Charlie Terry has the distinction of being the oldest member of the Troy Nutrition Center.

“And, I’ll take it,” Terry said, laughing.

A health problem had sidelined Terry for about eight weeks but he is bouncing back.

“I’m doing much better and I didn’t want to miss the dedication of this wonderful place,” he said. I never would have thought that we would have anything like this.”

For Terry, the Troy Nutrition Center is a large part of who he is.

“I’ve been going to the nutrition center since 1976,” he said. “Before then, there wasn’t a place for seniors to go to get meals and to be together. We needed a place like that but we had to work hard to get it.”

Terry was working with OCAP and he was challenged with getting 25 people to sign up to participate in a nutrition program.

“We had to get that many to get the money for the program,” he said. “Me and my wife, Alice, we went door to door asking people to sign on. It was hard because they thought, if they got free meals, they would lose their social security. But, we finally got enough signed on and the senior nutrition center opened on Daisy Court.”

The senior nutrition program was finally a reality and Charlie Terry was one of its biggest supporters and most dedicated volunteers.

He wore three hats at the nutrition center. He was the center manager, the janitor and the bus driver.

“I wasn’t old enough to be a participant so I couldn’t eat,” Terry said, laughing. “I had to go home and eat dinner and go back.

Terry said the bus for the senior nutrition center was 127 miles. Seniors in Troy, Banks, Brundidge, Ten Mile Branch and Whitewater were served.

“We didn’t have a lot to do at the center but we were all glad to be there,” Terry said. “Mostly, what there was to do was eat, talk, sing and play dominoes. We thought it was the best place in the world,” Terry said. “I never would have thought that we could have a place like we’ve got now.”

Terry said the new Troy Nutrition Center is like a “palace” to him.

“We are blessed to have this place and to be able to come together every day,” he said. “When you get to be 93 years old, things like that mean more to you. This is a part of me and, without it, I don’t know what I would do. It’s a blessing from the Lord.”