Trudeau Senior was in charge in Ottawa. Richard Nixon was president of the US but was up to his neck in the Watergate scandal. Popular movies were Serpico with Al Pacino, The Sting with Paul Newman and Robert Redford, and that horror classic, The Exorcist. It was also the year martial arts actor Bruce Lee died; and Monica Lewinsky was born. The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Chicago Black Hawks to win the Stanley Cup. A dozen eggs would set you back about 55 cents, and gas at the pump was about the same per gallon, before the oil crisis that year.
In Merlin, plans were underway to set up a community group for seniors’ activities. With assistance from New Horizons and CYC (Company of Young Canadians), the project began to come together in August. Claire Paquette of CYC was involved and is pictured above.
Planners met to pick a club name and an executive. The name chosen was Senior Citizens Friendship Club. First President of the club was Albert Wellwood; Secretary, Iva Morgan; Treasurer, Edythe Kennedy; Membership Chairman, Tom Swanton; Program Chairman, Mary Lahey (also in charge of Crafts).
Initially meeting in the Comunity Hall, the group was able to move to the former Abbott grocery store beside the Post Office. This building at one time also housed Ann Lloyd’s Dress Shop, Bill Nicholson’s Men’s Wear, and a hair salon. In earlier days, it was called the Zeller Building.
With the mission of bringing together retired people for fun, activities, learning, and fellowship, the Club has been serving Merlin for many years now under the name Merlin Friendship Club.