By Jolene FarleyEarlier this month six members of the Hills Senior Citizens dined out for a final farewell meeting. The group had, in recent years, dwindled in numbers, according to President Mae Top. At a regular meeting in September, the group decided to disband."Fourteen years ago, when I moved to town there were 38 people, now we’re down to eight," she said. Top doesn’t recall any new members, except one, during her years with the group.When local resident Edna Lien passed away, she left the group some money to use for their activities. "She wanted us to use it, and we did use it," Top said.The balance of the group’s funds, between $3,000 and $4,000, will be donated to the Hills Fire Department at a November meeting, according to Top.She said younger women work, and with so many other activities available the group didn’t have much success recruiting new members. The group used to meet twice a month, but about a year ago, meetings were changed to once a month. Members gathered to play cards, play bingo and to socialize. Men used to join, but recently all members were women.Top at "not quite 80 yet" is one of the younger ones in the group. Serving as president and secretary for the group, she tracked volunteer hours and turned them in to the Retired Senior Volunteer Program in Worthington. This aspect of the group will continue. She will turn in individual volunteer hours to be credited for Rock County. She quilts at church, provides nail care at Tuff Memorial Home, and visits the sick.Top said she’ll miss the companionship of the group. "I will miss getting with the group of people and an afternoon out," she said.Former member Laura Paulsen said she enjoyed the group before she took time off when her husband entered the nursing home."We had lots of fun. We played bingo and had lunch," she said."We started out at about 40 and it dwindled down to just a few."The oldest member of the group, Martha Lindrud, 87, will also miss the meetings."It’s going to be different," she said. Lindrud, who joined in 1989, a year after moving to town, is one of the remaining members. "We met at the Legion Hall the second and fourth Tuesday of every month," she said. "Things have a way of disappearing."
