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Off the Hook - Archive 2008
by Melanie Behrens

12/26/08
Marysville’s connection to gymnastics, the Olympics and the USSR
  Hers is a story of hard work, athletic training, discipline, love of country and the desire for a future as a U.S. citizen. Natalia 
Laschenova now lives in Marysville and is the head coach at Integrity Gymnastics located near Plain City. She won the gold medal in 
gymnastics as part of the 1988 Soviet team.
  Her road to Marysville was a long one and last week I told you about how she and her husband Roman came to the U.S. in 1999 so that 
she could coach gymnastics in New York State.They were helped by her former Soviet Olympic coach who was already in the states. Later, 
they lived in Georgia (U.S.) and have been in this area for two years. Her story began in the late 1970s in Latvia.
  When Natalia was in kindergarten, she began taking dance lessons and was soon spotted by a local coach who wanted to try her out at 
gymnastics. She was tiny, agile and seemed to fit the bill for the Soviets gymnastics program.
  She soon moved from a small gym in her hometown to a larger one about 1 1/2 hours away by train. By the time she was eight years old 
she made the train trip with her coach and other kids every day after school. Natalia said: “We would go to American movies and see people 
chewing bubble gum. We didn’t have that and we had no idea what it was. And we would think we didn’t really like Americans because they 
seemed so much richer than us and their world was so different.”
  It was soon determined that Natalia needed to spend more time at the gym, because her potential was great and so she moved to the town 
1 1/2 hours away from her mother and was placed into an apartment. She was nine years old and so was her roommate.
  There was no one else on the floor of the apartment building, but that’s good because there was only one bathroom and it was down the 
hall. The only television was in the lobby and the little girls had little supervision. A year later Natalia’s mom was able to get a job 
in the same town as the gym and she could drop in each night after work to check on her before starting the long ride home.
  They were given money for food, but of course children buy cookies and cake, so that’s what they had for breakfast and dinner. Their 
coach’s wife made special soup for them at lunch time and they practiced all morning and all afternoon, then went home to more cake.
  Their weight was watched very carefully. The little girls were weighed six times a day and Natalia was expected to keep weight 
constant. At the time of her Olympic competition she weighed 80 lbs. If she was even one pound over she would have to do extra time in the 
pool or the sauna. She could only eat lemons - no drinking - and before she went home, her weight had to be perfect.
  Natalia continued to improve and by the time she was 14 she had made the national Olympic team. That meant improvement in living 
quarters. When she got to the USSR Olympic Training Center, she was able to have a room she could call her own, but there were roommates. 
This was different than before, when every time she went home or left for a few days she was shuffled off to a new room when she came back.
  Those times away from the training center were rare, however. She was only able to go home to see her family two weeks a year.
  Remember, by this time Natalia was about 80 pounds and they called her “dynamite.” She was a standout in competition and even though she 
was the youngest girl on the team, turning just 15 the day before the Olympics started, she made the national Olympic team in 1988.
  Natalia said, “When you walked out on the floor with a jacket that said USSR on the back, you just knew you were the best!”
  When Natalia and her team competed in Seoul, South Korea, they won the gold in the team competition and the next year Natalia won her 
own gold in floor exercise at the International Games.
  Post competition days were spent touring around the world doing exhibitions and team members were able to be paid for this. For the 
gold medal, she was promised a house, a car and money when she was 16 - but that never materialized.
  For another International competition she was personally awarded a trophy in the shape of a hand which was valued at $25,000. She 
thought it was to be hers, but discovered that was wrong. Her country took it away and all she got was a necklace replica of the trophy.
  During those years when she was competing in the Olympics, she knew Valeri Liukin, also a member of the Soviet Olympic team in 1988. You 
may remember a wonderful story during the summer Olympics this last year of how he coached his daughter, Nastia, who was a member of the 
U.S. Olympic team. She was also an individual gold medal winner for the U.S. Natalia said, " I sat up until 2 a.m. watching her compete 
with her father coaching her, and it made me cry as I enjoyed their success."
  Natalia married and had a daughter, Sasha, but then was divorced. Sasha, who is now 16 and a junior at Marysville High School, has had 
the advantage of a live-in coach and has achieved the status of National Champion in floor exercise at level 10. She has earned the 
right to be on the national team, but cannot because she has not been allowed to earn American citizenship yet.
  In fact the whole family has had a rough time financially because only Natalia has had a work permit until just two months ago. Now her 
husband, Roman (whom she married in 1998) and her stepdaughter Vesta, are both free to get a job.
  Natalia’s life, like many others, has had tremendous highs and lows. After nine years she actually thinks of herself as more 
American than Russian. When her in-laws visited this summer she had a terrible time translating. Some of those Russian words would not come 
back to her.
  Her life in the United States is much better than the one she would have had back in Russia and she and her family are grateful for the 
opportunity to be here. They continue their quest to obtain citizenship and all the rights that come with it.
  If you would like to read more about Natalia and see her in action in the Olympics and International games, go to the Internet and type 
in her name. You will see videos of her 20 years ago as a little 80-pound dynamite.
  Next week will be the story of her husband, Roman, and his time in the Soviet army and as a boxing champion.

12/19/08
USSR, Russia, then Marysville
Theirs is a story of communism, athleticism and a desire for a better life. Natalia Laschenova and Roman Kravchenko are married and live in Marysville. They had both been married before when they met and each had a little girl. Now they have a 14 month-old son together.
Natalia grew up in Latvia and Roman in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia, all formerly part of the USSR. They met in the late 1990s and were married in 1998.
Both had achieved considerable status in their country of USSR. (The USSR was dissolved in December of 1991 when Premier Mikhail Gorbachev resigned and its republics became independent nations. Russia is the largest.) Natalia was a gold medalist in gymnastics in the 1988 Olympics for the USSR which took place in Seoul, South Korea.
Roman was a member of the elite commando army group called Spetznaz (also spelled Spetznatz). They were called blue berets, which were similar to our green berets. He achieved the status of major when he finally left the Russian military in 1991. His father is a retired general in the Russian army. Roman was also a champion boxer and is now spending his time training other boxers.
After Roman and Natalia married, she stayed home as a housewife, but wanted very much to get back into the workforce hoping to coach gymnastics. Her coach from the Olympics had moved on to the U.S. as many of the coaches from her country have done. He was in upstate New York and through his help in 1999, she and Roman were able to come to this country where she could coach gymnastics.
One big problem was, neither of them spoke English. Natalia now does very well and she said she simply learned through her students. She asked them to tape names of body parts on their arm, elbow, etc. so she could learn the words. Remember, their alphabet isn't even the same as ours.
Coming to America was their ticket to a new life, since their old country was really gone and the new Russia meant nothing to them. For several years, the job in upstate New York worked out well. There was a large Russian community there, but Natalia was ready to move on.
Then a coaching opportunity arose in southern Georgia near the Florida border, so the family (Natalia, her daughter Sasha and Roman) moved there and immediately problems arose. It was truly a culture shock, in that the people were very different. Also, the climate was very hot and life was not as they had ever known it.
All through this time Natalia was the only one who was able to work because the immigration service had not granted Roman a work visa (which he just received two months ago after nine years). So he trained people in gyms and at boxing and donated his services. During this time Roman’s daughter Vesta, who had been living with her mother in Russia, came to the U.S. to be with her father. Her mother had died and she was left alone. She was just 15.
After two years in Georgia they were desperate to leave and Natalia found Integrity Gymnastics (near Plain City) on the Internet. After interviewing, it seemed the right fit and in 2006 Roman and Natalia and their daughters Sasha and Vesta moved to Marysville.
It has been a good move and they like central Ohio. Natalia is now the head coach and sings the praises of the talent she has to work with at Integrity Gymnastics. She has also been the parent and live-in coach to her daughter Sasha, 16, who has risen to the national championship in floor exercise, level 10. This is a source of great pride to both Natalia and Sasha and at this time there are already many offers for college scholarships.
Now Roman and Natalia have their young son, Anthony, and they couldn’t be more proud, particularly the stay-at-home-dad, Roman. He is thrilled to be the one taking care of his son and Natalie is quite happy coaching - what she knows best.
Surprisingly, after just nine years in this country, Natalia considers herself more American than Russian and Roman has no desire to go back and visit. They left behind their parents, but just this summer Roman’s parents came to visit. They didn’t speak a word of English and Natalia said she had forgotten so much that translating was difficult. They are involved in a quest for a green card and eventual citizenship, which both hope will be coming soon.
Next week- Natalia’s story.

12/12/05
Still in Madrid and loving it
  She is a 2005 graduate of Marysville High School and currently in her fourth year at the University of Cincinnati. Jenna Yoder is 
majoring in marketing, international business and Spanish as a student in the Kolodzik Business Scholars program. Now she is in 
Madrid and this summer will finish up her studies by spending the time in China.
  Here is what Jenna had to say in her follow-up to me  “These past couple months have been a whirlwind! Cooking for 
Thanksgiving in Spain was a lot of fun and quite interesting. The ovens here aren’t the best, well at least in the apartment that my 
friend lives in, and converting Fahrenheit to Celsius is another challenge.”
  “My friends and I invited some of our Spanish friends to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner which proved to be a lot of fun. Many had not 
experienced Thanksgiving before and therefore, had a lot of questions about our tradition and the typical cooking that many families do for 
this day.”
  “We had turkey, garlic mashed potatoes, homemade stuffing and mashed potatoes, green beans, and stuffed mushrooms! It was quite a 
feast and everyone really enjoyed it. It was a great experience though to share a loved tradition from the states with our Spaniard 
friends here.”
  “Out of all the places I’ve traveled, Paris, Portugal, Berlin, and all over Spain, I think that Berlin is my favorite city to visit by 
far. Aside from being pretty modern, since 90 percent of Berlin was destroyed in WWII, it has a bit of charm to it that I fell in love 
with. The wonderful food and beer were great contributors, too!  “After a tour of the city on Friday, my friends and I found a 
sausage vendor where we indulged ourselves in caramelized onions and mushrooms and potatoes and bacon placed on top a roasted sausage! It 
was great to say the least.”
  “Besides the food, Berlin is such an amazing city with incredible history; The Berlin Wall, Hitler’s suicide, Nazi headquarters, 
Sachenhausen Concentration Camp, Nazi book burning, and the list goes on. I believe that I learned more on this trip than I had ever 
learned in any history class. My friends and I even visited Schenhausen Concentration Camp one day and it was quite a sobering 
experience. For me, to have the chance to visit places in the world which contain so much history is just an amazing opportunity.”
  “Aside from traveling, I have really loved the chance to learn about new cultures and traditions from a first-hand basis. I have had 
the chance to meet new people from around the world, who offer their heritage, culture, and life experiences. This all adds to the overall 
impact of studying abroad and the development of a better global understanding.”
  “I believe that all my experiences abroad have made me more independent. For business, I know this will be extremely helpful as I 
prepare for interviews and a full time career.”
  “Although I’ve loved every moment here in Spain, I am looking forward to heading back to the states for Christmas. It actually 
amazes me that every city in Spain and in each neighborhood, there are Christmas decorations that line the streets! I love it! It has 
definitely gotten me in the Christmas mood and I am excited to spend time with friends and family.”
Good thoughts from a reader
  I received this poignant, thoughtful and timely note from a reader who asked me to share her thoughts. Here is some of what she had to say:
  “As others are making their list and dashing off to stores or jumping online every available moment to get their list completed, I 
know I cannot even make a list. I know how far I am behind on basic living expenses and that I have the means to simply present my 
children with a small gift.”
  “I am comforted to know the real reason for the season does not depend on my checking account balance, and my children know that, 
too. This is not new; for years as I have raised my children as a single parent they have accepted that they will have lean 
Christmases. We feel blessed that we do have a home, food, clothing and money to keep the car on the road, and we have our health. As if 
things haven’t been tight enough providing for a family on a low budget, I have been without work several months. The ongoing job 
search is grueling. The hope with each resume sent, waiting for the phone to ring, is for an interview.”
  “This is not a story about poverty, but one of a generous outpouring of family, friends and our church family. Knowing our 
situation, we have received help this holiday season. I am humbled to know there are people who care and want to help. Arriving home this 
evening, there was a large plastic tote with a festive red velvet bow in the middle of my kitchen floor. As I opened the tote topped with 
enough toilet paper to last for months and many other things from soup to nuts. I cried because we do need help, someone knew that, and 
chose to help us.”
  “It brought so much joy to me, and an inspiration to someday be in a position to be able to give on such a grand scale. I could only 
dream about being able to shop like that and surprise someone, and it is a goal of mine. I challenge you to add one more name to your 
shopping list. Certainly you are aware of a neighbor, a home you drive by, a child’s schoolmate, or someone you see in the store, that 
you could offer a small token of generosity. Those, like me, that do not have expendable income, also have something to give — a friendly 
smile and greeting, even to strangers! Please share the joy!
 

12/05/08
 My friend Jeanne Haynes recently sent me a very cute story about the apron and its many uses. It quickly triggered memories of my 
grandmother Grace, who always wore her apron around the house. She loved me and my brother very much. We were her only grandchildren and 
she died when I was just 20.
During the holiday times, I always think a lot about her for many reasons, but mainly for all the work she did preparing holiday meals 
with no garbage disposal or dishwasher, and in a tiny kitchen. Here’s a story of the apron and then more about Grandma Grace.
Grandma’s apron
I don’t think youngsters today know what an apron is. The principal use of grandma’s apron was to protect the dress underneath, but along 
with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven. It was wonderful for drying children’s tears, and on occasion was 
even used for cleaning out dirty ears. From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-
hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven. When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy 
children.
  And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms. Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron. 
 From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.
In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples or pecans that had fallen from the trees. When unexpected company drove up the road, it 
was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.
When dinner was ready, grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to 
dinner.
It will be a long time before someone invents something that will  replace the “old-time apron” that served so many purposes.
Grandma used to set her hot-baked apple pies on the window sill to cool. Her granddaughter set hers on the window sill to thaw.
Today’s generation would go crazy trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron, but I never heard of anyone catching anything 
from an apron.
Yes, Grandma Grace had one of those aprons. It fit over her head in a halter style and tied around her waist. She was a tiny lady with lots 
of spunk, rarely sitting still for long.
Every day of her life she wore a tight corset that laced up the front and I’m sure she never owned a pair of slacks. For winter, she had 
two pairs of shoes — one black, one brown. They were of the lace-up, small heel grandma style. In the summer she added a white pair. 
That’s all quite different from the variety we all own now.
Grace was of German descent, a hard worker and a lady who liked the house clean. She was a wonderful cook and that extended to every 
range of one’s appetite. Everything was done from scratch and that meant even cooking and straining cranberries for holiday cranberry 
punch (cranberry juice and ginger ale — no alcohol for her!).
We always spent Thanksgiving at the home of Grandma Grace where she and my aunt worked for hours and hours — probably days — preparing  for the Thanksgiving meal. It always included homemade plum pudding with the whiskey sauce (alcohol cooked out, of course) and a turkey 
with all the usual trimmings.
Then came Christmas. Her specialty was meticulously decorated Christmas cookies, picturing houses with Christmas trees in the 
window, reindeer and Santas with toys in their sacks. My brother and Iate them quicker than the dough could be mixed together. The baking 
for these some 30 varieties of cookies began right after Thanksgiving. Grandma Grace was warm and kind, worked hard to take care of her 
family, especially her grandchildren, and left a happy legacy, one that always brings back loving memories of her at this time of year.
  Mail call
I received several notes from members of the Drumm family about their story last week. Here is one from Kim Drumm Smith:
Ms. Behrens,
Thank you for such a lovely “Off the Hook” feature about the Drumm family. I remember most of those stories told by my dad (Art) and 
quite a few more. I married into the Air Force and left the Marysville area more than a decade ago, living at 5 different bases 
in 12 years. My children are now in the military (one active duty, one a military spouse) and they are spread from San Antonio — soon to 
be Germany — to Washington, D.C. So the family tradition continues. It’s nice to see the Drumms recognized. Far from being the perfect 
family, they were a blast to grow up around. I had so many cousins, we had instant playmates every weekend. It made for some really good 
memories.
  Again, wonderful story and excellently written,
  Kimberly (Drumm) Smith
  Penrose, Colorado

11/28/08
Drumming their own story!
They grew up in Union County and were a family of 14 children — 10 boys and four girls — plus the parents, Frances and Evelyn, who were 
married in 1920. That made up the Drumm family of Blues Creek Road. Sixteen in one home was a lot of people in one place! There were four 
bedrooms and in the girls’ room the situation was all four in one double bed (two at the top two at the bottom). At first there was no 
bathroom, just an outhouse with bathing done in a metal tub. Later an inside bath was added.
As is typical, the boys were responsible for the outdoor chores and work on the farm and the girls’ work began after a meal. The family 
ate at the dining room table with bench seating for four on each side and additional chairs were placed there and on the end to accommodate 
everyone.
Gloria Drumm Oates was one of the youngest children and she remembers meal time as fun. She related: “You sat there and ate and there was 
no squabbling. If there was any of that, you were reprimanded and asked to get up from the table. But generally we would talk, laugh 
and pass the food until it was gone.”
The four daughters would then do the cleanup which began with kitchen detail, including doing dishes, sweeping floors (since there was no 
carpet) and making everything ready for the next meal. She says this continued for years until one of the daughters would move out and get 
a job. Then the others would take up the slack. There were some arguments, but it was generally a happy family.
When Gloria was born in 1936, some of the older brothers were just beginning to leave home. This was probably fortunate in a way because 
that made room for the new ones. The Drumm children were taught that when they were old enough they were expected to get out and find a 
job. Gloria said they were told, “Even if you have to dig a post hole, do it and work your way up.” Their parents also reiterated, “Do 
not expect a handout from John Q. Public — earn your money.”
Gloria’s family is well known in this county for its military service. Ten of them have been part of our armed forces history. This 
brings the memory from Gloria: “Every time mom received a letter from one of her children away in the service, she would take that letter 
and go to her flower garden or enclosed back porch. There she would read the letters and cry.”
The tradition of military service began with their father, Francis Drumm Sr. who served in the Ohio National Guard during WWI setting 
the scene for his sons and one daughter to follow. Oldest son Pearl served in the U.S. Navy during WWII on the USS Phenakite. It was 
later decommissioned and he was moved to a Navy tugboat stationed on Staten Island, N. Y. After his discharge he returned to raise his 
family in Marysville, where he still lives today.
His brother, Robert, who is deceased, served as a private in the U.S. Army during WWII in the European Theater, fighting from foxholes in 
Germany and France. He was the recipient of many awards including the Bronze Star. He returned to central Ohio and lived with his family in 
Prospect.
Carl served in the U.S. Marine Corps during WWII and after his discharge in 1946 returned to Irwin, where he raised his family and 
also farmed. Arthur Drumm was a sargeant in the Marine Corps during the Korean War and after his discharge in 1952 came back to this area 
and started his own business, Marysville Rotary Broom. He is currently semi-retired. Richard Drumm was in the U.S. Army in the 
Korean War and was overseas in Germany. After being discharged in 1954 he started his own business, the Drumm Wrecker Service, which is 
still in operation.
Donald, who is deceased, served in the U.S. Air force during the Korean War and after his discharge, moved to Magnetic Springs to 
raise his family. Francis Drumm Jr. was a sargeant in the Marine Corps at the end of the Korean War. After three years of service he 
was discharged in 1957, came home and worked in the Marysville-Plain City area. He must have missed his military service days, because 
very soon he re-enlisted in the air force. That sent him to Vietnam, where he received the Distinguished Flying Cross among many other 
honors. He lives in California.
Rodney Drumm served in the U.S. Army during the Cuban Crisis and after his discharge in 1963 returned to Marysville to work at Ohio 
grain and later the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. He is currently retired. Joining her brothers in military service was Wanda Drumm 
Henry, who is deceased. She served in the Women’s Army Corps during the Korean War and after her discharge in 1961 returned to Marysville 
to raise her family.
There was only one brother, Stanley, who is deceased, who did not serve in the military. That was not of his doing. He was denied 
service because of a medical situation.
Gloria proudly speaks for the rest of her surviving siblings. “When you have this many members in one family serving their country and 
fighting for our freedom, I feel it is truly honorable. All the members of our family are truly proud of the part they were able to 
play.”
Gloria continues, “We all grew up, left home and our lives changed. But to look back over the years brings to mind how lucky we were to 
have our parents with 14 children, giving us these basics of life — work hard, pay your bills, keep your nose clean and have respect for 
others.”

11/21/08
A little help needed
  The worst of it began in July of 2007 when he was only 52 years old. That was when Rick Monroe had his first heart attack. He and his 
wife, Cathie, were in the car and he was at the wheel. Suddenly he slumped over and hit the steering wheel. Cathie knew something was 
terribly wrong. She was able to pull the car over and when help arrived the sheriff’s deputy had a defibrillator, which probably 
saved Rick’s life. He went on to the hospital, had heart bypass surgery and months later seemed to be recovering really well. That is 
when the second event occurred.
  On Jan. 1, 2008, Rick got up in the middle of the night and then Cathie heard a big thud — she saw him lying on the floor beside her. 
She called 911 and fortunately the Plain City Fire Dept. squad was nearby. They came to the Monroe’s house on Robinson Rd. and after 
nearly 40 minutes of working on him, Rick was finally stabilized. All the time with his heart in trouble was very hard on the rest of his 
body. His family nearly lost him again.
  After two months in the hospital, if his heart situation wasn’t enough, Rick developed serious kidney problems which require him to 
undergo dialysis three days a week at a facility in Delaware. He has a new defibrillator-pacemaker in his heart, and if all goes well may 
be a candidate for a new kidney some day.
  All these medical problems have been very hard financially on a family that lives on Rick’s sign business, which Cathie is now 
managing along with help from two employees, one of them their son, Cody. There is insurance and some Medicare, but much is left over to 
pay. That’s where Rick’s church, St. Johns Lutheran, has come to the rescue.
  In an effort to help him, sub sandwiches are being sold at $2.50 apiece, which have been available to order and can be picked up at 
the church this Saturday or Sunday morning. If you have already ordered a sub, great. But if you haven’t, there will still be some 
available to purchase at the church located on St. Rt. 736.
  If you don’t need a sub sandwich but just want to help Rick, donations are being taken and can be sent to Bob Clevenger at 11555 
St. Rt. 38, Marysville, OH 43040. In addition to the money earned by this effort of the church, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans will also 
match their funds.
  Rick is the son-in-law of Marge Morley and the late Roger Morley. Through them, we knew Rick and Cathie as a young married couple and 
always enjoyed the gentle razzing Roger would give Rick after he married his oldest daughter. Rick said they couldn’t have been better 
in-laws and he’s not only grateful for them, but also for every day that he can be here with his family.
Cakes are us!
  Last Saturday was their grand opening and it was a huge success, according to the owners of the Ribbon Box Cakery. Denene Keifer and 
Cindy Beil are now knee deep in cake orders at their new bakery located at 121 E. Fifth St., and they couldn’t be happier.
  The two women met six years ago while working for the Marysville School System and the friendship was instant. They dreamed of 
starting their own business and settled on the bakery, which sells cookies, jumbo cupcakes and brownies Monday through Saturday.
  Their specialty is cakes and the butter cream frosting is the secret. For those, the ladies need a couple of days order time. There 
are also gift items for sale including ready to go gift baskets.
  It was also so nice to hear that even though they knew nothing about starting a business, everywhere they went, help came easily. 
They visited other bakeries in Columbus, and locally, city and county employees from the health department to zoning to permits seemed to 
be cheering them on all the way.
  When you see the inside of the bakery, you will be pleasantly surprised at the beautiful brick walls and wood floor, which were 
added to a previously run down facility.
  Of course, this could not be done without the help of their husbands — who they are now calling wonderful (maybe that’s from 
exhaustion) — for all of their help and support. It is truly a family effort with their moms and dads involved also.
  So we wish them good luck. You know what Marie Antoinette supposedly once said — let them eat cake!

11/14/08
Guitars, computers and California
He is a 1988 graduate of Marysville High School, a computer expert and a guitar player, and he now lives in Oakland, Calif. Mark Lamb 
was always interested in music and was part of a band while in high school.
John Homan, David Sawyer and the recently deceased Todd Blackburn made up the rest of that band. They often practiced – loudly at 
Mark’s home. He said his parents were wonderful to donate the use of their basement and tolerate all the volume of a heavy metal band as 
they practiced.
Mark also fondly credits his parents with providing guitar lessons as they drove him to the String Shop in Delaware. That was every 
Saturday morning. He plays the guitar and bass guitar and to educate me, pointed out that the difference is the number of strings and the 
musical frequency of the instrument. Mark is also grateful for the good work ethic he learned from his parents.
While working in Columbus in the computer field and performing in a heavy metal band in the area, he met a girl who was headed to 
California for an internship. He followed her to the Oakland area. That relationship didn’t work out but he fell in love with 
California, its beautiful climate and laid back people.
Once there, Mark again became part of a heavy metal band, which he now calls “The Scorched Earth Policy.” They have toured the country 
several times, seeing nearly every major city. Those tours were about three weeks long — mostly one-nighters — traveling in a van. What a 
way to see the country. The group includes two others and during one such tour they also performed with a group of five from Japan who 
also played heavy metal.
After high school, he gained his computer skills (his day job) through a degree in electronics from DeVry Institute in Columbus. 
That gave him a good base and the rest of his computer knowledge has been self-taught. For the last 15 years, he has been the computer 
technician at a small liberal arts college near his home.
Mark was recently back in Marysville for the 20-year reunion of his high school class. He’s in Marysville at least once a year, but this 
time it seemed to really jog his memories of growing up in our community. He remembers it as “such a nice town.”
He says that it’s been fun to get away and see the world, but now he’s thinking it may be time to return to Marysville, even though the 
climate certainly can’t measure up to California. He’s very serious about owning a home but in California that would be tough. So, he’s 
saving his money and in the near future may be a homeowner in Union County.
Mark’s story is similar to so many others, who grow up here and eventually come back to raise their families the way they grew up in 
Marysville.
Some thoughts from one of my friends:
Why, why, why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are almost dead?
Why do banks charge a fee for “insufficient funds” when they already know there is not enough money?
Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but have to check when you say the paint is still wet?
Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?
Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him?
Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?
If people evolved from apes, why are there still apes?
Why is it that no matter what color bubble bath you use, the bubbles are always white?
Is there ever a day that mattresses are not on sale?
Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will have materialized?
Why is it that no plastic bag will open from the end on your first try?
How do those dead bugs get into those enclosed light fixtures?
Why is it that whenever you attempt to catch something that's falling off the table you always manage to knock something else over?
How come you never hear father-in-law jokes?
My personal favorite — The statistic on sanity is that one out of every four persons is suffering from some sort of mental illness. 
Think of your three best friends — if they're OK, then it's you!

