Off the Hook - Archive 2014
by Melanie Behrens

Off the Hook Archive  Home

12/26/14
Here’s to the New Year
It’s almost time to welcome the New Year. 2015 will soon be here.
Over the years we’ve been lucky to celebrate with friends, usually having dinner together and drinking a toast to the New Year at midnight. We always wish each other good health and happiness! I believe that is the way most Americans spend the evening.
 The British are similar and yet different. After all, we trace our beginnings to that country and certainly share their song - “Auld Lang Syne.”
In London, England, crods of people gather in Trafalgar square and Piccadilly Circus as well as other places to hear the chimes of London’s Big Ben as it announces the arrival of the New Year. Everyone stands around with arms linked to sing “Auld Lang Syne.” It is an old Scottish song that had been around for some time, but was first written down in the 1700s. Robert Burns is the person whose transcription got the most attention, so the song is associated with him.
The words, “Auld Lang Syne,” are from an old Scottish dialect and are translated as “times gone by.” The poem/song is about love and friendship in times past. The lyrics “We’ll take a cup of kindness yet” refer to a drink shared by men and women in friendship.
In England, the custom of “first-footing” is important. The reason is that it is supposed to ensure good luck for the inhabitants of the house. The first-footer (the first person to enter the house after midnight) must be male, young, healthy, dark-haired and handsome. Really - that’s asking a lot!
That visitor should carry a piece of coal, some bread, some money and some greenery. The coal is to make sure that the house would always be warm, the bread to make sure everyone in the house would have enough food to eat, the money, obviously, is to spend and the greenery is to make sure that they have a long life The visitor then takes a pan of dust or ashes out of the house with him, thus signifying the departure of the old year. A blonde or red-headed woman is unwelcome at that time, since they are thought to bring bad luck. Seriously?
The custom of exchanging gifts was transferred to Christmas as it was originally done at New Year. That is when the Lord of the Manor was given samples of produce by his tenants and peasants, while he gave a valuable gift to the Queen or King. Apparently he gave nothing to the peasants.
Englishmen gave their wives money to buy pins for the coming year. This tradition died, but, the expression “pin money” is still used to describe the money set aside for personal use, especially if given to a woman by her husband.
Also on New Year’s Day, children from Great Britain get up early to make the rounds to their neighbors while singing songs. They are given coins, mince pies, apples and other sweets for singing. This must be done by noon or the singers will be called fools.
___
My New Years wish for all:
No more lives torn apart.
That wars would never start.
And time would heal all hearts.
And everyone would have a friend.
And right would always win.
And love would never end.
Happy 2015!
Back to top

12/19/14
Christmas traditions
We all have our Christmas traditions which differ a bit from family to family, yet are the same in many ways.
Most families give gifts on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day in celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. There are trips to church and special meals with all the family together. Our world seems to be in the celebration mode during that week between Christmas and the New Year.
Halfway around the world in Russia, the Christmas season is different. The official Christmas and New Year events there extend to Jan. 10. Some Russians fast on Christmas Eve until the first star has appeared in the sky. People then eat sochivo or kutia,  a porridge made from wheat or rice served with honey, poppy seeds, fruit (especially berries and dried fruit like raisins), chopped walnuts or sometimes even fruit jellies.
Kutia is sometimes eaten from one common bowl. This symbolizes unity. Some families like to throw a spoonful of the porridge up on the ceiling. If it sticks to the ceiling, they will have good luck. Can you even imagine the mess this makes?
As would seem so typically Russian, other popular Christmas Eve foods include beetroot soup (borsch) and individual vegetable pies (often made with cabbage, potato, or mushrooms). Dessert can be things like fruit pies, gingerbread and honeybread cookies and fresh and dried fruit and more nuts.
Then after the meal, prayers might be said and people go to the midnight church services. They often don’t wash the dishes until they get home from church. This might not be until 4 or 5 a.m.
The New Year celebrations are still very important to Russians (sometimes more than Christmas). This is when Father Frost (known in Russian as “Ded Moroz”) brings presents to children. He is always accompanied by his granddaughter, Snegurochka. On New Year’s Eve, children hold hands, make a circle around the Christmas tree and call for them. When they appear, the star and other lights on the Christmas tree light up.
Then there is the story of Babushka, which means grandmother in Russian. It tells the story of an old woman who met the Wise Men on their way to see Jesus.
She always had work to do - sweeping, polishing, dusting and cleaning. Her house was the best kept, most tidy in the whole village. Her garden was beautiful and her cooking was wonderful.
One evening she was busy dusting and cleaning, so busy that she didn’t hear all the villagers outside in the village square talking about and looking at the new star in sky. She had heard about the new star, but thought it was crazy to worry about it and she was busy working. So, she missed the star as it shone bright and the line of twinkling.
But then there was the loud knocking on her front door! There were three kings at her door with one of their servants! “My masters need a place to rest,” the servant said, “and yours is the best house in the village.”
“You want to stay here?” asked Babushka. “Yes, it would only be until night falls and the star appears again,” the servant replied. “Come in, then,” she said.
The kings told her they were following the star that they believed would lead them to the baby, who was the King of Heaven and Earth and asked her to come with them. The next day when the kings were leaving, she decided she didn’t have a gift as they did, and she had to clean the house, so she couldn’t go with them. She said she would follow tomorrow. The kings went away sadly. Babushka ran back into her house, to get on with her work. It seems she was truly obsessed.
The next night when the star could be seen again, she packed up toys as a gift for the baby and ran down the path the kings had taken. She went from town to town asking about the kings and was told how to follow them, finally being directed to the very poor city of Bethlehem.
She asked everyone about the kings and was sent to the innkeeper, who told her the kings and baby were gone. She had missed all of them.
“If you’d like to see where the baby was,” he said quickly, “it was across the yard there. I couldn’t offer the couple anything better at the time. My inn was really full, so they had to go in the stable.”
Babushka followed him across the yard. “Here’s the stable,” he said. He left her in the stable. “Babushka?” Someone was calling her from the doorway. He looked kindly at her. She wondered if he knew where the family had gone. She knew now that the baby King was the most important thing in the world to her.
“They have gone to Egypt and safety,” he told Babushka. “And the kings have returned to their countries. But one of them told me about you. I am sorry but you are too late. It was Jesus that they found, the world’s Savior.” Babushka was very sad that she had missed Jesus and it is said that she is still looking for him today.
So it is that even though there are different customs, the same story is told around the Christian world of the birth of Jesus Christ.
Back to top

