The guest speaker at the October 26th meeting was Jack Nesbitt of the Dryden Go-Getters.
 
Jack, a retired teacher of 34 years, is a former resident of the City of Dryden who left in 1959 and returned in 2014.
 
Upon his return, Nesbitt joined the Go-Getters and was quickly elected president.
 
The Go-Getters, an organization of Dryden’s senior citizens, was begun in 1955 as part of NOAP (National Old Age Pensioners). In 1956 it became the Dryden Senior Citizens. The first meetings were held in the Legion Hall, followed shortly thereafter in the Masonic Hall.
 
In March 1973 with the successful application of New Horizons Grant a meeting room was established in the basement at 22 King Street.
 
The next major event occurred in January 1984 when the two seniors’ groups merged to form Dryden Go-Getters with 380 members and the “activity centre” opening on St Charles Street. It is owned by the City of Dryden but the Go-Getters manage and maintain it.
 
 
 
Today there are close to 500 registered members of which 150 are very active. Membership fees have recently increased from $10 to $15 a year.
 
The mandate of the Go-Getters and the activity centre is to operate a drop-in centre to provide recreational, social, information and leisure programs. Activities, such as dancing, card games, Bingo, and woodworking, including daily lunches for members and the public occur 5 days a week. Brunch is served one Sunday a month. Nurses are also available to help seniors.
 
The hall can seat 170 with tables. The Go-Getters are now looking at building an addition which will create a bigger hall with a larger and renovated kitchen. The expansion would be built on the south side of existing facility. It is still at the proposal stage and is waiting for approval from the City of Dryden.