The North Valley Senior Center on Nucleus Avenue is rebranding itself as the Columbia Falls Community Center, with the hope of having the entire community use the space for events and gatherings.

The county owns the building and existing programs for seniors won’t change, such as daily lunches, Meals on Wheels, and other activities.

But the center has a full kitchen and plenty of space for other activities when seniors aren’t using it, director Mary Sorensen said.

“We would like to bring in younger members of the community, a place where young and old come together,” Sorensen said recently.

The community used to have a  space for meetings at the former North Valley Hospital location just down street, but North Valley merged with Logan Health and now the building itself is for sale.

The  center has a rich history in Columbia Falls, Sorensen noted.

She went through old scrapbooks and other records (her late parents Bev and Carrol were very active in the center)  and found that in the summer of 1976, six or eight seniors met to consider establishing a senior citizens Center in Columbia Falls. 

Dr. Ray Gillard was the first chairman and President. As more seniors joined, they met in the Masonic Temple for potluck dinners and social events, and lunches for seniors were served five days a week at the Klothes Kloset.

After many trips to the offices of the County Commissioners by various senior delegations, the senior center moved into a previous furniture warehouse in April of 1980, which is its location to this day. The renovation of the warehouse was done almost exclusively by volunteer labor, and a good deal of the materials were donated by local businesses.

An early morning fire on Feb. 7, 1984 gutted the center. The building is owned by the Flathead County and much of the remodeling was covered under its blanket insurance policy, but the community again stepped forward to help. The Columbia Falls Jaycees repainted folding chairs, the Columbia Falls High School shop classes under Mick Washburn refinished the piano, and many members of the community helped with cleanup and other repairs.

Since the center began, The Agency on Aging’s Nutrition Program has provided healthy hot lunches served at the center and delivered the local residents through the Meals on Wheels Program. The Center also has always worked closely with the Agency on Aging and County Health Department, providing local resources information and classes. Cards, Bingo, exercise classes and potluck have been regular activities since the doors opened. Other activities have been added over the years such as line dancing and painting classes. In the early 1990s the Jammers Band was formed. Any musician in the valley who wants to join is invited every Friday afternoon to play, sing, dance or just enjoy the music.

But today, the number of seniors physically using the center has diminished somewhat, as more older folks are housebound, and use Meals on Wheels and other in-home services.

So recently the board decided to open it up to the broader community. They’re working on a new website and encouraging anyone interested in the center to contact Sorensen by email at [email protected] or by phone at 406-892-4087.