12/12/14
Having a December birthday
Today is my birthday. It’s not a really big birthday yet, but hopefully that’s coming next year. When you are over 50, shall we say, many tend to wonder how many more there will be?
Some people dread birthdays. Not me. I am grateful for them. I’ve decided the best thing to do is enjoy the moments we have and hope for many more.
A change in anticipation has also occurred. Remember when you were nine years old and your birthday was coming? I had such excitement and a feeling of being special for the day! That was because my parents always made a big deal about birthdays. Now, I am lucky that, thankfully, my family and friends do the same.
Having a December birthday was actually good for me since my parents made a special point to separate my birthday from the Christmas celebration so I wouldn’t feel cheated at this time of year. When I was born, my mother had to spend, as was the custom in a normal birth, almost two weeks in the hospital, being released just before Christmas. My mother smoked before and after my birth, since mothers didn’t know that could be harmful to the baby. I weighed only about five pounds.
I was born in December, 1945, just after the end of World War II. My father was in the Army in a division called OSS. It was the forerunner of the CIA. For the early part of the war, my parents lived in Washington, D.C. where my dad was stationed. He didn’t wear a uniform and my mother told the story that since he looked young and healthy, many would comment to them in public saying, “Why aren’t you in the service?” Of course, he couldn’t tell them he was doing secret things. My parents just had to put up with that frequent occurrence.
During the time my mother was pregnant with me, my father was sent to China and India to do whatever he did for the OSS. He never told my brother and I any particulars about his time as a spy. But I do remember him showing us a lock picking kit, and he could speak Chinese.
Of course, with the war over, he hoped to be home from that assignment for my birth and he made it just days before. He told me later that it was a cold, icy day in December.
Now, many years later, a birthday celebration is still one to be anticipated and appreciated. I don’t have to take any cupcakes to school or donuts to work, but get to go to lunch with friends and dinner with more friends. How great is that!
Life is good!
Back to top

12/5/14
Dissatisfied travelers among us
A friend recently shared some things said by obviously wacky people and it made me think. This is the time of year when we are out shopping and partying, traveling, plus in general, dealing with lots of the public. Most people we encounter are great, but then there are those who may have uttered similar statements as these from dissatisfied customers of a travel business. They will make you laugh and wonder how some people function in the world, and remember, the scariest thought is, many of them may even vote!
1. “I think it should be explained in the brochure that the local convenience store does not sell proper biscuits like custard creams or ginger nuts.”
2. “It’s lazy of local shopkeepers in Puerto Vallarta to close in the afternoons. I often needed to buy things during ‘siesta’ time - this should be banned.”
3. “On my holiday to Goa in India, I was disgusted to find that almost every restaurant served curry. I don’t like spicy food.”
4. “We booked an excursion to a water park but no one told us we had to bring our own swimsuits and towels. We assumed it would be included in the price.”
5. “The beach was too sandy. We had to clean everything when we returned to our room.”
6. “We found the sand was not like the sand in the brochure. Your brochure shows the sand as white but it was more yellow.”
7. “They should not allow topless sunbathing on the beach. It was very distracting for my husband who just wanted to relax.”
8. “No one told us there would be fish in the water. The children were scared.”
9. “Although the brochure said that there was a fully equipped kitchen, there was no egg-slicer in the drawers.”
10. “We went on holiday to Spain and had a problem with the taxi drivers as they were all Spanish.”
11. “The roads were uneven and bumpy, so we could not read the local guidebook during the bus ride to the resort. Because of this, we were unaware of many things that would have made our holiday more fun.”
12. “It took us nine hours to fly home from Jamaica to England. It took the Americans only three hours to get home. This seems unfair.”
13. “I compared the size of our one-bedroom suite to our friends’ three-bedroom and ours was significantly smaller.”
14. “The brochure stated: ‘No hairdressers at the resort.’ We’re trainee hairdressers and we think they knew and made us wait longer for service.”
15. “When we were in Spain there were too many Spanish people there. The receptionist spoke Spanish, the food was Spanish. No one told us that there would be so many foreigners.”
16. “We had to line up outside to catch the boat and there was no air-conditioning.”
17. “It is your duty as a tour operator to advise us of noisy or unruly guests before we travel.”
18. “I was bitten by a mosquito. The brochure did not mention mosquitoes.”
19. “My fiancé and I requested twin beds when we booked, but, instead, we were placed in a room with a king bed. We now hold you responsible and want to be reimbursed for the fact that I became pregnant. This would not have happened if you had put us in the room that we booked.”
___
After reading these, you may even think you know some of these people. Oh, I hope not! They might be someone you run into Christmas shopping. So, be kind and understanding, they need all the help we can give them.
Back to top

