Active and healthy minds.

That’s the focus of classes offered soon by the Bluffton Senior Citizens Center, 132 N. Main St., according to Tonya Meyer, director.

The classes will take place Mondays at 9:30 a.m.

According to Meyer the classes hope to fill a little of the gap left by the absence of ILR classes at Bluffton University.

She added that many ILR participants are also members of the Bluffton Senior Center, so the center decided to launch the project.

“We received a generous donation from Chiles-Laman Funeral & Cremation Services. We are using a portion of those funds to cover some of the expenses of starting the classes,” said Meyer. “We call our classes OVAL, Our Version of Adult Learning.”

All classes are free and open to the public. Here’s the first group of classes:

Monday, Feb. 6 - H.W. and Betty Enderle will present “Monuments Men.” This WWII event is how some soldiers saved priceless artwork from Hitler and his army.

Monday, Feb 20 - Bob Gordon-Hancock will discuss current events from a British perspective. He is British and has lived in the United States for one year. He is son-in-law of Bob and Deb Beer.

Monday, March 6 - Della Salter will present the “Woman in Gold.” She will show the movie based on the true story of one woman’s journey to reclaim her heritage 60 years after she fled Vienna during WWII.

A painting by Klimt is at the heart of the story and she will provide information on the artist.

Monday, March 20 - Olwen Pritchard and Elizabeth Gordon-Hancock will present high tea. They will teach participants how to make a proper pot of tea and will explain the difference between tea times in different regions of England.

This program will be limited to the first 20 people who signed up and will cost $5 for members of the Senior Center and $8 for non-members.

Persons may the Bluffton Senior Center at 419-358-8971 to register for the tea.

The Bluffton Senior Center plans OVAL classes through May. Watch the Icon for additional programs.