Mae Pelton, from Cheyenne Wells, retired after many, many years of service to the senior citizens and community of Cheyenne Wells. The exact year that Mae began her service is a mystery...some think it was 1972, some think 1976 or 1977 ...regardless, Mae has been cooking great meals and providing a valuable service to the community for many years. She Will Be Missed...although we have heard that she will continue working at the thrift store, attending the nutrition program (this time to enjoy the meals...not cooking them)...and, of course, volunteering when she can and where she is needed.
The Site Kitchen for the meals program was originally established in an area of the old Town Hall in early 1977 as an experimental program. When the ECCOG Board of Directors agreed to continue the program, they applied for OAA funding. Mae was hired as the Project Cook and in 1978 Mary F Irwin was hired as her assistant to help with the increased demand for meals and (Ugh!) required (but necessary) paperwork. In addition to providing meals, from April 1982 to August 1983 Mae also served the community as the Senior Services Coordinator...we're still not sure how she did it all!...
Mae resigned for a short time in 1983, but returned in 1985. The Site Kitchen/Senior Center moved to it's present location in 1986 (what a great facility the seniors have...Thanks! to all those who helped raise the money and provide the labor to get the senior center established).
We, at the central office, really will miss Mae...especially at the regional staff meetings ...she always brought her famous cinnamon rolls. However, this writer will actually miss her dinner rolls the most! They are the best! But, we do understand her decision to retire ...things continually change and we must adapt to that change.
Just for some additional history...we found a fiscal year-end report dated September 30, 1978; the monthly average number of meals was 325 and the average donation per person was 74 cents. It is difficult to determine the average meal cost because of the way information was gathered (or not gathered) at that time, however we have estimated the average cost per meal was $2.80. Today, the monthly average number of meals is 339, the average donation is $2.02 per person and the average cost per meal is $6.28.