11/7/08
In the midst of it all
  He is a 2003 graduate of Marysville High School and has been in the middle of the most exciting place in the United States for our time. 
After high school, Geoff Lane went on to Miami University to major in political science with urban regional planning as a minor.
  While there, one of his professors encouraged him to run for public office. As a sophomore in college in 2004, Geoff ran for state 
representative to the Ohio General Assembly from the district which includes Union County. It seems that there was no Democrat on the 
ballot, so he jumped in at only 19 years old. He did not win that election, but the political experience was something which may have 
helped him gain his present position.
  After graduating from Miami University, he opted for graduate school at George Washington University in the Washington, D.C. area. 
He was working on a master’s degree in political science when a friend of a friend of a friend told him there was an opening on the 
staff of House Majority leader Nancy Pelosi. That was an intriguing thought and, what the heck, he might as well apply just to see what 
happened.
  He got the job, dropped out of graduate school and is now a staff assistant doing clerical work in Pelosi’s office. In this capacity he 
answers calls and e-mails and passes along important messages to staff members. There are several dozen people working in the office 
of the Speaker (who he says is a phenomenal person) and are paid by public funds.
  Most of the callers express an opinion about an upcoming bill. Some are just private individuals who have strong feelings about a cause, 
and still others represent members of focus groups who monitor legislation.
  It’s expensive to live in Washington, D.C., and Geoff has an apartment with a roommate just 300 yards from the Capitol Building. 
He told me that nearly three fourths of the apartments in his building are occupied by members of the House of Representatives. 
It’s close enough to walk to work although he also has a car. Salaries are commensurate with living conditions there, but he does 
have to watch his expenses carefully.
  Geoff said the most exciting part of his job is that he’s actually been in the middle of all the political drama which has taken place 
lately. He is at what he calls “ground zero” and his working hours are sometimes long — 6 a.m. until 11 p.m., whatever the speaker needs 
from her staffers at that particular time.
  These extra long hours occurred recently during the efforts of the House of Representatives to crank out a bailout bill to help 
alleviate the nation’s serious financial situation. The long hours can be a drain, but Geoff does manage to get over to Georgetown 
occasionally for a break in the routine.
  One thing he’s learned through this job is that you have to take the opportunities as they come. He has the chance to stay in this 
position or even move up in the staff positions in the future. But then there’s the option to go back to graduate school or maybe even 
continue on to earn a PhD.
  Geoff doesn’t know what the future holds for him, but the excitement of Washington will probably keep him in the arena for some 
time. This personable, well spoken young man is a good example of the children of Union County who were given a great start by our 
Marysville School System.
  I predict that big things are in his future. Now that the election is over, there’s the inauguration and a new administration — more 
exciting times for Geoff.

10/30/08
Schools are us!
Last week in this column I spoke out in support of our two school levies which I felt must be passed this time in support of not only 
our children but also our community. The response was huge and I now have more comments from Marysville grads who had the advantage of 
being educated in our well-run school system.
The first note is from Teri Heard (MHS class of ‘93): “My experiences with Marysville Schools have truly created who I am and who I want to 
continue to be. As a student, my participation in the advanced placement classes for English and history helped me earn college 
credit. My husband Jason (MHS class of ‘92) and I gained priceless social and interpersonal skills through athletic and extracurricular 
activities including cheerleading, softball, football, wrestling, baseball, band, National Honor Society and Student Council, to name a 
few.”
  “We attended school in what could be considered a leaner time as we struggled for voter support and did without high school busing even 
then. This underscored our understanding that working for something empowered you to appreciate your blessings and motivated you to do 
better while earning your respect from others.”
“I carried these core values, instilled through my educational experiences in our district, with me as I went on to college and 
earned my Bachelors of Science in Nursing from Morehead State University, Cum Laude. Jason earned his Bachelors of Science while 
also earning academic and athletic awards in football. While in college, we were constantly able to appreciate the differences 
between our learning experiences from our school system and those of our fellow students.”
Teri currently serves as a health consultant for the Marysville Schools.
Brent Bergum (MHS class of ‘92) had this to say: “After graduating from Ohio State I entered the workforce and after a few years took a 
job that gave me the opportunity to travel throughout the United States. Marysville High School taught me how to become a good person. 
I was given the attention I needed, was pushed to succeed in academics and athletics, and most importantly was taught that strong 
roots are much stronger then a strong suit.”
“I was given all the tools and confidence to take chances and succeed. Currently I live outside of Nashville and am watching my 
seven-year-old daughter hold a guitar in hopes of becoming the next Hannah Montana. I encourage you to consider the implications that any 
decisions regarding education can have on those who matter the most. I am very lucky to be where I am today and I hope that all students 
in Marysville are given the same opportunities as those before them have had.”
Zack Stillings, a recent MHS grad, is currently a student at the University of Alabama and wants everyone to know this: “My education 
at Marysville High School would not have been complete had it not been for the AP classes I took while enrolled there. I am happy to 
say that, following high school, I was given 25 hours of credit at the University of Alabama, where I now attend. Upon entrance there, I 
was five hours away from being a sophomore. In a national university system where more and more students are being forced to graduate in 
five years at an ever increasing cost, AP classes have been, and will continue to be, an invaluable tool for many of the nation's top 
students.” “Not affording students in Marysville Schools the opportunity to get college credit during high school would be a shame. Furthermore, our students wishing to apply to the nation's top universities would be at a severe disadvantage, ultimately losing out to students from 
schools where AP classes were the norm. I cannot describe how valuable my education at Marysville has proven in college, and I hope 
that it is allowed to continue as a top achieving school in the state. "
Stephanie Devine, currently a student at Cedarville University, said: “During my time at MHS, I learned just as much from my 
extracurriculars and AP classes as I did in any general education classroom. In fact, I would wager to say that the personal 
interactions I had with my peers and faculty advisors shaped me more than anything else. My involvement in Mock Trial specifically has 
allowed me to be involved in extracurriculars that took me to California, Colorado and a higher percentage of tuition covered by 
scholarships." “Marysville's fantastic teaching staff set a standard that prepared me for an intensive liberal arts education and the expectations that come with it. I couldn't be more grateful for ‘Marysville, our dear High School.’"
And finally my son, Mike Behrens (MHS class of ‘88), had this to say: “My high school education provided me the skills to achieve a 
Bachelors of Arts at Miami University. MHS helped me forge my way in the world and because of the education I received, I am now president 
of my own company located in Cincinnati, Ohio.”
“The teachers and staff at MHS expected each student to strive for excellence. The curriculum offered was second to none, allowing each 
student to be prepared for the next step in life. The guidance and support from those involved in extracurricular activities will stay 
with me forever. School levies are an item that should never be in question.”
It is obvious that MHS grads view their high school as a special place. Please keep it that way and continue to support our schools 
and our community. Vote yes on both levies.
 

10/24/08
 Schools — yes, yes, yes!
  Everyone knows this is a tough economic time in not only our city, county and state, but also the rest of the world. No one knows what 
will happen in the next months with our economy. The one thing we should realize is that even though this is a tough time to ask anyone 
for extra money, there may be nothing more important to the life of our community then a “yes” vote on both school issues.
  Normally, I do not editorialize in this column. I am usually featuring a local person or place or crazy things my friends do. 
However, the situation within our community calls for drastic measures. I want to do what I can to convince you all to support our 
school system.
  About 30 years ago, I was one of those people serving on the board of education for the Marysville Schools. I remember that as not only 
an exciting time as the community was just really beginning to grow, but also the time when our job seemed like a thankless one.
  Someone was always unhappy with the decision we made, including putting levies on the ballot. So, I understand the frustration of 
members of the Marysville Board of Education. Remember, they are just members of our community hoping to do the right thing and make the 
right decisions. I’m sure they are trying to do what they think is best having lots of inside knowledge of the situation.
  Now, down to the importance of the school levy.
  Here’s a quote from Andy McCarthy of the MHS class of 2001: “At Marysville High School, I was able to join what is one of the most 
competitive programs for high school mock trial, arguing on the floor of the Ohio Supreme Court my senior year. The skills I learned 
through these activities propelled my college mock trial teams to two national competitions. Where am I now? I’m a first year law student 
at The Ohio State University. I can assure you that this wasn’t just by chance.”
  Jerry Tsai (leader of his class at University of Cincinnati) of the MHS class of 2003 said: “Let me personally encourage everyone to 
support this levy by voting yes at the polls. Though it may not be apparent, let me assure you that Marysville students receive a 
tremendous education that is second to none. With this in mind, I would be remiss if I did not stop and thank everyone for their past 
support of Marysville Schools. Whether it was terrific teachers, state-of-the-art facilities and resources, or award winning extra-
curricular activities, the educational experience at Marysville Schools would not be the same without the support of the community”
  And finally this from Lisa Minken from the MHS class of 1999: “Ten years ago, through a program with the Marysville High School Drama 
Club, I attended my first opera, Tosca. Later in the year, Opera Columbus artists came to our school to work with the drama club. 
Before those experiences, I thought opera was a stuffy, elitist art form; however, afterwards, my eyes were opened to a new, beautiful 
art form that was easy to enjoy and accessible to many. Little did I know at the time how those two experiences would change my life.”
  Lisa continued: “Currently, I serve as Director of Marketing and Public Relations for Opera Columbus. If I hadn’t had that high school 
experience, I doubt that I would have ever considered a position that turned out to be my dream job.”
  Our own children are now grown, but of course were products of the Marysville school system. It was one which provided them a very good 
education, thus they were able to go on and excel in college. Our children were well prepared for that world and for this we were 
thankful. Now that we have no children or grandchildren in school here, my husband and I still fully support our schools every time a 
levy is presented. Some might say that is blanket support. Well, yes it is.
  If we don’t have good schools, people will not want to live in our community. So, even if you don’t have children in school, it’s 
necessary to keep our educational system in the top-rated condition it has been in the past, just to protect your property values. Say 
for some financial reason or for a business move you have to sell your home. One of the criteria for a desirable community is good 
schools. If the schools are sub-standard, no one will want to come to this community to buy your home.
  If people don’t come, new businesses will not locate here and our situation becomes stagnant. It would become a difficult situation to 
crawl out of.
  Because we have early voting, I have already cast my ballot for both school levies. When I voted last week, poll workers told me that 
there had already been over 5,400 ballots cast in our county (including out of town absentee voters). I was amazed that so many 
people had taken advantage of either absentee or early voting. Since that option of early voting is open to all of us now, I felt that it 
was necessary for me to tell you how I feel, even though it is more than a week away from the general election.
  Times are tough financially and it could get tougher, but sometimes you have to “bite the bullet” and do what is really right for your 
community. I urge you to vote for both school levies to bring youngsters in our system back on track. They are entitled to the 
excellent education that those before them were provided.

10/17/08
MHS meets Madrid
  She is a 2005 graduate of Marysville High School and currently in her fourth year at the University of Cincinnati. Jenna Yoder is 
majoring in marketing, international business and Spanish. That sounds like a lot to take on, but this young lady is loving it. As a 
student in the Kolodzik Business Scholars program, Jenna has already been able to study in Montreal, Canada and Florence, Italy. Now she 
is in Madrid and this summer will finish up her studies by spending time in China.
  It sure sounds like college isn’t what it was in my day. Of course, if you’re an international business major you have to be able to see 
what the rest of the world is like. Jenna is studying the Spanish language and culture at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid, 
where she hopes to perfect her Spanish. “I have studied Spanish for six years, but have never developed the necessary communication 
skills needed in a work environment,” she said. “This situation fueled my decision to go to Spain and study the language first hand, 
and so far, it seems like one of the best decisions of my life.”
  To help perfect her Spanish, Jenna has an “intercambio” or Spanish buddy who helps her with her Spanish on a day to day basis. She said 
she hopes to return to the U.S. as a fluent Spanish speaker.
  The people of Spain have been kind to her and she notes that they are extremely proud of their culture and heritage. They enjoy sharing 
their festivals. One which she attended was the Fiesta Del Pilar which is based on the appearance of the Virgin Mary (they call her 
Pilar) atop a pillar after the death of Jesus. During the week preceding that festival, music fills the streets, traditional dances 
with castanets are around every corner and each person wears a bandanna to show pride for the fiesta.
  Jenna wrote: “On Sunday, starting at 7 a.m., people begin to bring flowers which are placed on a structure in respect for their 
religion, culture and for Pilar. All wear traditional Spanish clothing."
  “As I watched the parade of people walk to the statue to present their flowers, it dawned on me how amazing it was to see thousands of 
people devote their day to this event. Words cannot even describe my experience.”
  She lives with a senora and another student in a small apartment. She feels lucky to have her own room with a terrace — very fancy 
according to their standards. Lunch is the big meal in Spain and is enjoyed from around 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. This three-hour break is called 
the “descanso.” Many stores still close for a “siesta” during this time, but since Madrid is such a cosmopolitan city, some do remain open.
  Jenna said: “The town comes back alive around 6 p.m. and dinner is followed at the earliest about 8 p.m., but normally 9 to 10 p.m. 
Tapas bars are also very popular as these dishes are inexpensive and most comparable to finger food in the U.S. Some consist of ham and 
cheese, calamari sandwiches or olives. There are many kinds of tapas, but you can be assured that some sort of ham is involved as Spaniards 
love their ham.”
  It is difficult for Jenna to get to the Internet because she has to go to a “locutorio” or Internet café. The situation means she can 
only communicate sporadically and that creates a sense of frustration because it is her main way to contact friends and family back in the 
U.S. Even though Madrid is home to about four million people, the Internet is not widely used or available there.
  She walks around her neighborhood or “barrio” in search of fresh bread, pastries and vegetables. So, through this quest, she has made 
friends with many of the local market owners. There are no Wal-Marts and only a few fast food places available, which makes shopping for 
daily foods and necessities somewhat of a treasure hunt.
  When students go to study abroad, one of the perks is travel to many other cities and countries. In Spain, Jenna has already been to 
Barcelona, Segovia, Zaragoza and in her future plans are Paris, Berlin and Seville. Spain is just about the size of Texas and travel 
is inexpensive. At least I’m sure that’s how she’s reporting it to her parents, Roger and Sandy Yoder of Marysville.
  Jenna is in the cooperative education program at UC and this has enabled her to work in between her studies. One company she has 
worked for, Ethicon, may be her favorite company and one she may return to for a fulltime job after graduation.
  For now, Jenna will finish up her time in Spain and her wish is to master the Spanish language and some day return to live in this 
beautiful country.

10/10/08
More crazy things my friends do
I have two friends who originally came from Holland and we also have played tennis together for many years. Usually we don’t let who we 
call the “Dutch girls” play doubles together because they end up speaking in Dutch. They are both left handed and somewhat difficult 
to watch as opponents. Sometimes it is even hard to get their attention to finish a match when they are on the same court. So, it’s 
pretty much a rule that the “Dutch girls” don’t play together!
They struck a new low last week at the tennis court. I arrived to see them both adorned all in orange even down to their water containers. 
Oranje (pronounced oronya) is the name of the royal family of Holland, which translates to be “orange” in our language. So, the 
monarchy is known as the House of Orange.
For some unknown reason that day the “Dutch girls” decided it was time to celebrate their heritage. So when I arrived at the courts, 
they were all dressed in orange and singing Dutch songs.
Now let me tell you those songs were loud and seemed quite bawdy. We all thought they were probably Dutch drinking songs, but the girls 
assured us they were of a patriotic nature. No one else could verify that fact. Of course it held up the tennis match and was undoubtedly 
another attempt at these ladies to get attention for themselves and their country!
I immediately grabbed my camera to capture this stunning moment for all of you. I hope you get the full flavor of the event as Marianne 
Berbee and Gerrie Van Dam shared their singing talents with us. Long live the Dutch, I guess!
New bakery in town
Bob and Liz Meeder have expanded their operation to include a charming new bakery just one block away from their well-known 
restaurant, Doc Henderson’s. The bakery looks really traditional inside with an exposed brick wall, three tables for eating and even a 
sofa to relax on as you enjoy any one of the coffees that they sell. The place features baked goods of all kinds and my new favorite is 
the little nutmeg twist that is covered in sugar. If you go in there, do not miss them. They will really make your day.
Voting made easy
I was glad to learn that once again everyone is able to vote early at the Union County Board of Elections located on London Ave. From now 
until election day, anyone may walk in from 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and vote.
The best part about this voting early is no lines ... well, probably no lines, and then on election day you’ll have already done your bit 
for the country. So, everyone please vote and if you choose to take advantage of this extra, early voting time, it may make the whole 
thing painless.
Local Bonhomme Richard connection
We have followed the career of Capt. Neil Parrott, U.S. Navy (MHS class of ’79) in this column from time to time. He is captain of the 
amphibious assault ship, Bonhomme Richard.
In a recent news release, it explains that the Bonhomme Richard was named after an earlier Bonhomme Richard, which was under the command 
of the famous Capt. John Paul Jones during the American Revolution. 
In 1779, during the battle of Flamborough Head off the British coast, Jones refused to surrender his sinking ship named the Bonhomme 
Richard. His words, “I have not yet begun to fight,” are part of our history.
His squadron was attacked by a British convoy of 44 ships and two escorts, the HMS Serapis, a 40-gun ship, and the HMS Scarborough. The 
Bonhomme Richard eventually sank, but before that happened, Jones was able to force the surrender of the Serapis after a desperate three-
hour battle, and transfer his command to the British ship as his ship was sinking. The Bonhomme Richard was known as one of the great 
warships of its time.
During a ceremony commemorating the battle of Flamborough, Capt. Parrott explained the significance of the battle and how the Bonhomme 
Richard’s rich heritage is alive today and supporting the maritime strategy.
“It is the only ship today that can trace its lineage back to the birth of our nation,” said Parrott. “Today, its crew continues a 
proud legacy of taking the fight to the enemy started by Capt. John Paul Jones and his crew 229 years ago.”

10/3/08
The story of Hannah Emerson Dustin and the DAR
  The local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) was named for a brave woman, Hannah Emerson Dustin, who lived from 
1657 until 1735. The DAR, as it is called, requires its members to be descendants of someone who fought in the revolutionary war. The 
national organization has a format to verify, through genealogy, the relationship between the perspective member and a soldier. Then the 
member is accepted.
  The local chapter was founded in 1922 by a woman named Helen Butler Rausch, who was a direct descendant of Hannah Emerson Dustin’s second daughter, Elizabeth. The group’s purpose is to promote patriotism and reverence for the Constitution. Current chapter president is Sharon  Chuvalas.
  It is not just a social organization, but one of service. The DAR works nationally to promote schools for the Indians and Appalachian 
children and in doing so promotes the education and citizenship of   its youth.
  Now more about this frontier woman and her brave acts. I became aware of her story through Jeanne Haynes who had purchased a 
commemorative bottle in the likeness of Hannah and was presenting it to the local DAR. Then she told me the story of Hannah and how she 
became proficient in scalping Indians!
  Hannah and Thomas Dustin were living in the town of Haverhill, Mass., in 1697. She was 40 years old and had just given birth to her 
12th child, so was taking it easy in bed when the Indians attacked their home, which was part of a settlement of about 30 houses.
  The French in Canada had offered bounties for English scalps and live English captives, who were then sold into slavery to the French 
Canadians. This was an effort to incite the Indians against the English to help win the New World for the French King.
  At the time of the attack, Hannah was forced from her bed by the Indians and made to dress hastily. The Indians took her and her new 
baby daughter, Martha, and Martha’s nurse Mary Neff. The rest of  Hannah’s children, at her urging, had been hurried off to the 
protection of the local garrison with her husband Thomas. It was all too quick — the Indians were there and taking her away, but she felt 
secure that her other children and her husband were safe.
  The women were made to trudge through mud and snow-covered ground with Mrs. Neff carrying the baby. At some point the Indians became 
angry and cruelly threw the baby against a tree, killing it. Then the women were made to march 12 more miles the next day to an Indian 
camp. What a sad, cold, almost unbearable time it must have been for these women.
  Upon reaching the Indian camp, the two women met a young boy, Samuel Lennardson, who was white and had been captured by the Indians 
several years earlier. The women heard of the plans for them. It included running a gauntlet of knives and tomahawks, and if they 
survived that, being sold into slavery to the French Canadians.
  None of this appealed to them and they plotted their escape. Samuel had learned how to scalp Indians and taught Hannah. After all that 
had happened to her, she was a willing student.
  In the middle of the night, Hannah, Mary and Samuel struck the Indians with their tomahawks and gathered scalps, then made a quick 
run for the canoes and traveled down the Merrimack River. The scalps were important, since there was a bounty for them, too, and they were 
proof of the terrifying capture.
  The group returned home safely after a two-week journey. Mary recovered and gave birth to her 13th child the next year. What a woman!
  It is certainly fitting that the local DAR chapter be a monument to her as also are several large stone statues that have been erected in 
her memory in New England.

9/26/08
Two Belvas and women’s suffrage
This is an interesting time in American politics to say the least. First we had Hillary Clinton who worked so hard to get the nomination 
for over one year and ended up with nothing, and then we have Sarah Palin who fell into the position of running for vice president of the 
United States.
Sarah is impressive and interesting and has given new life to the Republican Party. On the other side of the coin, even though Hillary 
didn’t get the nomination for president she probably would’ve jumped into the vice presidential race for the Democratic Party, but was 
denied that.
Women voters seem to be energized over the whole story and sometimes it’s hard to remember that they haven’t even been able to vote for 
100 years yet. Many of you may have seen the e-mail that is going around now titled “Why women should vote.” It shows old pictures of 
women marching with placards to try and get the attention of men in an effort to gain the vote.
So, I hope all you women do vote for whoever your favorite candidate is and that brings me to a note I recently received from my friend 
Kae Zorman. She always has interesting stories and here is one about her mother, Belva Allen Ewing.
Kae begins: “I thought you might like to know why my grandmother Allen named the last of her six kids, Belva. It was obvious why my 
Uncle Perry Allen was named Perry as we are related to Admiral Perry. Perry was Dave Allen's dad. I asked my grandmother, Marietta Allen, 
why she named my mom Belva. I didn't tell her I didn't like the name and was curious why anyone would put the name of Belva on a baby. 
Grandmother replied with a smile, ‘I named your mother Belva after the first woman who ran for president of the United States.’”
“Grandmother lived during a time when women did not have much input. So I think this was our grandmother’s way of silent protest. What 
follows is the tale of Belva Lockwood. I do see some of the same traits in my mom. She could be stubborn if she thought she had a cause.”
We give John H. Lienhard credit for this story about Belva Lockwood, America's first woman presidential candidate. Historian Madeleine 
Stern tells a remarkable tale. It begins with Belva Ann Lockwood appearing before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1880 to demand that Samuel 
Lowery be admitted to practice law. It was the first time a woman pled before our highest court.
Belva Lockwood was born in 1830 on a New York farm. At 15 she was a school science teacher. She married at 18, but her husband soon died 
of consumption. So she sold their farm and went off to do what her father hadn't let her do — attend college.
She finished her science degree and went on to teaching posts in private schools. But it was the science of government that became her 
focus. After the Civil War, she left the North, moved to Washington, and tried to enter law school. The Columbian College told her that 
"the attendance of ladies would be an injurious diversion to the students." Georgetown University also rejected her, but they gave no 
reason.
Finally, the National University Law School opened its doors to women. She was one of 15 women who began the program, and one of only 
two who finished. Then they refused to give her a diploma. Finally she wrote to President Ulysses S. Grant, who, by virtue of his 
office, was the titular head of the college.
"You are, are you not, the President of the National University Law School," she said. She told him to either grant her her degree or 
take his name off the letterhead. Two weeks later she was quietly handed a law degree bearing Grant's signature.
Belva had married Ezekiel Lockwood soon after she'd arrived in Washington. He shared her passion for social change, but he was also 
a liability. Federal courts questioned the legality of admitting a married woman to the bar. So Belva wrote a bill for congress to 
permit a woman to plead as high as the Supreme Court. The bill had a rocky time, but it passed.
That's how, in 1880, Belva Lockwood took the case of the black attorney Samuel Lowrey to the Supreme Court and won him the right to 
practice law. For years she fought for equal rightsAt the age of 75, she won $5 million in back interest for the 
Cherokee Nation. But that was long after she had formed the Equal Rights Party and ran against Grover Cleveland for the office of 
President of the United States. She lost, of course. She gathered only a little over 4,000 votes. Still, she carried Indiana, whose 
Electoral College members gave her the vote as a protest. She managed that in a world where women couldn't vote. She couldn't even vote for 
herself.
Today, people wonder when a woman will run for president without even realizing that one already did - over a century ago.
So now you know the rest of the story — so to speak. Women have much to offer this world and our government. I don’t know if this will be 
the time for a woman vice president, but someday it will happen. Don’t forget to vote — ladies and gentlemen.

9/20/08
The bracelet and Vietnam Wall
His name was David Hartzler Zook Jr. and he was born in 1930 in Logan County. He grew up on a farm in the West Liberty area and eventually 
entered the U.S. Air Force. He became a pilot and married his wife Pat in 1954. He earned the rank of lieutenant colonel and received a 
Ph.D. in Latin American studies from The Ohio State University. 
Colonel Zook was a respected teacher at the Air Force AcademyIn 1966, when still a major, Zook was sent to Vietnam leaving behind 
his wife and three small children. Mrs. Zook said goodbye to her husband and at that time had no idea it would be the last time she 
would see him. She never thought he wouldn’t come back.
Then the tragedy happened. Lt. Col. Zook was shot down, flying his A10, and his body was not recovered until recently. He was listed as 
missing in action along with thousands of others. Mrs. Zook said she was fairly certain that her husband had died and she didn’t think 
anyone would show up at her doorstep saying they had found him alive. The family excepted that he was gone.
Many were missing in action and prisoners of war during the Vietnam years. That sad situation got the attention of two college girls in 
Los Angeles. They tried to find a way to insure remembrance of American prisoners of war who were suffering in captivity in 
Southeast Asia. Many people were afraid in the 1970s that these people would simply be forgotten.
So, these two young college girls finally settled on the idea of a bracelet, maybe each with the name on it of one who was missing in 
action. It could be used as a way to raise money to increase awarenessThey finally found someone who agreed to make 10 sample bracelets and 
engrave names on them. Then they started by selling 1,200 bracelets. That grew to requests for 12,000 a day, which were sold for between 
$2.50 and $3 apiece. The bracelets cost about 75 cents to make, so all the profits went on to produce millions of bumper stickers, 
buttons, brochures and newspaper ads to draw attention to the missing men. Nearly five million bracelets were sold between 1970 and 1976.
Through the efforts of these young college girls, none of these men were forgotten.
Bonnie Norris (MHS class of ‘70) was a senior and that year a speaker came to Marysville High School to talk about the bracelets and how 
students could help raise money and awareness so that these men would not be forgotten and left in Vietnam.
It seemed like a good cause to Bonnie and her sister Valerie Selig. They sent for the bracelets and when they received them, each had the 
name of a man who they didn’t know or know anything about. Each girl received a different name.
Bonnie’s read: Lt. Col. David Zook Jr. She had no idea that his home was less than 50 miles from hers. He could have been from anywhere in 
the U.S. as the girls believed that the bracelets were just sent out randomly. Bonnie wore that bracelet for some time and eventually put 
it away in a safe place.
Now 38 years later, Bonnie learned through a story in the Bellefontaine Examiner that his home town was West Liberty and that 
his name is on the Vietnam Wall. She got the bracelet out and took it to the wall when it was in Marysville last week. There was his name — 
Lt. Col. David H. Zook Jr.
About that traveling Vietnam Wall — it is just about half the size of the permanent one which is in Washington, D.C. There are six of these 
traveling walls which are privately owned by five different people. 
The aluminum wall that was here came from Brevard County, Fla. There is a charge to bring the wall to the town and the money is used to 
continually refurbish it and keep it in tiptop shape. Any money left goes to help support a home in Florida for homeless veterans.
Bonnie learned that Zook’s widow, Pat, was still alive and in a retirement community nearby. She has spoken with members of the 
family on the phone and agreed that she would like to give the bracelet to the Zooks.
Just recently, Bonnie was informed by an employee of the Bellefontaine Examiner that the remains of Lt. Col. Zook have been 
found in Vietnam and are being returned to the U.S. DNA, which was not available back in the days of the Vietnam War, is now proving to 
be quite helpful in identifying remains.
There will be a memorial service in his honor next month and Bonnie will be there and give the bracelet back to his family.

