Is 95 the new 40? Glenda Creason could convince you it is. The nonagenarian has served as a volunteer with the Iola Senior Center for many years and is still bursting with energy.
“I wouldn’t be 95 if I wasn’t running this place,” she said. “I love being busy.”
This is evident with her quick pace as she navigates through the center, showing off its various offerings and activities. Creason loves the people she gets to interact with at the center. And playing cards — she loves to play cards.
“I could play cards all night long,” she said with a grin.
Gesturing to a bulletin board of photos, Creason noted, “All these people have eaten at the center throughout the years. I’m proud of all my pictures. I think that there are probably only a dozen people in these pictures that haven’t already passed away. We’ve had such good thoughts about all of them. I’ve still got a few around.”
Before COVID struck, the center would fill up to seven tables with people on card night.
“We’re down to three tables now,” bemoaned Creason.
Not all of them have passed away, though. A former card player, Ruby Davis, is now 108 years old.
“She lives over in Missouri now with her son.”
Creason was born and raised in Iola. She met her husband, Jim, while working a soda fountain at a drugstore on the square.
“He came in to get a pop,” she said.
They started dating and eventually married on Oct. 27, 1946.
The pair moved to California in 1952 and adopted two sons.
“My sons are 65 and 63 now — I can’t believe they’re this old!” she exclaimed.
In 1963, the family moved to Kansas City, Kan., where Jim worked for Dover Elevator. Around the same time, they purchased a peach orchard which they ran for 20 years.
