Lynn YMCA keeps 50-year members running

LYNN – They run, they lift weights and they laugh off the idea of slowing down in their 70s and 80s, but Joe Murano, John Horgan and Frederick Massaro are 50-year Lynn YMCA members who are still going strong.?You?re never too old to work out,” said Murano.The 86-year-old Murano joined fellow Lynn resident Horgan, who is 75, and Massaro, an 80-year-old Winthrop resident, in hanging a “charter club” plaque in the Lynn Y?s main hallway Tuesday as part of efforts to celebrate the Lynn Y?s 145th anniversary this year.Founded on Market Street on the current site of Brotherhood Credit Union, the Lynn YMCA moved to its Neptune Boulevard location in 1973.Massaro joined the Chelsea YMCA as a boy and comes to the Lynn Y almost every day. He counts Murano and Horgan among his longtime friends. Massaro still goes to his real estate office at 5 a.m. and Horgan continues working as a finish carpenter.?I got more work from people at the Y than anywhere. It?s been a great source of business down the years,” he said.Lynn branch executive director Audrey Jimenez said Massaro and his buddies and a handful of other half-century YMCA members “personify the spirit of the Y” by combining physical fitness with the Y?s social atmosphere.?I like the camaraderie,” Murano said.After retiring from his job as a General Electric engineer in 1991, Murano started to come regularly to the Lynn Y where he met other longtime members. Exercise, good friendships and “watching what I eat” are his secret to longevity.Born in Ireland, Horgan said he joined the YMCA at the age of 25 when new members were required to be “sponsored in” by members. Vincent Capano sponsored Horgan, who got to know Murano and Massaro during their regular workout routines.?I come here almost every day,” Massaro said.Metro North YMCA President Bruce Macdonald said the charter club idea grew out of efforts to recognize longtime members with a lunch and specially made jackets. He said the long-timers? “commitment to an organization” mirrors the YMCA?s core values.?This is what the Y is for,” Macdonald said.