The Leader’s second annual South County Senior Expo will offer lots of fun activities and useful information.
The event is geared toward those 50 and older and will be held from 8 a.m. to noon, Wednesday, May 7, at the Kennedy Recreation Complex, 6050 Wells Road, in south St. Louis County. Admission is free.
Attendees also will be treated to free doughnuts and coffee, while supplies last. The event will also include lots of giveaways.
In addition, more than 25 vendors will be on hand, offering information about products and services for seniors, such as health care options, estate planning, senior living, home improvement, banking, vacation planning and the health department.
Two sessions of free bingo will be held, with gift certificates and other prizes awarded. Live music and dancing will also be included. The event will also feature speakers and informational displays.
Katelynn Mary Skaggs, the Leader’s digital marketing manager, said about 500 people attended Leader Publication’s first-ever South County Senior Expo last year and hopes for even more this year.
Seniors from both Jefferson and St. Louis counties are encouraged to attend the South County Senior Expo, the second of seven Leader Publications will hold this year, following the De Soto Senior Expo on April 9.
“While the South County Expo is designed for those 50 and older, we are not carding anyone at the door. If you feel like you are a senior, please come,” Skaggs said. “The event is designed to provide a day of fun and educational resources and the chance to make connections with your community. We love to see our seniors gather and chitchat and talk. It’s a fun morning. So if you haven’t come to one of the expos, I encourage you to come out. If you come to all of them, I better see you at this one, too. Don’t miss out!
“Of course we will have live music at the end, just like every senior expo. Our official senior expo band, J.B. Louis and the Legends, will kick off right after we give away our grand prize. They do a fabulous job. It’s very exciting,” Skaggs said.
The schedule for the morning looks like this:
■ 8 a.m. – Doors open; free coffee and doughnuts will be available, courtesy of Leader Publications. Vendors will be on hand with a wide variety of goods and services. Many will offer giveaways and drawings for free items. Smart attendees will bring pre-printed address labels to simplify entering drawings, filling out forms or requesting information.
■ 8:30 a.m. – South County YMCA instructor Terri Williams will lead a workout people can do from their chairs.
■ 9 a.m. – The first session of free bingo will be played in the lobby. St. Louis Police Officer Cecilia Young will call bingo, with prizes of gift certificates to local businesses and restaurants.
■ 9:30 a.m. – University of Missouri Extension master gardener Al Macri will talk about spring planting.
■ 10 a.m. – St. Louis Police Officer Cecilia Young will preside over a second session of free bingo, with prizes of gift certificates to local businesses and restaurants.
■ 10:30 a.m., Pete Moleski from Lemay Community Historical Society will share information about its organization and community history.
■ 11 a.m. – The grand prize and other prizes will be announced.
■ 11:15 a.m. – The J.B. Louis and the Legends band will perform.
■ Noon – Expo closes.
Presenters
Skaggs said she is looking forward to the presenters.
“Terri Williams with the South County YMCA will teach a workout class you can do from a chair. She leads a very light workout class that’s not super intense. You can participate, you can watch or you can take part in some of it but not all of it. It’s up to you. It’s a very fun class,” Skaggs said.
University of Missouri Extension master gardener Al Macri will speak about spring planting and since it’s spring and Mother’s Day is almost here, the timing is perfect, Skaggs said.
“Mother’s Day is traditionally a day where a lot of people receive plants as gifts. It’s also a time when it’s generally good to plant things outside. Hopefully the cold fronts have moved through and you can start planting your garden. Al Macri will share lots of tips and tricks on what’s best for spring planting to really make those plants last.”
Pete Moleski from Lemay Community Historical Society will share interesting information about its organization and local community history.
“We just love history talks, so I’m excited to hear what they have to say,” Skaggs said.
Prizes
Expogoers may register at the Leader booth for a chance to win the grand prize: four tickets to Silver Dollar City, plus a $100 gas card. Only one entry per person, please, and the person needs to be present to win. Only those 50 or older are eligible to win, but the winner may take guests of any age.
In addition to the grand prize, Skaggs said a lot of the vendors give away prizes.
“Many of them give away little swag items, so it’s always fun,” she said. “Many also have giveaways and raffles. We’ll have lots of prizes announced at the end of the expo with our grand prize.”
Upcoming senior expos
The following five expos are planned from 8 a.m. to noon on Wednesdays.
■ Festus Senior Expo, June 18, at the Jefferson County YMCA.
■ West Side Senior Expo, July 16, at Northwest High School in Cedar Hill.
■ Arnold Senior Expo, Aug. 27, at the Arnold Eagles Hall.
■ Farmington Area Senior Expo, Sept. 24, at the Mineral Area College Tech Center.
■ Eureka Senior Expo, Oct. 22, at the Timbers of Eureka.
Businesses and organizations interested in securing a vendor space for any of the expos may contact the Leader at 636-931-7560 or ads@myleaderpaper.com.
Directions
From I-55, driving north:
■ Take exit 193, which is the first exit after crossing the Meramec River, in St. Louis County.
■ Turn left onto Meramec Bottom Road and drive for about a mile.
■ Turn right onto Wells Road.
■ Turn right at the stoplight onto Wayne C. Kennedy Park Road.
From Hwy. 21, driving north:
■ Cross the Meramec River into St. Louis County, staying on Hwy. 21.
■ Turn right onto onto Wells Road and drive for about a mile.
■ Turn left at the stoplight onto Wayne C. Kennedy Park Road.
From Hwy. 141, driving south:
■ Turn left onto Hwy. 21, heading north.
