CALUMET – After searching much of 2014, members of the Calumet and Laurium Holistic Senior Center found a building for their activities, and now they’re ready to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the facility.

Located at 307 B Sixth St. in the former Peninsula Gas Building, center volunteer Melinda Richards said Saturday will actually be one year since the building opened. Donations of furniture have made the place comfortable.

“Everything has been volunteered and donated,” she said.

To celebrate the anniversary, Richards said there will be a bake sale at the center from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. or as long as the items last.

“Donations are accepted,” she said about the bake sale.

On Dec. 9 bidding will begin in a silent auction on various items, such as gift certificates, jellies, art and jewelry, Richards said. Items to be donated for the auction should be at the center no later than Dec. 5.

Bidding for the silent auction closes Dec. 12, but bidders need not be present then. Those who aren’t at the center but have a successful bid will be notified.

The auction is a fundraiser, Richards said.

“The silent auction is actually for other things we need in the center,” she said.

Those items include food, stamps and other needed daily incidentals, which are meant for users of the center, Richards said.

In a November 2014 Daily Mining Gazette article about the organization getting the building for the center, Bill Bourland, Calumet and Laurium Holistic Senior Center president, said the center’s purpose was to the alleviate loneliness and depression many older people often experience. Having a place where seniors can interact and get involved would greatly help alleviate depression.

Although the new building is for seniors, Bourland said anyone can drop in to socialize.

“We’re not limiting anybody,” he said. “This is the Copper Country.”

Richards said there is no membership for the center, but 30 to 50 people come in every week.

“We try to keep a daily record of how many come in and how many we serve,” she said.

The center is open most days except Thanksgiving and Christmas, Richards said.

Richards said the center serves an important function for older people in the Calumet and Laurium area.

“It means a warm place during the day, with friendly conversations and a place to get together (for people who) don’t see each other very often,” she said.