9/12/08
The Buckeye Battle Cry
  Last Saturday was a very sobering experience for all those who support my Ohio State Buckeyes (I can say that because I am an alumnus of that wonderful institution called The Ohio State University). Ohio University located in Athens provided much more football than any of the Ohio State fans had expected. In the end, the Buckeyes prevailed, but it was close for most of the game. Maybe support of the crowd and the fantastic song called “Buckeye Battle Cry” had something to do with Ohio State winning the game.
  Not only is the football team important on Saturday afternoons in the “shoe,” but also the Ohio State University Marching Band is certainly a close second for its contribution to the color of the game. Band members enter the stadium through the central ramp and always begin by playing their famous fight song. It’s a great song and through Sherry Poston of Dublin I learned of its origin.
  It seems her great uncle Frank Crumit was the author. He was born in Jackson, Ohio, in 1889 and attended local schools, but finished his high school days at Culver Military Academy in Indiana, graduating in 1907.
  From there Frank went on to Ohio University to major in electrical engineering. In the midst of his studies for some reason he 
transferred to Ohio State University. Some say it was to follow in the footsteps of his great-grandfather, Dr. C. K. Crumit, a medical doctor.
  His medical course of study was short lived and soon he was back at OU to graduate in electrical engineering. The profession was not a good fit, and his engineering career did not last long. His passion seemed to be music and the old ballads of the 19th century.
  His love of music and theater dated back to his early years in the Methodist Church choir and led him to pursue, finally, a musical career. Frank studied voice in Cincinnati and then tried out unsuccessfully for opera in New York City. He performed on the Vaudeville stage in 1913 playing a ukulele. Eventually he did appear on Broadway in 1918 in the musicals, “Betty Be Good” and “Greenwich Village Follies of 1920.”
  Back in Columbus, in 1919 a new stadium was in the plans for Ohio State. It would be called Ohio Stadium and a contest resulted to create a new school fight song. Frank had written a song about Ohio and football and had previously submitted it to his alma mater, Ohio University. OU didn’t want it and so he was free to enter it into the contest at Ohio State. He renamed it “Buckeye Battle Cry” and won the contest.
  He met Julia Sanderson in 1921 and began working with her on stage and radio. He was known for humorous material, particularly his puns. The two married in 1927 and moved to Longmeadow, Mass. By 1928, Frank 
and Julia were performing together on radio as the “Singing Sweethearts of the Year.” They had a nationally produced radio 
broadcast which was aired on WLW in Cincinnati.
  In 1930, they continued on the radio with a popular quiz show, “The Battle of the Sexes,” which ran 13 years until Frank’s death in 1943 of a heart attack.
  Some changes had to be made to the lyrics of the Buckeye Battle Cry to make it fit Ohio State, since it was really written for Ohio University. There are many mentions of Ohio, which you can see could have been used for both schools. But in the chorus with the words “men of scarlet and gray,” there is no doubt it is our Ohio State Buckeyes.
  Had the song been the Bobcat Battle Cry instead of Buckeye Battle Cry, maybe the result of Saturday’s game would have been different  Go Bucks!
Octoberfest this Saturday
  If you like auctions, raffles, delicious food and just plain fun for the kids, the Octoberfest at First English Lutheran Church is for you this Saturday. It begins at 11 a.m. and runs until 3 p.m.
  Not only is there a silent auction and raffles, but also there are games for the kids. “Lutherland” provides outdoor fun with a jump house and slide, plus there will be ladder golf, sack races, tug of war, cake walks and a bake sale. The church is also sponsoring a 50/50 raffle which will benefit the Habitat for Humanity house to be built in Union County.
  Food includes pulled pork sandwiches, brats, hot dogs, baked beans, sauerkraut, German potato salad and fruit dumplings.
 

9/5/08
This week I would like to share with you some of the e-mail that comes from my readers. They send me some of the most interesting 
things. Barbara Forsythe sent the first one.
The Washington Post’s Mensa Invitational once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting or 
changing one letter, and supply a new definition. Here are this year’s winners. Read them carefully. Each is an artificial word with 
only one letter altered from a real word. Some are terrifically  innovative:
1. Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.
2. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.
3. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The Bozone layer, unfortunately, shows 
little sign of breaking down in the near future.
4. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time.
5. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.
6. Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn’t get it.
7. Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
8. Hipatitis: Terminal coolness.
9. Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)
10. Karmageddon: It’s like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then like, the Earth explodes and it’s 
like, a serious bummer.
11. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.
12. Glibido: All talk and no action
13. Dopeler Effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
14. Arachnoleptic Fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you’ve accidentally walked through a spider web.
15. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.
16. Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you’re eating.
  Laura Laslow and I play golf together, so I suppose that is what prompted her to send this next one to me.
There are two things you can do with your head down — play golf and pray. — Lee Trevino
A little girl was at her first golf lesson when she asked an interesting question: “Is the word spelled p-u-t or p-u-t-t?” she 
asked the instructor. P-u-t-t is correct,” he replied. “Put means to place a thing where you want it. Putt means merely a vain attempt to 
do the same thing.
Art said he wanted to get more distance. I told him to hit it and run backward. — Ken Venturi on Art Rosenbaum
The only thing in my bag that works is the bug spray. — Bruce Lansky
Golf is a game in which the slowest people in the world are those in front of you, and the fastest are those behind.
I’ve had a good day when I don’t fall out of the cart. — Buddy Hackett
Relax? How can anybody relax and play golf? You have to grip the club, don’t you? — Ben Hogan
My body is here, but my mind has already teed off.
I found out that all the important lessons of life are contained in the three rules of achieving a perfect golf swing:
1. Keep your head down.
2. Follow through.
3. Be born with money.
You can make a lot of money in this game. Just ask my ex-wives. Both of them are so rich that neither of their husbands work. — Lee Trevino
  Finally, Jerry born shared this last one with me which contains lots of good thoughts for daily living.
  Daily Rules:
1. Wake Up! Decide to have a good day.
2. Dress Up! The best way to dress up is to put on a smile. A smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.
3. Shut Up! Say nice things and learn to listen. God gave us two ears and one mouth, so He must have meant for us to do twice as much 
listening as talking.
4. Stand Up! For what you believe in. Stand for something or you will fall for anything.
5. Lift Up! Your Prayers. Do not worry about anything; instead pray about everything. God answers knee-mail.
Local author
We have a new author in town. He is Sam H. Hsu PhD. Sam lives in Timberview and has written a book entitled, “Once Upon a Land of Joy 
and Peace.” It contains life stories told through poetry. You can obtain a copy at Amazon.com.
(Melanie Behrens - melb@imetweb.net)
 

8/29/08
The Smiths’ Ukranian connection
Just about eight years ago, Matt Smith and his wife Meg, who are part of the local real estate world with REMAX Winners, invested in property in the Ukraine. They had become familiar with a gentleman from that newly emerging country (part of the former USSR) and decided, with his guidance, that they would buy an apartment there.
It needed lots of work. They paid $22,000 and put another $50,000 into it to renovate. They only own the apartment; the city of L’viv owns the building. It’s almost a condo-like relationship, except the city doesn't do much. That’s the way it is there.
Right after the purchase eight years ago, Matt took his parents, Dick and Linda Smith, to the Ukraine to see his investment. Linda said they saw it and the town and thought he and Meg had made a big mistake.
Now eight years later, the Smiths returned along with Matt and he was able to proudly show his original property plus two more apartments. The country is growing and improving all the time, and so is Matt and Meg’s investment.
They also own an 18-room bed and breakfast there with other local investors. Matt estimates his original apartment has appreciated five times in just eight years. In fact, he points out that Ukraine real estate values are all increasing as is most of Europe. The U.S. seems to be the only one in the big slowdown. Hopefully, for all of us, we are on the upswing now!
The trip for the Smith family also included a stop in Hungary. Linda’s family originated there and she researched both the Dohanos and Kerstner families, who were her great-grandparents. To do this, they visited both the towns of Bachka and Acsteszer. Matt said they even located a distant cousin of Linda’s who still lives in this remote rural section of the country.
Upon asking villagers, the Smiths discovered the cousin was visiting an area about 30 miles away and so thought he might be right back so that they could meet him. Then they were informed that the cousin rode a horse there! They would not see him that day.
Linda did see her great-grandfather’s house, the one where he lived as a child in the tiny rural village.
When the Smiths moved on to L'viv, Linda described the change in shopping. When there eight years ago, she said she entered a store and saw a shirt, some car parts and a gallon of milk. Now they are fully stocked with goods and appliances just like our retail stores.
Matt said when the Ukraine separated from the USSR, the government owned all the buildings but is gradually selling them to the public. He and Meg tried to buy a movie theater, the attempted purchase of which went on for some time. That request had to go to a body similar to our state legislature and was decided by a state property manager. Their request was finally denied because Matt was too young, but probably a 70-year-old former communist would be OK.
Bribes are a way of life there and most transactions are done in cash. This way, much of individual and business income is hidden. Official records state that the average income is about $500 a month, but then there is all that cash floating around.
Many U.S. companies are expanding there, partly because labor is cheaper. Even though bribes are used frequently, the official U.S. position is severe penalties are imposed if this practice is discovered.
The Smiths also visited the spa town of Truskavets, which is described as a smelly sulfur springs area and resembles our spas of the 1930s. There, you will find the traditional spa therapies.
Under Soviet rule, companies would purchase rooms or even build entire hotels for use by their workers as a vacation in that region. Then the employees would be assigned certain dates for their vacation in that spot.
In the Ukraine, many speak a little English and Matt understands Russian, Czech and Polish. So, communication is easy there, but in the villages of Hungary, the Smiths were nearly reduced to sign language at times.
Going to that part of the world is not easy (24 hours to get there) or cheap, but Matt has had to make many trips in the last few years to watch over their investment. Now, he and Meg can look back and smile at the welcome improvement and westernization of the Ukraine.
(Melanie Behrens - melb@imetweb.net)
 

8/22/08
More on Sal Petrovia and the Afghans
Last week I told you about Lt. Col. Sal Petrovia, a 1985 graduate of Marysville High School, who has made the U.S. Army his career. He is 
currently stationed in Afghanistan and is the commander of a battalion of troops which are part of Task Force Centaur.
This column is a continuation of his story on life in Afghanistan. He tells us what it’s like serving in Afghanistan on a day to day basis.
Sal begins: “This morning, before my 7 a.m. briefing, we received a call from a local police officer about some information he had in 
reference to an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) that a local villager informed him of. Because the villagers are gaining trust in 
their local security forces, because we have established partner-like relationships with the security forces, and most of all, because the 
people (in some areas) feel we can protect them from the ‘bad guys,’ we were able to find and eliminate the IED before any coalition 
forces or Afghans were injured or killed.”
  “In essence, this small victory and microcosm of what we hope will continue to spread like wildfire shows we were able to defeat the 
‘bad guys’ and their threats without ever using violence because the Afghans believed in their government and security forces. The people 
did the right thing. The government and police did the right thing. And your American soldiers did the right thing. I consider it a win 
across the board.”
  “By 8:30 a.m., my soldiers loaded up and we departed to meet a local village elder to talk about progress in his village, upcoming 
projects, and security issues in the area. As we arrived, the red carpet (so to speak) was laid out in Pashtunwalli fashion. The 
children greeted us and we went inside the stone, wood, and mud walls.”
“Greetings are much more elaborate than we Americans are used to, but it is really quite refreshing. It always starts with a cordial hug 
and by asking each other about one’s health, followed by the family’s health, and their livestock. Then we sat in the shade under a 
thatched roof while drinking tea and discussing their concerns. As expected, there were some security concerns, but we also spoke about 
a proposed construction project for an irrigation ditch to channel water through different portions of the village.”
  “The elder also asked if we would come to the school where he had invited several leaders from different districts (all in our area of 
responsibility). We weren’t sure how many people were actually there, but we obliged and made the trip to the center of the village, where 
there were over 70 leaders from across the province. Some had walked six days to make it there. The terrain and lack of roads in some 
remote mountainous areas makes travel by vehicle impossible. The attendees ranged from chiefs of particular government agencies to 
local elders to religious leaders.”
  “The discussions that lasted hours are not the important part of this story though. We never even got into the school (although it was 
well over 100 degrees in the sun). The leaders met us out front and the discussions ensued. When I walked up, I thought to myself, ‘this 
is an ambush waiting to happen, or these people really get it.’ Luckily for us, it was the latter. They really do get it.”
  “‘It’ is this thing we Americans call democracy, that so many of us take for granted. They crave the ability to be able to make decisions 
and choose what is best for their own people. Although it is sometimes frustrating for us and the Afghans because we cannot assist 
enough or fast enough at any given time, it was worth every minute, and I really believe we made some friends today.”
  “Of course, my day wasn’t even half over yet, but I think you get the picture. Your soldiers are here in Afghanistan for a good reason 
and are making a difference every day. In spite of the glamorized terror so often portrayed in the media, there are thousands of small 
good-news stories, like the two I mentioned, happening every day that no one ever hears about. It is much more so than the kinetic events 
shown on much of the evening news.”
  “‘What are we doing in Afghanistan?’ And, ‘Should we be there?’ I think I’ve shown you a little of what we are doing here, and my 
answer to the second is, ‘Yes, we should be here.’ It is the burden we bear as the democratic superpower in this world, and proves our 
ideals as well as solidifies our legacy for generations to come. I miss my family dearly, but I believe if we don’t pay this price now, 
our children will continue to pay for a much longer time.”
  Then Sal answered some of my questions. The first was, What is it like to live in Afghanistan — Americans and natives alike? He 
replied, “As mentioned, this is a harsh country according to our standards, but the Afghans are acclimatized to their environment and 
rarely complain. They work hard, and like to laugh ... not a bad way to be.”
  Then I asked him, How long is your duty there? “My unit is scheduled for a 15-month tour.”
  My next question was, Are woman still so oppressed? “Oppressed is a relative word. In this culture, women work extremely hard and are 
never in the forefront. They are the ‘behind-the-scenes’ workers who really make everything happen. When we speak with local villagers and 
leaders, it is offensive if we ask questions about their wives or adult daughters.”
  I asked Sal, Is your area secure? “Secure is also a relative word. There are Taliban and other conspirators in the area who are always 
looking for an opportunity to attack or threaten our coalition forces and the local populace. Therefore, our vigilance is a must, and has 
paid great dividends so far. Continued building and strengthening of our relationships here will continue to force them out or eliminate 
them.”
Finally I asked Sal, What should those in your hometown know about life there? “Days are long, and there is no ‘five o’clock whistle.’ 
We work as long as it takes. For me, the day begins around 5 a.m. and usually ends about 12:30 or 1 a.m., but I do sleep in until 7 a.m. on 
Sundays. Obviously, there are peaks and valleys in our daily activities, but all in all, time flies because we are so busy.
  “Your soldiers make an incredible sacrifice in this place that most Americans probably can’t locate on the map. They volunteered to be 
public servants and guard our freedom and the American way of life, and I am so proud of each and every one of them, both young and old. 
These soldiers, if nothing else, appreciate why we are here, and how wonderful it is back home!
“God Bless America!”
Lt. Col. Sal Petrovia

8/15/08
Marysville-Afghanistan connection
He is a 1985 graduate of Marysville High School and is now a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army leading a battalion of troops in 
Afghanistan. Sal Petrovia has made the army his career and I have recently heard from him about the work he and his men are doing with 
the people of Afghanistan. You will see and appreciate his kindness for both his own troops and the Afghan people as evidenced through 
his own words.
Sal begins: “Thanks for thinking of our soldiers over here. My unit officially assumed responsibility of our area of roughly 1,800 square 
miles on July 20, but has been operating here since the first week of July. We left Fort Hood, Texas, on June 30 enroute to Afghanistan. I 
am the commander of the 1st Battalion, 6th Field Artillery Regiment and command about 540 soldiers spread over 14 different locations 
throughout Eastern Afghanistan. While we’ve only been here for about a month, our soldiers are already making a difference and embracing 
the Afghan culture.”
“So much has happened already, it is hard to soak it all up. Our mission here and our method for success encompasses four things:
1. Security — our first priority is security of the Afghan people against anti-Afghan Forces (AAF) which intend to coerce the populace 
through threats, violence, and death. The “bad guys” want nothing to do with this concept of freedom and democracy because it puts them 
out of business both economically and ideologically. Our job, in coordination with the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF - 
consisting of Afghan National Police, Afghan National Army, and Afghan National Border Police), is to assist in eliminating the 
threat so all Afghans can prosper in whatever way they choose versus remaining subservient to the agendas of tyrannical warlords and 
religious fundamentalists.
2. Governance — Strengthening and legitimizing the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA) at the lowest levels is an 
important step in enabling the Afghans to flourish in Democracy and take advantage of their freedom to choose and decide based on what is 
best for themselves and their families. It is a learning process for all of us. I think I understand the trials and tribulations our 
forefathers went through in building our nation from a few ‘rebels’ with a democratic ideal into the great United States of America of 
today.
3. Building — This is a war-torn country which has been invaded and pillaged from the times of Alexander The Great through the Russian 
invasion in 1979 and up to the ousting of the Taliban in 2001. There is rarely any infrastructure, amenities, or comforts outside of the 
few ‘big’ cities like Kandahar, Kabul, and Jalalabad. Most villages only consist of a few mud and stone structures, and in remote areas, 
less.
Electricity and water are most often scarce, and luxuries we take for granted as Americans, like education and healthcare, are non-existent 
in many locations.
In spite of this hard life, Afghans are considered some of the most hospitable people in the world and live by a credo called 
‘Pashtunwalli.’ In our terms it loosely means, no one is a stranger and what is yours is mine so let’s sit, eat dinner, drink some tea, 
and enjoy each other’s company. And that attitude makes all the difference in the world, and makes us want to assist more than 
possible in some cases.
4. Restraint — Here’s an important element. My unit lives by the mantra, ‘Did we make a friend or an enemy today?’ By treating all 
people we encounter with respect and dignity, we hope to make more friends than enemies to make the first three elements possible. 
However, if we do make enemies, we are prepared to revert to number 1, security.
Sal concludes, “That’s a brief summary of why we are here and what will quantify success for us and what I believe the American people 
have asked of us soldiers. I’ll try not to write a novel, but this is exciting stuff and I’d like to tell you how that all translates; just 
from my adventures today.”
“God Bless America!”
Lt. Col. Sal Petrovia
Commander, Task Force Centaur
Forward Operating Base Kalagush, Afghanistan
Next week we’ll hear about the day to day lives of soldiers in Afghanistan trying to make a difference.

8/8/08
More on the Farmer’s Market
  The Union County Farmers’ Market has been in operation for more than 23 years. It began at the Union County Fairgrounds and now has 
moved to the parking lot in downtown Marysville at the corner of Sixth and Main Streets, just across the street from the fire 
department. The market opens in May and continues into October, on every Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon.
  When I visited with the vendors at the market recently, it was not only a very hot day and hard on every one, but also typical of the 
conditions for this time of year. Many of the vendor’s products were nearly gone by a little after 11 a.m. and some had started to leave 
for the day. The moral to this story is, the early bird gets the worm — if you want a good selection, be there between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. 
and you may be pleasantly surprised at the diversity and quality of the products.
  Kathy Custer is the woman in charge of the market. She is a volunteer who has been involved with the market for many years. Under 
her guidance, it has grown considerably and is well worth getting up early on a Saturday morning to experience all the homegrown produce 
and baked goods.
  As I walked around the market meeting vendors, some of whom I told you about last week, I stopped to see Angela Jenkins and Shannon 
Bowles whose display is called Kitchen in the Country. They not only bake but garden, too, and they call their garden a transitional type. 
This means they use no chemicals, but they are not organically certified. This is their first year in the market and they make 
interesting fudge - cherry and pumpkin - and also make the ever-popular buckeyes.
  Angela pointed out that all the recipes are uncompromising. That means they use real butter and in their pies, they use no filler or 
jelly, just good homegrown fruit. This includes black raspberries, pineapple, peach, apple and tart cherry. Are you interested yet? 
Their produce includes broccoli, peaches and peppers.
  Sweet treats and garden eats was the next area run by Chris and Sue Sours who live in Mill Valley. Sue had homemade bread, rocky road 
brownies, scones and vegetables, plus raspberries. They also sell vegetable plants.
  This is the fifth year for Teri and Brad Lemaster to have a space at the market. They began with products from Brad’s garden, which 
includes strawberries, onions, cabbage, squash and cucumbers, just to name a few. His mother, Linda Lemaster, was filling in for him that 
day and says she is part of the garden crew. Just two years ago, Teri began her baking end of it.
  Weekends during the farmer’s market are tough on her because she begins baking for 20 straight hours before it opens. That means she 
starts on Friday and works through the night making at least 22 loaves of bread, nine plates of homemade cinnamon rolls, cookies and 
muffins. By the time the market opens, she has been up all night, so during those hours she has to be just running on enthusiasm because 
she loves to bake.
  “We Are All Connected” jams and jellies is owned by Bev and Jennifer Picklesimon. These ladies are mother and daughter and work 
fulltime in addition to making wonderful jams and jellies. Bev told me that after you open the jars, they should be good to keep in your 
refrigerator for up to a year. This is her fourth year selling products made from some of her own fruit. She was a warm and friendly 
person and also talked about how she loved meeting people in Union County who frequent the market.
  Then there was Carl Rausch who calls his area Carl’s Veggies. He must have nearly been one of the original members since he’s been at 
this for 20 years. He sells beets, zucchini, onions and Swiss chard. Later there will be carrots. He said this year was a tough year 
because the hot weather actually cooked his green beans while they were still in the ground. Replanting must have been necessary then.
  It was a very hot day and I finished up my visit at the Farmers’ Market with a lady I had known for many years. Sue Hites makes fudge 
and this is her third year at the market. She produces chocolate, maple nut and peanut butter fudge. She added that it’s a lot easier 
to keep the fudge solid in cooler weather and it’s a very popular product as the summer goes on.
  I hope this two-part visit to the local Farmer’s Market will encourage you to check it out. If you haven’t seen what’s going on 
there you are missing a lot. You will meet your neighbors who are working hard at their own little businesses. Every Saturday morning 
you can find them selling their homemade or home-grown products in downtown Marysville.
  Don’t forget the Farmer’s Market Community Festival, which takes place in the same parking lot in downtown Marysville plus an expanded 
area which includes Sixth street this Saturday. It begins at 8 a.m. Tom McNutt from NBC 4 will be there from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. and there 
will be cooking demonstrations and heritage craft sales. There’s lots to see, so be there early.
  P.S. Several vendors shared some of their products with me. I got cookies and jam to take home. I guess this job isn’t so bad after all!
He’s a winner
  Two weeks ago, I reported on the adventures of Mike McCarthy in the world of TV news. He was also nominated for the Tennessee Associated 
Press award for enterprising news coverage. I am happy to report that he won!
Tip for a better life
  Take a 10 to 30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

8/1/08
Farmer’s Market more than just produce
  Right here in Marysville we have an outstanding Farmer’s Market which offers a very nice variety of products produced in Union County 
and surrounding counties. It takes place every Saturday morning from 8 a.m. until noon between May and October and is located in the 
parking lot at the corner of Sixth and Main Streets, right across the street from the fire department.
  Last week I decided to go meet the participants and now I will share some of their stories with you. When you enter from the Main 
Street side, the first sign you see is “free coffee.” It turns out that it is provided by the Nestle Co. and the booth is manned by 
volunteers from the Community and Seasoned Citizens group. Eileen Petrovia and Carolena Trees were there to offer not only free coffee, 
but also recipes to cook a featured product. There is a free holder for the recipes and patrons can collect these weekly.
  Then I saw Tonya Dunton whom I have known for some time. She used to be an employee of the Marysville Post Office, but has been named 
postmaster in East Liberty. She said that currently, however, she is on loan to La Rue.
  Tonya loves to cook and might even call it her passion. Everywhere she has traveled she enrolled in cooking classes. That includes 
Venice, Morocco, Bali and, of course, Paris.
  Her specialties are biscotti and scones. She had a variety of each and there were also homemade marshmallows. In addition, she makes and 
sells macaroons, seasoned salt and peppers served in grinders and also she had chocolate truffles. Tonya does cooking classes in her 
home and you can reach are at mymom’s_cooking.net.
  Next I met Deb Holdren, who makes all natural gourmet dog treats. She is an animal lover and believes dogs deserve good tasting natural 
treats without all the additives, preservatives and animal byproducts. She uses human grade ingredients. There was even a doggie 
birthday cake available.
  Deb has a golden retriever who is 12 years old. She began her business to help him and other dogs who need good treats. Most of her 
doggie goodies are baked fresh each week and any that are left over are donated to the dogs at the humane society.
  Ross Moore was there also at the market. I immediately recognized him because in addition he works at Dutch Mill Greenhouse. Plus, he 
has his own business with herbs and perennials and winter hardy cactus, and later on in the summer he will bring in produce. Ross has 
been at this for seven years.
  Honey Health Farms was next door and is owned by Dale Benedict. Dale has been a beekeeper for 10 years, but before that was a 
longtime employee of O. M. Scotts and then worked as a consultant for Fortune 500 companies in product development. Everyone around the 
market calls him the “Honey Man” and he loves talking to people. Besides honey, he also sells soap and moisturizer all made from the 
products of his bees. He told me that much research is being done on bee stings as a therapy for arthritis and multiple sclerosis and 
there have been positive results.
  Dale’s helpers gather the honey and it is processed into the products at his hardware store in North Lewisburg. You can reach Dale 
at honeyhealthfarms.com.
  Sarah Negley grows herbs and vegetables in her greenhouse and garden and she has been selling her products at the farmer’s market 
for three years.
  Then I moved to the next booth and saw Robert Carson, who makes beautiful Adirondack chairs. His wife Miriam decorates them with 
charming designs. Earlier, on his way to creating at least 100 of these chairs, he determined he needed to use hardware that would hold 
up to the elements. Each chair is then finished with a coat of stain, hand sanded and a second coat of stain is put on before assembly.
  Robert also builds swings, benches, deck tables, coffee tables and even a child’s version of the Adirondack chair. He’s been doing this 
for more than 10 years and would love to meet you at the Farmer’s Market.
  Vanessa Abel was the only lady selling organic tee shirts with hand painted designs. This is her first year at the market and even though 
she lives in Mill Valley this has been her first opportunity to know those in our community much better through her association with the 
market. In addition to the tee shirts, she does recycled art on old doors and boxes, plus jewelry. You can chat with Vanessa about her 
work at earthflutter@yahoo.com.
  Edie Lemaster is a baker and has been selling her products for many years at local bazaars. She specializes in sugar-free desserts of all 
kinds. In her booth I also saw some crocheting, scrubbers and dish cloths. Edie said she has lots of regular customers who are 
particularly looking for sweets that a diabetic can enjoy.
  Edna Hinderer and her sister, Doris Fields, have a garden. For 23 years they have been growing produce and were part of the original 
Farmer’s Market which was located 23 years ago at the Union County Fairgrounds.
  The market is administered by volunteer Kathy Custer. When the market began in 1985, Kathy and her husband, Tom, sold hydroponic 
tomatoes there which they grew commercially for 13 years. Now she is out of the business. This has given her time to volunteer her 
services including publicity and collecting fees to run the market  A permit from the city is necessary to use the parking lot and each 
person pays $30 a season or $10 a week for their spot at the market. There is a list of rules that all vendors must abide by including one 
which requires that products must be grown or made in Union County or surrounding counties and baked goods must be fresh in the last 24 hours.
  The Farmer’s Market is expanding its operation through the end of the produce season. Now, it will also be open on Thursday evenings at 
the Connolly Construction office parking lot in Green Pastures from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
  On Aug. 9, the Farmer's Festival will take place at the downtown city parking lot location and probably extend out into the street. It 
runs from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and tries to teach the public to eat from their garden. Tom McNutt from NBC 4 will be there from 8 to 9 a.m. 
and there will be cooking demonstrations and heritage crafters. Marilou Suszko, cookbook author, will be doing cooking 
demonstrations. Be sure to put this event on your list of things to  do on that day.
  Next week we'll meet more of the people who make up the Union County Farmer’s Market.