11/28/14
Allie Spain in Thailand
Marysville High School grad Allie Spain is currently serving as a missionary with a group called The World Race. She has been to India and Nepal, and is just leaving Thailand. The group of missionaries will go to 11 countries in 11 months. Her experiences have been quite varied from using rudimentary squatty potties in India to the flush variety in Thailand to having a cook fix meals.
In Kathmandu, Nepal, the group worked with a ministry that helped many in the city including ministering to slum kids. Allie related: “We played soccer with the kids every Wednesday morning and then fed them lunch. We have also witnessed many healings of physical ailments. Kathmandu is full of Buddhist and Hindu temples, and people who are searching for so much more, and we have the opportunity to go out and encounter them and share that something more with them. We also do a lot of interceding for the city and that has included hiking up mountains and then praying over the valley from the top.”
When they moved on to Chiang Mai, Thailand, the needs were quite different. There, they worked with a large organization that has four homes where children live so their parents
won’t sell them, many times into sex slavery. She said the parents feel desperate for money, so the houses are a safe place for the children and a chance to get an education.
Allie says, “The ministry goes to the villages in the mountains where children are more likely to be sold by their families and determines the children that are ‘high risk’ for being sold to prostitution and then get permission from the parents to become legal guardians, in a sense. Over 200 children are being housed in the homes.”
“Parents are very willing to give them up because then they don’t have to care for them anymore. Legally, they go through all of the correct paperwork. The ‘deal’ that is made with the government is that the kids have to go home every school holiday. So it’s technically not an orphanage because the children aren’t orphans. Each house is like its own family though. I’m sure the kids miss their families, but they all know the reason why they are at the homes and know they are better off there. They are welcome to stay through college or until they get a job and can provide for themselves.”
Allie related: “We are living in the organization’s guest house which offers us a more American style of living. We have beds, hot showers, and wifi. We are definitely spoiled this month. The missionaries who run the guest home cook us breakfast every morning and lunch and dinner are taken care of for us as well. We have dinner every night at one of the homes with the kids.”
Their jobs during the day are to help in constructing a new home for the boys to move into by building bamboo scaffolding and mixing concrete.
Thailand is amazing, Allie concludes: “We have made good relationships with the construction crew this month, and it will be a hard goodbye for sure. They love to joke around with us and teach us new things, which has been really good for us. The kids at the homes love to play games with us (they love Uno) and the older ones like to practice their English. We have been getting some Thai lessons too, and it is a very hard language. The food is amazing! It’s been one of the best places for food so far. Khao Soi has been my favorite. It’s a Thai soup! It’s glass noodles with cabbage and sprouts. There is usually chicken or pork in it. You add your own spices to make it as spicy as you want it. It’s delicious!”
Missionaries in the group are in for a big change at their next stop. They will be in the closed country of Laos and we will have more about that only after they leave.
Back to top

11/21/14
Grandma’s Thanksgiving invitation
Since Thanksgiving is next week, I wanted to share a poignant letter from a certainly well meaning grandmother to her family. Being a grandma myself, I can understand some of her thoughts. See if any of this hits home about your family at a holiday dinner.
Dear Family:
“Thanksgiving is still important to me. If being in my Last Will and Testament is important to you, then you might consider being with me for my favorite holiday. Dinner is at 2 p.m., not 2:15, not 2:05, but 2 p.m. Arrive late and you get what’s left over.
Last year, that nephew, Marshall, fried a turkey in one of those contraptions and practically burned the deck off the house. This year, the only peanut oil used to make the meal will be from the secret scoop of peanut butter I add to the carrot soup.
Now, the house rules are slightly different this year because I have decided that 47 percent of you don’t know how to take care of nice things. Paper plates and red Solo cups might be bad for the environment, but I’ll be gone soon and that will be your problem to deal with. We are using them.
House Rules:
1. No football during the meal. The television stays off.
2. The ‘no cans for kids’ rule still exists. We are using 2-liter bottles because your children still open a third can before finishing the first two. Parents can fill a child’s cup when it is empty. All of the cups have names on them and I’ll be paying close attention to refills. (She is so organized!)
3. Chloe, last year we were at Trudy’s house and I looked the other way when your Jell-O salad showed up. This year, if Jell-O salad comes in the front door it will go right back out the back door with the garbage. Save yourself some time, honey. You’ve never been a good cook and you shouldn’t bring something that wiggles more than you. Buy something from the bakery.
4. Grandmothers give grandchildren cookies and candy. That is a fact of life. Your children can eat healthy at your home. At my home, they can eat whatever they like as long as they finish it. (I’ve recently had this discussion with my son, the king of the food police, about his son and what he eats at my house. I feel the same way this grandma does. Think about your own grandmother - didn’t she always indulge you, too. His grandmother did. That’s one of our prerogatives!)
5. I cook with bacon and bacon grease. That’s nothing new. Your being a vegetarian doesn’t change the fact that stuffing without bacon is like egg salad without eggs. Even the green bean casserole has a little bacon grease in it. That’s why it tastes so good. Not eating bacon is just not  natural. And as far as being healthy ... look at me. I’ve outlived almost  everyone I know.
6. Salad at Thanksgiving is a waste of space.
7. I do not like cellphones. Leave them in the car. (I, personally, like cell phones, but also agree that they have no place at the dinner table, whether at home or in a restaurant.)
8. Being a mother means you have to actually pay attention to the kids. I have nice things and I don’t put them away just because company is coming over. Mary, watch your kids and I’ll watch my things.
9. Words mean things. I say what I mean. Let me repeat: You don’t need to bring anything means you don’t need to bring anything. And if I did tell you to bring something, bring it in the quantity I said. Really, this doesn’t have to be difficult. (She’s is a tough old gal!)
10. Dominos and cards are better than anything that requires a battery or an on/off switch. That was true when you were kids and it’s true now that you have kids.
11. Showing up for Thanksgiving guarantees presents at Christmas. Not showing up guarantees a card that may or may not be signed.
12. The election is over, so let’s quit talking about it!
13. In memory of your grandfather, the back fridge will be filled with beer. Drink until it is gone. I prefer wine anyway. But one from each family needs to be the designated driver.”
(This grandma runs a tight ship, but some points are right on!)
One of my friends already had a comment about this whole thing. “After many years of similar situations in this letter, we now celebrate by going to our favorite restaurant. There is no cooking, no shopping in crowded grocery stores, no cleanup, and no rude kid who never ever showed up on time - one of my pet peeves!”
However you celebrate Thanksgiving, I wish you much happiness and good health.
Back to top

