A special evening of music, food, speeches and fun was hosted at the Escalon Heritage House senior housing complex, part of the 55th anniversary celebration for Retirement Housing Foundation, which oversees the local complex.

Hosted on Monday, April 23, the gathering brought together residents of the senior complex along with many from the community, Retirement Housing Foundation program officials, local dignitaries and more. Representatives from the City of Escalon and the Escalon City Council attended as well.

A barbecue dinner was served, music was provided by a DJ, an accordionist and some local church singers and the festivities were open to the community. Members of the Escalon Sunrise Rotary Club were on hand to help serve up the dinner.

“We had close to 100 people,” Site Manager Dolores Mateo said of those turning out for the celebration, which included many residents of Heritage House.

The local senior complex was built in 1987 but is part of the Retirement Housing Foundation, RHF, network and was able to join in the anniversary party.

There are 42 housing units at Heritage House, the bulk of them single person units, added Mateo.

A handful of speakers took to the microphone to inform the crowd about the RHF program, its history and its success locally. The RHF has more than 190 ‘communities’ across the country that provide housing for more than 22,000 people.

“It was a lot of fun,” Mateo said.