Having fun rehearsing Irish songs including “Tora Lora Lora” and “Danny Boy” for the upcoming St. Patrick’s celebration in Haddonfield on Saturday, March 21, are Golden Kazoos member Doug Donor (back row, left to right), Val Donor, Pat Doran, Sue Wilby, Hank Rementer, Tony Yavoksi, Director Susi Coley, Walt Weidenbacher, Vicki Riedel and honorary member Sheri Siegel. In the front row are Rosemary Rys (left to right), Sally Howley, Sherill Rittenmeyer, Roni Rementer, Marilyn Bowers, Cathy Campbell and accordion player Henry Mikol.
The Mabel Kay Senior Center was already abuzz with activity on Feb. 17 as members of the Golden Kazoos – who first performed in public at last year’s Haddonfield fall festival – arrived to rehearse for the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day Celebration this month.
Upstairs, nearly 20 people were already getting a morning workout during “Fitness with Mel,” and downstairs executive director Sheri Siegel was welcoming the talented kazoo players as they came in full of energy and excitement about performing again.
“One day, accordion player Henry Mikol asked what instruments people played,” Siegel recalled. “Everyone decided they could play a kazoo.”
Since then, 25 seniors have been learning to perfect their kazoo skills and new songs every Tuesday, led by Band Director Susi Coley.
“Sheri organized the Golden Kazoos last spring,” Coley said. “Our first public performance was at the fall festival in front of the Presbyterian Church. We did not have any expectations, but people were very interested and watched us play.”
Since then, the band has played at all the senior center’s holiday parties.
“Some of us never considered playing the kazoo,” Coley added, and learned “it’s a lot of fun.”
Most of the songs the band plays are accompanied by Mikol on the accordion, but members are also learning some songs with recorded music to expand their repertoire. The main focus during a weekly morning rehearsal recently was Irish traditional songs, including “Tora Lora Lora” and “Danny Boy,” that the band will perform at the St. Patrick’s event along Kings Highway on Saturday, March 21.
The day kicks off with the Haddonfield Adrenaline 5K at 8:30 a.m., starting from Haddonfield High School. During the day, local downtown businesses will feature Irish-themed live music, drinks and food.
The Golden Kazoos are special to Mabel Kay director Siegel, who took over in March 2021 after the senior center was shut down during COVID. The band is one of four new programs and activities she has instituted.
“I kept a lot in place, like the exercise classes and line dancing,” explained Siegel, who lives in Haddonfield with her husband, Jon, and their two children.
“I love it here,” she enthused. “I have been given the freedom here to do want I want and create what I want.”
Siegel is a graduate of West Essex High School in North Jersey and Washington University in St. Louis. She earned her master’s in 2003 from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, outside of Philadelphia. She spent five years as a corporate development officer planning fundraising events at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, then 15 years with the New Jersey Commission for the Blind, helping sight-impaired people learn essential mobility and travel skills.
When COVID hit, Siegel decided to help her children with virtual school and spend more time with her family. Upon hearing the position of Mabel Kay’s executive director was open, it “made lots of sense,” she recounted. She now has the opportunity to use her skills of organizing events and logistics at the Franklin Institute, as well as helping blind people, many of whom were senior citizens.
Besides creating the Golden Kazoos, Siegel also started a memoir project for Haddonfield High ninth-graders to interview senior citizens about their lives and create a memory keepsake book complete with photos. The bound books are then given to the seniors as a holiday gift.
Another inter-generational program Siegel has started is Technology Tutors, volunteers from the high school who visit the center during the summer to teach seniors how to better use their cell phones and computers and access social media. The fourth initiative Siegel spearheaded was the building of a garden last year in the center’s yard, where seniors grow fresh vegetables.
“Gardening is very therapeutic,” Siegel observed. “We are going to start monthly gardening workshops.”
Siegel enjoys her job and the Golden Kazoos are close to her heart. Members include Doug Donor, Val Donor, Pat Doran, Sue Wilby, Hank Rementer, Tony Yavoksi, Director Susi Coley, Walt Weidenbacher, Vicki Riedel, Rosemary Rys, Sally Howley, Sherill Rittenmeyer, Roni Rementer, Marilyn Bowers, Cathy Campbell, Henry Mikol, Joann Ditalia, Bill Shoaf, Lynne Stock, Mary Swiercynski, Linda van Pelt, Larry Conti, Judith Anderson, Mary Beth Sauter, Marilyn Walters and Iris Nishimura.
