Given our fleeting place in this complex and sometimes unforgiving world, how does one find happiness?
Well, they go to the Mollie Nye House, of course.
Beginning Friday, Jan. 25, the Lynn Valley hub is hosting The Science of Happiness.
Based on an online course pioneered by University of California Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, the program posits that there is a crucial link between social connections, maintaining a sense of the greater good, and personal happiness.
The 12-week course is just one example of the variety of programs offered at Mollie Nye House, explains Lynn Valley Services Society operations manager Maria Roney.
“There’s a misconception out there that the Mollie Nye House is a seniors’ centre,” Roney says. “We’re trying hard to change that.”
While it’s certainly seniors-friendly, offering chair-based yoga classes, for instance, Mollie Nye is a small community centre, Roney explains.
The house is home to beginner and intermediate ESL classes and is set to launch a speaker series Feb. 4 with a workshop on acupuncture and stress reduction.
“When Mollie Nye left the house to the District of North Vancouver her only request was that seniors and children come through the house,” Roney says.
Earlier this week, Mollie Nye House welcomed women to dance, stretch and shimmy their way to fitness with Bellyfit SAGE.
The class is intended develop core strength for women around the age of 50 and older, Roney says.
“It really is good for anybody that is recovering from injury,” Roney says.
In developing core strength, the class is meant to benefit women hoping to improve balance and prevent falls.
“I think it’s going to gain a lot of popularity especially as the baby boomers are aging and we’ve got a larger, more mature population.”
But the class is also meant to help women connect with friends and neighbours, keeping with Mollie Nye’s vision for the house.
Florence Mary ‘Mollie’ Nye was born in 1913, the same year her father Jack received 160 acres in Lynn Valley for his service in the Boer War, according to history furnished by Barbara Bate.
Nye’s career as a teacher took her from a one-room school near Golden to Sutherland Secondary, where she served on the faculty for 22 years. A gardener, painter and community activist, Nye spent most of her life at 940 Lynn Valley Rd., in the house built by her father.
She passed away in 1997, bequeathing the home to the District of North Vancouver.
For Roney, the focus is on ensuring Mollie Nye serves as a fitting legacy for Nye.
“I think she would be very proud of what’s happening in this house,” Roney says.
