TIME CAPSULE
Although members of the Men of Retirement Age club have left the workforce, they continue to hold a community presence.
The club will celebrate 50 years on Tuesday with a luncheon at the Butler YMCA.
The program will include a historical overview by club president John McCaslin and talks by YMCA administrators and board members. Master of ceremonies will be Larry Garvin, president of the Cranberry and Butler Ys.
The luncheon will occur within the group's usual schedule, which includes a meeting on the first Tuesday of the month and a luncheon every third Tuesday. Typically, the luncheons are held at the Vagabond Center in Lyndora and wives attend as guests.
"They show slides and movies and stuff like that. They always have dinner and somebody to entertain us," said Regis Neff, 91, of Chicora.
Although some members like Neff have enjoyed longtime membership, McCaslin was involved from the start, initiating the club in the 1950s.
"I heard about (MORA) at a state YMCA convention in Chambersburg over Labor Day in 1956," said McCaslin, who worked as a Y director.
"I was quite young at the time. We got ahold of retiree lists from Pullman and Armco and other industries and started promoting it," he said.
The first meeting drew 25 retirees, going up to 100 members in the first year and 175 after about six. Currently, active membership hovers at about 25, McCaslin said.
Although not initially qualified to join the group, McCaslin played piano as part of the entertainment at MORA meetings.
Although McCaslin, 87, continues to serve as the club piano player, he said selections have moved away from tunes by Stephen Foster and other folk composers. Current tunes include more hymns, he said.
Although fees have never been charged to belong to MORA, McCaslin said donations are now taken to help with coffee and doughnuts at meetings, which usually feature a presentation.
The club's motto is "Making a Better Life for Retired Men in the Butler Area." It's purpose is to promote Christian fellowship among members through recreational, social and educational activities.
For more information onMORA, call 724-789-9440.
