Best Compliment for a 96-Year-Old? Call Her ‘Youthful'

A Vermont senior center held a ceremonial birthday party Thursday, for 15 people at once. The Heineberg Senior Center in Burlington’s New North End celebrated having 15 members who are 90 years old or older. The center served lunch, cake, and sparkling cider to friends, relatives and the guests of honor. At the event, 96-year-old Eileen Reed took a special liking to necn’s Jack Thurston, who asked about her secret to maintaining a youthful attitude. “Youthful?” Reed asked, before embracing the reporter and kissing him. “Oh, you get special love for that!” Beth Hammond, the executive director of the Heineberg Senior Center, said the party is what the center is all about: providing seniors with social opportunities, well-balanced meals, and a feeling of togetherness. “Our main mission at the center is just to embrace our community and bring more participants in,” Hammond said. “And to have fun and enjoy life, at all stages of life.”