Demorest's senior scene runs through two institutions: the Habersham County Senior Center on Scoggins Drive in town, and the Mountain Laurel Quilters' Guild just up the road in Cornelia, which has kept the county's quilting tradition going since 1994. Both are real, open, and welcoming to new faces, and both run on published calendars.
The Habersham County Senior Center
The county senior center at 217 Scoggins Drive in Demorest runs free programming for county residents: weekly crocheting through the month, other craft sessions, a mobile library visit on the calendar, holiday bazaars, van outings, and a lunch program that takes reservations about a week ahead. The phone number is (706) 839-0260, and the county's page posts the monthly calendar.
Mountain Laurel Quilters' Guild
The Mountain Laurel Quilters' Guild, founded in 1994, meets monthly in Cornelia at the Grant-Reeves Veterans Community Center on the third Tuesday, with workshops on the fourth Friday from January through October. It is a working quilting guild, the kind with show-and-tell, mentorship, and a newsletter, and new members attend the meetings to meet the group first. The guild's own site, mlqg.org, carries the schedule.
The town layer
Beyond the two anchors, Demorest keeps the foothills version of retirement: the Piedmont University campus for walks and lectures, the church sit-downs on the county list, and the mountain drives up Highway 441 north. The county center is the hub for the daily calendar, and the guild is the craft.
Related: the Demorest city guide covers the town and its foothills
Written by
Rob Dietrich