By Elaine Welles
 Frances Moss and Carlotta Fareira have shared many good times at Center in the Park (CIP).
“By the time I joined, I felt like I had already been a member,” Fareira says, recalling visits to CIP with her mother, Helen V. Fareira, who was one of the women who met in 1968 at the Germantown YWCA to form what became CIP.
CIP, which now has 6,000 members, moved to its present location in Vernon Park at 5818 Germantown Ave. in 1986.
Fareira’s mother was among those who helped raise funds to convert the long-shuttered Carnegie Library into a senior center.
40 years of ‘positive aging’
CIP, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in September, prides itself in providing “positive aging for older adults.” It welcomes between 200 and 220 members per day, according to Megan McCoy, the center’s director of grant research and development. They come for activities that include, among others, music lessons, a photography club, tap dancing, exercise and yoga instruction.
Also, CIP provides many social service activities, networking opportunities and continuing education programs.
In September, 40th anniversary observances included jazz and classical music concerts, and publication of an anniversary cookbook.
‘Escape from loneliness’
Some come to escape loneliness, said Frances Moss. “It’s something to do. It is a wonderful place to hone your skills, to do things you never thought you could do. This brings out your creativity and spirit. You don’t have to sit home and look out the window.”
Moss, a retired district administrator after 33 years of service with the city’s Welfare Department, and Fareira are friends and serve on some of the same CIP committees. It was Moss who provided the 40th anniversary theme, “CIP — A Gem in Germantown.”
“I feel CIP has been a gem,” said Moss. “It has helped so many people to grow, to find their place. People our age, we’re healthier now, and CIP helps to extend that healthiness, not as in the past when older people had fewer outlets. It doesn’t cost a lot of money. It keeps us abreast of what’s going on. The Center teaches us and gives us all we need to age gracefully.”
Duo visits schools
The two women share their life experiences with students at nearby schools, which might seem old hat for Fareira, a retired teacher.
“We meet with students and we talk about how things happened when we grew up as contrasted to now,” she says. The students also get a few surprises when the two seniors demonstrate their tap dancing skills, honed at CIP.
Between their volunteer and membership activities, both women spend quite a few hours each week at CIP. They love their time there and want to share their enthusiasm for CIP with others, but despite the range and number of activities and the large membership (including 1,000 who are homebound), “we have lost some people “ to other centers and to churches, Moss says sadly.
“We just have fun. That’s what it’s all about. I keep getting up and thanking God. I have a ball.”
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