11/14/14
The Quilts of Valor
 It all began last winter at Lettuce Lake in Port Charlotte, Florida. John Wilson received a Quilt of Valor for his service in the Vietnam War. He served there in 1969-70 with an artillery unit with the rank of E5 (Sergeant) working in communications.
The honor bestowed on him and 22 others was the hand-done work of a group of quilters in the Port Charlotte area, where he spends the winter. More than 40 women volunteered hundreds of hours to produce these works of art to honor veterans from not only Vietnam, but also the Korean War and World War II. John’s sister, Nancy Herd, of Marysville, spends time in that area of Florida too, and has also participated in the quilting project.
John formerly owned Wilson Motors (now Green’s Auto Point) at Five Points in Marysville.
___
MHS grad a volunteer
Brent Bergum (MHS class of ‘92) said he used to perceive animal control and adoption like most other people might - an image of sad, tortured pups with Sarah McLachlan’s face plastered all over the TV screen. But his experience volunteering at Williamson County Animal Control and Adoption Center has greatly changed whatever preconceived notions he may have had.
Brent has lived in the Nashville, Tennessee, area for several years and in addition to his volunteering two days a week, is employed at the American Addiction Centers, where he helps people rehab from drug and alcohol addictions. He is a graduate of The Ohio State University with a degree in psychology.
About his volunteer job, he said, “You see dogs in the kennels crying and looking sad, and when I first went there that’s what I thought. But, when you start volunteering, you can see that these dogs are still happy. They still get good socialization, are walked, and have plenty of attention.”
He has worked at the center for nearly nine months and is now training incoming volunteers to take care of the animals, giving them walks and cleaning the kennels. While his love for animals is strong, it’s his passion for volunteer work in any field that drives him.
 “Animals can’t control where they are in life,” he said. “I like the concept of no matter how bad things are for a person or a dog, they can always get better, and if there’s someone there who can help give them a better life, then that makes me happy.”
With all of Brent’s volunteering experience, he’s a perfect fit to train other volunteers as well as mentor long-time volunteers such as 14-year-old Mary Kathryn. She has volunteered at the adoption center for more than two years.
Back to top

11/7/14
Still going strong
He was born in 1917 and is currently 97 years old, but that doesn’t stop George Patch Sr., also known as Bud to everyone. He is still active and lives alone.
Bud began his life on a farm near Plain City and lived part of his early-married life near Raymond. He and his wife, Helen, who is deceased, had four children. Only two survive, and they watch over him on a daily basis.
His daughter, Terry, tells me he is still on the farm on Blaney Road in Union County, where he has been for more than 60 years. Before that he farmed some of the land which is now Muirfield Golf Course.
Besides growing many different crops and large gardens of vegetables and flowers, he raised exotic animals such as buffalo, beefalo, ostrich, emu, rhea, lama, alpaca, Persian pigs and even chesants, a cross between a chicken and a pheasant. Those are all gone now, but Bud obviously loves animals since he still has rabbits, swans, geese, peacocks, chickens, goats and deer. Plus, he has had many hunting dogs over his life span. His latest is a collie/lab mix that never leaves his side.
In addition to farming, Bud worked as a sub-contractor on construction and welding projects that took him all over the states working for many different types of manufacturing companies. Later in life he would use those welding skills to repair farm machinery for his friends and construct large sculptures.
Then, just because he liked to stay busy, he worked for a moving company and worked for himself driving a rock truck delivering for a local quarry. His slogan was “Have truck will travel” meaning that if his truck was working, he could get the load of stone to its destination. He built three houses on his own, without blueprints they tell me, and the last one, that he currently lives in, is built with flat rock that he hand-picked from that quarry.
He always had side projects going on. Some were building beautiful fireplaces and patios, and landscaping. Family members were always involved in the business, including his grandchildren. Some were able to help pay for college by working for him.
Bud has a sense of humor. He had cattle and buffalo and when people would come to the farm for the first time he would ask them if they would like to ride a bull. Sometimes they would say, yes. He wouldn’t back down. He’d just slip on his shoes and head out with them. Once they took a look at his bulls, they would change their mind in a hurry, especially when they saw his African Zebu Bull that was huge. After they declined the offer, he would get out some feed and hand-feed the bull. You see, Bud had raised it from a calf and it was a gentle giant.
Terry said, “Dad always tested your trust in him. My son-in-law was helping him move a small building one day. He had him climb up on the roof and fasten the chains to the boom truck so he could lift it and move it. Then Dad said, ‘Hold on,’ lifting both him and the house to the new location.”
Bud also ran a maple sugar camp every year. Family members, neighbors and friends would volunteer to help gather and boil the syrup. This wasn’t so much a money-maker as it was a winter get-together. There was always great food and fellowship.
He also served 10 years as a volunteer firefighter for Concord Twp. Fire Dept. in Delaware County.
Bud started getting serious about his metal art (using his welding skills) when he was in his 80s, starting out with small figures and plaques like swans or doves. He then moved on to making imaginary birds out of old machinery parts, shovels, rakes and old bicycles. Following that he branched out to animals - giraffes, squirrels, owls and pigs. Now there are life-size people images that greet guests as they drive down his driveway, before meeting the large menacing looking dinosaurs that appear ready to jump out at you.
Bud has seen so many changes from riding to school in horse-drawn wagons with heated rocks placed beside them to stay warm to living through the depression. He can remember spending hours looking for a precious quarter he lost, which was worth so much then. His family plowed and planted fields with horse teams and milked many cows by hand. He also remembers ice houses, where they stored ice cut from the Scioto River. Now his family says he’s trying to figure out computers.
Long life is in his family. His sister, Marysville resident Alice Schacherbaur, will soon be 100. Bud has had a full life and is still going strong.
Back to top

