PITTSFIELD — Absence makes the heart grow fonder, or so they say.
The return of a Valentine’s Day celebration with the Boys & Girls Club of the Berkshires and the Ralph J. Froio Senior Center seemed to prove that point on Tuesday.
On the holiday morning, 16 preschoolers from the Boys & Girls Club and nine seniors gathered in the upstairs cafeteria space at the Senior Center to exchange valentines, eat holiday cookies and share a song.
Cameron Tremble, 5, chats with Christine Putnam at the Ralph J. Froio Senior Center in Pittsfield during Tuesday’s Valentine’s Day visit.BEN GARVER — THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE
The seniors wore red top hats with white heart accents. The preschoolers, children mostly around age 5, pulled out all the stops in heart-patterned tights and dresses, pink bows and shirts in every shade from maroon to blush.
The seniors and preschoolers worked to create dancing heart characters. Wrinkled hands handled the uncapping of the glue sticks and many of the tiny hands took on the serious task of drawing the hearts’ smiles.
At the top of the table, Amelia Harrington leaned in close to work with her buddy for the event, Dr George Gitlitz. Amelia presented Gitlitz with a personalized valentine that read “George we love you a whole bunch.”
Gitlitz cheered Amelia on as she read every one of her classmates’ signatures off of the card.
Amelia Harrington, 5, visits with Dr. George Gitlitz at the Ralph J. Froio Senior Center in Pittsfield. Prekindergartners from the Boys and Girls Club of Pittsfield visited with the seniors for Valentine’s Day crafts.BEN GARVER — THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE
“It was a lot of fun,” Gitlitz said of the event. “It only happens once a year so you can’t treat it as a normal day. I think this is a good place to express this day.”
Teachers from the Boys & Girls Club and staff at the senior centre were all smiles throughout the event.
“I think just right here the communication, there’s no discrepancy between age groups,” said Pat Rosse, an activities leader with the center, looking out across the table. “They just relate so well.”
