In 1988 Herby Ham made a plea for residents of Uvalde help make his dream come true by building a hands-head-health center where people over 50 could go to improve their mental attitude through work projects, which in turn would improve and maintain their physical well-being. This non-profit organization would be built by contributions from private citizens With the help of many friends a building was acquired in November 1990 and work began raising funds for renovation. Auctions, bake sales and barbecues were held, local citizens and organizations donated what they could. In 1992, Homer and Jackie Thomas were traveling through Uvalde when she developed a medical condition that required that they stay near an optometrist for a few days. In those few days, they fell in love with the community and met Herby Ham. They both became instrumental in the completion of the Center. Homer Thomas tells how he and Herby would wait until the mail arrived and if any donations were received that’s how much money they could spend on supplies. Homer dug the indoor pool with a bobcat because they couldn’t get larger equipment into the building. Through the work of Herby and many volunteers, the Center was finally completed. On November 2, 1995, a ribbon-cutting was held for the grand opening of the Senior Citizens Center.
Through the years the building has seen wedding receptions, wedding anniversary celebrations, dances, seminars, family reunions among the hundreds of events held there. Classes have been offered in water exercise, floor exercise, woodcarving, sewing, quilting, painting, computing, calligraphy, cooking and on and on and on. Realizing that these things were needed by a wide range of adults in the community, not just senior citizens, the age requirement was lowered to 18 and the name changed to Adult Activity Center in 2002. Since that time more people have been made aware of the many activities and opportunities available at the Center. The 18,000 square foot building houses a state-of-the-art computer lab, indoor pool with hot tub, fitness room, craft room, incredible wood-working shop, art gallery and large auditorium with commercial kitchen. Many of the spaces in the building are available for rent. A City Wide Market was begun to give locals a space to sell their wares, ranging from garage sale items to one-of-a-kind new items. Country dances are held to add to the social opportunities available. The indoor pool has been a Godsend to many of our citizens. A class taught within the auspices of the Arthritis Foundation Aquatics Program guidelines literally keeps a lot of folks moving. We have had people drive from as far as Rocksprings and Utopia to participate in these programs. More and more doctors are recommending therapy in our pool and hot tub as part of their rehab regiment.
There are no memberships to the Center. Many activities and classes are free, others require a minimal fee to cover the cost of the instructor. Private donations are always needed to keep the Center running. You can imagine that with a heated indoor pool and tons of power equipment, our insurance cost is over $10,000 a year and utilities run around $20,000. We keep the donation jar out at all events and continue to hope that the citizens of the area will believe in “Herby’s Dream” enough to keep it going.
The Center is entering a new phase as they sell their property and make plans to build a new facilty on property donated by the late Texas Governor Dolph Briscoe. The new building will house all the current activities in a more efficient manner. A separate building will house the Woodworking Shop. Business sort of “as usual” is being conducted at 100 W. North Street in the corner area of the Grand Opera House building. All activities except swimming and woodworking are running on the regular schedule. Come check it out!
I ask that you remember the Center when making charitable donations, in memory or honor of someone, or just for “Herby’s Dream”.