10/31/14
Allie Spain on the World Race
This is part two of the story of MHS grad Allie Spain and her adventures as a missionary with The World Race which has her going to 11 countries in 11 months to help and pray with others. Her team’s first visit is in Kohlapur, India, where they assisted in a Christian hospital.
Their ministry host is the director of the hospital, Dr. Bimal. They were housed on the campus of the hospital for the first half of the month. Allie described him in this way: “This man has such incredible faith in the Lord and has such a father’s and protector’s heart. It has been a blessing getting to know him this week and hear his story. He is very passionate about this hospital and the meaning it has to the community. He has shared with us that the hospital is undergoing some new transitions and facing some financial difficulty. We spent all morning yesterday in the prayer chapel on campus, worshiping, praying, and speaking life over this place. Dr. Bimal and some of the nurses, doctors, and administration employees stopped in throughout the morning and it was encouraging to see them join with us.”
Allie continued: “The people here are incredibly generous to us. We have had numerous invitations to dinner which have turned into a time of great fellowship. Here in India they eat dinner around 9 p.m., so when they find out that we eat around 6 p.m., they think we are crazy!”
Their dinner most of the time consisted of chapati, which is a tortilla type of bread, with rice, chicken, curry, and lentils, which is also spicy. The Indians toned it down a bit for the missionaries. Allie said the worst thing she ate was India’s version of pizza, because the sauce tasted sweeter and the toppings were weird.
After two weeks helping at the hospital, the team of seven moved on to an orphanage outside of town to spend the rest of their time in India. When the time comes to leave the orphanage, Allie said, “I think this goodbye could be a difficult one. It’s the first goodbye of the race and we’ve just grown so close to the people here. My team has already said that we could spend the full 11 months here and be perfectly OK.”
The orphanage for children who have HIV was the second stop for their next two weeks. The children there speak the local language, Marathi, and don’t speak a bit of English. Allie said, “Some of the kids can understand basic questions we ask like what their name or age is, but other than that communicating with them is a little different. On Sunday, for example, ministry was throwing a ball back and forth for 20 minutes with a little girl who couldn’t understand me, or taking selfies with a group of girls who didn’t understand me when I told them to make a silly face. It’s fun though, and a great reminder that loving someone doesn’t need to involve words and conversations.”
The group was briefed on the precautions with HIV patients. They were told to be careful of physical contact especially if one of the missionaries had an open wound. It’s only transferred by blood, so that is really the thing to be extra careful with. Allie says, “A lot of people are scared about working with the kids because of the risk, but what they don’t realize is that the risk is so small and it’s well worth it!”
At the orphanage, Allie met an eight-year-old girl named Rutuja. She described her as having the cutest little head bobble, the best laugh, a gentle spirit and a touch of spunk. Unfortunately, she is living with HIV. Allie said she loves to spin, swing, sing, and hold hands. She’s quiet at first, and then can start spouting off in Marathi in a second. She came to the orphanage a little over a year ago from a government institution because of her HIV.
Allie remembers: “I got to spend the past 10 days getting to know this little one and it has been amazing to see her come out of her shell and to watch her personality shine through. From the very start, the two of us gravitated toward each other. It was love at first sight. We spent countless times throwing a ball back and forth to each other, playing crisscross applesauce and hand clapping games. Even though I couldn’t speak to her and have her understand, she taught me a lot about showing love rather than speaking it. She would seek me out just to sit by me, or hold my hand, or just lean up against me and smile. These sweet times with her are some of my favorites. I will miss those moments. In such a young life, she has already been through and overcome so much.”
Allie concluded: “We are spreading the love of God and bringing His presence to these places. We want to build relationships with the locals so they can see Christ in us, instead of us forcing Christ on them. There are people who stay away from us when they find out our purpose here and when we visit temples people can get upset that we are there. But overall most are glad to see us and talk with us and allow us to pray for them.”
Allie’s trip is self-funded and she needs a total of $16,000 for her expenses including just $4 a day for food. Her fundraising so far has produced about 75 percent of the amount. She could use your help. Those who want to learn more about The World Race and Allie’s journey to this point can go to alliespain.theworldrace.org.
Back to top

10/24/14
The World Race - Part One
She’s only 21 years old and a recent graduate of Ashland University in criminal justice and now is on the World Race, which is described as “A journey to 11 countries in 11 months to serve ‘the least of these’ while amongst real and raw community. It births partnerships with ministries around the world.”
Allie Spain (MHS class of 2010) has just completed her first month visit, which is in India. But before that, the World Race Organization provided training for the 40 new missionaries who would later split off to teams of seven.
During the first part of the week-long training, the group was encouraged to explore their Christian faith and relationship with Jesus.
Allie reported: “The latter half of training camp revolved around more practical information regarding being a missionary in a foreign country or traveling in general. Every day we were required to pack up our gear, tent included, and we ended up moving camp sites pretty much every night. I think I can say with confidence that I have gotten pretty good at taking down and setting up my tent. They simulated different things that could happen to us on the race, like the airline losing our bags. My bag just so happened to be one that was ‘lost.’ Those of us who lost our bags had to rely on teammates to provide what we needed for the night. I wore the same clothes for 48 hours and didn’t have a toothbrush, but thankfully my squad mate was kind enough to let me use her hammock to sleep in. We also ate foods from a different part of the world.”
The group of Word Race volunteers arrived at the first stop on September 10. Allie relates, “We flew into Delhi finally after having to make an emergency landing in Oslo, Norway, because a passenger was having heart problems. After landing in Delhi, we had missed our connecting flight to Bangalore because of the delay, so the airline set us up in a hotel overnight. A nice welcome to the World Race! The next morning we flew into Bangalore and headed to our ministry sites. My team’s ministry is actually located 12 hours north of Bangalore in Kolhapur. Getting to the bus to take us to Kolhapur was an adventure in itself, including our first experience with squatty potties, drinking some of the best tea I’ve had, and playing with some adorable children.”
About those squatty potties, Allie tells us: “You walk into a stall, like any other bathroom stall, except instead of a western toilet it’s a glorified hole in the ground. There is usually a hose or faucet for water to ‘wipe’ yourself. There is no toilet paper, so unless you want to drip dry, you take your own wipes or toilet paper. The locals wipe with their left hand, which is why you don’t use your left hand for eating. The potties usually stink and there are a lot of creatures in there. I’ve used one in the company of a toad, lizard, and many spiders. I still prefer western toilets, but squatties aren’t as bad as I imagined. I have been lucky enough so far to have at least one western toilet at my location.”
She continued: “The pastor who was making sure we got to our bus station on the other side of town was wonderful in helping us get what we needed and introducing us to Indian culture. To our surprise, when we got to our bus we discovered that it was a sleeper bus, which was the greatest blessing. Our host, Bimal, picked us up in Kolhapur the next morning and brought us to our ministry site. We are staying and working at Mary Wanless Hospital. This is a Christian hospital that strives to offer affordable healthcare to the community. Most of the staff here are Christians and have been so generous and encouraging to us while we are here.”
They speak Marathi and Hindi plus English, but the group also has a translator with them.
Allie continues: “Our ministry looks a little different every day. We had the opportunity to talk to a group of Sunday school teachers and give them some ideas for their Sunday school classes, we taught some children here worship songs and some games, and then visited the homes of some people nearby.”
Allie concluded: “India has surprised me. I honestly wasn’t looking forward to coming here, but I am starting to love it! The food has been great and the people are so kind. God is doing big things here and I believe my team has been placed at this ministry at the right time to encourage and love the men and woman who work at this hospital. What I feel here is peace. I feel like I just kind of slid into this place with an ease that was completely unexpected. I expected to have a hard time in India with the food and different culture and with it being the first month on the race.”
 Next week, more from Allie about the hospital and orphanage for children with HIV.
Back to top