7/25/08
Costa Rica - home of lilies and tarantulas
Costa, Rica is a long way from International Falls, Minn., but that’swhere life has taken Al Reinarz. He grew up in Minnesota, where there
are some of the coldest temperatures in the nation during the winter,and now enjoys a much more temperate climate. He is a graduate of the
University of Minnesota in horticulture and has been working in the cut flower business as a grower for more than 30 years.
Henk Berbee of Dutch Mill Greenhouse has known Al for 20 years. The two became friends while working in the flower industry together. When Al came to town for a flower trade show, I was able to meet with him at the Berbee home to learn more about life in Costa Rica.
Living there takes some adjustment because things are quite different than in the U.S. Many people do not have cars and the average income per
year is only $5,000.
If you want to have a car it will cost you 70% more than it would in the U.S. because of an import tax. So, the cost of a car is several year’s
salary. Even though the price of gas is about the same as ours, the car alone is a huge investment. Consequently, Costa Ricans take very good
care of their cars and nearly everyone washes and waxes them on Sundays.
Apparently, the average driver is very suspect, also. Sometimes they obey laws and sometimes they don’t. They also drive in four lanes when
there should only be two. Many of the main roads are paved, but the side roads are made of rock, a very bumpy ride, and require frequent new tires.
Al visited Costa Rica back in 1980 because his college roommate lived there. It struck him then as one of the most beautiful places in the
world and certainly one of the three top places for retirement. When he had the opportunity to move there in 2003 (not for retirement), he and
his wife decided to go. There, Al works as a lily grower. His company exported 28 million lilies last year. They went all over the world.
The country is lush, green and welcoming to Americans, but the language is Spanish and Al only knew a little when he and his wife arrived there.
Al says, “It’s amazing how quickly you can pick up a language when you have to deal with it on a daily basis.”
The technical part he uses in his business is easy, but he said the hard part is when you try to understand their jokes, which he still doesn’t
think are funny even now that he understands all the words. They also do not appreciate his sense of humor.
There are about 40,000 Americans living in this country of about 3.8 million people.
Al does not drink the water, which is said to be about 95 percent potable. The reason is, as he points out, that he doesn’t know when he’s
getting that 5 percent that isn’t any good! So, they use bottled water and at home have a well.
Their home is perched on top of a beautiful hill in the area that lies between Cartago and Turrialba. Building their home was an experience,
too. It took about a year to get it done. Sometimes the contractors had to use Al’s tools because they were better, and they didn’t even have a
level. His wife purchased all the materials and hired the contractors. In addition, they had to hire 24-hour guards to protect the supplies
while the home was being built.
Al has determined that his contractors knew nothing about plumbing and electricity. This work had to be redone several times to work properly.
But he said that they are very good with concrete. The contractors had never even seen a water heater. Sadly, most of them didn’t have a car to
get to the property to work, and many didn’t have shoes.
Special earthquake construction codes are in effect in Costa Rica because of the frequency of earthquakes. Most roofs are tin because tile
roofs can come apart and fall on someone’s head during an earthquake.Al points out that insects are not bad there. For instance, there are no
mosquitoes. Then in the same breath he tells me they have tarantulas, Asian cockroaches, giant rhinoceros beetles and other ugly things. He
considers himself a naturalist and actually enjoys talking about the wildlife there which includes jaguar, mountain lion and ocelot.
The police force is interesting. There are three types of policemen. The first are only involved with traffic. They have no guns and are the most
poorly paid. Maybe they are the most easily bribed, too. Then there are the regular policemen, who have no cars, no radios or no guns. I don’t
know how effective they can actually be at their job. The third kind of police is the OIJ, most like the FBI in the U.S. Al says they are very
efficient, respected and have SWAT teams. They’re the ones to call for big problems.
This tiny country the size of West Virginia has numerous volcanoes and most of the residents get very excited to see steam spouting out the top
of one that has been inactive for 140 years. The White Tower volcano is just 15 miles away from where Al lives and he has mixed feelings about
its possible eruption. He wants to see the activity, but he’s not sure how close all that might come to his home.
If you have a special girl that you really want to impress and you live in Costa Rica, you take her to McDonald’s, Domino’s or Burger King for
dinner. That is a very big night out.
Al says there are lots of good things about Costa Rica, a place where he plans to stay even after he retires as a lily grower. The democracy is a
stable one and there are rarely fires because most of the houses are made of brick or cement. They have government healthcare and the scenery
is beautiful, but he says the best part is the temperate weather which ranges from 60 to 80 degrees year-round. That means no need for a
furnace or air conditioning!

7/18/08
Reporting breaking news
He is a 2002 graduate of Marysville High School (salutatorian), just had his 25th birthday and holds the valued position of on-air news 
reporter for WVLT Volunteer TV News in Knoxville, Tenn.
Mike McCarthy tells me there are literally hundreds of applications for each TV reporting job. For his current job in journalism he not 
only credits his internship served on the Today Show, but also the excellent education and preparation provided him at Ohio University’s 
Scripps School of Journalism. There, he was the outstanding graduating senior in broadcast news. He believes his education 
provided “hands on” experience and top notch teaching. It is common for many students to look back and be appreciative of how well they 
have been prepared by their school to do their job.
Mike works hard — many long hours — and as a young reporter earns what some would consider low compensation. That’s the price to pay 
for working your way up in this very competitive industry. Mike is quick to point out those huge multi-million dollar salaries are only 
for the big network news people.
Here’s a description of his job in Mike’s own words: “While I’m a ‘reporter,’ I’m technically a ‘one-man-band,’ someone who shoots 
photos, writes, and edits a story completely on his or her own. Basically, I do the job of both the reporter and the photographer. 
It’s a huge challenge, but rewarding when I have viewers tell me they can’t tell the difference.”
“The highlight so far came very early in my career, actually just two weeks into it. I was sent to cover the Virginia Tech massacre last 
April. I reported live in every newscast for three days. It was a daunting and heartbreaking task, especially since I’m the same age as 
the students I interviewed, and those who were killed. But at the same time, it was very rewarding as a journalist to be there for that 
moment in American history.”
His work day goes from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. and he’s almost always fighting to meet on-air deadlines as he gathers, edits and prepares 
to report on the local news. Until just recently, Mike was the youngest reporter at the station. He also thinks his very young face 
occasionally works against him.
Everyone at the station was very welcoming and there are several Ohio University grads there now. He says they are an amazing group of people.
Mike’s co-workers are his friends and social life, partly because they work the same crazy hours. His weekend is Wednesday and Thursday 
and the rest of the week he works in the evening when most of the world is playing.
Knoxville has been good to him, too. He likes the town and the southern hospitality. Reporting in the field brings him in contact 
with many local people and it’s a good feeling to be out in the community. He says most work days go so fast, it’s hard to meet 
deadlines, especially since he does all the work on the stories himself.
He considers the on-air time as the best part of his job. His daily stories appear on at least two of the four newscasts. There, he can 
tell thousands of people what’s going on in the area around KnoxvilleMost reporters aspire to be anchors and he does too. He might even 
enjoy a morning show with more on-air time.
  Mike McCarthy is a charming young man — a pleasure to talk to and someone who I believe will do well in his chosen, crazy and sometimes 
chaotic world of TV reporting. He’s currently nominated for the Tennessee Associated Press Award for Best Enterprise Reporting. The 
awards will be presented tomorrow. Good luck, Mike!
Flowers, flowers everywhere
Once again I want to compliment those who purchase, plant and care for the beautiful downtown hanging baskets on both Fifth and Main 
Streets. They’re a very nice addition to our downtown. We also have new flowers up on the balcony over the offices of McCarthy and Cox at 
the corner of Court and Fifth Streets. Be sure to look up as you pass by. In addition, there are some pretty window boxes. It would be 
lovely to have all downtown businesses add window boxes for the public’s enjoyment.

7/11/08
Bermuda, one last time
This is the third and final story about my cruise to Bermuda with my husband Dan. We had been there 41 years ago on our honeymoon and, let 
me tell you, much has changed. We had always wanted to return and this cruise along with our friends, Marianne and Henk Berbee, was our 
opportunity to see that beautiful British-controlled island once again.
Henk, of Dutch Mill Greenhouse, was actually there on business. He sells flower bulbs all over the Eastern United States and Bermuda. 
This was a working trip for him and he took me along one day to meet one of his favorite clients, Bobby Baron.
Actually, Bobby and his wife Julia opened their home to us and were willing to share their experiences of living a life in the beautiful 
island country of Bermuda. There’s nothing like seeing a country through the eyes of lifelong residents.
The Barons live near Hamilton, the capital. His family came to the island from the Azores in the 1930s and Julia’s roots are in Great 
Britain. Bobby operates Aberfeldy nurseries which grow and sell plants and Berbee bulbs.
Bobby and Julia are both products of the extensive private school system (at least six of them) in Bermuda. Each school has a 
distinctive uniform. Also, public school students wear uniforms. The public schools, according to Bobby, have deteriorated in the last 
years. He feels politicians are trying to run the schools instead of letting educators do it, and the schools have suffered.
According to Bobby, many young teenage males drop out of school before graduation. Since they are not prepared for work, some turn to 
crime often involving drugs. The drug problem has increased greatly over the last few years in Bermuda.
The island of 67,000 people hadn’t had a murder for over 10 years until last month. A 14 year-old girl was murdered by her 30 year-old 
boyfriend (what?). The crime had the town of Hamilton buzzing when we were there. It was a jolt to the relatively serene lives of those in 
Bermuda’s capital.
Those who live in Hamilton and operate businesses have daily lives much like ours. They too are concerned about gas prices since theirs 
is $7.75 a gallon. Those with British connections say that the gasoline there is nearly $11 a gallon! Bermudians do have to pay more 
for their cars, too, because of a high import tax that is 155 percent. So, if the car sells for $20,000 in the U.S., it costs over 
$50,000 in Bermuda. Also, to buy a license to drive a cab is $150,000. The Bermuda dollar which is used as currency is equal in 
value to ours. So the exchange rate is even and most stores take our American money.
There is one hospital for the whole country, but if one needs heart or brain surgery they are flown to the U.S., usually NYC or Boston, 
for care. Recently added is a medically equipped jet at the airport for emergencies. I can’t even imagine living on an island and having 
to depend on a plane to be flown at least two hours away for a life threatening illness.
The United States military constructed the airport in Bermuda in the late 1940s and operated an air base there. The runways were not for 
the public to use until many years later.
Bobby began as a truck driver and delivered to the garden center of which he is now part owner and manager. He has built the business up 
to one with a gross of $4.5 million. They also grow almost all their plants, since import rules are strict on vegetation entering the 
country.
Those who live in Bermuda don’t feel isolated since they love to travel. But their own country, which is beautiful, thrives on tourism.
Julia told me the Internet has been good to customers in Bermuda and has opened up a world of shopping for things not available on the 
island. However, it can include expensive shipping and import taxes.
Conversely, this extended shopping has been tough on local merchants and has cut into their earnings. She also told me the island mail 
could be called “snail mail.” I guess we say that, too. One package of hers took seven weeks to arrive and a letter could get to London 
faster than across the island. That’s just like our mail — you wonder where it was all that time!
Hurricanes do hit Bermuda — their worst in recent years was just three years ago. Now another big storm is on its way toward the 
island. During the last one, the Barons recall that trees were down everywhere blocking even the main roads and residents pulled out 
their chain saws to clear the streets. Their buildings, like Florida, are built with hurricanes in mind and everyone hopes for the best. 
Even if Bermuda escapes a direct hit from the current hurricane, there is bound to be some damage to deal with after it passes.
  All homes on the islands collect their own water, which rolls down their hard surfaced, terraced, white roofs into an underground 
holding tank. I think we call that a cistern.
They use the water for everything including drinking. When I winced, wondering if untreated water was safe to drink, the Barons replied 
they must be immune since they had done that all their lives. Their terraced roofs are pristinely maintained by cleaning and painting.
The one exception to the water from the roof is during a hurricane. 
During that time, residents put a tennis ball in a sock and clog up the hole blocking the water from entering the holding tanks. During a 
hurricane, salt water is heavy in the air and can foul the water system. If that happens it takes weeks to clear it up.
The Barons are charming people and generously opened up their home to us. It is a lovely island style where they leave the doors and 
windows open.
Bermuda is a beautiful place with a rich British history. Flowers grow everywhere and people are friendly — many who seem quite 
American. As I prepared to leave, Julia gave me a gift of a Bermuda cook book written by a lifelong resident. I will be using recipes 
from that book for the next few weeks in my recipe column on Thursdays. No gift could be more appreciated.

7/3/08
Is there a doctor in the house ... or on the ship?
This is a continuation of my story which began last week on my recent cruise. My husband, Dan, and I had an opportunity to return to the island of Bermuda on a week-long cruise aboard the Norwegian Dawn. We had been to Bermuda 41 years ago on our honeymoon and this was our first opportunity to return to the beautiful island country controlled by the British.
The seas were calm, thankfully, the food was good, the personnel pleasant and that leads me to how I got to know the ship's doctor, Philip Buttaravoli M.D.
My time spent with Dr. "B" (as he is called) was not for the usual reasons. Actually Dan and I were chosen, through a drawing, to have dinner with the ship's doctor. There were four other passengers, Phyllis Mueller, Rita McDonald and Carl and Jean Makowski, who were also chosen to eat with the doctor and it helped make the event a memorable one.
As we sat next to each other at dinner, I learned a lot about the physician who was a graduate of the University of Vermont Medical School and did his residency at the University of Cincinnati in the early 1970s. Because of his residency in the Queen City, he says he feels close to those of us from Ohio. In his days as a resident there he served as team doctor for the old Cincinnati Royals basketball team.
Dr. B turned out to be a kind, charming man and one who is enjoying this time of his life immensely. For 35 years he practiced emergency medicine - a perfect background for a cruise ship doctor - and has been serving aboard the Norwegian Dawn since last November.
This was his last cruise for now. When he leaves the ship he will provide emergency medical services in a hospital in Vermont for the summer. Then true to his last few years of work, he'll be back out to sea next winter cruising the west coast of the United States and Mexico.
I wondered why at this time, he would change his life so drastically. He told me he loves this life for now and noted it was a wonderful way to see the world. Also, he must be quite suited for his life at sea since he told me he loves the rock and roll of heavy seas - yuck! As you may remember last week I said I get seasick, but was very lucky to have smooth traveling on this cruise.
Some of the doctor's recent cruises have certainly been noteworthy. The stories were sure interesting from his point of view. You may remember this past May on Mother's Day, a woman fell off a cruise ship about two hours out of New York City on the way to Bermuda. That event occurred on our ship! I remember hearing about it and especially noting the story since we were to be on board that same ship.
Dr. B says there may have been some alcohol involved in the event. The woman was seen on those surveillance cameras which are everywhere on board (except the rooms, we think). She was climbing from one balcony to another in the midst of heavy seas as was caught by the cameras and fell into the water.
The tragedy was reported quickly to the ship's crew and boats were dropped into the water to search for her. Code "Oscar" was heard all over the ship's speakers and Dr. B explained it was such an unusual thing because the crew knew that means someone is overboard. The medical team prepared for rescue of a hypothermia patient, because the water was still quite cold then. The coast guard was notified and arrived to help but then it got dark. The lady was never found.
The ship eventually went on to Bermuda and you can imagine the flurry of conversation on board as it had to leave the area where the woman fell into the Atlantic Ocean. Apparently the FBI was at the dock when the ship arrived in Bermuda to interview the lady's traveling companion, but the video from the balcony area showed the fall to be an accident.
Dr. B also said on the cruise just completed before ours that the ship was just a short distance from New York Harbor on its way to Bermuda when a man became so ill that he decided the patient needed more care than he could provide on board ship, so the giant vessel - more than three football fields long - turned around and headed back to NYC. There, the ill passenger was handed over to emergency medical personnel.
The captain of the ship told the doctor that the return trip to New York City cost $10,000 in fuel alone. Then there was the expense of the pilot that is hired to take the ship in and out of the harbor. But it was, after all, a person's life!
Fortunately our cruise was smooth and so nice that I might even be coaxed back out to sea again some day. Bermuda was beautiful, elegant and provides quite a lavish lifestyle for many of its residents.
Next week I will write about a couple who have lived in Bermuda all their lives. You will learn what day-to-day living there is like.

6/27/08
To Bermuda and back
This trip was a long hoped for adventure. You see 41 years ago my husband, Dan, and I spent our honeymoon in Bermuda. As we were flying 
home then, I remember asking, “Do you think we will ever come back?” 
He said, “Sure, in a few years.” Then there were children, a house and childrens’ college, but finally we returned to Bermuda.
Our friends, Henk and Marianne Berbee, were headed there on business, so we joined them on board the Norwegian Dawn, part of the Norwegian 
Cruise Line, for a seven-day cruise.
Henk, of Dutch Mill Greenhouse, sells flower bulbs all over the Eastern United States and Bermuda. He worked all three days we were 
docked at Bermuda obtaining orders from local nurseries and even from the government of Bermuda. I was also able to spend time with one of 
his customers at his home near the capital city of Hamilton. I’ll have more about that in a future column.
About taking a cruise: Dan and I did that more than 20 years ago. For me it was the trip from hell — the seas were rough and I was sick for 
five days. So, you can understand why I didn’t really want to do that again. But here was my chance to return to Bermuda. I decided to be 
brave and hope for the best.
Getting ready to board the ship was interesting. First our passports were checked and our picture was taken with a tennis ball size hand-
held camera. Later we learned the picture was immediately put on a chip on the ship credit card we were issued. Every time that card was 
used in our room door it was registered. Every time we left the ship and returned, our picture came up on a screen. Those in charge of the 
ship knew who was on board at all times.
Surveillance cameras were everywhere except in our rooms — we think — to keep the passengers safe. These cameras will come into play next 
week when I discuss our ship’s involvement when a woman jumped or  fell overboard one month ago.
Another very reassuring service was omnipresent hand spray disinfectant. As we boarded, everyone’s hands were sprayed. Then at 
each restaurant, bar and even business counters, a hand disinfectant machine was available. When returning to the boat again we were 
sprayed. Of course, this service was an effort to prevent norovirus and respiratory infections, which have given cruise ships a bad name 
in the last few years.
This cruise was wonderful from the very beginning. As we left New York Harbor and passed the Statue of Liberty, everyone sang “God 
Bless America.” It gave me quite a sense of pride in our history and patriotism.
The ship is more than three football fields long. There are 12 restaurants and as many bars, and best of all, the first two days at 
sea were smooth as glass— not a bump. It only increased to a moderate chop on the return trip, but I did not get seasick. The ship is even 
larger than the Titanic with 14 decks and many of the rooms with balconies.
The Norwegian Dawn is also quite “green.” All the water for the 3,200 people on board (2,200 passengers and 1,000 crew) is provided through 
desalinization. Solid waste is dried and used for fuel. No waste is dumped in the ocean.
My conversation with the ship’s physician (more about how I got to know him next week) revealed how spotlessly clean the kitchens are. 
Once a week he conducts a U.S. Health Dept. check and is always amazed at the attention to disinfection. The food was great and I was 
again surprised to learn that they serve over 100,000 meals on the weeklong cruise.
The ship is driven by a computer that calculates the speed needed to arrive on time. That takes into consideration the wind and currents. 
I guess that was good to know even when we were in heavy fog all one day and couldn’t see anything. I was just hoping someone was watching 
out for that.
We were docked in Bermuda for three days and were able to explore the island thoroughly. It’s very expensive to live there in this British 
territory. I met a woman named Carol Holding in her artist’s shop and as we were talking she told me that she has to pay her sales clerks 
$18 to $20 an hour to keep them because the cost of living is so high there.
There is a parliament and a governor who is appointed by Queen Elizabeth. There is much wealth on the island (actually there are 
many islands) and property is unbelievably expensive. Everywhere you look there are beautiful pastel colored stucco homes ranging from 
cottage styles to castle-like homes all along the harbor of Hamilton. 
The homes are surrounded by soft pink sandy beaches and beautiful flowers everywhere you look. Policemen dressed in starched uniforms, 
businessmen in Bermuda shorts, knee socks, long sleeve shirt, coat and tie, and horse drawn carriages all add to the island’s unique style.
Bermuda is located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the Carolinas and was first discovered in the 16th century by a group of 
Spaniards who named the island Bermuda for Juan de Bermudez, a Spanish sea captain. The British came in 1609 and have been in 
control ever since.
Not too much on the islands looked familiar to Dan and me after 41 years. The hotel where we stayed was demolished and an insurance 
company is now in its place. There seems to be constant building going on, so even the main street of Hamilton looked different than 
it did 41 years ago.
Bermuda is beautiful. I hope all of you will have a chance to see it someday. Next week - how I got to know the ship’s doctor.

6/20/08
Off to Mongolia!
  Andy McCarthy has spent his time since college teaching in Japan. He will return to the U.S. to attend OSU law school in August. Here 
is his latest adventure, now in Mongolia!
  Andy begins: “I’ll be arriving back in Ohio around Aug. 8, as the plan now goes. OSU’s first year orientation begins on Aug. 14, so I 
need to come back with a little bit of room to get reacclimated to American life.”
  “My latest adventure doesn’t take place in Japan at all, but rather a country I never thought I’d find myself in had you asked me three 
years ago. At the beginning of May, I spent nine days traveling around the hills of central Mongolia. I traveled this time with a 
good friend from my area, and we met a fellow traveler, an English-educated Spaniard, who joined our group after we arrived in Ulan 
Bataar, Mongolia’s capital city.
  “Mongolia is a nation two times the size of Texas, with roughly the population of Connecticut. More than two-thirds of the year, the 
country is covered in blue skies — something the Mongolians take utter reverence in. About one quarter of the population is nomadic, 
traveling around the steppe with their herds of goats, horses, and yaks. These were the kind of people me and my fellow travelers stayed 
with for most of our trip.”
  “If it sounds like these sorts of nomads can be hard to track down, that’s absolutely correct. Even though we had a guide, on our first 
night out in the countryside, our guide got lost and couldn’t find the family we were supposed to be staying with! It’s not very 
reassuring to watch your driver going into a subdued panic as the sun goes down on a land dominated by much of the same scenery and, as 
would be expected in a country of nomads and drifters, no real roads. 
That and driving through a sandstorm were perhaps the more terrifying highlights of the trip, which was otherwise a great time.”
  “We traveled out west from the capital for a solid week, staying with a different family each night. We rode horses up and around a 
volcano, visited ice caves, and walked on a frozen lake. I took some time to myself and even did a little light climbing, to which coming 
down after sunset in a country known for clear skies made for seeing some of the most beautiful starlight I have ever known”
  “There were plenty of things that were surprising or worth noting along the way. The Mongolians experience of being a Soviet satellite 
means that most people mistook me and my fellow travelers for Russians. It was an interesting reminder that you were in a country 
that shares a view of the west that is very different than Japan’s (where all foreigners are assumed to be American, and English-
fluent). The Mongolian diet is mutton, with a side of more mutton, and the possibility of more mutton to follow. All that mutton is 
either put with pasta or rice, rounding out the meal. There is an obvious lack of vegetables, but that is expected from a nomadic 
people who live off their only resource — their herd animals.”
  “The Wedding Finger"
  June is wedding month and a friend recently shared this story with me. I thought it would interest you.
  Ever wonder why wedding rings should be on your fourth finger and nowhere else? Read and try this.
  There is a beautiful and convincing explanation given by the Chinese.
  The thumb represents your Parents.
  The second (index) finger represents your Siblings.
  The middle finger represents you.
  The fourth (ring) finger represents your Life Partner.
  The last (little) finger represents your children.
  First, open your palms (face to face), bend the middle fingers and hold them together, back to back. Second, open and hold the remaining 
three fingers and the thumb - tip to tip.
  Now, try to separate your thumbs (representing the parents). They will open, because your parents are not destined to live with you 
lifelong, and have to leave you sooner or later.
  Please join your thumbs as before and separate your index fingers (representing siblings). They will also open, because your brothers 
and sisters will have their own families and will have to lead their separate lives.
  Now rejoin the index fingers and separate your little fingers (representing your children). They will open too, because the 
children also will get married and settle down on their own some day. Finally, rejoin your little fingers, and try to separate your ring 
fingers (representing your spouse). You’ll be surprised to see that you just can’t, because husband and wife have to remain together all 
their lives — through thick and thin!

