The Elders Valentine’s Day Dance had all the trappings of a 1960s sock hop.
Heart-shaped balloons floated about. Bill Haley and the Comets sang “See you Later Alligator.”
A gentleman in a cowboy hat silently beckoned to Starina Johnson. It was an invitation to the dance floor.
Even at 75, Johnson is an exuberant dance partner. She didn’t spend much time sitting Thursday afternoon at the Tlingit &Haida Community Center.
“I wish there was a dance every week,” Johnson said during one of her brief breaks, hands still moving to the beat and a wide smile on her face.
The Valentine’s Day Dance reminded many attending elders of their heyday, only, there weren’t as many men around. About 40 elders, each over 60, attended the dance. The male-female ratio skewed female by about four to one.
Unlike the Eisenhower-era shindigs some elders remember, this dance wasn’t all butterflies and left feet. At this stage in the game of life, a dance is really about having fun and moving.
Those are two big components of staying healthy in old age, Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska Wellness Coordinator Justin Jones said. A social life and having something to look forward to are important as well.
The dance helps them accomplish all of those goals, said Jones, who helps run and coordinate the lunches and the dance.
“The elders that are the sharpest and the most active are the 90-91 year olds. They understand the importance of staying active and laughter. I think that’s the biggest thing, making this big community a little bit smaller, having that common bond and relationships you can build,” Jones said.
Jones took over the wellness program for Central Council last August. He’s since placed an emphasis on physical activity in the group’s weekly lunches. Typically, he’ll work with the elders doing pilates, core exercises and chair movement. The group decided to mix it up this week with the dance.
Making a fashionably late entrance to the dance were two special guests: Gov. Bill Walker and Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott.
Walker said he heard there was a shortage of men and the two would have good chances of getting a dance. He consulted first lady Donna Walker first, of course.
“The numbers were in our favor, so we did the math and we said ‘let’s come and say hello,’” Walker said.
How can Alaska best take care of its elders? Proper health care, Walker said, and programs that allow elders to stay at home as long as they’d like to.
“I think that’s really critical and most of them want to do that,” Walker said.
Elders are a huge cultural influence for Alaskans, Walker added. They’re “shoulders we stand on,” and are especially important in guiding the state’s young people, he added.
“The interaction between the elders and the youth is so powerful, going both ways. I think it’s critical to have elders participate in every activity they can,” Walker said.
The target audience for the elders lunch are Alaska Natives 60 years and up, though there’s some wiggle room on the age requirements, Jones said. No advance notice is needed, elders can just come by the community center at 11 a.m. Thursdays and fill out paperwork.
Soon, Tuesday learning sessions at the center and a Wednesday walking group will be added to the schedule, Jones said. The wellness program runs other events, some just for elders and some for other age populations. Jones helps run the reading buddies program for elders to come into the school and is coordinating work with Boys Run, I toowú klatseen.
Elders have noticed Jones’ enthusiasm. Jacqui Cropley, 62, said the 2006 Juneau-Douglas High School graduate has turned the elders group around.
Cropley visits the pool several times a week and takes Tai Chi classes. The group lunches help her keep in touch with old friends and family. Her sister Vivian Hotch and cousin Jeannie Lee also attend.
Maybe, Cropley said, if they had programs around like this when her parents were still alive, they would have been able to stick around longer.
“They’d probably still be here,” Cropley said.
• Contact reporter Kevin Gullufsen at kevin.gullufsen@juneauempire.com and 523-2228. Follow him on Twitter at @KevinGullufsen.
