The Catskill Chronicle

Story and photos by Carol Montana

Kelly Desmond and Elaine Graff concentrate over a fierce game of Scrabble, while Carmela Brandin waits patiently to play the winner.

It’s the fourth and final day of the 18^th Annual Sullivan County Senior Games, a series of competitions that drew seniors from all over the county. The games began with a kick-off breakfast at Monticello Gaming and Raceway, followed by a short, competitive walk. The contests continued through Thursday, September 17, at the Ted Stroebele Recreation Center in Monticello.

Included in the events were: horseshoes, shuffleboard, cribbage, Bocce ball, golf putting, darts, ping pong, pinochle and Scrabble. A $7 registration fee entitled the entrant to breakfast, a T-shirt (sponsored by Robert Green Chevrolet Oldsmobile, Inc), their choice of game and an award luncheon.

“It’s a competitive thing,” says Carmela when asked why she takes part in the Scrabble tournament. “And then I find out how smart I am,” she continues with a twinkle in her eye.

As Carmela, who came all the way from Mamakating to compete, finishes her statement, Elaine scores 24 points bringing the game to a close, and beating Kelly 311 to 212. But Elaine does have a slight advantage, having played Scrabble ever since it first appeared on the game scene around 1952. “I’m a frustrated English teacher – I love the language.” Kelly, on the other hand, only plays once a year when she comes to the Senior Games. “You can learn words as you go,” says Kelly with a hearty laugh. Carmela agrees. “I learned words today that I never heard of before.”

The Sullivan County Senior Games were started by Irving and Lillian Goldberg, who had moved to Sullivan County from the Bronx, and were looking to stay active. “We came up here and we started to volunteer,” said Lillian. “My husband loved to bowl, so we went to the games in Orange County … It took a couple of years [to bring the games to Sullivan], we had no money. …”

But the Goldberg’s persevered. “My husband wanted the people to come together,” continues Lillian. The first year, someone from Orange County came up to show them how to run the games for the 25 participants. Flash forward to 2008 when there were 140 people vying for the highly prized medals. And this year, the number of participants had to be limited simply because the room where the luncheon is held only holds around 120.

Ralph Feller is 92 years old and has competed for all of the 18 years. “I love Bocce, even though I’m not Italian,” he laughs, and then adds, “I think if you pass 90 years old, you should get a medal just for showing up.”

The lady sitting next to Ralph played horseshoes, Bocce and darts this year. Laura McBride says that she’s played for so many years she can’t even remember how many it’s been. And she’s earned 25 medals to prove it.

Over on the other side of the room, Jim Coffey talks about his competitions. This year he competed in Bocce, golf putting, darts, shuffleboard, pinochle, cribbage and horseshoes. And he won several medals, too. Jim’s wife, Karen says her favorite part is “pushing Jim around.” Because, you see, Jim took part in all those contests from the confines of his wheelchair.

Monticello Seniors President, Roz Sharoff, also was the coordinator of the Senior Games. “When you see the people playing the games and you see the camaraderie, you know it’s successful,” says Roz. “I get calls from people asking me when the games are. People need something to look forward to. It’s an opportunity to meet and interact with other seniors they might not see everyday.”

Roz feels that it’s good for seniors to integrate with other seniors they might now see everyday. It gives them a chance to exchange ideas and philosophies. “Very often seniors aren’t given enough credit,” Roz says. “Local government can call on seniors for so many different situations because we’ve lived it. We stand up and say ‘here we are, we’re active.’ I’m very pleased that we accomplish as much as we do here.”

And besides the active committee of some 15 people, special thanks were in order to the additional sponsors: Hudson Valley Building and Construction Trade Council Laborers Local 17, Gusar’s Pharmacy, Town of Mamakating, Monticello Seniors, Mamakating Seniors, Schmidt’s Wholesale, Boreal Water, Route 42 Liquor Store, Marie Ng, Last Licks, Carmen Rue, Albella Restaurant, Stewarts on Route 42 South, Liberty Diner, Monticello Greenhouses, The Grapevine, Bon Tress and Monticello Mayor Gorden Jenkins.

After lunch, Roz introduced the man who physically ran all the games, Monticello’s own Pedro “Pete” Tweed, himself a winner of the DeWitt Clinton Award for Community Service, who read off the names of the winners.

Several dignitaries from in and around Monticello assisted in handing out the medals to the winners. Village of Monticello trustees Victor Marinello and Carmen Rue, along with Chief Assistant District Attorney Jim Farrell and Office for the Aging Director Jim Lyttle shook hands with the winners and posed for photos, as Marinello’s two-year-old daughter applauded wildly.

And the real spirit of the games was summed up so very well by Karen Coffey, “You don’t have to be good, you just have to have fun.”

To view more photos or to purchase prints from the 18th Annual Sullivan County Senior Games visit The Catskill Chronicle on Zenfolio.