When I wandered in to the SeaTac Senior Center, I didn’t need much help in finding Maxine Hankins and the Hanky Panky Band, which includes Judy Hayes, Carole Wrolgast, Pat Morrison and Larry Broad.

There was a steady flow of festively dressed seniors heading down to the dance hall for their music.

There, parked at the piano, was a beautiful older woman with brightly painted red nails and a vivid red jacket to match. Her fingers effortlessly trotting across the keyboard, as she smiled at each set of dancers that spun, leaped or glided by.

The group has quite a following and brings in an impressive crowd every Wednesday, between 10:30 and 11:30 a.m.

The original band started up in 1963 and plays the great old tunes from the ‘30s and ‘40s, as well as other eras. The center has lunch for a nominal fee, too, if you’re hungry.

At the end of the set, everyone stood up, held hands in a circle, and we all sang “God Bless America.”

Finally, Maxine and I got to talk. Her mind and personality are as bright as the color she had on -– especially for just having turned 90.

Born in 1921 and raised in a modest home in Wilsey, Kansas (population 300), Maxine Carter grew up where electricity was a “one hang-down-string light bulb” and no running water. “There wasn’t much to do, so the town kids would play in this big sand pile by the rail road tracks. I don’t know why, but I threw a rock at this one boy. It hit him square in the middle of his forehead. His mother spanked me. Years later, I dated that boy in high school,” she coyly smiled.

Gads, today, she’d be put in juvenile detention, her parents would have been sued and the boy’s mother would have been arrested for child abuse. (Sigh) things were so much simpler back then.

When she wasn’t rocking-down future dates, Maxine would play the piano, along with her mother. It worked out pretty well, too, because Maxine’s sister ended up having to do the dishes, while she practiced. She took lessons for three months, at fifty cents a lesson, and learned how to read music. She then taught her mother and went on to accompany the glee clubs in high school.

When she was older, Maxine went to Emporia Street Teacher’s College and ended up teaching at a one room schoolhouse, where they used a coal stove, in the corner, to heat up the classroom. This was between 1939 and 1941.

“When the war started, I went to Wichita to work at Beech Aircraft. I did the wiring for the whole plane. They built those planes to train the pilots, before they went off to war. My grandson is in the Marines!” she beamed.

After the war, she ended up working as a secretary to the commanding officer at the Air National Guard in Wichita. She then spent a few years in Alaska working for the FAA and then came back to Wichita to work for Boeing.

“It was when I was working as a secretary at Boeing, in 1951, that I met the love of my life -– Bob Hankins. He’d bring reports up to the bosses. I noticed that he had a new car, so I said, ‘Hey Hankins, I understand that you’ve got a new convertible. When are ya gonna take me for a ride?’ It took him three months to ask me out. He said he needed to check me out, first. ‘Hmph, that goes both ways, buddy!’”

I asked her if she remembered that car. Maxine’s face brightened up “Oh yes! It was a 1949 Buick Super Convertible…navy blue with a tan top!”

“So, what happened?” I asked.

I have to admit that I was wondering if she nailed him with a rock, too. It worked before! “We were married in 1951 and then Boeing transferred us to Seattle in 1958. We had three children and now there are four grandchildren, who all live within 100 miles”.

Bob ended up playing the rhythm guitar in the band. He died on her birthday in 2003, after they were married for over 52 years. “That’s why this music is so important to me – keeps me busy. Music is my life, now. My kids are my first love and music my second.” she chirped.

Maxine’s contribution to the SeaTac community has not gone unnoticed. Mayor Terry Anderson proclaimed that Nov. 6th is forever Maxine Hankins Day.

Well done!