10/17/14
Obnoxious airplane passengers    
On my recent flight home from the West Coast, I was again reminded of some of the obnoxious people who travel on airplanes. Over the years I have had several incidents on planes, but this one may have taken the cake.
It was to be a four-hour flight and as we settled into our seats I noticed the man in front of me was speaking quite loudly. We hadn’t even taken off yet. I actually looked around to see if he was on his phone, but no, he was just speaking loudly to someone so that we could hear him over everything else. I should’ve known that was a bad omen.
As the flight progressed, several of us stood up to stretch our legs. That’s when they met. The man sitting next to me and the loud one in front of me started talking. I wasn’t paying attention, but trying to listen to my audio book with earphones. That became impossible as the volume of their conversation increased. In fact, I had to turn the book off so I wouldn’t miss the story line.
We eventually all took our seats again and the two men continued their diagonal conversation (the loud man on the aisle seat in front of me hanging over the seat talking to the man in the middle seat next to me). It was something about classic cars and restoration of them. Truly, I did not care about this, but all is close quarters in a plane and I still couldn’t listen to my book.
Then that loud man in front of me did what I could not believe. We had a small amount of turbulence and the seatbelt sign was on, but he stood up, reached across the aisle and removed his very large carry-on from the overhead storage. Then he placed that carry-on in the middle of the aisle and removed a laptop computer to show pictures of his cars to the man next to me.
Are you kidding me? While all this is going on, I am amazed that the flight attendants did not tell him to sit down or to replace his luggage. He also left the overhead compartment open. What if we had hit a big bump and those other cases had fallen down on someone?
So, the loud guy in front of me continues to lean over the seat talking to the guy next to me with this very large laptop computer, and they talk again so loudly that I can’t hear my audio book, which I had just turned on again. I say nothing. I am so surprised at myself that I have controlled any disgust I have for the situation. I am just putting up with them. The man in front of me continued all of this picture showing and very loud talking for at least 45 minutes, all the time in my little bit of space too.
Finally the flight attendant reminded him that the seatbelt sign was on and he said, “Oh I’m sorry,” and sat down. But his luggage was still in the middle of the aisle. How could this be? The attendant was just walking around it. But someone else had in the meantime closed the overhead compartment. I had my eye on him the whole time. Who knows what else he would do.
Then I don’t know what came over him, but he stood up again when the seatbelt light went off and picked up his computer and came out in the aisle next to me. He started laying across my body to show the man next to me with more pictures from his flippin’ computer. That was it! I finally said, “Please!” raising my arms in the air! “Really?” He was so in my space! And the loud guy says, “I’m sorry,” and goes back to his seat. Then he continued to lean over in front of me and show the guy more pictures. Would this flight never end, I thought.
Others around me were watching and could not believe all this was going on. More turbulence (never thought I’d be welcoming that) finally put that obnoxious man in his seat for the rest of the flight. That was my closest call to actually going after someone on a plane.
Until this event occurred, a woman was my favorite obnoxious passenger. We were taking an overnight flight and we had been in the air for about 20 minutes. Once again I was on the aisle seat and she was directly across from me. I would guess she was in her later years. She had one of those firm, square travel cases like we carried in the 1960s. She opened it and removed many brush rollers, which she was going to promptly put in her hair. Guess she wanted to look good when we arrived!
It was now getting dark in the cabin and maybe she thought no one would notice, but within a few minutes her entire head was full of hair rollers and I am absolutely amazed that she wants to sit there like this for any period of time with 200 other people around her.
Then came the crowning blow. She took out a can of hairspray and sprayed it all around on the rollers making everyone within 20 feet choke. At this point, I am in total disbelief and really the plane smelled like hairspray for another half an hour. That woman has now moved into second place in the Hall of Fame of obnoxious plane flight passengers.
Others I know are very impatient with babies and small children on airplanes especially when they are screaming. That doesn’t bother me. I guess I can remember when our children were small and how hard it is on the parents, too. So, none of those incidents made my list.
It is really sort of an odd situation when you think about it. Two hundred strangers are thrown together in an airplane for a few hours and have to exist together. Some are considerate and obviously others aren’t.
Back to top