6/13/08
Mark Miller’s final episode
Ever since Mark Miller graduated from Marysville High School in 1976 he has been on the go. After receiving a Juris Doctor Degree and a 
Ph.D., he now has a permanent position as director of the law and society program at Clark University. Currently he is serving as a 
visiting professor at the University of Leiden in Holland. For the past few months he has shared his experiences while working and 
traveling in Europe. Soon he is headed home to the U.S. and so this is his final episode.
Mark traveled to Maastricht, Holland, and begins his story: “I went to breakfast and they had an odd machine in addition to the American 
style scrambled eggs, bacon, and other things on the breakfast buffet. The sign said (in both Dutch and English) take a glass and 
put in two oranges. I puzzled for a while, and then watched another guest use the orange juice machine. One puts two whole oranges on a 
track. The track is then rolled down and into the machine made mostly of glass so that I could watch the whole process. It cut the orange 
in half, and then squeezed the two halves. The fresh squeezed orange juice then went directly into my glass, placed carefully at the 
bottom of the machine. Maybe others have seen such machines before, but it was a new experience for me.”
“Then I decided to go to Germany for lunch. I took the train from Maastricht to Heerlen, where I found an automatic luggage storage 
locker that took my Dutch bank card. I then got on a German train in Heerlen, which is still in Holland. The German train was going to 
split after my stop, but I saw only one driver. The Dutch train announcements are all made by a real person, often in both English 
and Dutch. But the German train used a computer generated voice to speak very clear German. It seemed strange to me to travel across the 
national border without a real train staff person onboard (I think there was a human driver, but I'm not sure). I then went to Aachen, 
looked around Charlemagne's cathedral, had my German lunch of Sauerbraten, and then walked around the town a bit more. It was a 
nice day.”
“On the train back, I took the German train without human input, and then retrieved my luggage from the locker without human input, 
purchased a ticket home without human input, and then boarded the train to Utrecht. When I was about to get off to change trains in 
Utrecht, a group of Italian students asked me if we had reached Amsterdam. I explained that they needed to remain on that train for a 
few more stops. They asked in English, but it was the first time I had to give directions to Italian speakers to my knowledge.”
When Mark returned to Leiden there was this observation: “I saw a mother on a bicycle, with a child in a baby seat on the front and 
another child on a baby seat on the back. She was also guiding a third child on her own little bicycle. I've never seen children use 
training wheels here. Instead, children as young as three or four ride regular small bicycles, but their parents guide them along with 
a hand on their handlebars or on their shoulder.”
“The Dutch have just finished a long series of holidays the most important of which was Queen's Day. It's not the birthday of the 
current Queen, but the one of several queens ago. Since the current Queen's birthday is in January, they decided that the celebration 
should be in better weather. There are many street concerts and local parties on the evening before.”
“On Queen's Day itself, it seems that they turn the entire country into a massive flea market. Children then try to sell their used toys 
and used clothes. Adults sell all kinds of junk. By the middle of the afternoon, the beer gardens seem to be doing more business than the 
kids. Leiden had several marching bands added to the mix. It was odd to hear Anchors Aweigh playing in the medieval streets of Leiden. 
People dressed up in all sorts of crazy orange outfits to honor the House of Orange (the family name of the royals). The Dutch flags were 
flying everywhere, often with large orange cords attached to them.”
Of his travels outside of Holland, Mark had this to say: “I would recommend both Ghent and Bruges (Belgium). They are beautiful. There 
was a carnival across the street from my hotel in Bruges. It had a stand with food from Luxembourg, which I loved. On Friday evening, I 
ate dinner at an ultra-modern cafe in ancient Bruges. Their wine list included two pages of what they called FreakyWijns. They were so 
freaky that they had two types of wine from South Dakota. I had no idea that they produced wine in South Dakota! I guess I'm just behind 
the times.”
“I came back to Leiden and the weather was absolutely perfect. So I spent several hours sitting outside at the little cafe five minutes 
from my house. The cafe tables take up part of one of the bridges over the Rapenburg Canal, which is the large canal near my house (I 
live next to a much smaller canal adjacent to the Botanical Gardens). 
Since the weather was so beautiful, I spent the late afternoon watching the many boats traveling up and down the Rapenburg Canal.”
“Monday was Liberation Day. At the end of WWII, I'm told the Germans stole every available bicycle in order to flee the country. When the 
Dutch get upset with their German neighbors, they just ask for their bicycles back. I spent liberation day at the beach in The Hague, 
where the cafes are right on the sand - they just put flooring down. 
Some of the cafes there have traditional tables, some have couches, and some even have huge bean bags to lie on. It was a picture perfect 
day.”
“Afterward, I went to the center of The Hague where they were having a huge outdoor concert with music in English. The best part was 
seeing Dutch University students dressed up in traditional dress dancing to ultra-modern beat with ultra-modern dance moves. Finally a 
folk singer came on and sang in Dutch.”
“While in Luxembourg, I noted that the Luxembourgers have bigger cars than the Dutch, and are much shorter on average than the Dutch. They 
are also not as slim as the Dutch. They also close their shutters, curtains, and everything else they can at dusk, while the Dutch leave 
their curtains open at almost all times. I've never quite gotten used to walking around Leiden and seeing the Dutch leading their normal 
lives as seen through their open curtains.”
“On the train from Luxembourg to Brussels on Sunday, a soccer team or a group of soccer fans were singing and chanting most of the way. 
Most of the riders were amused. At every stop, they would run off the train and sing a quick song on the platform, then run back on the 
train just before the doors closed. It is a good thing I came back on Sunday, because all of the trains in Belgium are on strike today, 
shutting down the country's entire train system. I'm glad I got back to Leiden before that happened.”
“It will be difficult to leave this beautiful city with its windmills and canals.”
Mark has provided us with great stories of Europe from his point of view. Thanks to him for sharing his experiences with us.

6/6/08
Kayti comes home
  We have been following the adventures of Kayti McCarthy as she has spent the year teaching in Austria. It has been her first year out of 
college and a wonderful experience. Just before she heads back to the U.S. to seek a job, she tells us of her final experiences in Europe.
  Kayti begins: “Springtime in Austria is growing to be my favorite time of year. We’re finally through the cold, wet, mucky winter (and 
should be, it’s the end of May!) and spring is finally in full gear.”
  “In early May, my dad (Bill McCarthy) came to visit and after seeing the beauty of Vienna, Salzburg, Hallstatt and Bad Ischl, we 
decided to see a side of Austria that is not as frequently visited. We went to Mauthausen – one of the worst and largest concentration 
camps under Hitler. It’s one of the forgotten and definitely less-known camps, but at the time, it was one of the most notorious among 
the Third Reich. Survivors say it was even worse than Auschwitz in   Poland.”
  “I had previously been to Buchenwald, a concentration camp in Weimar, Germany, four years ago, and both have been eye opening 
experiences into the dark history of countries and cultures I have grown to know and love. Mauthausen is just 12.5 miles outside of 
Linz, along the Danube. The camp embodies an old stone quarry, and prisoners were made to carry slabs of stone up 186 steep steps. I 
decided to climb the steps myself, and counted 155 steps before reaching the first platform. I also learned that Mauthausen had 49 
sub-camps, one of which was located in Ebensee, which is about a 10-minute train ride from Gmunden; just on the other side of our lake.”
  “As my time in Europe is coming to a close, I decided to drive to Venice for the weekend. A friend from America had come to visit, so 
we rented a car, got on the Autobahn and were on our way. We considered taking the train, but what would’ve taken 12 hours on a 
night train only took about four by car (thanks to the Autobahn). The Austrian Autobahn does have a speed limit, though not many people 
abide by it. The first 300 miles only took three hours and 45 minutes, but the last 20 miles took about two hours, thanks to bad 
directions - but that just allowed us to see more of the beautiful Italian country side.”
  “Driving down through the Alps was amazing – though I didn’t take advantage of looking around too much; most of the time I was staring 
straight ahead, even though I wasn’t the one driving. Going that fast though the mountains and tunnels is slightly frightening. On the 
Autobahn, we topped out at 150 km/h (aprox. 95 mph), and going through the mountains, we felt we were playing it safe - quite a few 
cars passed us. But then, when it became really windy or we had to go through tunnels, we backed it down to 135 km/h.”
  “The tunnels are really scary because people don't slow down and you're allowed to pass! Granted, you're only allowed to pass in the 
tunnels that have two lanes running in the same direction, but nonetheless, it was a little frightening.”
  “To save a little money, we stayed in a resort town called Jesolo and took a boat over to Venice. We had heard that Venice can be a 
disappointing city to visit (but not too smelly in our experience) and that it doesn’t live up to expectations, but to us, it was 
amazing; the architecture of the buildings, the narrow streets, winding walkways, and of course, the canal. We got lost - a lot - but 
that just added to the fun. We opted not to take a gondola ride (80 Euros for 40 minutes), but we saw plenty of them, and it’s true - 
they do all wear red and white striped shirts, but we didn’t hear any singing. Maybe that costs extra.”
  “Our last evening, we made it to St. Mark’s Square to see it all lit up. It had rained earlier, so the light reflected off of the 
puddles and wet pavement. There were two small orchestras, one on each side of the plaza, competing for our attention with classical   music.”
  “The food in Venice was a nice change from the Austrian cuisine. Authentic Italian is slightly different from what we call Italian in 
America. For example, pizza is paper thin - more like what we’d use for a crepe than a pizza, and the cheese and sauce is also different. 
One day for lunch we found a nice little restaurant off the beaten path, and it served great food at reasonable prices. Most of the 
time, the food was too expensive to actually leave a meal feeling full, but at this place we got a full three course meal, which would 
normally be about 30 Euros each (about 45 dollars), easy, but here, it was only 15 - including a glass of red or white wine.”
  “Now I am back in Austria, in my last full week of teaching. 
Teaching this month has been very relaxing. With all of the Austrian holidays, there has been plenty of time to travel, and relax. I’ve 
enjoyed being here and traveling, but I’m ready to return home to America … there’s just no place like it.”
  Kayti will return to central Ohio to look for a job as an intervention specialist where she would work with children with Autism.
Attention all gardeners
  The Journal-Tribune is pleased to host the first garden contest in several years. In the past it has been a hotly contested event and we 
are excited to have that enthusiasm return to Union County.
  To enter, just take a picture of your garden and fill out the application available in the Journal-Tribune, then turn in to the 
newspaper office before June 27 along with a $10 entry fee. The entry fee will go to the United Way of Union County to help others in our   community.
  The photo of your garden will be placed on our website at My2CentsWorth.biz for community voting. The top two from each 
category will be presented to our judges, Pam Hitchcock and George McVey, who will decide the winners.
  There are two categories of gardens - a vegetable garden and a flower garden. Also, there is a best lawn category. Sponsors of the 
contest include McAullife's Ace Hardware, Dutch Mill Greenhouse and Crago's Nursery. They will provide prizes. Winners will be announced 
in the July 14 edition of the Journal-Tribune.
  So, start applying that fertilizer and water to make the most beautiful garden or lawn in the area and then share it with all of us.

5/23/08
Farmer, salesman and now commissioner
As a teenager he was called Chas, now he goes by Charles, but it was never Charlie. Born in 1941 Charles Hall came home from the hospital 
to live in a house that was built in the early 1800s and the property had been in his family since 1857.
At that time, the family homestead had 1,000 acres. Now it has been divided by the family. He lived there until he was about 10 years old 
and eventually when he married, he moved back to this home on 52 acres on St. Rt. 347.
When your father is a farmer you are certainly drawn into that work too, and both Charles and his brother, Jim, helped on the family farm 
along with their sister Peggy. They milked cows twice a day. There was an electric milker, but when the power went out that meant doing 
it by hand. Sometimes their father would even hook up the milker to a pickup truck for power to get the job done, but it wasn’t very 
satisfactory. There were only 21 cows, but it was still a lot of work.
The family slaughtered chickens and sold them, too. Both the boys did that work, but sister Peggy just couldn’t kill those chickens.
The Halls sold their milk and eggs and frying chickens for money to help with the family budget. People would just come to their front 
door to purchase these fresh products.
Charles remembers that there were chicken thieves in the area in the late 1950s and Sheriff Ed Amrine was called to investigate the theft 
of their chickens. Unfortunately the thieves were never found and the chicken thefts finally ended.
He was part of the last graduating class of Magnetic Springs High School in 1960. The school was later consolidated into the North 
Union District. At Magnetic Springs he played basketball, of course, because he was, as he said, the tallest kid in the school. Charles 
also played baseball and was even part of a six-man football team. There were only 14 members in his class so that’s the best they could 
do.
He said there were about eight other schools in North Central Ohio that had six-man teams. Their uniforms were “cast offs” from Ohio 
State University, so they were all gray and they even had their old helmets. Can you just imagine how many kids would love to say today 
that they were wearing uniforms from OSU?
After graduating from high school, Charles went to work at Whirlpool in Marion and a good friend of his named Jerry Weaver decided to fix 
him up with Peggy McNeal. She was from Prospect. He said they went to a movie that first night to see West Side Story and they just really 
hit it off. In fact, that was 1962 and they wanted to get married right away, but her mother said they must wait until June of 1963, so 
that’s when they wed.
The newlyweds then moved into that family home on Route 347 which was occupied by many generations of Charles’ family. As a young boy he 
had to use an outhouse there and a pump at the sink for water. There was also a fuel oil stove in the living room and his mom cooked in 
the kitchen on a wood stove. There was no central heat, but by the time he married everything had been updated.
The Halls had three children — Shari, Judy and Brian — and now are proud to have 12 grandchildren. For most of his life Charles has sold 
farm equipment and mowers. It was a tough business to be in and routinely the companies he worked for would go out of business, so he 
had to move on to another one.
Then it happened. In 2002 Charles needed a heart bypass and after a 7-week recuperation, he found out his job was no longer there. That was 
OK with him since the business was so volatile, he had already been considering running for county commissioner. In March 2002 he ran in 
the Republican primary against two other opponents and won. Since there were no Democrats in the general election, that meant he was in.
He spent four months before he took office attending meetings with the county commissioners so that there would be a smooth transition 
when he took office in January. It was kind of a rude awakening to join this world of politics and the management of a very large budget 
— $22 million!
One of the hardest things was to learn all the acronyms thrown at him daily. There are more than 100 in use in our county system. Charles 
decided to get some help with that and had an aide prepare a list of what all those made-up words stand for. Then he could at least 
reference each of these organizations.
The three county commissioners divide up the duties and Charles is a representative to many organizations in the county. He’s quite 
excited about the new downtown county office building which was the former Carney’s store many years ago. It is the building undergoing 
renovation at the corner of N. Main and Sixth streets. The Uptown Renewal group was instrumental in promoting the idea that the 
building be more in line with the rest of downtown, and he tells me the building will now have a reddish color to blend in with 
everything else. Hopefully it will be in operation by November. About 30 to 35 people will work there, but most of them will already be 
employed by the county and will be coming from the courthouse or the justice center.
In the new building, there will be a conference room for public use. The coroner will have an office on the second floor and so will the 
sheriff’s office of investigation. The sheriff will also have an evidence storage area that will be very well secured.
Mainly, however, the building is for record storage. It will have computer terminals where the public can research genealogy or other 
public records of the county.
Charles Hall was just made for this job. He’s a big man with an equally big heart. One of the joys of working in a position where 
you’re managing such a big budget is that most of it is to be used improve the lives of the residents of Union County. One of the things 
that is unforeseen is the medical care and even mental health care for children who are in the foster program. Some expenses have been 
as much as $400 a day in very special cases.
Money for senior care is also another thing he takes pride in. Money in that area can be used for those who can’t afford cancer medicine 
or to fix windows that leak like a sieve. Now there is some help for them. He said he just feels good about helping so many people.
He’s a Sunday School teacher, part of the Emmaus community, a Mason and will begin his second term as county commissioner in January. 
Charles Hall is more than up to the job!

5/16/08
Ins and outs of the courts
  It was a memorable evening, a learning experience and now an opportunity to share a little of the workings of the Supreme Court of 
Ohio.
At a reception last week sponsored by the Union County Bar Association, I met and had dinner with four of the seven members of 
the court. Also in attendance were members of the Court of Appeals of the Third District, which hears appeals from our lower courts in 
Union County as well as other counties in the district.
It was interesting that there were at least three people providing security at the event. Apparently, being a judge can bring out the 
“kooks” who disagree with their decisions. Sometimes they write notes filled with veiled threats, so the judges themselves and the 
professionals stay on guard.
  Chief Justice Thomas Moyer has held the top position on the court for 21 years. When his current term ends, he says he will retire. He 
is certainly a charming man.
He told me the court meets in downtown Columbus about every other week and during the summer about two days a week. When not in session 
the justices are reading briefs and doing research about cases they have heard or will hear. Some cases don’t have oral arguments — just 
briefs which are just presented and decisions made on that basis. Only two of the seven justices live in Columbus, where they usually 
meet. The others are scattered around the state. Justice Paul Pfeifer still farms with his sons in Crawford County near Bucyrus.
Chief Justice Moyer also said that in oral argument, lawyers for both sides typically talk only about 20 minutes each (not very long for 
lawyers to talk). Immediately after that, a preliminary decision is made by the justices — sort of a straw vote. It is not announced at 
that time. The justices then draw lots to see who will do the further research to make sure the decision will be appropriate and write the 
majority opinion. Every once in a while the final decision is different than the original informal one.
Once a case has been filed in the court, it takes about a year to be heard and then about four to six months after that hearing for a 
decision to be made, according to Justice Judith Ann Lanzinger  I was able to watch the court in action in our courthouse last 
week. Four cases were heard, none of local origin. The court goes “on the road” twice a year and under Chief Justice Moyer’s guidance, 
Union County is the 55th county visited. He originated these visits as a way for people to see how the court operates.
The case I observed dealt with four Cincinnati families who were attempting to change from the Cincinnati City School District to a 
suburban school, Madeira. It seems the whole neighborhood was assigned to this school district except the houses in a cul-de-sac of 
the four families involved in the case.
There were no students in these homes so just the resale value of the house — about $40,000 more — was on the line if the suburban school 
district was chosen. During the hearing, there was much discussion about that fact.
The reason the court was hearing this case is that a precedent could be set — would the state school board still have the final word on 
who would be assigned to what school system for tax purposes?
  For these hearings, the traditional judge’s bench in the Union County Common Pleas courtroom had to be tripled in size to 
accommodate the seven judges. It was interesting to observe that during the 20-minute arguments the attorneys were politely 
interrupted by the justices from time to time and questioned about the case and the precedents cited. At times it was more like a 
conversation than a typical legal hearing. Security in the courthouse that day was also evident.
  In exchange for the honor of serving on this or any court in Ohio an attorney must make some sacrifices. While the chief justice is 
paid $150,850 a year, the other justices earn $141,600. This seems like a lot of money, but as attorneys, they, no doubt, could earn 
much more in private practice. The justices are not permitted fees for any speaking events or outside work. So, we say “thank you” to 
those who serve our courts.
Apparently, Ohio is quite behind other states in pay for judges and currently an effort is in the works to bring their salaries up to 
those outside the state.
When I spoke with Justice Terry O’Donnell, he talked about the camaraderie and respect those on the court have for each other. At 
this time, even though all seven are of the same political party — Republican — they would no doubt like each other anyway. It seems 
that a few years ago this was not the case and the court was strongly divided.
Chief Justice Moyer also told me that he has a very good rapport with Ohio Governor Ted Strickland. This is also a nice change from the 
last man in that office.
Judges of the Third District Court of Appeals were also present at the reception. Judge Richard Rogers, who is in the middle of a six-
year term, is a former prosecutor, municipal court judge and common pleas judge. He told me a little bit about how they operate.
There are four judges, but only three hear a case at one time. He said the court meets in Lima. He lives in Marion. They have 
jurisdiction over 17 counties. He and Union County Common Pleas Judge Richard Parrott met in New Judges School quite a few years ago and 
have maintained their friendship.
  This two-day visit from the supreme court was quite an education for me as well as others and I’m glad to be able to pass on some of 
the facts about a world that most of us never experience.

5/9/08
In honor of mothers and grandmothers
  For about 38 years, I have been a mother. Now I am a grandmother. Being a mother is sometimes a thankless job, and yet all at once it 
can be wonderful.
  Some of my friends have recently shared with me their thoughts about being a mother and a grandmother. Since Mother’s Day is Sunday, 
I am sharing these with you. Some of it will ring true to you mothers. Some of the thoughts I hope will make you laugh. Please 
enjoy this tribute to mothers and grandmothers.
  Being a mom:
  We were sitting at lunch one day when my daughter casually mentioned that she and her husband were thinking of “starting a 
family.” She said they were taking a survey and asked me if I thought she should have a baby.
  “It will change your life,” I said, carefully keeping my tone neutral. She agreed — no more sleeping in on weekends, no more 
spontaneous vacations.
  But that is not what I meant at all. I looked at my daughter, trying to decide what to tell her. I wanted her to know what she 
would never learn in childbirth classes. I wanted to tell her that the physical wounds of child bearing would heal, but after becoming a 
mother she would forever be vulnerable.
  I looked at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit and thought that no matter how sophisticated she was, becoming a mother 
would reduce her to the primitive level of a bear protecting her cub — that an urgent call of “Mom!” would cause her to drop a soufflé or 
her best crystal without a moment’s hesitation.
  I wanted my daughter to know that everyday decisions would no longer be routine. She must consider her child first.
  I wanted to describe to my daughter the exhilaration of seeing your child learn to ride a bike. I wanted to capture for her the belly 
laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog or cat for the first time.
  My daughter’s quizzical look made me realize that tears had formed in my eyes. “You’ll never regret it,” I finally said. Then I reached 
across the table, squeezed my daughter’s hand and offered a silent prayer for her, and for me, and for all the mere mortal women who 
stumble their way into this most wonderful of callings.
Reasons I owe my mother:
  My mother taught me to appreciate a job well done — “If you’re going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning.”
  My mother taught me religion — “You’d better pray that will come out of the carpet.”
  My mother taught me logic — “Because I said so, that’s why.”
  My mother taught me more logic — “If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you’re not going to the store with me.”
  My mother taught me irony — “Keep crying, and I’ll give you something to cry about.”
  My mother taught me about contortionism — “Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!”
  My mother taught me about stamina — “You’ll sit there until all that spinach is gone.”
  My mother taught me about weather — “This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it.”
  My mother taught me about hypocrisy — “If I told you once, I’ve told you a million times, don’t exaggerate!”
  My mother taught me about behavior modification — “Stop acting like your father!”
  My mother taught me about envy — “There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don’t have wonderful parents like you do.”
  My mother taught me medical science — “If you don’t stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way.”
  My mother taught me ESP — “Put your sweater on; don’t you think I know when you are cold?”
  My mother taught me humor — “When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don’t come running to me.”
  My mother taught me how to become an adult — “If you don’t eat your vegetables, you’ll never grow up.”
  My mother taught me about my roots — “Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?”
  And my favorite, my mother taught me about justice — “One day you’ll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you!”
  Now about grandmas:
  Those of you who are not grandmas should enjoy this too!
  What is a grandmother? (Taken from papers written by a class of 8-year-olds)
  A grandmother is a lady who has no little children of her own. She likes other people’s.
  Grandmothers don’t have to do anything except be there when we come to see them. They are so old they shouldn’t play hard or run. It is 
good if they drive us to the store and have lots of quarters for us.
  When they take us for walks, they slow down past things like pretty leaves and caterpillars.
  They show us and talk to us about the color of the flowers and also why we shouldn’t step on “cracks.”
  They don’t say, “Hurry up.”
  They wear glasses and funny underwear.
  They have to answer questions like “Why isn’t God married?” and “How come dogs chase cats?”
  When they read to us, they don’t skip. They don’t mind if we ask for the same story over again.
  Everybody should try to have a grandmother, especially if you don’t have television, because they like to spend time with us.
  They know we should have snack-time before bedtime and they say prayers with us every time, and kiss us even when we’ve acted bad.
  To all the mothers and grandmothers — Happy Day!

5/2/08
Kayti’s European adventure continued
  It was almost five years ago that Kayti McCarthy graduated from Marysville High School. Then she was on to college. After graduation, 
she headed to Gmunden, Austria, and has been teaching there during this school year. The time has flown by and she can’t believe that 
soon she will be returning to the U. S. Living and working in a different country with a much different culture has been eye-opening, 
and makes Austria a place of wonderful memories. This is some of Kayti’s story in her own words.
  “One of the great things about living and working in Austria is all of the holidays and opportunities to travel. In March, we had our 
Osternferien (Easter break), and I decided to travel back to Lutherstadt-Wittenberg, Germany to visit a family I lived with four 
summers ago when I took a summer German course there. This is where I was first encouraged to stick with German, and if it hadn’t been for 
this experience, I probably wouldn’t be in Austria right now.”
  “Being Lutheran, it was great going back to Luther’s town; seeing where he and Katerina von Bora lived, the Leucoria where he taught, 
the Stadt Kirche where he preached, and the Schloss Kirche where he posted his 95 theses and was laid to rest. Wittenberg is also my 
university’s sister city, so it is also interesting to see where the founders received their inspiration.”
  “Just last week a friend from home came to visit, and we decided to go to Prague in the Czech Republic for the weekend. It is a beautiful 
city that I would highly recommend visiting, but honestly, using the Czech rail system is an experience all in itself. It’s a great system 
to use, as long as you’re in no hurry to reach your destination. 
Arriving in Prague was easy. We’d gone to Vienna the day before, and from there it is a direct route. Trying to make it back to Gmunden 
however, is a totally different story.”
  “We arrived at the train station with plenty of time to catch the 9:15 a.m. train. We stood waiting, staring at the board, waiting for 
it to tell us our platform number. (It’s an older board, the kind that updates by flipping cards to make new letters and numbers, and 
makes a lot of noise, like in the movie, The Terminal).”
  “Finally, the board updated, but instead of revealing our platform number, it told us our train was 15 minutes late. My friend, Bethany, 
panicked, but I figured — no big deal, there’ll be another connection. I suppose I’m spoiled by the Austrian rail system. We 
asked at the information desk, and there was another train in two hours. So, we could take the one that’s running late, or wait two 
hours and take the next one. Out of fear the next one could also be running late, we decided to stick with the original train. Finally, 
they told us the platform number and a herd of people started for the gate. We boarded the train, and then we waited. After leaving half an 
hour late, we arrived at Ceske Budejovice, where we had to wait two hours to catch the next train.”
  “But at least we weren’t alone. We met a girl in the same position from Australia. Our next train arrived on time, we boarded, and then, 
we waited. Half an hour later, we were on our way. The next place we had to change trains was in Sommerau, which was just barely across 
the Austrian border. It felt good to be in Austria again, but having missed our connection and being stranded in the middle of nowhere, we 
were still looking forward, and hoping to make it back to Gmunden. At this point though, we weren’t the only ones stranded. Our new group 
consisted of us (the two Americans), four Australians, and three Austrians. One of the Austrians was a girl about our age, and the 
other two were two old men on a mission to find the closest pub.”
  “We wandered a little bit away from the train station and in the middle of a field found a restaurant. Having not eaten since 9 a.m. 
that morning, we were so happy to have a turn in our luck, only to discover that it was closed on Mondays. That day was a Monday, so we 
found a shop that sold bread, cheese and coke and called it lunch. 
The next train came at 6 p.m., which was still two hours away. However, once that train came, our luck changed, and we made it home 
on the last train from Linz into Gmunden — 12 hours after leaving Prague, and only five hours later than originally scheduled. (And to 
think, we could’ve been to France by then.)”
  “The night came to a close as we missed the last strassenbahn (street car) and walked home. All in all, it really was a great trip. 
Part of living in Europe is learning to relax, be flexible, and know that eventually, it will work out.”
  “Needless to say, after our Prague adventure, as fun as it may have been, I am in no rush to leave Austria anytime soon ... at least not 
until May when I’ll travel south to Venice, or June when I leave Austria to return home to America. I am excited to go home, but it’s 
bittersweet. I’ll miss many things from my life in Austria, like the people and the food that I have come to know so well, and my favorite 
café with a terrace that overlooks the lake and surrounding mountains — Gmundenerberg, Gruenberg, and the Traunstein. But, I’m ready to 
come home and pursue my other passion as an Intervention Specialist, somewhere in the central Ohio area, preferably working with children 
on the Autism spectrum. Besides, I know I will return to Austria ... someday.”
Brandon Creagan’s invitation
Marysville High School senior Brandon Creagan recently received an invitation to attend the Inaugural Ball and the swearing-in of the 
President of the United States in January, 2009. He received this honor when he attended the National Youth Forum on Medicine. Brandon 
is pursuing a medical career and hopes to become a pediatric oncologist. The forum chose students to attend the ball and swearing-
in. The honor is based on accomplishments and volunteer work. Brandon's parents and grandparents will be funding his trip, which 
will take him to Washington from Jan. 17-21. While there, he will receive a leadership award. We look forward to an up-close and 
personal report from Brandon at that time — he will be a freshman at Muskingum College and plans to play football there.

