Bob Souders, Ira Webber and Dr. Robin Rieck arrange the balls on the table during a game of pool at the senior center. Each one regularly plays with other members for a few days each week. Rieck, a former professor of business at Western Washington University, also occasionally teaches classes at the center. His most recent class was “The Magic on How Societies Create and Lose Wealth.”

Bob Souders and Ira Weber laugh together during a pool game at the Senior Activity Center in Bellingham. Pool is one of the many ways seniors can spend time with other seniors at the center.

Carol Signett, 70, works on her scrap-quilt project in the quilting class at the senior center. Her and the other members are working on their own quilts with scraps they’ve collected from various fabrics they like. The group is a fun place to meet and critique each others work, Signett said.

Seniors exit the Senior Activity Center in Bellingham after spending time mingling with their friends.

Ralph Carmichael, 90, cradles his cards in a game of Pinochle at the senior center. Carmichael keeps a USB drive in his pocket that contains his entire “history” as he calls it.

Raymond Snook dons a cowboy hat while playing a game of Pinochle with Ralph Carmichael and other members at the senior center. “They call me Cowboy,” Snook said. The Pinochle players laugh and crack jokes as they play a few hands every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Ralph Carmichael, 90, laughs during a game of Pinochle at the senior center. He taught a class about computers at the center for 12 years and now enjoys playing cards with his friends. “This game keeps our minds going,” Carmichael said. Keeping an active mind and lifestyle is a theme throughout the center, but mostly they come to just enjoy the the last years of their life with each other.

Members of the Bellingham Senior Activity Center enjoy a sunny afternoon in March after a long few months of rain. Bob Souders and his wife, left, sit and chat after playing a few rounds of pool. The center is open Monday through Saturday and offers a wide spectrum of classes and activities for senior members. Many come regularly for classes and many just for the company of others.