■ Cross the Meramec River into St. Louis County, staying on Hwy. 21.
■ Turn right onto onto Wells Road and drive for about a mile.
■ Turn left at the stoplight onto Wayne C. Kennedy Park Road.
The road leading to the Kennedy Recreation Complex is across the street from Suson Park.
The grand prize includes four tickets to Silver Dollar City in Branson, which must be used by Aug. 29.
Attend South County Senior Expo for chance to win Silver Dollar City tickets, gas card
By Kevin Carbery
Those who attend the Leader’s South County Senior Expo next week will have the chance to win four tickets to Silver Dollar City in Branson, along with a $100 Phillips 66 gas card to help pay for travel expenses.
The expo, geared to those 50 and older, will feature dozens of vendors, live music, guest speakers, bingo and free doughnuts and coffee.
It will run from 8 a.m. to noon Wednesday, May 7, at Kennedy Recreation Complex, 6050 Wells Road, in south St. Louis County. Admission and parking are free.
While at the expo, attendees may enter the drawing for the grand prize at the Leader booth, but just one entry per person, please. The person needs to be present to win. Only those 50 or older are eligible to win, but the winner may take guests of any age.
The grand prize winner is sure to have a good time at Silver Dollar City, the 1880s theme park known for its roller coasters and other carnival rides and entertainment, as well as more than 100 artisans demonstrating woodcarving, glassblowing, candy making and other crafts, according to the park’s website.
“If you’ve never been to Silver Dollar City, it’s a fabulous time,” said Katelyn Mary Skaggs, digital marketing manager for the Leader. “I think it’s a fantastic place to take grandchildren or friends. There is something for everyone. They’ve got rides and shows and lots of shops, which is my favorite thing to do when I go there. It’s a wonderful little gem in Missouri.”
Skaggs said the grand prize winner and his or her guests may want to take advantage of other entertainment opportunities during their visit to Silver Dollar City.
“Silver Dollar City in Branson is the main attraction, but Branson has many other things to do,” she said. “Branson has tons of shopping, shows and events. There’s always something to do in Branson.”
She said the Silver Dollar City tickets must be used by Aug. 29.
In addition to the grand prize offered by Leader Publications, many Senior Expo vendors will hold drawings of their own, Skaggs said.
“There are always awesome raffle prizes from the vendors, from restaurant certificates to, sometimes, a TV,” she said.
Attendees also may win prizes during the two bingo sessions put on by Leader Publications, Skaggs said.
“The bingo offers winners gift cards to local businesses and Leader T-shirts, which I thinks are the best prizes,” she said.
For more information about the South County Senior Expo, call the Leader at 636-931-7560 or visit myleaderpaper.com/seniorexpo.
Wood wins Way Back When photo contest
By Teresa Inserra
Nancy Nicholson Wood, who lives just outside De Soto, won first place and a $100 cash prize in the Leader’s Way Back When photo contest, sponsored by Grand Times, Leader Publications’ magazine for seniors
Her photo was drawn at random from 31 entries in the contest, which was open to all Jefferson County, Eureka and Wildwood-area readers 50 and older. Photos had to be at least 25 years old, from 2000 or earlier.
The other winners were Barbara Rose of De Soto, who won $75, and Dawn Tucker of Hillsboro, who gets $50.
Nancy Nicholson Wood, 78, of the De Soto area earned first place with a 1910 photo of her grandmother, Hallie Yount, then 16, and her great-aunt, Blanche Yount, then 14.
Wood
Wood, 78, said she couldn’t believe she won the contest.
“I just wanted the picture in the paper,” she said. “I didn’t think I would win the contest. I just love that picture.”
She submitted a 1910 photo of her grandmother, Hallie Yount, then 16, and her great-aunt, Blanche Yount, then 14. She liked how they were dressed and thought her grandmother looked beautiful.
Wood said the sisters moved to De Soto from Quaker in Washington County with their mother, Olive Bryan Yount, who divorced Charles Wesley Yount. She believes Olive was the manager of the Acme Hotel in downtown De Soto, which is now Dietrich-Mothershead Funeral Home.
She said Blanche married Gus Avonce, a Missouri Pacific Railroad conductor, and Hallie married Cecil R. Ballard Sr. in 1914.
Wood said the Ballards built a house on East Second Street that still stands behind the Arlington Hotel.
“I lived with them five years,” she said. “Every time I go to De Soto, I have to go by the house.”
Barbara Rose, 73, of De Soto took home second place with a picture of her family in Sacramento, Calif., on Easter 1954.
Rose
Rose, 73, submitted a photo of her family in Sacramento, Calif., on Easter 1954. She was about 2 years old in the photo. Also in the photo are her brothers, Roger and Gary, and her parents, Woodrow and Dorothea. The photo was taken by her grandfather, Walter Lewis.
Rose said she is a California native, but her husband was from the High Ridge area, so they moved to Missouri a few years ago to be closer to his family.
Dawn Tucker, 58, of Hillsboro won third place with a photo taken in 1902 of her grandmother, the late Marie Kahsner, with Tucker’s paternal great-grandmother and great-grandfather.
Tucker
Tucker, 58, sent in a photo taken in 1902 of her grandmother, the late Marie Kahsner, with Tucker’s paternal great-grandmother and great-grandfather. Tucker said she liked the photo because it shows her grandmother as a young child.
The photo contest was held in conjunction with the Leader’s South County Senior Expo to be held from 8 a.m. to noon Wednesday, May 7, at the Kennedy Recreation Complex, 6050 Wells Road, in St. Louis County.
Click here to see more entries to the photo contest:
