Shirley Kelly was a little nervous and anxious about her first venture into travel agency. Since she took over as the president of the Weehawken Senior Citizens Club last year after the sudden death of long-time president Alfred Johnson, Kelly hadn’t organized a major excursion like the ones that Johnson had frequently run.
“I was a wreck,” said Kelly, who was named Weehawken’s Senior Citizen of the Year earlier this year. “I wanted to make sure that everything was right for my first trip. I went through a lot of books and pamphlets to pick the right place.”
Kelly settled on a bus trip to Cape Cod, a five-day journey to Boston, Hyannis and Provincetown, Mass. “I had never been to Cape Cod,” Kelly said. “When I bounced the idea off the members, they seemed to like the idea as well.”
Last month, nearly 40 members of Weehawken’s senior group loaded up a bus and headed for Beantown and other points of interest. White Star Tours from Reading, Pa. organized the trip and handled everything for Kelly. “They sent us brochures of where we were going and had everything arranged,” Kelly said. “Once we got on the bus, everything was taken care of and there was no wasted time. We saw everything that we could during that time.”
Rose Lemeir loved the trip.
“We were able to see so much and the weather was delightful,” Lemeir said. “We squeezed in so much in such a little time.”
“I sent a little note upstairs to God that since it was my first trip, if He could make the weather nice for us,” Kelly said. “The weather couldn’t have been any better. It was perfect.”
The seniors visited many points of interest, including the Kennedy compound in Hyannis and the Quincy Market in Boston. They also took a day cruise into Hyannis Harbor.
“Everyone had such a great time,” Kelly said. “The tour guide pointed out all the points of interest. The bus driver had a lot of fun with us. It was a lot of work organizing the trip, but once I got on that bus, I enjoyed myself, too.”
Lemeir said that she never made a trip that was organized by Johnson, but she certainly appreciated Kelly’s efforts.
“She ran a wonderful trip,” Lemeir said. “I decided when it was Cape Cod that I had to go. I have to give Shirley a lot of credit. She’s done a wonderful job. My daughter said it was the first time in my life that I didn’t have a complaint. Well, I did have one complaint – that the trip didn’t last longer. I didn’t want to come home. I wished I could have stayed there. That’s how wonderful it was. It was a very good experience.”
Since she has a successful vacation under her belt, Kelly now feels a little more at ease.
“I feel real comfortable right now as the president,” Kelly said. “I feel like I’m doing something good. The gratitude you get from these people is incredible. And they’re all willing to help. I’ve found some really great friends from the club.”
The trip was such a success that Kelly is already planning the next big vacation trip – to Montreal, Quebec and Lake George, N.Y. next September.
“I wanted to put it out there already, so people can start saving money,” Kelly said. “But there is a lot of interest already. I had others who said that if they knew the Cape Cod trip was going to be so good, that they would have gone. So they want to go on this one.”
“I’m already going,” Lemeir said. “I’ve already paid my deposit.”
The Weehawken Senior Citizen Club isn’t just about taking vacations. They are currently organizing a “Toys For Tots” campaign in order to give new toys to needy children for Christmas. On Nov. 15, the group will turn over the approximately 400 toys they’ve collected to the U.S. Marines, which organizes the national campaign.
“This was Alfred Johnson’s baby and we’re just carrying on with the tradition,” Kelly said. “We’ve collected 400 new toys that the members have either donated or collected. One of our members, Hanny Rosen, takes them home and stores them in her basement. Every week, we’ve received a few more. It feels real good that we have been able to carry on Alfred’s tradition.”
In more ways than one. The trip to Cape Cod was proof positive of that.