Another Youth

09/11/20120 views

November 9, Lepel /Own correspondent/. They are all past their youth: the eldest is almost eighty-five, the youngest is under sixty. But in their club, it is not customary to count or boast about years. Here, they boast of anything: a knitted scarf or an embroidered napkin, a newly learned song or a successful accompaniment. They proudly talk about interesting trips, share impressions of what they have heard, seen, and read in the press.

And about the years, which each of them has lived, not in vain, of course, they remain silent. Age hinders them a little, sometimes health fails, and therefore they do not visit their club as often as they would like, and do not go on excursions very far. But they have learned to feel happy even in the circumstances available to them. They say: "If you want to be happy, be happy!" The veterans were born in an era when the whole country was permeated with patriotic optimism, they learned to enjoy life when they were young. And this optimism, joy, and youth have not left them to this day.

The folk club "Veteran" was founded at the RDC in 1988, back in the great country of their youth, without which they could not imagine themselves. It was born on the basis of a choir consisting of war and labor veterans of our town. Exactly twenty years ago, the collective received the title of "folk", which must be reconfirmed every three years.

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As spring approaches, before celebrating its anniversary, the choir must reaffirm its "People's Ensemble" status in March. To achieve this, a serious concert program is being prepared for evaluation by a strict jury. Performing concerts is not new to them. The choir participates in many events at the House of Culture: Victory Day, Independence Day, Elderly People's Day, Disabled Persons' Day, the anniversary of the October Revolution, and so on. The twenty-two active members singing in the veteran choir also form the core of an intellectual club, where they discuss culture, economics, and politics, and debate educational issues. They also travel to enterprises to give concerts. They have performed at the Milk and Canned Food Plant, visited Stai, Yurkovshchina, and Chareyshchina, met with soldiers in Zaslonovo and Borovka, and travelled to Dubroŭna for the "Veterans Don't Grow Old in Soul" festival. They received a diploma for high stage culture. A little earlier, they travelled to Polotsk and Velikiye Luki. They still fondly recall those trips and are pleasantly surprised by the warm reception they receive from schoolchildren, who listen attentively to their concerts.

The "Veteran" club boasts skilled craftswomen: Hanna Maslavataya embroiders, Valentina Reut and Hanna Skalaban knit, Raisa Dziemka beads, and Anastasia Stepanova writes poetry. There are many strong singers, talented readers, and simply socially active individuals – too many to list. The "Veteran" club is managed by Yuliya Kunchyevskaya.