10/10/14
Timing is everything
It all started with a trip to Lake Tahoe and Yosemite National Park, places they had never been. Terry and Karen Burns were just on a late summer vacation and it had been great. Now they were headed home, their final destination the Columbus airport.
As they made their way to the Reno airport, they were aware that a sabotage of equipment had occurred in Chicago and air traffic was disrupted. A person had not only set the flight control center on fire near Chicago, but also he had cut all the wiring. This event would quickly ground 2,000 planes and affect thousands more over the next few weeks. The repair of this fiasco would take weeks. (A week later, I returned from a trip to Nevada and still every plane I was on was late because of this disruption.)
Karen and Terry were scheduled to land at Midway Airport in Chicago and change planes to Columbus. They wondered if it would affect them -maybe not much they hoped. Little did they know that they were about to have a memorable experience, one most of us only hear about, thankfully.
Their flight from Reno to Midway arrived five hours late. This couldn’t be good, they thought. Now they had missed their connection to Columbus. That was bad, but more was to follow.
After arriving, they approached the airline desk with hundreds of other stranded passengers, some extremely rude and trying to cut in front of others who had been waiting. Karen also reported several were screaming at those working at the desk who had been there for many hours, too. (Fortunately, she is calm and pretty easy going.)
It soon became evident there were no flights leaving Chicago that night and it was about 7 p.m. Worse than that, there were no available hotel or motel rooms in the area because of all the other passengers trapped there.
Karen and Terry were offered a small kit with a bottle of water, toothbrush paste, tissues, but no money for their trouble because of the nature of the problem. Now the question was, where would they spend the night?
Their son in Columbus offered to drive to Chicago and pick them up, but that seemed like too much and surely, they thought, they would get out in the morning. So they accepted the offer of a cot. What? Yes, and the cot was just about eight inches off the floor in a room at the airport with 100 other people! There was also a blanket and a tiny pillow (5x8 inches).
Chalk this up to their sense of adventure and being really good sports! They thought, let’s make the best of it, and their slogan for the rest of the ill-fated trip was, “What are ya gonna do?”
When they saw the situation in the sleeping room, they decided to go to the bar for awhile. Sounds like a good choice to me. Of course, there were many other people in the same fix, so there were others to commiserate with in the bar. Just as they were settling in for what they hoped would be a good night, the server said, “Last call.” Karen couldn’t believe it. It was only 9:15 p.m. Now what would they do for entertainment? They would go to bed.
Back to the room with 100 people. Many were snoring and every time they rolled over, the mattresses on the cots made sounds just like passing gas, a cause for some laughter. One person had to sit up all night in a wheelchair.
I was concerned about their valuables while sleeping, but Karen reported there was a security guard. Oh really, one guard for 100 people and who was watching the guard? This is Chicago, after all. They placed their belongings between their cots and all was safe.
Then it was morning. For Karen that was about 5:30 a.m. at which time she couldn’t take it anymore. She had to get out of the room. She had been wearing the same clothes for about 36 hours and life was now getting tough with no sleep.
Their plane would surely be there to take them home soon ... well, not exactly. It seems the pilot was late arriving since he was flying in from another airport. They didn’t leave for Columbus until 2 p.m.
What an end to a great vacation! As the adage goes, timing is everything, and Karen and Terry just happened to be traveling at the wrong time.
Back to top

10/3/14
Crazy things my friends do - the horse incident
She’s a self-described city girl who always wanted to own a horse and is now in her middle years. Just three years ago she learned to ride and two years ago her wish came true when she got her four-year-old horse, Blaze, who turned out to be her best friend.
There they were at the Richwood Fair. My friend, Cindy, had taken her young horse to tie up to a trailer at the fair, so he could get used to the noises and the sounds as he was still learning about the world. Her daughter-in-law came along and said, “Cindy, grab your horse and come on, we’re going to 4-H Fun Day over at the track.”
This seemed like a good thing to do, but Cindy wasn’t quite sure what would be involved. Even as she looked at the names of the races she could participate in, she didn’t know exactly what each one entailed.
Once each one was explained to her she decided to participate in four of them.
The first was the cake race. It was simple. All she did was hop on her horse, ride around the track and when the music stopped, she was near the proper number, so she won a cake. That accomplished, she went on to number two. It was a catalog race. One by one each rider would get on their horse, ride to a catalog, pull out the numbered page and ride back. It was a timed event. She was surprised to find out she got second place.
Then came the third race. She’s quite pumped up now. It’s a walk-run race where she has to ride quickly on her horse to a point, get off and run back with the horse next to her. She had it all planned in her mind -this was going to be so easy. Her strategy was to hook the reins around the horn of her saddle and just use a lead rein so she could get off quickly. Contestants in front of her stumbled and one little girl fell off her horse and cried. Cindy became just a little concerned about how this is going to go for her.
It was her turn. She got on the horse and they raced madly to the drop off point and when she tried to get off for the run portion of the race, her feet wouldn’t touch the ground. She yanked and yanked, but something was caught. Oh no, she was hanging from her bra. The underwire was attached around the horn of the saddle and suspending her in the air!
Cindy could feel the air on her back, realizing that her shirt was pulled up, causing some exposure of the back. Thankfully the horse didn’t move and cause the same in the front. She yelled for help. Then she was pretty sure she heard someone sounding like her husband say, “Get a camera.” Then she heard her daughter-in-law say, “I’ve got it on film.” But Cindy was still hanging from her horse with everyone now wondering how she would get down.
The woman who was posted in the area to work the race came over and tried to lift her up to get her unhooked. It was not working and then suddenly she felt her bra being unlatched. Obviously, Cindy was no longer in control of the situation. Now the bra was unhooked, but Cindy was still hanging by the straps on her shoulders. Eventually she reached up and was able to pull her bra off the saddle and drop to the ground.
Her wonderful horse never moved, never ran away and never exposed her whole body to the public. This was truly a wardrobe malfunction!
Cindy was mortified! And there was much laughing all around her, once everyone realized she was OK.
The next day around the fairgrounds, many men who saw the incident, said they had wanted to come and help, but just thought it might not be appropriate. I’d say she now has some sort of record at the Richwood Fair, one she’d really like to forget. But, thanks to her supportive family there are the dreaded pictures of the event!
Back to top

