For 25 years, the U.S. Naval Undersea Museum in the Kitsap County community of Keyport has strived to connect veterans, sailors and the local community with the history, technology and operations of the undersea Navy. The museum opened as a preview center in 1991 and proceeded to open as a fully operational museum in 1994. “The undersea Navy is something the majority of people in our country are not familiar with,” said Olivia Wilson, operations manager for the museum (USNUM). “We want to provide the community with a basic understanding of what the Navy does undersea through exhibits and educational opportunities, free of charge.”

It is obvious as soon as you walk into the Sumner Senior Center that people are having a lot of fun. Tables of eight are scattered throughout the room, and the chairs fill quickly. Before lunch is served, there are 56 people in the room, visiting, dancing, and enjoying the company of others. Five days a week, lunch is offered to seniors 60-plus for a mere $3. And the lunch is nutritious and served with smiles, laughs and hugs.

The new year of 2020 also is the start of a new decade. Here’s a look back at some of the stories that made headlines in Senior Scene in 2019 to close out the “twentyteens.”
“Lunch with smiles, laughs and hugs.” Sumner Senior Center was a fun example of volunteers helping Catholic Community Services dish up good food and good times at 29 mealsites in Pierce and King counties.

Seventy-four years after he acted in “It’s a Wonderful Life,” Jimmy Hawkins says the iconic movie is fresher today than ever. The holiday classic is now available from Paramount for home viewing on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, resulting in sharper and brighter images. “It looks great, and of course the story is as great as ever,” said Hawkins, who was 4 years old when he played the son of the central character, George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart). Hawkins, now 78, said anyone who somehow has never seen “It’s a Wonderful Life” (“I very rarely meet anyone who hasn’t”) is missing its message “that you’re important, everyone is important.”