Senior center namesake honored
By Becky Barclay
Published in News on March 5, 2017 12:09 AM
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News-Argus/SETH COMBS
Peggy Seegars smiles in the lobby of the senior center named in her honor. The center will host a reception today to honor Mrs. Seegars for her work with seniors and others in Wayne County.
For most of her 91 years, Peggy Seegars has had a hand in the goings-on in Wayne County, helping to make it a better place to live. One of the things near and dear to her heart has been advocating for seniors.
She played an instrumental role in getting a new senior center a few years ago, which was named the Peggy M. Seegars Senior Center.
To honor Mrs. Seegars for her work, the senior center is hosting a "Peggy Seegars Day" today from 2 to 4 p.m. It will be a floating reception, with a short program at 3 p.m. Speakers will include the mayor, county commissioners and other dignitaries.
"We decided Peggy needed to be recognized," said Martha Bryan.
Mrs. Seegars and Mrs. Bryan are delegate and alternate-delegate, respectively, to the Senior Tarheel Legislature, and are both very active in the group.
"It was started by the General Assembly in April 1993," Mrs. Bryan said. "That's really when Peggy began working for seniors. She was at the first meeting in October 1993."
"There are two of us left that started with this when it began," Mrs. Seegars said.
The Senior Tarheel Legislature helps seniors throughout the state. For example, a year and a half ago, it passed legislature requiring anyone working in a nursing home or with older people be drug tested.
Mrs. Seegars was also active in getting the new senior center. She said parking at the old center was a problem and the old center was too small.
"So many of the elderly people have lost family members," Mrs. Seegars said. "We feel that if we have a place like this, they can come and get help. And we can help each other.
"The main thing is food. So many of the seniors were eating noodles with no food value. And now they're getting a meal a day. So they're not having to go to the doctor's office as often. They're health is better. And their children have seemed to take more interest since their parents are more interested in things."
Mrs. Seegars said the many crafts that are being taught at the senior center help improve seniors' minds.
In addition to getting a new senior center, Mrs. Seegars helped get a public kindergarten started here. And she was principal of a prekindergarten program that was started in local churches.
"I've been involved in a lot of different things in Goldsboro," Mrs. Seegars said. "One of the things I'm so proud of is a teacher organization."
She's been a member of the Iota Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma, an international educational society for women teachers, for 56 years. And she's been an active member of the group.
Mrs. Seegars has also been active in her church, St. Paul United Methodist. She started a history room with the late Ethel Twiford and has been head of the history committee for years.
She's head of the cemetery committee at Willow Dale Cemetery.
Her late husband was a county agent, and the couple worked with the county fair a lot.
"A lot of times, we wouldn't get home until 4 in the morning from the fair," Mrs. Seegars said.
Mrs. Seegars has been involved with local nursing homes for years.
"She could get a call from someone in a nursing home or just pop in on them, and if things aren't just right, all she has to do is pick up the phone and call the people in New Bern and they trust her judgment enough that they come right down here and follow up on it," Mrs. Bryan said. "That's very good for people who are in these nursing homes."
For fun, Mrs. Seegars can be found playing duplicate bridge at the senior center two days a week.
She's retiring from the Senior Tarheel Legislature and the history committee at her church this year.
"I'll be 92 in May, and it's time for me to retire and let these young people take over," Mrs. Seegars said.