The Baby Boomer Generation is making its mark on senior centers.

This newest population of “seniors” doesn’t consider themselves part of the bingo and knitting set. They are used to a more active lifestyle than their predecessors. They are often more educated, have traveled extensively, and are more technologically savvy and with different, varied interests.

They don’t like to think of themselves as “old” and they have even moved to have the “senior” part dropped from the name and call them “community centers.”

But, the onslaught of the Baby Boomers in the senior citizen centers has caused some concern from “older” seniors, resulting in separate groups:

Robert Roswall, executive director of the Cabell County, W.Va., Community Services Organization, said older seniors at its eight centers in and around Huntington tend to ignore the newer activities in favor of bingo, daily meals, and other sedate offerings.

“They’re interested in their group,” he said. “It’s like a clique. You kind of have two groups in there right now.”

Morgan, the manager of the aging office in St. Petersburg, says there actually are three: the “G.I.” generation of the World War II era; the “silent generation” shaped largely by the 50s and early 60s, and the boomers.

“Each generation has its unique characteristics,” Morgan said. “We have to recognize the value of the G.I. generation and silent generation and not just kick them out the door. But at the same time, we have to recognize the impact of the baby boomer generation and make changes to accommodate them.”

While the concerns of the original or older population must be considered, senior centers must accommodate the interests of this new group as well in order to survive.

It used to be that senior citizen centers were a place for older people to gather for meals, but the emphasis has changed and offerings such as athletic clubs, continuing education and travel clubs can be found right along with bingo and canasta.

Operating hours will have to change, too, as many Boomers are stopping by the center on their way home from work. These increased hours and new offerings have to be balanced with the cost and staffing, so it may be that someday people will have to take on some of the cost of this themselves.

This generation of approximately 78 million people has had an impact on most everything they do and they are still going strong, but it would be great to find a way for all the groups to benefit from these gathering places.