HOLLYWOOD UKES — Members of the Hollywood Ukes gathered in their practice room, located in the Prime Time Senior Services activity center, 300 Lovers Lane, Steubenville. From left are, seated, Betty Schiappa, Mary Ellis Mitchell, Ronda Seelig and Karen Shell and, standing, Dick Kuhn, John Slivka, Harry Nicholson and Bill Danaher. -- Christopher Dacanay

STEUBENVILLE — Local seniors can pick from a variety of activities to keep them busy during retirement. For the musically inclined, one group in Steubenville offers community and fun centered around one easy-to-learn instrument — the four-stringed, Hawaiian ukulele.

Dubbed the Hollywood Ukes, the eight-person group meets every Monday at 1 p.m. at the Prime Time Senior Services activity center, located at 300 Lovers Lane. Members chat, joke and — most important — unite in song by playing the ukulele and singing classic songs from the 1960s through the ’80s.

All members of Prime Time, the Ukes have performed together for the center’s lunch hour and luau party. Their performances have taken them across the Ohio Valley for various festivals and functions.

Founded in October 2014, the Hollywood Ukes have been strumming and humming for a decade, persevering through many shifts in location and membership.

The group began with Vicky Alfred and Sondra Hyde, who — by chance — both received ukuleles for Christmas. Both members of the former Jefferson County Senior Services Arts and Activity Center in Hollywood Plaza, Alfred and Hyde told Executive Director Amy Mihalyo and employee Kim Gray about their coincidental gifts.

Mihalyo told the two she’d arrange for them to take lessons, as they didn’t yet know how to play their instruments. She spoke with Bob Lesnefsky, who agreed to teach them.

At the same time, senior center member Betty Schiappa joined with a ukulele her son gifted her from Hawaii. Also brought along were John Otto and Mary Lou Underwood.

Still a member, Schiappa recalled, “It was just one of those things where we kept bringing in people.”

The group’s first gig took place in September 2014 at the Spot Bar, reportedly drawing more than a hundred attendees of all ages.

Although the Hollywood senior center closed on May 31, 2015, the Hollywood Ukes continued on. Members practiced for a time in BookMarx Bookstore, then owned by Peter and Patricia Marx. The group continued to play gigs, including at American Legion posts, luncheons, churches and nursing homes.

Lesnefsky’s departure from the group dealt a major blow, as did Otto’s death on June 5, 2017. The group’s leader, Otto had taken the initiative to book gigs and provide equipment.

“He was a good guy, a lot of fun, and he loved the ukulele,” Schiappa recalled. “I think it was a big comfort to him while he was suffering at the end. They said he still played his ukulele.”

At that point, the group was not accepting any gigs but kept together at Jim Wood and Aracoma parks. Come the winter, the group needed an indoor space to practice, which is how Prime Time entered the story.

Hollywood Ukes member Jeanie Mazik spoke to Prime Time’s director, who said that the group could practice at the center, as long as they became members. It was the fall of 2021 when the Ukes moved into the room they currently inhabit.

Membership in the group has fluctuated, typically remaining around eight or nine members while individuals move or die. When Mazik and another member announced they were leaving, the group dwindled to four members: John Slivka, Betty Schiappa, Ronda Seelig and Mary Ellis Mitchell.

The remaining members figured the group was finished, until four new members joined in the same day. Karen Shell, Dick Kuhn, Harry Nicholson and Bill Danaher were all involved with the Tri-State Harmonizers barbershop group and ended up rescuing the group by doubling its size.

The group’s current incarnation played its first gig together at Froehlich’s Classic Corner on Aug. 14 for the monthly meeting of Public Employees Retirement Inc. District 9, Chapter 5. The group recently played for the Three Score Senior Club at Undo’s.

Some of the Ukes are self-taught, while others have taken lessons with Bill Cashdollar at the Center of Music and Art. With an eclectic repertoire of songs, the group contains six ukulele players and two singers, with Slivka playing the harmonica and tambourine.

From Mingo Junction, Slovak started with the Ukes in 2015. He feels that music is a good form of therapy.

“I like to play with the group because there’s nothing like music. It makes you feel good, and when we go to the nursing homes, we make them feel good.”

Schiappa, who’s from Steubenville, taught herself to play the ukulele. She said the group is “something I look forward to” because it keeps her brain active.

Seelig is originally from Southeast Michigan but has lived in the Ohio Valley for 34 years, most recently in Weirton. She enjoys playing music because it’s challenging and makes people happy. As for the ukulele, she prefers it to the piano because it’s “easier to carry.”

Mitchell was a drummer at Mingo High School and played the guitar for a time. Also in the choir, Mitchell loved everything musical and easily picked up the ukulele.

From Toronto, Shell is the choir director and organist for the Catholic churches and Presbyterian church in Toronto. She learned the ukulele while young and enjoys playing with the Ukes because there’s no “performance anxiety and pressure.”

Shell recalled being in a high school talent assembly when everyone expected her to play the piano. Instead, she pulled out a ukulele and played songs by Tiny Tim.

Also from Toronto, Kuhn used to play the ukulele but now only sings. Kuhn, who played the mandolin while serving in the Navy, said he enjoys the Ukes’ “camaraderie.”

Nicholson was raised in rural Toronto but lives in Wintersville. He’s played the guitar since high school but purchased a ukulele while staying in Hawaii, having taken a quick lesson at his hotel. Now learning the bagpipes, Nicholson has always been musical and loves the Ukes.

“I think the consensus here is we just love doing this,” he said, adding, “Seeing people react means a lot, and we get as much out of it as they do. … We laugh as much as we play. It’s just a lot of fun doing this.”

Danaher has played the guitar since high school and picked up the ukulele while in the group. After retiring, he was looking for “another musical outlet” and gravitated toward the Ukes because of the “friendliness of the participants and the unmatched musical sound of friends singing together.”

The Ukes invite anyone to join their group, provided they first register with Prime Time.