Serving Our Seniors Magazine: July - September 2026

Prior to Serving Our Seniors coming into existence in 1996, only the residents of the City of Sandusky, and proximal points of Perkins Township, received “Meals on Wheels.” In 1996 Probate Court Judge Jane Lucal, along with Ray & Marian Koch established Serving Our Seniors. They wanted Serving Our Seniors to fund the delivery of hot home delivered meals to the rural areas of Erie County. A service that would not be possible if it was not for volunteers. Tim and Chris Neimeyer have been volunteering their time delivering rural meals for eight years. “We enjoy it. You meet so many people,” Chris says. When they began, the couple took one route a week. They now do two routes a week, delivering to about 40 clients. The couple are more than rural home delivered meal volunteers. They have actually saved lives. They once found a gentleman, who had fallen in his garage on a cold winter night. He refused an ambulance, so Tim and Chris called his son to alert him. Chris finished the delivery runs while Tim stayed with the client. Tim stated, “I stayed until the family came and talked to him and comforted him.” A similar instance occurred when the two found a pedestrian unconscious on the sidewalk during a delivery run. They stayed by her side until authorities arrived. Chris mentioned that she saw the woman Rural Home Delivered Meal Volunteers: They Are a Lifesaver By India Gray again, at a later date. The woman smiled and waved as she passed by. Chris finishes by saying, “It’s a good thing that there are people to go in and check.” The couple says their favorite part of the job is seeing the clients’ smiles, “helping with the little things,” and sharing their fresh produce in the summertime. Serving Our Seniors funds the meals and the rural home delivery trucks. The Erie County Senior Center cooks and packages the meals and organizes the volunteers. It’s a partnership. We are in great need of volunteers. Can you give one day per week to show a little kindness? If so, we need you! Call the Erie County Senior Center 419-626-2560 and ask to speak with Carolyn Springer . Chris Yocum has attended BGSU Fireland’s Elder College for about seven years. Chris is an 84-year-old retired reading specialist and loves learning. She initially expressed interest in auditing classes at BGSU Firelands, but changed her mind. Chris clarifies, “Someone said you don’t have to do that; they have an elder class. That’s how I got started, a friend of a friend.” Chris wishes to spread awareness of the Elder College to the active older community in Huron. “I have a lot of friends who don’t know anything about it. They need to know about Elder College.” Classes are typically held in the 163 Active Learning room of the North building. People aged 50 and better may ELDERCOLLEGE Makes You An Interesting Person By India Gray register for classes, which cost $12 a piece. Chris says, “You name it, they’ll try to bring someone in to tell us about it.” She has attended classes about local history, European history, ecology, telescopy, wine and beer tasting, tech and AI, chelo history, and more. The program offers field trips and virtual or in-person classes. For practical reasons she enjoys organizing and has registered for an Elder College class on the topic of downsizing. She thought, “Oh, maybe there’ll be some tips I can use.” Elder College goes beyond lifelong learning, it engages in you and makes a more interesting person with every class you take. To sign up for Elder College, please visit www.bgsu.edu/firelands/offices/ elder-college.html or call 419-372-0823. 11