4/25/08
Mark Miller and his Dutch experiences
  Ever since Mark Miller graduated from Marysville High School in 1976 he has been on the go. After receiving a Juris Doctor Degree and 
a Ph.D., he now has a permanent position as director of the law and society program at Clark University. Currently, he is serving as a 
visiting professor at the University of Leiden in Holland.
  Mark shares some of his latest encounters with us. As he visited the history museum in nearby Amsterdam, he made these observations:
  “The most interesting exhibit for me was one about the often strained relationship between the Queen of The Netherlands and the 
city of Amsterdam. Since the queen spends most of her time in Den Haag (The Hague), Amsterdamers are among the strongest voices for 
abolishing the monarchy. It has always seemed odd to me that such an egalitarian society as the Dutch have a queen. I don’t hear much 
about the monarchy here, unlike what we hear about the British royal family. I get the sense that the royal family here keeps a low profile.”
  “The exhibit even had the pictures from queen impersonators, both male and female. Since my house in Leiden used to be owned by the 
royal family and one of the princes used it when he was a student at Leiden University, I find the whole monarchy thing to be quite 
interesting. April 30 is Queen’s Day, a huge holiday here, so I am looking forward to seeing what happens on the day they celebrate the 
queen’s birthday. The current queen wasn’t born on April 30, but one of her predecessors was, so they continue to use that date as a 
national holiday.”
  As a teacher himself, Mark was also interested in what went on at the University of Utrecht. “Utrecht is another ancient canal city and 
I took a boat tour of the city center — it is beautiful. I also visited the Protestant Cathedral which would be considered austere by 
even American Protestant standards. The University of Utrecht has a special University College, where all courses are taught in English 
with American style letter grades. Most Dutch universities use a very strange 10 grading scale, where grades of 1-5 are failing and a 10 is 
never given. Thus almost all students receive something between 6.5 and 8.5.”
  “Faculty members in the Netherlands don’t compare students, so my questions about grade distributions got blank stares. I jokingly told 
my students that none of them were in danger of getting a 10, but none of them laughed. Because of the special University College at 
Utrecht, I heard a lot more English being spoken than I have heard in my Dutch towns. I also found an American deli where they sold Pop 
Tarts, chocolate breakfast cereals, Oreo cookies, peanut butter and other American delicacies. I found it quite amusing.”
  When not teaching, Mark is seeing the surrounding cities. Here is what he had to say about Alkmaar: “My train was a bit later than I 
had hoped so I missed the unloading of the cheese from the canal barges. But I did get to see the huge wheels of cheese all spread out 
on the town square in front of an incredibly ornate cheese market building. The buyers in long white coats inspected the cheese, 
knocked on it to hear how it sounded, and took core samples. Then porters dressed in all white work clothes carried the huge cheese 
wheels on some kind of contraption that is between a stretcher and a sleigh without wheels.”
  “This apparatus was curved at both ends and looked like a teeter-totter without connections to anything. It was painted bright red and 
the yellow Dutch cheese made colorful pictures. It took two men to lift this sleigh, carrying six wheels of cheese to the scales where 
it was weighed. Then they carried the cheese back to the square to push carts. Women in traditional costumes stood about looking 
interested in all this cheese porting. The white-suited porters had different colored hats on, with each color signifying a different 
porter’s guild. None of this is necessary today, but is a show for the tourists. When the porters got tired of carrying the cheese 
wheels around, they carried small children on their sleighs instead.”
  “As I was heading back to the train station, I ran into three American women on the train platform. I could tell they were American 
immediately because they were wearing white tennis shoes. Europeans over the age of 15 never wear white tennis shoes or white socks, for 
that matter. The American women seemed quite confused by the Dutch trains, so I told them to follow me onto the train and where to get 
off. They were going to an old Dutch Village outside of Amsterdam.”
  “The women were from Utah and I’m not sure they knew how to use public transportation very well. They didn’t figure out I was 
American until I started talking. I guess my black tennis shoes gave them a clue that I was not an American, but it was good to see 
someone from the United States. I hope they found their way OK.”
  I hope to have more commentary from Mark as he winds up his time in Leiden, Holland.

4/18/08
Master chef in training
  It was during his senior year at Ohio University that Seth Carroll (MHS class of ‘03) decided the world of catering and restaurant fare 
was in his future.
  In fact, Seth’s family had been in the restaurant business in Marysville for many years. He started working at McDonald’s when he 
was 15 years old. But cooking had been in his family since his great-grandfather, Thomas Carroll, owned the Malaga Grill in Malaga, Ohio. 
He later moved to Marysville where he bought the Tijuana Inn, now called Stephens, on North Main St. There, his great-grandmother was 
the cook. Later, Thomas purchased the building at the intersection of Elwood Ave. and Maple St. and opened a soft-serve ice cream store 
called the Dixie Curl where his great-grandmother again cooked.
  So this became a serious endeavor for him during the time he worked at OU in the Baker Center catering. The Baker University Center is 
the student union at Ohio University. It’s a new building which was built at a cost of $60 million and just opened in 2007.
  Seth said: “I really enjoyed cooking during the day and working events at night. As I started my senior year at OU, I knew that the 
culinary direction was definitely the one that I wanted to take. It just seemed right since I liked cooking for Baker Center catering as 
well as for my friends. I thought about staying in Ohio for culinary school, but realized I could get some really good experience in 
Chicago because it is a great restaurant city.”
  So, Seth has moved to Chicago and works during the day at Table Fifty-Two, where he is a cook. Then at night he attends the Cooking 
and Hospitality Institute of Chicago. The restaurant’s executive chef is Art Smith, who for 10 years was the personal chef of Oprah Winfrey 
and currently is the specialty chef for Ms. Winfrey. He opened this restaurant in 2007 and it’s located at 52 W. Elm St. on Chicago’s 
Gold Coast.
  Restaurant officials focus on southern cuisine and they serve dishes such as shrimp and grits and fried green tomato napoleons with 
goat cheese. On Sunday nights, which is their biggest and busiest time, they serve Art’s buttermilk fried chicken.
  Seth said the kitchen usually runs quite smoothly although it can get crazy at times, especially on Sunday nights because that’s when 
the crowds flock in for the fried chicken. Right now the restaurant has about a three-month waiting list.
  Art Smith is also a contributing editor for “O,” the Oprah magazine, and for the food section of Oprah.com. In addition he has 
appeared several times on the Oprah Winfrey show.
  From 9 a.m. until 4 p.m., Seth cooks at Art’s restaurant. He says he usually has about an hour after work until he has to be at school, 
which lasts until 11 p.m. Just because he might not be busy enough, Seth works for Sur La Table also, where all the utensils for cooking 
are sold.
  I asked him if his academic experience at the institute was made easier because he is a recent college grad and here is what he said: 
“The transition from OU to the institute was a lot easier than I expected. The long nights of studying and writing papers in college 
prepared me very well for the culinary school. The academic work came much easier and the experience I got from Baker Center helped with 
the kitchen work. I think that my experience has definitely led to my success, especially now that I won the National Restaurant 
Association Salute to Excellence Award.”
  Seth was nominated for this award by one of his chefs and chosen by the faculty. He was chosen from the Culinary Department and another 
person was chosen from the Baking and Patisserie Program. He will receive this award at a special event in Chicago on May 17.
  Seth currently lives in downtown Chicago, which was a big change from the small towns of Marysville and Athens. He said it’s 
definitely a lot noisier and people are out at all hours of the day and night. Its also a big change to have to take the bus or the El to 
get around rather than just jumping in a car and going where he wants. But Chicago offers a lot to see. Also during the summer all 
the neighborhoods have fests and block parties, more to look forward to.
  It is also quite common to see movie stars filming their latest work as you walk in downtown Chicago. Just two blocks from his home 
is where they shoot scenes from ER. He said that overall living in the city is really great.
  Seth will be done with classes at the end of June, but is still required to complete a three-month internship in the culinary field 
and after that is completed he will be done with school. Graduation ceremonies are on Nov. 16.
  Chicago is not that far away for most of us. If you’re there in the next two months stop in to see Seth in action at Table Fifty-Two.

4/11/08
The big finish in Japan
  Andy McCarthy has been teaching in Japan ever since his college graduation three years ago. Now his school year is finished and he 
will be traveling around Europe and the Far East and then return to the U.S. to go to law school in the fall. He has been accepted at The 
Ohio State University Law School having received an Academic Merit Scholarship there. Here are some of his last encounters in Japan, a 
nation which has embraced him so lovingly:
  “The winter this year was not terribly bad, although far from good. Snow tended to fall and accumulate daily, and the temperatures were 
the lowest I’ve experienced. Akitan snow removal exists only in spirit, so every year roughly a foot or more of snow piles up on the 
streets, which then freezes overnight creating an ice rink for cars to slip around on the next morning. I’m very thankful I’ve never been 
in an accident in my three years here, given the circumstances.”
  “New adventures here continue to accumulate. This fall I joined a Taiko drumming group and had my first public performance in January. 
Taiko drumming is traditional Japanese drumming, played in large groups over varied types of drums. The drums are typically wooden and 
the surface that is struck is formed with stretched leather. It’s as much performance art as it is music, as what you see often reinforces 
the power that the music tries to convey.”
  “Ancient Taiko was used mostly for communication and for giving battle orders. Modern Taiko is performed now in large groups. It used 
to be a solo activity designated specifically for religious ceremonies. The large group activity was borne from the imagination 
of a 1950s Japanese jazz drummer.”
  “I had no drumming experience before, but found the instrument fairly easy enough to pick up, though there is a lot of room for 
improvement. I played in the town next to mine, Noshiro. Another town near me, Takanosu, has the world’s largest Taiko drum.”
  “While I doubt it will be something I will continue when I get back to the U.S., I have to admit banging on a huge drum is a great stress 
reliever.”
  “I also attended one of the most dangerous winter festivals in the world in February. Called ‘Takeuchi,’ the festival is an annual 
reenactment of a small Japanese village’s civil war that involves several hundred people, divided into two teams trying to wallop each 
other with large bamboo poles. The battle goes for three rounds, and for the final two gigantic bonfires are lit in the middle of the 
battlefield and ultimately ends in an all-out brawl near the flames.”
  “Sadly, my survival instinct was too strong and I chose only to watch and not take part. After seeing what happened to some of the 
other foreigners that joined, I’m happy with that decision.”
  “I also continued to work on skiing this winter, getting outside of my prefecture for a lot of the time to try new slopes. I also took 
the time to visit some of the more remote places near where I live, including a shrine with a frozen waterfall.”
  “Over winter vacation I also traveled back to Osaka for a final reunion with my host family and to see the largest castle in Japan in 
Himeji. The castle took several hours to walk through and was certainly well worth the visit.”
  “Work remains busy but fun. Japan is, sadly, a country that is shrinking, and I have many elementary schools that will close this 
year. While I will miss teaching at them, my small elementary schools worked hard to include me a lot in their final year, which certainly 
helped my and the students’ experience. I was even able to grow my own American pumpkins this year and harvest them to give my students 
the chance to carve legitimate Jack O’ Lanterns on Halloween.”
  “My time with my other schools has also gone well, and the time spent here being the ‘official’ foreign presence in my town will be 
well missed. I’m perhaps only the seventh foreigner to live in my town as a part of the school system, and I can see the impact that I 
and the people before me have had by being here — and I think it has all been for the better.”
  Andy will return to the U.S. in July and go back to being an American student instead of the teacher.
(
4/4/08
Jerome and the early Methodists
  Jackie Russell has compiled the wonderful history of Jerome Township and has shared some more with us in this story about the 
early Methodist congregations there.
“Historically, the Methodist movement attached a vast importance to a felt experience of salvation. This emphasis led to the highly 
emotional atmosphere at services, especially at revival meetings in the early 1800s. Preachers filled their sermons with hell, fire and 
brimstone, and frontier folks flocked to hear the sermons invigorated by a faith that they believed would comfort them through an otherwise 
fearful life in this new wilderness.”
“Many of these pioneers were Methodists from Vermont who migrated to Ohio because they had heard it was an earthly paradise. Among those 
first settlers were Amos Beach Sr. and his wife, Judith Beebe Beach. They had originally set up homestead along Darby Creek south of Plain 
City in Madison County, holding religious services in their neighbors’ homes.”
  “Amos Beach was the first minister of the Methodist church and a highly respected citizen. In 1846, he platted the village now called 
Jerome. The citizens casually referred to it as a Beachtown. Although the founders of the town formerly named it Frankfort, in 1894 the 
United States postal department renamed it Jerome because another Ohio town had already been named Frankfort. In addition, Plain City 
neighbors sometimes referred to the area as Pleasant Hill, so historically there are four different names used for the village of 
Jerome.”
  “In 1833, the Beach family moved from Darby Plains to the Jerome Township area because it reminded Amos more of his home in Vermont 
with the rolling hills, clay soil and waving trees. He was 45 years old when he spent $180 for 180 acres extending along what is now 
Brock Rd. to the current Jerome road. About the same time, several other devoted Methodist families came to Jerome — the Joseph Wells 
family and the Jacob Frederick family. These three families held the first Methodist class organizational meeting in 1835 in the log home 
of Henry Beach, Amos’ son. Amos Beach donated one acre of his property for the burial ground, naming it Pleasant Hill cemetery. It 
still stands today at the corner of Brock and Jerome roads.”
“Over the next several years, the congregation grew rapidly and prospered religiously and a new church was erected in 1842 at the 
corner of the Pleasant Hill cemetery. It served satisfactorily until 1860. The present sanctuary at 10531 Jerome Rd. was completed in 
1891. It was built on one acre of land that was purchased from Jacob Frederick for $75 using labor and timber donated by church members.”
“The typical Methodist Sunday in the mid 1800s started at 8:30 a.m. when the bell would ring for Sunday School to commence. Children 
would race to church eager to learn lessons without grades and singing songs at the top of their lungs.”
“After the short intermission preaching began at 10 a.m. Wagons and horses carried the adult congregation; women with hoop skirts and sun 
bonnets sat on the west side of the church, males in their heavy work boots sat on the east side. The preacher would approach the pulpit, 
kneeling for prayer and then announce the first hymn. Without choir, organ or hymnals, the congregation would raise their voices to songs 
they knew by heart. General prayers and a lengthy sermon followed the singing. At 11 a.m., general class meeting would begin — religious 
questions were posed by the leaders and answers discussed.”
“Methodist revivals were held annually, usually in the winter. The purpose of this evangelical display was for the conversion of 
sinners, the reclamation of backsliders and reviving and refreshing of current members. These revivals could last as long as two weeks. 
An amusing incident reported in the church’s history occurred during a revival. Since there was no electricity, one woman member would 
always place her lantern under her chair and then cover it with her long skirt. One Sunday this parishioner had fallen asleep when her 
skirt reportedly began to smoke. The preacher had to stop the service, wake her up and request that she put out her lantern and her 
skirt!”
Much has changed in our churches since these early years — almost 200 years ago. Thanks to Jackie Russell and her work done for the Jerome 
Village Co. and for sharing some of that researched history with us.

3/28/08
The first churches of Jerome Township
  In southern Union County in Jerome Township, an area will soon become Jerome Village. It’s a 1,350-acre parcel currently being 
developed by Highland Management Group. The property is bounded by Route 42, and Jerome, Brock and Home Roads. The 2,200 housing units 
planned for this parcel will range in price from $175,000 to a median price of around $375,000.
  Owners of the Jerome Village Co. have become quite involved with the history of Jerome Township and asked Jackie Russell, nurse turned 
historian and storyteller, to research this history to get a better understanding of the area and to help preserve its heritage.
  Her many hours of research have been compiled into three lovely booklets. They contain information about the schools and churches of 
Jerome Township and the Seely Store, which was a hub of activity for many years.
  In a past column, Jackie shared her story of the schools in that area. Now we move on to the churches. You will find her research very 
interesting.
  “Faith and church have played a significant role in Jerome Township ever since the area was settled in 1798 by brothers Joshua and James 
Ewing along the west bank of Darby Creek. In fact, at the corner of routes 42 and 736 there is a rock with a plaque on it known as the 
Ewing memorial. It says he was the first white settler in Union County. Indians were plentiful in the area and the Ewings relied upon 
their faith to survive amidst the danger of the wilderness. In time, other brave pioneer families arrived. These God-fearing men and women 
were determined to keep alive the Christian truth as they had been taught in childhood and to instill them in the hearts and minds of 
their own children.”
  “The majority of the early settlers in the Jerome area were staunch Presbyterians and Seceders; a faith formed by Presbyterians seeking a 
congregation free from governmental rules, sometimes even without a minister as leader. The earliest religious body formed in Jerome 
Township was of the Presbyterian denomination. In 1807, the Lower Liberty Presbyterian church was organized near Plain City. The 
counterpart of this church was the Upper Liberty Congregation situated at Milford Center. Their meetings were held together 
allowing them to function as one worship group. Early services took place in private houses, then in a small school house.”
  “The first church building in Jerome Township was erected in 1815 just west of Plain City on Post Rd. It was a large frame building 
without heat that housed the Presbyterian group. Men sat on one side of the church, women on the other during the service. There were 
prayers and an hour-long sermon. After a half hour dinner, intermission and socializing, another long sermon was preached to the 
congregation. Singing was usually led by the Elders of the church as there were only a few hymn books available. The church day lasted 
until 2 p.m. and had an overflowing congregation drawn from miles away.”
  “The Session was the governing body of the church and records show that they had remarkable influence over members’ activities. Church 
trials were frequent and served to investigate reports of improper moral conduct among members. On Oct. 10, 1829, the Session convened 
and addressed the conduct of Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Robinson. 
Excerpts from these records explained that the Robinsons were commanded to appear at the trial but did not show. The indictment was 
as follows: absence from the church, using unchristian language bordering on profanity, intemperance, dancing in his house and 
himself playing the fiddle for the dance. Witnesses testified about their reported behavior and the Session concluded that their conduct 
was highly criminal. Both Mr. and Mrs. Robinson were suspended from attending the church until they repented.
  “In the church history, note is also made of the trial of Mrs.Annis Donalson. On Oct. 24, 1845, she was asked to explain why she 
refused to live with her husband. Her reasons included a loss of confidence in him, loss of his affection and she felt he treated her 
with indifference, coldness and neglect. Her final accusation was that he had not treated her with sympathy and kindness during a 
recent illness. The Session concluded that even though separation of husband and wife is a scandalous and grievous sin, Mrs. Donalson was 
justified in refusing to live with her husband and that he should repent. She did not receive church censure for her behavior.”
  “As the Lower Liberty membership grew, internal dissension became obvious in the congregation. This Presbyterian denomination soon 
divided into two groups, the old school and the new school branches. 
The new school consisted of believers that were open to revivals and emotional teachings. The conservative Presbyterians would not go 
along with this new school of thinking. The congregations split and with neither group being strong enough to survive independently, in 
1853 the church was disorganized and the building abandoned.”
  “According to its history books, the Jerome Presbyterian church was organized in 1853 by the Rev. William Brinkerhoff. Their house of 
worship was built on Jerome Road. The story is told that during completion of the interior of the church, an epidemic broke out among 
the children. So many died, the carpenters stopped work on the church to build coffins for the victims. This congregation also struggled 
with the division between the old school and new school branches of the religion. In 1898 it is reported that this Presbyterian Society 
was abandoned and merged with a local Methodist group.”
  “The Seceder church now called the United Presbyterian Church was first organized in 1826 near Darby Creek and was originated in 
Scotland. It left the mainstream Presbyterian Church and they believed that government’s control of the church was contrary to 
scripture. For the first five years, members met in private homes with the first log cabin church erected in 1833. This served a large 
parish spanning Unionville Center through the New California area.”
  “In 1835, driven by the desire to start another parish, some of the Seceders moved from Darby to New California. Among some of the 
original members, the nucleus of the congregation included the McCampbells, Beards and Liggetts. At that time, the small church’s 
membership numbered 32. Around 1841 a house of worship was erected on what was known as the Woodburn farm near the intersection of route 42 and Industrial Parkway and was designated as the Sugar Run Presbyterian congregation. The pastor’s salary was approximately $300 
per year which he supplemented with work as a farmer and teacher.”
  “In 1852, a larger frame church was built at the sight of that first log building and the congregation grew steadily. The membership 
was large and services lasted all day. In 1861, the Civil War dealt a significant blow to the church worshipers. They were staunchly 
opposed to slavery and felt compelled to hold the first local meeting for enlistment at the church. Many of the best young men volunteered 
to go, as the monument on the corner of Rt. 42 and Industrial Parkway gives testimony. The pastor’s oldest son was killed in that war and 
many mourned. Jerome township sent over 350 men to serve and 75 of them died. Many churches have been built on this site but the present 
church building that stands on the northwest corner of this intersection was erected in 1904.”
  Jackie has given us another interesting story. Next week we will talk about other congregations in that area.

3/21/08
Important African mission
  He is a 1990 graduate of Jonathan Alder High School in Plain City. 
There he excelled in football, baseball and wrestling (just ask my son Mike about the wrestling), but Lanny Greenbaum was certain to 
have a military career. Several members of his family have been part of the military, and his uncle, retired Master Sgt. Andy Greenbaum, 
U.S. Air Force, was the one who convinced him he should consider a career with the Air Force.
  Lanny said, “While at Wright State, I decided to join the military after watching Desert Shield and Desert Storm unfold on TV from 
August, 1990 through February, 1991, and then I signed up for a Middle East studies course and Air Force ROTC the next month.”
  While at Wright State, he met future wife, Heather, and they have been married 11 years. They have one 3-year-old daughter, Libby. 
After Lanny graduated with a bachelor of science in management information systems he was commissioned as an officer and off to his 
first assignment. All of his career in the military has been spent in communications and information dissemination.
  Lanny is currently stationed at Camp Lemonier, an old French outpost in a tiny east African country called Djibouti (pronounced 
Juh-booty). It is located at the bottom of the Red Sea near Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan. If all goes as planned, Maj. Greenbaum is 
scheduled to return to the U.S. from this assignment later this month.
  Lanny then discussed some of his mission:
  “The joint military team here includes members from all four services - Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines - working together to 
make the Horn of Africa a better place for the people who live in this region of the world. The United States team is not here alone. 
We work together with partners from the surrounding countries. 
Additional aid from outside of the region includes France, Germany, Great Britain, Korea and Pakistan, to name a few.”
  “Some examples of what we do here include: provide medical supplies and treatment for the sick, construction of schools, bridge repair, 
drilling wells for fresh drinking water, and helping the leaders of countries work together to solve their problems. There is a lot of 
potential here in Africa and we are helping to shape the future.”
  “In short, we hope to help east Africa develop and enhance their government and infrastructure and create partnerships to improve 
regional stability. Our mission is a completely new application of  military options.”
  “It is very hot in Djibouti. In fact I’ve been told it is the hottest continuously inhabited place on earth, meaning there may be 
hotter places around, but no one is crazy enough to live there. In September the thermometer read 128 degrees. A buddy of mine said it 
was 134 degrees in August. Yes, we sweat a lot and drink a ton of water and Gatorade every day. Fortunately there’s plenty to eat and 
air conditioning inside to help keep us cool.”
  “When we are able to leave base, the people are friendly but you can see poverty, dirt and trash all around. There are not very many 
trees or green grass. The trash burning plant nearby doesn’t help with the smell either. Some people live near the sides of the street 
in makeshift cardboard shacks or broken down abandoned vehicles and have little if any of their own possessions. It is very sad to see 
little boys and girls not smiling, but rather staring ahead looking hopeless with little to do.”
  “There are also many volunteer opportunities here as well. Once a week I visit one of the baby orphanages, where a group of us go to 
help feed babies their bottles and toddlers hot food. The kids are so grateful and crave the extra attention. For me personally, it has 
been a way to give back and help others in need. I look forward to my visits each week.”
  Lanny’s story is a refreshing tale of help for people in this emerging, poor, country where many seem to be deprived of basics that 
we take so much for granted. Usually we think of those in the military as fighting a war for our country with ammunition and a 
rifle. But look at all the good our military is doing in fighting a different kind of war. It is one armed with the ammunition of 
education and compassion.
  When Lanny leaves this assignment he will be returning to the U.S. and will be part of the new Air Force Cyber Space command. Not only 
is it part of Homeland Security, but also it allows us to stay one step ahead of the enemy who seeks to destroy and disrupt our way of 
life.
Interesting facts about Easter
  Easter, which this year is March 23, is always the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox (which is March 
20). This dating of Easter is based on the lunar calendar that Hebrew people used to identify Passover, which is why it moves around on our 
Roman calendar. Based on the above, Easter can actually be one day earlier, March 22, but that is pretty rare.
  This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see the rest of our lives and only the most elderly of our population have ever 
seen it this early. They would be 95 years old or older.
  Here are the facts: 1) The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year 2228 (220 years from now). The last time 
it was this early was 1913 (so if you're 95 or older, you are the only ones who were around for that!). 2) The next time it will be a 
day earlier, March 22, will be in the year 2285 (277 years from now). The last time it was on March 22 was 1818. So, no one alive today has 
or will ever see it any earlier than this year!
  Oddly enough, the last time Easter was this early, in 1913, Marysville was the scene of  one of the worst floods in its history. 
Just two weeks ago, Marysville had a record snowfall of 15.5 inches. Let’s hope history doesn’t repeat itself on the flooding.

