would probably be fun,” Bradley said. “I don’t think we had any idea what to expect exactly.” Or how diverse the group of people who signed up would be.
There were 68 participants from 22 different cities, including one from Maine and one from Burlington, ranging in age from 57 to 93. They occupied 105 different competition places. 20 handmade medals were awarded.
“Each of them brought their own experiences and physical abilities, but there was something special about being together… everyone was so encouraging and friendly and just happy to be together and doing something new,” Bradley said.
What about the trash talk and teasing?
“We’ve definitely seen some competition from some people, but I think friendly competition is a great way to make new connections,” Bradley replied.
Those connections were in full force during the Home Run Derby, which was ultimately won by 72-year-old Mark Greenan of White River Junction. (Some attributed his luck to the Red Sox T-shirt he was wearing.)
The Twin States have two of the oldest populations in the U.S.—a fact that has been used as the basis for many initiatives over the years, from better public transit to affordable housing for seniors to training workers for long-term care facilities. But sometimes lost in these serious issues is the fact that seniors—or older adults, whichever you prefer to call them—still want to have a lot of fun.
“Aging is a dynamic process and we saw that at the Games,” Bradley said.
Bradley, Struver and 55-year-old Bugbee program coordinator Susan Manley, along with about 15 volunteers, made sure the games included activities that could appeal to people of all mobility levels. The first day featured an opening ceremony and parade in downtown White River Junction.
On August 16, a sports festival was held with a 500-meter walk/roll/run and a pickleball tournament as well as the home run derby.
Monday’s events included a puzzle race and a knitting competition.
Shortly before 1 p.m., a group of eight women gathered around rectangular tables at Bugbee and began knitting identical baby hats to be donated to the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center’s neonatal intensive care unit.
“It’s all about having fun,” said volunteer Barb Duclos before giving the knitters the green light.
At first there was silence as the knitters grabbed their yarn and began knitting it onto their needles. Videographers from nearby Junction Arts & Media (better known as JAM) were on hand to capture the action, as they had done throughout the Games.
“I’m just making sure no one is cheating,” said Duclos, 74, of White River Junction, as she walked around the room.
“None of us brought a knitting machine,” joked Sherri Sanborn of Wilder.
Sanborn had spent the weekend knitting five baby hats in preparation.
Duclos estimated that the competition would last about an hour and a half.
As time went on, participants began to talk about who taught them to knit and how they could pass on these skills to family and friends. They talked about the size of their yarn stashes and what projects they were currently working on.
“These people seem quite competitive and suspicious,” joked Sydney Smith of Norwich.
There was debate about whether coffee could be considered a performance enhancing agent to increase knitting speed.
Soon the knitters noticed Dottie Cummings, whose name is Sharon, who had remained silent for most of the class, concentrating on the red yarn and needles in her hand. She finished her hat a few minutes before the class was over.
Everyone cheered when Duclos presented 80-year-old Cummings with her medal.
“I like to knit,” Cummings said after a photo. “I said, ‘This is something I can do.’ It’s not physical.”
While some knitters attend Bugbee’s weekly textile arts group, other participants met for the first time.
“The idea of a knitting competition sounded silly,” said Smith, 70. “Why not?”
Smith’s “why not?” ethos was evident throughout the Games.
Why not try hitting a softball out of the field even though you haven’t done so in years? Why not compete with others to complete a 300-piece puzzle as quickly as possible?
And on Wednesday morning, the last day of the games, the question was: “Why not play lawn games in the rain?”
Nancy Jarvis accepted a towel from a volunteer as she sat down under the bandstand at Lyman Point Park in White River Junction.
Jarvis, of White River Junction, had just won a game of bocce ball. Her arthritis sometimes puts a strain on her hands, and the rain that day didn’t help, she said.
“It was fun,” said Jarvis, 72. “It was wet. I got soaked.”
But Jarvis, like other participants in croquet, lawn darts and other games, was undeterred. A game of putting and cornhole was moved under the music stage as the drizzle turned to a steady rain. People sat at card tables and ate snacks while volunteers fired up the grill for the closing ceremony barbecue.
Greenan, the Home Run Derby winner, stood under a tent and watched the scene.
“They did a great job,” he said.
Greenan, a Meals on Wheels volunteer for Bugbee, knows first-hand how important it can be for people to form and maintain social connections as they age. The games incorporated activities for people with varying levels of mobility well, and staff and volunteers ensured those who wanted to participate could.
“I think everyone can do something,” he said.
That was one of the messages Bugbee Director Bradley wanted to share with participants, volunteers and community spectators in what is likely to become an annual event.
“I feel like we won’t have a choice next year,” Bradley said, laughing.
There were suggestions for other events (a free throw contest? Cycling? Whatever the seniors want, he said) and involving other senior centers in the area.
“That’s where imagination comes in and it will probably work best if we do it like we did this time and listen to the seniors about what they want to try,” Bradley said. “I think seniors, at least in the Upper Valley and certainly elsewhere, are doing a lot more than we might realize.”
Liz Sauchelli can be reached at [email protected] or 603-727-3221.
