Elder College ready for the winter

By Taylor Desjardins

A local college for the elderly is opening its doors again for the winter season.

Elder colleges in Windsor and Essex County are beginning their winter studies and are open to anyone over 55 to come out and register.

Elder College is a non-profit charitable organization that runs classes ranging from two hour sessions to six classes or over six weeks for anyone over the age of 55 who wants to continue learning. The classes officially began in the fall of 2011.

Lloyd Brown John, the founder and director of the college, said many elderly people like learning and teaching.

“There are a lot of brilliant people, who are retired, and there are a lot of them who would like to be doing some interesting things,” said John. “There are also a lot of people that are bringing their knowledge and their skills to Elder College to teach courses.”

Catherine Fettes, the manager of the college, said she has high hopes for the upcoming winter semester.

“The program has been overwhelmingly successful,” said Fettes. “Last semester our numbers went up to 370 and this semester I am very anxious to see what happens.”

Jean Marshall is the chair of the Curriculum Committee for Windsor and Tecumseh and she has been involved with committee members to come up with ideas for courses, find presenters for the courses, then schedule the courses and locate facilities for them.

“I really enjoy my time at Elder College.  I have been meeting many interesting people and taking part in a very worthwhile community activity,” said Marshall. “There are 74 courses that we are offering and we are expecting 600 or more students.”

Registration is scheduled to begin Feb. 1 for the campuses in Amherstburg, Windsor, Essex, Leamington, Harrow, Kingsville, Lakeshore and Tecumseh for the semester that runs from February until May.