3/14/08
More about stay in Holland
Mark Miller (MHS class of ‘76) is now a visiting professor of sorts at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. He is teaching 
American Studies and is also the author of several books dealing with the law. Here is what Mark had to say this time.
“Over the past several weeks, I’ve been very busy. I promised my book publisher that I would get a revised manuscript to them by March 1. I 
never expected to be working on a book manuscript here in Leiden, but the surroundings are so pleasant that it has worked out. So I have 
one book hitting the streets very soon, and another coming sometime in the next year.”
“Even though I’ve been working a lot lately, I have taken some time to see some of the surrounding towns. I visited Delft last Saturday, 
and Haarlem this past Sunday. Delft is home of that beautiful blue and white ceramics. The town has an amazing central square.”
“We have been having a lot of very cold weather at night, but it warms up nicely in the day because of bright sunshine. There are a 
lot of cafes in the central square in Delft with outdoor seating, and they were all full. They also have a Saturday open air market, like 
the one in Leiden only smaller. There were many tourist shops, including one with a giant wooden shoe for tourists to photograph. I 
found a very nice shop with great pieces of glass.”
“Also, at another shop in Delft the store clerk immediately greeted me in English. It was the first time since I’ve been here that 
someone greeted me in English without me speaking first. When I asked her why she chose to greet me in English, she stated that since I had 
a tourist map in my hand she assumed that I spoke English. No more tourist maps for me. Everywhere else people have waited for me to 
talk, and then they respond in my language. I asked my students, and all of them speak Dutch, English, German, and French. A few speak 
Spanish or Italian or Russian or Arabic in addition for good measure. I’ve got to love the Dutch linguistic skills!”
“Yesterday, I visited Haarlem. I assume you all know that New York was originally New Amsterdam, and that Brooklyn, Harlem, and other 
location names come from the Dutch. I’m only guessing, but I think a lot of words in English that have double vowels (like school) or end 
in en (like spoken) have Dutch roots. For Harlem, we just dropped the second a. But Dutch Haarlem is quite lovely. I went to a wonderful 
art museum with Dutch masters. I also went to a historical museum that told about the historical role of Haarlem in the printing world.”
“I guess Haarlem is known for linen, book printing, and beer. The tulip fields are also between Leiden and Haarlem, but it is too early 
for them yet. I also visited what I thought was an art gallery with contemporary art. Instead, it turned out to be full of videos made 
about other museums around the world, all in English. The film about the art museum in Philadelphia was the most pretentious thing I have 
ever seen in my life. It must have been staged, because it was so bad that I burst out laughing at the idea that any one would make a film 
like that one about a real museum.”
“They even showed the door to the men’s room and said how squalid life was for some, but that the beautiful art in the rest of the 
museum made life livable for the miserable masses. Maybe there was a political message in there somewhere, but it was lost on me. I will 
try in the future to figure out what kind of strange museum I’m entering before I go in. On the other hand, it does make for great 
stories to tell.”
“When I returned to Leiden, the Dutch had filled all the outdoor cafes as they drank their afternoon coffee. It was only in the 
mid-40s, but very bright. My Dutch friends have said that they must take advantage of what little bright sunshine they get. I guess some 
winters are dreary for weeks on end. I’ve been very lucky that it has been fairly warm for here, with many bright but cold days. One of my 
Polish housemates rode her bike to the seaside (about 30 minutes by bike) yesterday. She said there were many people walking along the 
beaches with their dogs, horses, etc. I love the beach, and I love an outdoor cafe, but mid-40s is just too cold for me to be outside when 
I’m not moving around. I like walking in the sunshine, but I need to pop into an indoor cafe for lunch or into various museums just to get 
warm again. The Dutch are a hearty people in general.”
“One more amusing note — I have been having dinner on occasion with colleagues at the university. It is a good way to explore the many 
restaurants here in Leiden. I have a British colleague whose wife is spending the academic year in D.C. We went to find dinner at about 6 
p.m. on Feb. 14. All of the restaurants were booked solid with reservations. Neither of us realized that it was Valentine’s Day. 
After trying three or four places, we finally found one willing to take us at 6:30 p.m. But they said that we would have to vacate the 
table by 7:45 p.m. The service was amazingly fast, and the food arrived very quickly. We were quite happy that they were willing to 
accommodate us.”
“Since the Dutch tend to eat lunch so very, very quickly, I am always surprised at how long they take for dinners in restaurants. But my 
British colleague and I had a great dinner, even though the Dutch thought they were rushing us. It just shows how generous the Dutch 
can be with foreigners who don’t remember such things such as Valentine’s Day.”
Then Mark added this note. “This week I have a meeting in Amsterdam on Thursday, and the Dutch Association of American Studies programs 
is meeting in Nijmegen on Friday. I’m spending Friday night in Nijmegen so that I can see a bit of the city on Saturday. I’m 
teaching about the role of media in politics on Monday. I guess we will have to discuss how an American Internet blogger revealed the 
secret that British Prince Harry was fighting in Afghanistan. I’m amazed that the British press and media kept that secret for over 10 
weeks. Of course it was an American journalist, if that term is appropriate for the political blogger, who leaked the secret. The BBC 
had some especially harsh words for the Internet journalist in the U.S.”
We’ll have more from Mark in the future.
Some ways to tell you are a grownup
There is more food than beer in the refrigerator.
You watch the weather channel.
About 90 percent of the time you spend on the computer is for real work.
You actually eat breakfast food for breakfast instead of during the day.
Eating a basket of chicken wings at 3 a.m. would severely upset your stomach.
Sleeping on the couch makes your back hurt.
You don’t know what time Taco Bell closes anymore.
Your friends marry and divorce instead of hook up and break up.
And finally, you are the one calling the police when those kids next door won’t turn down the music!

3/7/08
Of presses, travel and experiences
His name is Dave Moreland and his profession involves the sales of printing presses in all corners of our planet. He mostly visits 
emerging nations. His stories are varied and many tell of extreme conditions in these countries — some not that far away.
I met Dave recently at the Inland Press Association meeting I attended in Estero, Florida, and he proved to have a very interesting 
story. When I first met him, he told me that he traveled all over the world, including South America, Saudi Arabia and the Philippines. I 
knew that I had to hear more.
His company, DGM Inc., recently merged with a company also producing printing presses in Mumbai, India. Now the company is called 
Manugraph DGM Inc. He is VP in charge of marketing and sales and is away from his home in Pennsylvania about six months a year. Some of 
his experiences have been remarkable.
When selling to wealthy companies in Saudi Arabia, Dave pointed out that one has to be careful not to mention the term “interest.” He 
said that the Muslim religion does not recognize that concept, nor will they pay it. So in figuring the price of presses for their giant 
printing companies, the $12 million cost, if not paid in cash, might become $13 million if paid over time. The important thing is not to 
call it interest or the deal is over!
There are no women in Saudi businesses. That is the only country where he saw this occur. Women there still wear all black garb over 
their heads and even face, except the eyes. It is hot there. That can’t be comfortable. Alcohol is also forbidden by law. Some who want 
to gamble and enjoy a cocktail go to nearby Dubai, where that sort of fun is allowed. There is also no income tax in Saudi Arabia — oil 
profits must take care of that.
Dave was told that the royal family controls 90 percent of the wealth in Saudi Arabia and there is strict security in that country because 
of an emerging Al Qaeda problem.
In Mexico, newspaper owners are also adding new presses. One in particular had some of what we might call major problems in the past. 
He is quite wealthy and was kidnapped and held for ransom. This appears to be a growing problem in many of the places Dave has 
visited and is his major concern when in these countries. Americans are desired targets.
The Mexican owner was freed after the ransom was paid and now has initiated security measures to be sure it doesn’t happen to him 
again. He showed Dave a false panel in the wall behind his desk. If a security breach occurs, he can enter the safe room behind the panel 
and hide in a very well appointed place as long as necessary. His drivers all carry submachine guns.
Dave mentioned nearly all the printing plants in these nations have armed security guards outside them. Then there were the Colombians.
When he talked about his visit to Bogota, Colombia, his comment was that it is beautiful, quite lush and green, but the degree of 
violence is something very foreign to Americans.
It seems the Colombian government has been cracking down on drug cartels and one newspaper printed stories about the action. Someone 
didn't like that, so the newspaper printing plant was blown up. The presses were the only thing that survived.
In the printing facility, Dave noticed a large amount of newsprint stored four rolls high and four rolls deep all around the inside 
walls of the facility. He asked if they always kept that much on hand — it seemed excessive. The reply was, “Oh, we don't use that. It's 
our bomb buffer.”
He also noticed there were flak jackets next to the desk in the office and the agent who took him around the area had armed drivers.
When I asked about selling in other Middle East countries, Dave pointed out there are some like Iran and Lebanon that U.S. companies 
are not permitted to deal with, since that technology can’t be sold to enemies of the state.
Dave’s business in the U.S. is slowing since many newspapers have already purchased the state-of-the-art equipment his company sells. 
Emerging nations are at the point the U.S. was in maybe the 1960s and 1970s.
So Dave has seen the world, courtesy of his company — about 300,000 flying miles each year.
Manugraph DGM has two production facilities, one in Pennsylvania and one in Mumbai, India. Dave frequents both sites. Mumbai is a city of 
many smells and traffic jams. It takes hours to go anywhere. It is a city of great luxury yet sugar cane is still hauled down the street 
by ox or cow drawn cart.
It is a city which is now home to technology unsurpassed in the printing industry. It has a production facility with educated 
engineers and is part of a country with rising literacy rates.

2/29/08
What is Fasching?
She graduated from Marysville High School in 2003 and went on to Wittenberg University. There, Kayti McCarthy majored in education as 
an early childhood and intervention specialist with a German minor.
After college Kayti headed to Austria to teach English to students who speak a German dialect that is different than the German she 
studied in college, so that has been a challenge. Kayti has sent us an update on her latest encounters in the world of education.
Kayti begins, “Fasching here is like Carnival or Mardi Gras, but it is a four-day long celebration, and everyone wears costumes. Fasching 
(Carnival) in Austria has now come to an end and life is back to normal. Living in the Salzkammergut area provided me with many 
opportunities to celebrate, and school was even let out early on Fasching Tuesday (Fat Tuesday) to give students and teachers a little 
extra time to celebrate. This is not so common in other parts of Austria, like Vienna or Graz. Here, Fasching is four-day celebration, 
(Friday through Tuesday, not Sunday of course, we have to rest sometime), where there are no rules, just fun. Everyone wears a 
costume — a different one for each day. Some imitate famous people, while others just dress crazily — the whole idea is for no one to  
know who you are. On Fasching Monday, it is practically a requirement to travel to a town called Ebensee, wearing Fettsen (the oldest 
clothes you possibly own, but commonly rags sewn onto a dress) and staying out until the early morning hours — since the first train 
home is at 5 a.m.”
“Although feeling slightly ridiculous, wearing Fettsen has its advantages — the train ride to Ebensee and back is free. I was a 
little apprehensive to join in the festivities, but all in all it was a great experience and I even surprised and impressed my Austrian 
friends when I showed up wearing Fettsen. Fasching is taken to such an extreme in Ebensee that on Wednesday (Ash Wednesday) there is a 
funeral for Fasching, and people show up wearing black.”
“Fasching in Austria wouldn’t be complete without a parade. It was similar to ours in that there were bands, floats, and musical acts, 
but rather than throwing candy, the Austrians enjoy a good shot of schnapps. No kidding — the first “float” in the parade was a wooden 
cart pulled down the middle of the street, loaded up with various kinds of schnapps. Someone pulled the cart while a few others, all in 
costumes of course, poured shots and handed them out to spectators along the street. And, in case this cart missed you, there was 
another one about halfway through for a second round.”
“I was in complete shock when the first cart came by, but when the second one came, I got my free shot of schnapps. The children of 
course were given useful things, like pencils. For once it was better to be an adult at a parade.”
Kayti continues, “The weather here has been unusually warm for an Austrian winter, but it’s starting to get colder. We haven’t had much 
snow since December, but more may be on its way. (It may even be there in my town now, I’m writing this from Vienna, which doesn’t 
usually have much snow anyway.) I haven’t taken up skiing yet — it’s been on my list, but there just hasn’t been enough snow, unless I go 
way up in the mountains. There are plenty of places nearby, but I have to wait on the snow.”
“My mom and step-dad are coming to visit me on Tuesday and my step-dad is looking forward to skiing, so hopefully we will have some snow 
by then.”
“In the last month, I have found myself teaching a lot about the U.S. election system and the American school system. The Austrians now 
know of the existence of McCain, but everyone here is still leaning toward Hillary and Obama. The American school system has become a 
growing interest because Austria is contemplating changing its own school system and changing it to be more like that of America and 
England — a comprehensive system.”
“The students are all opposed because they simply can’t imagine everyone going to the same school. Here, they have to choose whether 
they want to go to a trade school or a grammar school at the age of 14 or 15. So, at this age they decide whether they will go on to the 
university or learn a special trade. I tried my best to explain the American school system and to show them it is not what they imagine, 
and that there are several options. It’s actually a very complex system to explain, especially when the American and Austrian systems 
are so different.”
“The students often find scheduling to be very interesting, and couldn’t believe that in America, students are able to choose their 
classes, and if they should happen to fail a class, they only have to repeat that one class, whereas here, when a student fails 10th grade 
math, they have to repeat the entire 10th grade year.”
More from Kayti later, as spring comes to Austria.

2/22/08
Dodging bullets
Some days you can just feel a little blessed and this day was one of  those. I have been privileged to spend some time in Florida during 
this somewhat ugly winter in Ohio.
As you may know, it seems that things of a somewhat ugly nature come in threes. That was the situation here on this particular day.
While in Florida, my car is kept in a carport and when I came home about 8 p.m. one evening, after unloading the rear hatch I apparently 
neglected to close it. What was I thinking? The worst part was I didn’t know it until 10 a.m. the next day — 14 hours later — when I 
returned to my car!
My neighbors had noticed it, but thought I had just gone inside for a moment. Exposed in that trunk were golf clubs and my much valued 
tennis racket, all things dear to me.
All I can say is I must live in a very safe place, because all items were still in my car when I saw with horror the next day what I had 
done. Then I thought, oh no, the battery will be dead. But the lights apparently had shut off by themselves. The value of a Buick Rendezvous!
So the contents were safe and the car started right up. One bullet dodged! As I drove away I thought what a dumb thing to do and how 
lucky I was.
I headed out to the home of my friends Tim and Helen Norris. We were planning lunch at Everglades City, 30 miles away, the grouper fish 
there is fresh right out of the boat and it was a warm and sunny day.
My trip was soon halted. Traffic in all three lanes was at a dead stop as I approached a very busy intersection. After sitting there, 
not moving, for about 10 minutes, I was finally able to see flashing lights ahead. It was a bad accident and I thought if I had been 10 
minutes sooner that could have been me.
Fortunately, I was just next to a turnaround and was able to make the U-turn and head out to Tim and Helen’s by another direction. I was 
about a half hour late, but there was no harm and the fact that I wasn’t involved in the accident I realized later was dodging bullet 
number two!
When I finally reached Tim and Helen, I told them about event one and two and we laughed about what would be number three.
The highways of South Florida are extremely overloaded and thus treacherous this time of the year. Defensive driving is crucial. We 
reached our lunch destination and all was good except the service was slow and so was the arrival of the food. This was actually doing us a 
favor we learned later. Tim even wanted to go inside the fish market, where we ate to see what the fresh catch was for the day. That 
delayed us a bit, too, thankfully.
We began our 30-minute ride back on route 41, a desolate two-lane road going from Naples to Miami but very heavily traveled. About 15 
minutes into our journey we spotted black smoke ahead about 30 feet in the air. As we got closer the flames became clear and we saw a 
large dump truck on its side.
This happened just three cars in front of us. I immediately called 911 on my cell phone and the operator had all kinds of questions I 
couldn’t answer. It seems someone had just reported the accident before me, but they wanted more details, like did the truck driver 
get out and how many people were involved, etc.
Luckily we stayed back about 100 yards expecting another explosion that never occurred. It was a remote location and help didn’t arrive 
for a very long 15 minutes. With the black smoke in the air, the road was blocked and then finally the squad and fire trucks arrived down 
the wrong side of the road, plus lifeflight appeared.
We watched the helicopter with much trepidation. What if the vehicles exploded as the craft hovered overhead? It took the helicopter about 
15 minutes to find a relatively safe place to set down in the heavy black smoke being emitted by the crash scene.
Finally, we were able to turn around and take the very long way back to Naples, but we had seen what we were sure was a very sad accident. 
Later we learned the giant dump truck had been approaching from the opposite direction, then crossed the two lane road hitting the car 
with four young people inside, just three vehicles in front of us, head on. Of the five people involved, four died and one teenage girl 
was still alive in the hospital. What a sad event. It was also one where we said things like, there but for the Grace of God goes us. We 
were safe in our car and I was sure glad the service in the restaurant was slow.
It was a day when I luckily dodged a bullet three times. I guess it wasn’t my day to have any kind of tragedy from small, beginning with 
my car, to life threatening, missing both accidents. Believe me, I also didn't forget get to say thank you to our God who is in charge 
of this stuff.

2/15/08
The Netherlands and Mark Miller
  A few weeks ago I told you that Mark Miller (MHS class of ‘76) had just received the Fulbright Distinguished Chair award which resulted 
in his teaching in a college in the Netherlands this spring semester. Precisely, he will be teaching American Studies at the University of 
Leiden.
  He has arrived there and sent a note about his rather rocky beginnings in getting settled in a foreign country. Here is we had to 
say:
  “I arrived in Amsterdam midmorning on Monday but with only one of my bags. I filed all the paperwork for lost bags and it was finally 
delivered to my house on Tuesday afternoon.
  “I met my sponsor, the head of the American Studies program at my apartment at noon on Monday. She knew my flight was late but not that 
I was also delayed with the lost luggage. She had purchased tulips for my apartment which was very kind and has helped me with a lot of 
things already as you will learn soon. In addition she found my apartment for me.
  “Right after I arrived, and I mean immediately upon my arrival, she took me to the history department to get a key to my office. The next 
day she took me to many different banks until we found one that would let me open an account. At the one bank in Leiden that my sponsor 
recommended they said that in protest to a change in U.S. banking laws effective Nov. 1, 2007, they would not open an account for a 
U.S. citizen. (That sounds so unlike the Dutch!)
  “So I went to Amsterdam to meet with the Fulbright people, who had said they could get me a bank account there. But it was the same 
brand of bank that won’t let us citizens open an account.
  “I returned to Leiden and my sponsor and I searched for a bank that would take me. The next bank said “no” because I don’t have a Dutch 
social security number. My money is taxed in the U.S. but not in Holland. The next bank also said “no” because of a lack of a Social 
Security number. Then finally a bank said “yes,” but the application would take two weeks.
  “Finally we went to the bank where the university has an agreement for their international students. They piggybacked me on to the 
student agreement. I can’t get any written bank statements and they were strange about how to close the account when I leave, but at 
least now I have some way to get my salary and my pay my rent. I never knew it to be so difficult to open a bank account. And I need 
my salary so that I can pay the alien police for my residency permit.
  “My apartment is what someone in the U.S. would term a large studio. It is where the crown prince lived when he was a student at 
the university. It is so secluded that my sponsor had to write out directions for me in Dutch to give to the taxi driver at the train 
station. It has a couch, two chairs, two coffee tables and the TV with the BBC and CNN and a lot of Dutch channels that mostly run old 
U.S. TV shows with Dutch subtitles.
  “I share a kitchen with the two others living in the house, currently a Norwegian astronomer and an Irish microbiologist. I think 
they’re both leaving soon. I do have a private bath, however. There is a small refrigerator in my room with a teapot on top and there is 
also a large wood closet thing that has room for hanging clothes and drawers for folded ones. The apartment is really quite beautiful with 
a small canal and the university botanical garden across the street. It is a delightful place to live.
  Then Mark talked about his experiences with transportation system. He said, “So I went to the visitor center and asked how to pay to 
ride the bus. They sold me the strips that I gave to the bus driver and he stamped the strip with the right number of boxes for the ride. 
They use the same strip system on the trams in Amsterdam. I guess the strips are used nationwide on buses and trams, but not on trains. 
That’s good because I had already purchased my train discount card in Amsterdam.
  “Then I went to the phone store and bought a phone, but the directions were only in Dutch and French. I read enough French to 
find out how to change the phone settings to English but not enough to figure out the voice mail.
  On the subject of shopping in Holland, Mark said, “I still haven’t figured out the shopping thing yet, because there are lots of small 
shops but no Target or anything where I can do one-stop shopping. So it’s one store for the pocket calculator I forgot and another for the 
laundry basket I needed. I did find a great cheese store, but I still don’t know where to buy laundry detergent. It’s good that I brought 
so many suitcases full of clean clothes.
  “There is enormous interest in the U.S. elections here. Yesterday, I attended and spoke briefly at a breakfast sponsored by the U.S. 
Embassy in The Hague concerning the Super Tuesday elections. Over 600 people attended the breakfast. It was covered extensively by Dutch 
TV, radio, and print press. I was interviewed by Dutch Radio Worldwide, which is aimed mostly at the Dutch who are living abroad. 
Most of the attendees were Dutch, although there were some Americans living abroad and some students from the U.S. who are studying 
abroad. The novelty for the Dutch were American doughnuts and bagels, which are only available in some specialty shops here but are not 
widely known among those older than university students.
  “Then yesterday afternoon I took my students to the U.S. Embassy in The Hague for a videoconference with an American professor concerning 
the U.S. elections. Although my classes at Leiden University had met only once, the students asked some great questions about the 
elections during the videoconference. Leiden University is a short 15 minute train ride from The Hague. Since I teach classes on U.S. 
politics and government, I am getting quite a few questions from academic colleagues about the elections. It has been a wonderful 
experience so far.
  It sounds like Mark is off to an interesting start and I hope to update you at a later time on his days in what is a very beautiful 
country.
A lesson learned
  She has lived in Marysville for many years and maybe that has made her a trusting person. Helen Poling recently had a wake-up moment in 
Mesa, Ariz. while visiting her daughter Jeanne (MHS class of ‘64). 
Jeanne lives in Marysville during the summer months but in the winter goes to Mesa for a better climate and a teaching opportunity there.
  Helen was visiting her and the two ladies went out for breakfast one morning. They entered the restaurant and noticed another two 
people come in behind them, but didn’t really pay attention to them. One of them bumped into Helen and she felt that, but didn’t notice 
her take her purse away.
  In fact, it wasn’t until Helen and Jeanne were ready to leave the restaurant that Helen realized her purse was gone. She had been 
holding it very loosely in her hand at the same time that the lady bumped her. Of course, this was an hour later and those people were 
long gone.
  Helen went to the police station to file a report and realized that not only were her credit cards missing, which she had just canceled, 
but also her driver’s license was gone. She had to have that to travel home on the plane. The police report came in very handy 
because the airport authorities took that as her ID so she could fly home when she was ready to return to Marysville.
  Helen says this has been an extremely difficult time trying to re-establish all of her credit cards and her ID and then there was the 
cash that she lost. But she soon told me she had experience with this kind of thing before.
  It seems this was not the first time to lose her wallet. In fact, the first time was when Helen and Jeanne had traveled to Paris and 
were in the Louvre museum viewing the Mona Lisa. Helen removed her camera from her purse to photograph the famous painting and did not 
close her purse after she placed the camera inside. Someone reached in and took her wallet. By the time she realized it and was able to 
cancel the credit cards, someone had already charged $1,200 on one of them.
  That time she lost $100 and her driver’s license, but fortunately she had kept her passport safe in a hiding place which made her able 
to return to the U.S. on time.
  But now, look out — Helen is issuing a warning to all thieves that she will not have this happen to her again. She no longer loosely 
carries her purse. It is now over her head around her neck and across her chest and under her arm. She keeps a close look out on it and 
hopefully it will never happen to her again!
  Helen is almost 90 years old and sometimes senior citizens will look like an easy mark. Anyone attempting to steal her purse the next 
time will have a rude awakening.

2/8/08
The heart of it all
  At this time of year I always look for a good love story. Valentine’s day is coming soon you know. The story this year just 
fell into my lap!
  I recently met Ruthann Rausch, a newly married lady in her seventies, and a person who likes the city life but is now married to 
a retired farmer. She’s quite full of life and I wanted to learn more about how she got to this point with her new husband, Ned Rausch.
  As I sat down to talk with them I learned more about their new life together. Ruthann spent her first 12 years in Unionville Center and 
then her family moved to Radnor in Delaware County. There she graduated from high school in 1951. By 1953 she was married and later 
had two children who grew up in Sidney.
  After 32 years of marriage, she decided to go it alone. Nine years later upon retiring after 30 years with Banc One, she remarried and 
moved to Winter Haven, Fla. Her husband became ill and they then moved back to Troy, Ohio. He had a terminal illness, and their desire 
wa to get her settled in a secure environment before his death  That was in 2003. She was widowed living in Troy and dating only 
occasionally.
  The other half of this story is retired dairy farmer Ned Rausch. He grew up on a farm on Rt. 36 and now lives on what was part of his 
grandfather’s farm on Rt. 31 just north of Mill Valley.
  Ned attended Trinity Lutheran School and graduated from Marysville High School in 1950. These were the days of the Korean War and so he 
entered the Naval Reserve and was stationed in Columbus (not bad duty).
  He married MHS classmate Leona Wallace in 1952 and they had six children. Their life was spent close to home since 65 cows had to be 
milked two times a day. It was a good life, but after 54 years of marriage Leona passed away. Ned’s world fell apart. He loved her and 
he loved being married.
  This was a lonely time and he wanted his life back. That’s where the computer and Match.com came in.
  Ned decided to investigate the possibilities. The entry fee was small so what did he have to lose? He loaded his picture onto the 
website and said a few things about himself plus what he was looking for in a woman.
  He said he wanted someone who was a Christian and someone interested in marriage close to his age and in proximity to Marysville.
  And about the same time Ruthann living in Troy was urged by her son to see what Match.com had to offer her - maybe a good guy! She hadn’t 
seen much of that since her husband's death.
  She, too, loaded her picture and the application and said she wanted someone her age, a Christian, a family man and someone who 
liked to travel.
  Well, most of that matched Ned, but his traveling had been limited. Apparently once a person signs up for this service the pictures and 
resumes begin arriving quickly. There are soon 20 to 32 to choose from. No e-mail addresses or last names are given out. E-mail 
messages go through Match.com until the couple wants to exchange addresses or bravely meet.
  Ruthann is an attractive lady and Ned saw that right away. She was interested in his information, too, so they agreed to meet. But just 
before the meeting Ruthann called her cousin in Union County who knew of Ned so she would be sure he was OK. Ruthann then proceeded with 
the meeting.
  A restaurant in Troy, where she lived, seemed like a safe place. Ned said he was coming to Troy to see his grandchildren show their 
animals at that fair. What a coincidence!
  She and Ned spent that day together at the fair and the next day and the next. Soon they were quite an item. There was lots of 
laughter and they both said it was really good to do that again. When the time came, Ned even proposed on his knees. It was August of 2006 
when they met and by Dec. 10 that year they were married. After all, no one should spend this life alone and they had places to go and 
things to do.
  This was quite a change for Ned. He had always stayed close to Marysville because his cows need to be milked and he just didn’t 
realize that he enjoyed traveling. Ruthann, on the other hand, was an experienced traveler and has shown Ned a whole new world.
  He has introduced her to camping and western square dancing and his six children. All eight of their children are fortunately very 
supportive of their marriage.
  Ruthann is quick to say she has made all the changes in her life. She has moved to Marysville, joined a new church and met new friends. 
Ned has stayed in his comfort zone. On the other hand, it is like coming home for her after starting her life in Union County. Even 
with all the changes, they agree their lives are so much better now. She says she’s never known such a wonderful caring husband who is 
never angry and so very polite. He blushes at that accolade but one can see Ned truly admires his wife of a little over a year.
  Retirement can be such a great time. The Rauschs cook together, play euchre on the internet with people all over the world and pray 
together. Generally they just enjoy each other’s company. She still learning that square dancing technique, however.
  Ruthann and Ned are in their seventies, still quite active and both feel lucky to have found each other at this important time in their 
lives!

