After more than a year of closures during the coronavirus pandemic, some Village amenities partially reopened last week. The wood shop and art studio at Clubhouse 4 opened Monday, April 5, as did the indoor gym at Clubhouse 1.

The number of people allowed inside the facilities at one time was limited to 25 percent of capacity, reservations were required, and masks were mandatory.

Still, the wood shop was bustling Monday afternoon as five residents were busy working on projects. Woodshop supervisor Saeed Joulaee said six people showed up during the morning hours.

John Haushalter, 72, was making a charcuterie board for his daughter in the afternoon. Working in the wood shop again was his number one priority when things started to open, and it’s been a long wait, he said.

“It allows old farts like me to have something to do,” Haushalter said.

Being around others in the wood shop was important for Frank Wargo, 83, who was building a rocking chair for his great-granddaughter. He said he lost his wife over the past year.

“It’s been a very tough time for me,” Wargo said. “Being able to socialize a little eases the loss.”

Dave Winterstein, 82, was resuming a project he had been working on before the pandemic: building a dresser for his wife. When the wood shop was closed over the past year, Winterstein kept busy making small items in his carport, he said. On Monday, he was back and making three drawers for the dresser.

Over in the machine shop corner of the building, Andrew Cullinane, 89, was doing some metalwork: “making a device so no one can steal a catalytic converter,” he said.

“It’s a red letter day,” Cullinane said of Monday’s reopenings, adding he was “elated” to be back in the machine shop: “When you can be of service to your fellow man, you have reason to live.”

In the nearby art studio Monday afternoon, only supervisor Peg Simmons and Beth Allen Jack were busy with art projects.

Simmons, 72, was working on an oil painting of the Grand Canyon. She said she was excited to be able to use the art studio again, both for the socializing and for the painting, to “break the norm for COVID.”

Jack was creating greeting cards using photos she had taken, along with her own poetry. She called the endeavor her “COVID experience,” saying she started making cards during the pandemic: “I needed something to nurture myself.”

At Clubhouse 1 on Monday afternoon, though the weight machines in the outdoor gym in the breezeway were packed, no one was inside the fitness center itself. However, Village fitness coordinator Rodrigo Blanco said a total of six people came in throughout the day, starting at 7:30 a.m., to use the gym’s cardio machines.

To view a chart detailing what amenities will reopen, as well as days, times, accessibility and capacity, visit bit.ly/3cJD2K8. For questions, call the Recreation Office at 949-597-4273.

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