Latest in a series of stories on Worcester County residents recently honored by the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women.
The special programs and presentations Laura Wilson schedules for residents and visitors at the Oxford Senior Center reflect the type of information and activities that she would want her parents, both deceased, to access.
“Anything that can help seniors navigate the world, I bring to the center,” Wilson said. She alludes to the special presentations on fraud, scams targeting the elderly, help with finances, applying for fuel assistance, government supports and regular visits form the district attorney and police and fire chiefs.
Wilson, who started her job as the center’s director during the COVID-19 pandemic after being furloughed from her position at the municipal building, was recognized as one of 125 Massachusetts Heroines by the Commission on the Status of Women. She was nominated by Rep. Joseph McKenna, R-Webster.
Calling her an asset to the Town of Oxford and the commonwealth of Massachusetts, McKenna praised Wilson for her efforts to "make sure her seniors are safe.
“Laura’s dedication to the senior population of Oxford and surrounding areas is outstanding,” McKenna wrote in his nomination. “Laura’s warmth, positive energy and her commitment to providing the best possible experience at the Senior Center to any and all visitors. (She) ensures the center is involved in town events and is usually the first to volunteer her time and services.”
For Wilson, it’s a labor of love.
Love for her community, instilled by her parents. Her father was an Oxford police officer, her mother an election worker. And love for the residents who have come to rely on her for their special programs, for nutritious and delicious lunches, for a sympathetic ear, a kind heart and when needed, a shoulder to lean on, or cry on.
“I get a great feeling of accomplishment when I can help,” Wilson said, adding that many of the seniors attending the center were her parents’ contemporaries, knew them and feel comfortable with her. “It’s in my nature to want to help.”
Oxford Town Manager Jennifer Callahan tapped her to replace the retiring manager and “hold things together until the community could figure out what to do; there was no plan,” Wilson said. She agreed to accept the directorship and started in May 2020.
“I absolutely loved it,” Wilson said, adding she felt right at home in the job immediately. “Ms. Callahan saw that I loved it, trusted me and let me take the ball and run.”
Wilson credits her “great staff” for her success and the success of the new programs offered at the center.
“It’s never been so busy,” Wilson said.
The center is now open later and offers transportation through the Worcester Regional Transit Authority and her staff to the far reaches of the community and later into the day, allowing more participation in programs.
In the four years since stepping into the role, Wilson has held a monthly breakfast with the community’s new police chief and talks presented by the local historical society, blood pressure clinics, movies and needleworking. There’s also chair volleyball, chair yoga, balance class and walking clubs.
A men’s group meets regularly, just about a dozen “gentlemen,” who sit in a private space and are free to discuss whatever comes to mind — their days in the service, jobs before retirement, the silly things their wives did earlier in the day.
“They have their time,” Wilson said,
The center also sponsors regular bus trips.
“Nothing overnight, but we take trips to Boston, destinations in New Hampshire, Connecticut and Maine,” Wilson said.
The fire department visits regularly to discuss safety issues affecting seniors, home fire safety and evacuations in case of emergencies, and personal safety in the home.
One of her favorite days of the week is the day for chair volleyball.
“I saw a picture of it and decided, why not?” Wilson said. A $50 investment in a volleyball net, a beach ball and sturdy chairs, and the games began.
“We have fun. We laugh a lot,” Wilson said, explaining that one of her aims is to keep the community’s senior population moving physically and engaged mentally. “We have one rule: Keep the tushy in the cushy. We don’t want any falls.”
The center sponsors a $5 luncheon twice a week with its own part-time chef whipping up tasty concoctions such as American chop suey. All meals include the main course, dessert and a drink. The portions are often big enough for residents to box up and take home. It’s a popular program.
“I was shocked. I kept asking whether it was for real,” Wilson said about the honor. Twice married, widowed once, she has a son who will soon move to Alabama, a stepson who lives locally, step-grandchildren and a wide circle of friends. “It’s such an honor, I was so excited; my first words were that I wished my parents were here.”
But over the course of the years, Wilson has come to view the residents at the center as adoptive parents. “They are all my parents.”
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