2/1/08
Reporter is news story
Natalie Troyer graduated from Fairbanks High School in 2002, then later Bluffton College and served as a valued reporter at the Journal-
Tribune about two years ago. Then she went west to work for her church and now lives in Oregon. Recently she sent an account of a 
purse snatching. I want to share her story with you now.
Natalie said, “I am currently in Bend, Ore. (central Oregon). I moved down from Seattle about two months ago to be closer to my boyfriend 
of two years. Before this move, our relationship had been long-distance. I moved down to Bend without a job, car, or any friends in 
this city besides Christopher. Crazy, right? But God has provided.”
“I am living with three women who all go to Antioch Church, where I have become involved as well. I purchased a car (you might recall my 
J-T column about the “Blue Bonnet,” the 1994 Buick Regal I’d had since I was 16). Well, my 2002 Oldsmobile Alero is a few steps up   from that.”
“I am currently working as a publicist for a self-published author in town. Sam Carpenter’s book, “Work the 
System,” (www.workthesystem.com), comes out in February. I am in charge of generating all public relations efforts for his book and 
developing media packets.”
“And wow am I loving the city of Bend! I’m becoming an outdoors enthusiast by the day, as I’ve taken up cross-country skiing and 
tubing at Mt. Bachelor as my weekend recreational activities.”
“When I was in Seattle for my purse-snatching incident, I was visiting friends and assisting with a public hearing for the 
environmental non-profit, Heart of America Northwest, I worked for   last year.”
“As I write this e-mail, I must admit that I’m still a bit shaken up. This entire week has been so surreal. I literally woke up Tuesday 
morning and thought, did yesterday seriously happen? Let me back up. I went to Seattle this past weekend to help out with a Hanford Clean-
Up meeting for the non-profit I worked for last year. It was 10 a.m. Monday morning and I was waiting at a bus stop on 23rd and S. King in 
the Central district, known for gang activity and drugs. That’s where the day from hell began.”
“A young man came up and appeared to be waiting at the bus stop with me. All of a sudden, he lunged at me, grabbed my purse on the bench 
beside me, and started running off with it! For some odd reason, I had left my purse open, so when he grabbed it, my cell phone ended up 
flying out and into the middle of the street. I ran into oncoming traffic, grabbed my cell phone, uttered a few curse words, then 
started chasing after this guy. Probably not the smartest idea, but I was beyond upset and it seemed like the best idea at the time.”
“He turned the corner, so I turned the corner. Then I see this deep maroon Bonneville parked on the curb with the passenger side door 
open. He hopped in and he and his accomplice drove off into the sunset with my purse and my identity.”
“I stopped running-cried-called my mom who advised me to call the police. So I called 911 and asked them to send out a patrol officer 
as soon as possible. I waited in front of Starbucks for over 45 minutes and no police officer showed up to take me into the station.”
“At that point, my faith in the Seattle police department was dismal. 
I called back three times, and finally, the lady said, ‘We don’t have an officer available right now, ma’am.  You need to sit tight until 
we can send someone.”
“Wow! So I called a former co-worker who was there in about two minutes. He drove me into the police station and I filed a police 
report, where I gave the officer a fairly good description of the robber and the getaway car. Before I got to the police station, 
however, I got a message on my cell phone from Bank of America saying they suspected fraud on my debit card. Sure enough, the guys had 
racked up money at four different gas stations in less than 20 minutes and had overdrawn my account.”
“I left the police station depressed and astonished that I’d lived in Seattle for over a year and never anything like this happened to me. 
But no more than fifteen minutes after filing the police report, I get a call that the suspects may have been found. Two guys were 
caught stealing another lady’s purse on 15th Avenue (my old street) on Capitol Hill. They were being brought in for questioning and the 
car was being searched. The car and the guy both matched my description.”
“My old boss drove me down to the station again and, sure enough, my license, debit card, digital camera and car keys were found in one of 
the guy’s pockets! I never got my purse or wallet back, but when the officer questioned the guys, they admitted to the crimes and said 
they’d dumped my purse in a Dumpster somewhere after they’d gotten what they wanted out of it.”
“I’m convinced that I’m supposed to learn something from every experience I go through. So I’m still trying to figure out what to 
learn from this. Maybe that I don’t need to keep so much stuff in my purse. Do I really need my digital camera when I’m going into work? 
Or, that I underestimate the power of prayer (My mom said as soon as I called her, she went into the bathroom at work and started praying 
that I’d get everything back ... and I basically did). Or, maybe —  forgiveness.”
“Regardless, I’m thankful I wasn’t hurt and that I got most of my things back. And I’m continually amazed at God’s provision.”
It is amazing the things one will do in the heat of the moment, such as chasing the robbers! However, if Natalie hadn’t done that she 
wouldn’t have that very good description of them. We are glad she’s safe and hopefully her credit (from the loss of her credit cards) is 
OK too.
One of these days maybe Natalie will return to the safety of Union County and we will be glad to have her back at the JT!
Gentle thoughts for today
A penny saved is a government oversight. The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight, because by then your body and your fat 
have gotten to be really good friends. The easiest way to find something lost around the house is to buy a replacement. If you think 
there is good in everybody, you haven’t met everybody.
The sole purpose of a child’s middle name is so he can tell when he’s really in trouble. There’s always a lot to be thankful for if you 
take time to look for it. For example I am sitting here thinking how nice it is that wrinkles don’t hurt. Did you ever notice: When you 
put the two words “The” and “IRS” together it spells “Theirs?”
The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for. And finally — Long ago when men cursed and beat the ground with 
sticks, it was called witchcraft. Today, it’s called golf.

1/25/08
Kayti, Austria and the holidays
  She graduated from Marysville High School in 2003 and went on to Wittenberg University. There, Kayti McCarthy majored in education as 
an early childhood and intervention specialist with a German minor.
  This helped prepare her for her first job out of college. Soon after graduating (cum laude) in May of 2007 Kayti headed to Austria 
to teach English to students who speak a German dialect that is different than the German she studied in college. That was her first challenge.
  This is an update on Kayti’s recent adventures in Austria.
  “In October we had our fall break, and I decided to take a trip to France. I was excited to visit a friend from college who is teaching 
English in Caen, in Normandy. After traveling through Japan on the night train, I figured I knew what I was in for — but I was wrong. In 
an effort to save money, I had only reserved a seat on the night train from Munich to Paris, rather than a bed to sleep in.”
  “It started out okay, with just two of us in our six-person cabin, but as the night went on, more and more people joined us until we had 
reached full capacity — me plus five men. The last man to join us, around 3 a.m. entered the cabin and immediately began rummaging 
through his belongings, pulling out a beer. He then managed to wake us all up, asking if any of us had a bottle opener. Eventually he 
managed to open it himself, with the help of his armrest, and then sat, slouching, with his light on, drinking his beer through the side 
of his mouth, barely opening his lips.”
  “I made it to Caen, and on the way home, saw Paris on my own and in a matter of hours. Needless to say, I wasn’t so frugal on the way 
home. I spent the extra money on a place to sleep on the train, and only had to share a cabin with three other people — an Austrian and  two Russians.”
  “As you can imagine, November was spent trying to explain the traditional American Thanksgiving to Austrians. They knew that we eat 
turkey, but had absolutely no idea as to why. The teachers found the Thanksgiving story so interesting and important to American history 
that it is now a topic for the senior student’s final exam, called  the ‘Matura.’”
  “Christmas time is probably one of the most enjoyable times to be in Austria. Beginning the first weekend of December, each town has a 
Christmas market on the town square. Some markets are small, like in Traunkirchen and some are fairly large, like in Vienna. Regardless of 
size, each Christmas market has the same basic staples — cookies, spiced wine, alcoholic and non alcoholic hot punch and my personal 
favorite, Raclette toast. Raclette is a type of cheese that is heated up and melted onto a special kind of bread. It has a very distinct  flavor.”
  “At the bigger markets, there are many gift items also available to purchase. In Vienna, the windows of the town hall are used as an 
Advent calendar. Each day a new window is opened and displays a new hand-painted Christmas scene. The outside of homes are not 
extravagantly decorated, but each family has an Advent wreath and a Nativity scene. The Nativity scenes range in size, but can have up to 
100 pieces, and some even have more. Each family has a live Christmas tree, and almost seemed offended when I explained that at home, my 
family uses an artificial tree (even though I assured them, it really  does look real).”
  “Austrians buy their tree a day or two before Christmas, and then the ‘Christkind’ comes and decorates the tree while the family waits 
in another room. There is no ‘Santa,’ but there is Nikolaus. He dresses like a bishop in red and white, and makes an appearance in 
the town square on the sixth of December. He rides into town on a horse-drawn sleigh, with a man using a microphone announcing his  presence.”
  “He comes with a giant book, and after asking each child’s name, he checks his book to make sure they were good before handing them a 
gift. Instead of coal for the naughty children, the Austrians have Krampus. Krampus is the opposite of Nikolaus, and is basically a 
devil, or evil creature. There is a Krampus day in the town square as well, and parents bring their children to see all of the Krampuses, 
to try to scare their children into being good.”
  “The Krampuses parade down the main street in town, screaming and carrying lit torches. They are dressed in black fur with scary masks 
and carry whips made of horse hair. The whips are not just a prop — they use them. One saw me taking pictures, and came straight towards 
me, hitting me with his whip. Parents can even hire a Nikolaus or a Krampus to come to their homes to greet their children. The students 
were shocked when I told them that we do not have Krampuses in America.”
  “Often as a teaching assistant, I am expected to be an expert on the U.S. This should be easy, since I’ve lived there my whole life, 
right? One teacher I work with (out of 13) tells me the topic of that day’s discussion moments before class, or sometimes even on the way 
to class. One day he said to me, ‘Today we are talking about the Civil Rights movement and the effect it had on blacks in America. You 
can lead a discussion about that, right?’ I froze for a moment … then said, ‘Sure.’ Thankfully names started running through my head and 
all went well.”
  “Recently this has started happening again, only now with more teachers, and dealing with the U.S. Presidential Election. However 
here, it seems like the race for the White House is only between two candidates — Hillary and Obama.”
  Kayti will be in Austria for the rest of the school year and we will stay in touch with her.
Where are they now?
  Mark Miller (MHS class of ‘76) has just received the Fulbright 
Distinguished Chair award. He is currently an associate professor of government and international relations and director of Clark 
University’s law and society program. Clark is a private liberal arts research university with 2,100 undergraduate and 900 graduate 
students and is located in Worcester, Mass.
  Mark received his B.A. from Ohio Northern University and his Juris Doctor from the National Law Center at George Washington University. 
After law school he served as a legislative assistant for several members of Congress and then went on to get his master’s and Ph.D. in 
American politics from Ohio State University. He has also served as a judicial fellow at the Supreme Court of the United States and as a 
congressional fellow for the late Senator Paul Wellstone.
  The Fulbright award results in an invitation to teach this spring semester at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. He will be 
in charge of the American Studies program, the largest of its kind in  Europe.
  Mark is also a published author.

1/18/08
More schools of Jerome Township
This is the second in a series of articles featuring the work of Jackie Russell. She was commissioned by the Jerome Village Co., 
builders of the Jerome Village community which will have around 2,200 living units in the planned community to be built soon.
The company has been very interested in preserving the heritage of Jerome Township and Jackie has done considerable research about the 
township in the southern part of Union County. Here is more of her story about the schools and how they developed beginning in the early 1800s.
Last week I mentioned the one-room school houses and how they began plus some of the requirements for teachers of that time. The students 
and their teachers were much the same as our children with just a few changesPunishment in the one room schoolhouses — there were 10 of them in the early 1800s — was unlike today. There was no such thing as a time-out corner to punish bad behavior and a switch was used frequently 
across the backside for any number of offenses. It has been a long time, I suspect, since there was any paddling in the schools of Union County.
The worst disgrace for a child was being sent out to pick from a tree their own switch for the whipping. One story told of the young boy 
that tricked another one into biting off a piece of Indian turnip root also known as Jack in the Pulpit. This plant had been used by 
the Indians to settle the stomach, but the raw root was considered toxic to the mouth.
Biting into this plant resulted in a serious burn to the inside of the mouth and quite a severe use of the switch to the young man that 
played the trick! Even though punishment was prevalent, teachers frequently rewarded the good students with raisins, nuts and apples 
so that the well behaved scholars were shown great appreciation. The early school houses in Jerome Township were not just used for 
educational purposes. Township meetings and elections were also held there. Since there was no other public hall in the village, it was 
used for political, religious and public meetings as well as Sunday school. To obtain this privilege, the township donated $50 to the 
school’s building fund.
The Village of Jerome was platted in 1846, and was also known as Beachtown, Pleasant Hill or Frankfort. New California soon followed 
in 1853. Businesses prospered and villages became more populated and educational needs increased.
In 1852 the first Select School was erected in the northeast corner of New California. Initially the teacher was Llewellyn Curry. Select 
schools were designed to provide and elevate the standard of education, preparing students for college work and teaching careers. 
The curriculum embraced higher levels of math, languages and science. 
Teachers for the most part were college educated.
The Village of Jerome soon followed New California by building its first Select School in 1860 on Jerome Rd. These buildings were 
spacious when compared to the log school houses which were only 30 sq. ft. The newer buildings had a trademark brick exterior, with a 
coat room, an election room and a school room that could easily hold 75 students.
Due to the high quality of the faculty, high academic standards and large student population, Jerome Township ultimately educated a 
sufficient number of teachers to supply most of the schools in Union County. The schools were supported by generous donations from farmers 
and led by an active school board. Some of the well-known contributors were members of the Gill, Liggett, Woodburn, Curry, 
Mitchell, Buck, and Dodge families. The carefree days of education for many local farm boys ended in the fall of 1860 when the Civil War 
called them to duty and patriotism ran high.
In 1887 the first centralized school in New California was built on U.S. 42. This advance into higher education was in the form of a 
large school for the community. It contained grades one through 12 and boasted its first graduating class in 1887 with three graduates.
In 1911 the second centralized school in the community was built at the intersection of Jerome and Brock roads at a cost of $11,000. 
Reports on the construction said that nothing had been spared that might add to the comfort of the pupils.  About 196 students attended 
this school and there were three main teachers. In 1953 an addition to the Jerome School was constructed, adding more classrooms. Then as 
the years passed and enrollment declined it became Jerome Elementary School.
After a heated community debate about what to do with the building in the 1980s, it was finally torn down. The last class to graduate from 
New California High School was in 1951, and later students were transferred to Watkins, Plain City and Marysville. The old school 
building was sold in 1950 to local resident, Keith Strayer, who used the building as a chicken farm. In 1956 it burned to the ground in 
the middle of the night. Hmm.
Many of the graduates of Jerome High School later called New California High School have stayed in the community after graduation 
to support Jerome Township as farmers, teachers and businessmen. 
There were many marriages among the high school classmates in these tiny classes of 10 to 15 students. There was Loran Faulk class of 
1943 who married Marie McCabe of the class of 1945. These two high school sweethearts continue to be active in the Jerome community to this day.
Loran was part of the 1942 basketball county championship team. Their team upset Broadway High School for the big win. Fellow teammates 
were Mel and Joe Dodge, Lloyd Cosgray, James McKitrick and Thad Seely Jr. Many of the same teammates went on that year to also win the 
county softball championship.
Joe Dodge had four brothers and one sister and they lived in an old one-room school house on Industrial Parkway that was on the Dodge 
farm land. Joe’s father, Homer Dodge, bought the district number six school house where he attended the first six years of his formal 
education. Homer paid $380 for the building and with some minor additions, made it their home.
Joe recalls sleeping on the floor with his brothers in the main room. 
The family was large and the house was small. He said he never slept in a bed until the entered the military. Joe remembers rarely being 
disciplined, but he said that his buddies were punished at school with the crack of a ruler against their knuckles or paddled as they 
leaned over a desk.
Joe earned $3 per week working on the school bus as the lookout for trains. The tracks on U.S. 42 had a severe curve that made it 
difficult for the driver to see the trains approaching. So Joe would get out of the bus, stand on the tracks and look both ways to make 
sure the tracks were clear for the bus to cross. Imagine relying on a child for such an important task.
The lives of pioneers, farm families and businesses in the Jerome area were all affected by the wonderful schools that were offered there.
Thanks to Jackie Russell for sharing her work with us. More stories of Jerome will follow soon.

01/11/08
The schools of Jerome Township
In southern Union County there is an area inside Jerome Township which will soon become Jerome Village. It’s a 1,350-acre parcel 
currently being developed by the Highland Management Group. The property is bounded by U.S. 42, Jerome Road, Brock Road and Home 
Road. The 2,200 housing units planned for this parcel range in price from $175,000 to a median price of around $375,000.
The owners of the Jerome Village company have become quite involved with the history of Jerome Township and asked Jackie Russell, nurse 
turned historian and storyteller, to research the history of Jerome 
Township in order to get a better understanding of the area and help preserve its heritage.
Her many hours of research have been compiled into three lovely booklets. They contain information about the schools of Jerome 
Township, the churches and the Seely Store, which was a hub of activity for many years. In the coming weeks, I will be sharing with 
you excerpts from Jackie’s hard work. I hope you will enjoy this bit of history as much as I have enjoyed learning about the early years 
in that community.
It was nearly 200 years ago that hardworking families came to the quiet community which would later be Jerome Township. The first 
settlers were Joshua and James Ewing. They had discovered an area along the Big Darby Creek in 1798 that they felt was perfect for 
hunting and farming. They built a log cabin and became permanent residents of this land.
About the year 1802 Ohio was developing its first constitution and grants of land were made available for public schools. The early 
school boards were made up of local pioneer families and they oversaw the operation of the school and the hiring of the teachers.
Teachers from this era only completed schooling through the eighth grade. But as time went on qualifications became stricter, of course. 
As more education was required for their jobs, teachers were elevated to the social status of physicians and ministers.
In fact, whenever a teacher visited the farm household of the student, it was quite an event, involving great preparation by the 
parents. Farm families were very interested in their child’s education.
The very first school house in Jerome Township was a one-room log house located at the corner of Industrial Parkway and Taylor Road and 
was on the property of Perry Buck, a local farmer. Reports differ on the exact year that it was built, but it is considered to be sometime 
between 1810 and 1820. Approximately six students, all children from farms closest to the school, were in attendance. A school district at 
the time was defined by a grouping of 20 families from adjacent farms. This district of children attended the same one-room school.
All students walked to school in those days and in fact it was often quite a hike (literally) since there were no roads. The path to 
school was marked on trees through the woods making for a rather muddy, treacherous and long journey.
In the winter if a family could not afford warm heavy clothing the children would skip school because the walk was too lengthy in the 
cold. I can see that excuse being used even to this day.
A “snow day” or one where it was too difficult to get to school didn’t mean the children had a day off, but that they would help with 
the work on the farm. At that time, in the early 1800s, attending 
school was not mandatory and education was viewed more as a privilege then something everyone needed.
The log school which was the first site of education in Jerome Township was a room about 30 sq. ft. The desks were one long board 
with a narrow bench behind it without a back. Heating the building was taken care of by a heavy iron box stove and the room was lit 
primarily by sunlight from the side windows. There were a few kerosene lamps available.
A bucket of water with a dipper served as the drinking fountain for the 60 children that were crammed into the small room to learn to 
read and write. It was uncomfortable and overcrowded, but that was all they knew.
Eventually 10 one-room log schools were built in the township in the early 1800s. They were named for the farmer’s property or road of 
their location. Some of the names included Ketch, Lamb, Dodge and Kile. This was the beginning of Jerome’s reputation for quality 
education. Unfortunately, none of these logs schools remain standing in Jerome today.
Schools have changed considerably from those days. The teacher in the class, usually a woman, had to prepare lessons for all levels of 
students in the room. She was paid roughly $30 per month and really earned her pay. She started the fire in the stove, made and repaired 
quilt pens used for writing, kept progress reports on all students and taught lessons including spelling, arithmetic, grammar rules and  writing.
She also was expected to instruct in manners, morals and patriotism and sometimes even taught Sunday school. She was usually only a bit 
older than her oldest student and was a product of the school in which she taught. After the Civil War, stricter requirements were 
created for teachers and certain states began to charter teacher training schools, known as Normal schools. The schools provided two 
years of educational training to prospective teachers and graduates obtained a teaching certificate. Normal schools eventually evolved 
into four year colleges and universities.
Here’s a list of some of the rules for teachers who were doing their job in the 1800s: Teachers each day will fill lamps, clean chimneys. 
Each teacher will bring a bucket of water and scuttle of coal for the day’s session. Man teachers may take one evening each week for 
courting purposes or two evenings a week if they go to church regularly. After 10 hours in school the teachers may spend the 
remaining time reading the Bible or other good books. Women teachers who marry or engage in unseemly conduct will be dismissed. (Marrying 
is unseemly conduct?)
The rules continued: Every teacher should lay aside from each days pay a goodly sum of his earnings for his benefit during his declining 
years, so that he will not become a burden on society. Any teacher who smokes, uses liquor in any form or frequents the pool hall or 
public halls or gets shaved in a barbershop will give a good reason to suspect his worth intention, integrity and honesty. And finally 
the teacher who performs his labor faithfully and without fault for five years will be given an increase of 25¢ per week in his pay, 
providing the Board of Education approves.
Children of the 1800s also thought recess was an important part of their school day as our students do today. Some of their favorite 
activities included racing through the woods, fox and geese and playing “town ball.” The ball for this game was made when one student 
unraveled his socks — I’ll bet his mother was happy about that — then wound the thread around a cork and covered it with sheepskin. There 
was a pitcher, batter, catcher and outfielders in this game.
Marbles was a favorite recess pastime with the boys, but the boys were also known to wrestle and box. I’m sure this would never go over 
today. It would probably go too far and the parents would definitely have to get involved in that. Some gangs even existed back then and 
real fistfights often occurred in recess.
As you can see, Jackie Russell has put together some great stories and we will hear more in the future from her outstanding work on the 
history of Jerome Township.

1/4/08
Good karma can help
 Sometimes you should just listen to that karma around you, but our son, Mike (MHS class of '88) has always been an optimist and one to barrel
ahead anyway. This story began one evening after a Bengals game in Cincinnati, where Mike lives.
 He often goes to the games and usually parks across the Ohio River, then takes a cab to the stadium because of parking difficulty. After the
game that night he returned back to his car, paid the cab driver and went home as usual.
 On Monday morning the trouble began. While preparing to leave for work he searched frantically for his wallet containing credit cards, driver's
license and a small amount of money. It was gone!
 A minor amount of panic took hold because Mike was leaving in two days to drive to Philadelphia for the holiday. He needed his driver's license
and probably his credit cards as he, Jenn, Cole and Margie were to spend a long weekend with Jenn's brother and family.
 Since his license was gone, he immediately went to the local registrar with a copy of his license in hand that he'd made previously, but that
was no good in obtaining a new one. He even tried another registrar's office and got the same answer - "You must have a copy of your birth
certificate!"
 That's where I came in. About 9:30 a.m. I received an anxious phone call from Mike. "Mom, could you overnight my birth certificate to me?" I
agreed to do it of course - that's what moms are for.
 I even found out that the post office could guarantee that it would be delivered by 3 p.m. the next day and it was, but first there was a
second phone call.
 About 4 p.m. the same day, Mike informed me he had good karma and that's why he had his license and credit cards back. Through all these
anxious moments he had also called the cab company, thinking he might have left the wallet in the cab after the football game.
 The cab company contacted the driver and he located the wallet on the floor of the back seat. But now the problem was to find Mike. The driver
tried to call him using his name from the driver's license, but Mike has an unlisted number. I'll never understand that.
 Then the man found a medical insurance card inside the wallet and called that company to have them contact Mike. Blue Cross did that and
Mike was able to meet the driver and recover all his lost possessions just in time for his trip.
 You might think, what a nice story - but there's more. After this minor setback the Behrens family headed out driving on the eight-hour trip to
Philadelphia. They were pleased all went smoothly with the children in the car. Then the problem began.
 They were only about 30 miles from their destination when the car came to a grinding halt. Mike was able to get the car off the road, waited a
few minutes, and the car started again. He traveled just a few more miles with the same thing happening.
 It was cold and dark and only 15 miles to go. Then they saw a police station in the middle of nowhere. Soon after pulling in there, the
police arranged for a tow truck, arriving in just five minutes. Guess they have a special arrangement with the police, thankfully.
 Mike called next day telling us what happened, confident it would be fixed the following day and he could return to Ohio on time for work and
school for the children. I knew that wouldn't happen on time, it was a holiday for heaven's sake. Sometimes mothers just know this stuff, but
Mike was so sure.
 The problem turned out to be with the transmission, still under warranty, thankfully, but it wouldn't be repaired for about five days
because of a holiday.
 But Mike is in the mortgage business, it was the end of the month and always their busiest time. He had to get back to his office in Ohio. The
loaner car from the dealership made that trip all the way back to Ohio in eight hours. Two days later Mike returned to get his car - repaired
and working fine.
 I don't know much about karma, or what it really is, but even though this trip didn't start well and was rough in the middle, it all ended
well after 32 hours total on the road.
More good karma for Zimmermans
 Marysville School Supt. Larry Zimmerman must also have good karma. His story began in 2006 at the Michigan-OSU football game. He went with his son, Chase. It was a wonderful home win for the Buckeyes and after the game, Chase took off from their seats in "C" deck to go down on the field.
 Larry left quickly behind him not wanting to lose sight of him in that huge crowd. And that's why he left behind a very nice headset that he
had used to listen to the game on radio. You know you can always use a second opinion from those announcers!
 Once Larry realized he left the headset behind it was too late to go back, and surely it wouldn't be there anyway. Then came the 2007
football season and he and son, Chase, were not able to go to a game until early in November, sitting in the same seats as the year before.
Larry must have been thinking he sure would like to have that headset back.  Minor miracles do happen. Soon after he sat down the man behind him handed Larry his headset. It was his from the year before. The man found it after the Michigan game, took the headset home and brought it back each game hoping Larry would return. What a guy!
 When Larry came back to the following home game with son, Evan, they smuggled in some homemade Buckeyes for that man with a big heart and
obviously another great OSU fan! Go Bucks!

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