Not long ago a group of people gathered at Gee’s Bend to celebrate the exhibit of some photographs by John Reese.

Reese visited Gee’s Bend more than 20 years ago because the Birmingham Public Library wanted to see how the folks in Gee’s Bend lived there after 40 years of the first photographic memoir by Arthur Rothstein.

Last year when those photographs came home there was a great celebration in the community center in Gees Bend. The little Boykin Nutritional Center could barely hold everyone who came to see the photographs. A look around indicated many repairs and the need for a new senior center.

Gov. Bob Riley announced Monday a $250,000 grant for Gee’s Bend Senior Center. The center is used for meals, recreation and even some of those quilts from Gee’s Bend have been made there in the little cinder block building.

The new $1,200-square-foot center will be built near a new terminal for an Alabama River ferry that connects Gees Bend and North Wilcox County with Camden.

The folks at Gee’s Bend have done so much with so few resources. This will enable them to enjoy a nicer, larger space.