9/26/14
Life is good again
Marysville High School graduate Kayti McCarthy (class of 2003) has seen a lot in her short life. After graduating from Wittenberg University, she went on to teach for a year in Austria and during that time was able to travel around Europe. When she returned to Union County, she taught special education in the  Fairbanks School District.
Then the tragedy occurred. Her very close friend, Jeremy, died and her life changed forever. She had to continue and nothing seemed quite right. She was so unhappy, but still she took the annual trip with her father, Will, to Las Vegas to a NASCAR race.
As they made their way from the airport into town, she saw signs everywhere asking for teachers. Why not apply, she thought, while I’m here in town? That’s a way to change your life - go from Marysville to living in Las Vegas!
There was a private school there that needed teachers and she was particularly attracted to it. She was told it was very competitive to get a job there, but when Kayti returned on her spring break and interviewed, she was offered a job on the spot. Now there would be a change in her life, a new start.
During the summer, she packed up her Volkswagen Beetle and started off across the country, in her car, all alone, with all her belongings. This could’ve been a tough trip, she thought, but after all, she had lived in a foreign country for a year. She could do this.
Expectations were high for her third-grade students in the new school. They were expected to do things several years earlier than in public schools. Kayti said there were many children of famous people in her school.
Living in Las Vegas was just like living anywhere else, except there was a gambling strip available, if you wanted. All this change - new town, new school - turned out to be a good move for Kayti since this is where she met her fiancé, Jonathan Chung. Even though they met in Las Vegas, he is an Ohio State University grad and his parents live in Westerville -small world!
Now Katie and Jonathan have moved to Cypress, Texas, where they are closer to her mother, Kim, and her brother, Andy. A spring wedding is planned.
Kayti has a message for anyone who has a tragedy in their life. Even though it was hard to move on, she wants others to know that life can be good again, and hers is great.
___
Chuck Magill is back
He grew up in Magnetic Springs, where he was a Journal-Tribune carrier, and graduated from North Union High School in 1966. After some time in the U.S. Air Force, Chuck Magill went to work for U.P.S. as a driver and is now retired. For most of his adult years he also had a band.
In the early years of the Balloon Rally in Marysville (celebrating 40 years in 2015), Chuck and his band provided the music. He toured as the lead singer and guitarist, serving as the opening act for Randy Travis and headlining at the Ohio State Fair. Those were very exciting days. He took a 10-year break and now is back with his new band “Clear Run” with two friends from Delaware.
The group plays big band, gospel, blue grass and country, and according to Chuck, anything you want to hear. Look for him with “Clear Run” appearing in our area.
Back to top

9/19/14
Corinna Merrill Lawrence and Africa
During a stint with the Peace Corps, Corinna Merrill Lawrence (MHS class of ‘04) worked in a health clinic, helped women start businesses and touched lives of many people in Guinea and Mali.
After graduating from Wright State University in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in international business and finance and a minor in French, Corinna knew she wanted to do something big with her life. So she joined the Peace Corps and was assigned to Guinea, a former French colony in West Africa and one of the poorest countries on the planet. She spent the next three months improving her French and learning Pular, the local language of the Guinea village where she would work.
“I had no idea what I was doing,” she recalled. “When I arrived in Guinea and the plane doors opened, I was hit with a wave of heat, humidity and a bit of fear. I was suddenly immersed in a culture full of fast-paced movement, brightly colored fabrics and languages and smells previously unknown to me.”
She would experience sweating out sweltering temperatures, living without electricity and running water and being uprooted by bloody political violence, plus she would meet her future husband.
“I often look back on my service and forget about the crazy sicknesses I got, in addition to mosquito bites, heat rash and the agonizing public transport,” Corinna said. “What sticks out are the friends I made, the places I went and change I made.”
Conakry, capital of Guinea, suffers from overcrowding and poor sanitation. Few households have running water, electrical power is available only a few hours a day and temperatures can soar to over 100 degrees. “Getting around was a nightmare,” she said. “Taxis and buses were jammed with passengers, had no air conditioning and would often break down.”
She was placed in Douné, a small rural village about 170 miles away from the capital. There, she worked at the health clinic, assisting in medications, polio vaccinations, malaria prevention and weighing babies. (One in three children under the age of 5 in Guinea is chronically malnourished.) She also helped start a savings and loan program with 50 village women. The women created a “bank” of money from which they could borrow small sums and she taught them accounting, marketing, economic literacy and numerary skills.
Two weeks after arriving in Guinea, President Lansana died after a 24-year rule. Within hours, the military rose up and took power in what was called the Christmas Coup. However, the coup ended the next day when Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara declared himself the new president and laid out a timeline for free and fair elections. But the elections kept getting pushed back, frustrating much of the populace.
Nine months later, on Sept. 28, 2009, things exploded. When 50,000 supporters of the political opposition gathered at the soccer stadium in the country’s capital to demand that Camara step down, presidential security forces reacted. More than 150 people in and around the stadium were killed and more than 1,200 injured, the victims of shootings, stabbings and rapes. Camara said the troops accused of the violence were out of his control.
Of course, this was a scary time for the Peace Corps group. Within days, the workers were evacuated from Guinea and whisked to the neighboring country of Mali. Reaching into the Sahara Desert, Mali is one of the poorest countries in the world. Its economy relies on agriculture and fishing. There, they had to learn a different local language, Bambara, and get accustomed to sandstorms and cornmeal porridge with okra sauce.
Just before this happened, a new Peace Corps worker, Mark Lawrence, had arrived in Guinea and met Corinna shortly before Guinea was evacuated. She related: “Ten Guinea volunteers continued their service in Mali (myself and Mark included) after the evacuation and that is when Mark and I started dating. After the Peace Corps, we traveled in Europe together and moved to Malawi in 2011 to work for an International Development NGO (non governmental agency) focusing on education. In 2012 we moved to Washington DC and got married in 2013.”
After four years in Africa, Mark and Corinna returned to the United States. She is a senior business development specialist for Pact covering East and West Africa.
“I set off for the Peace Corps with lofty goals of changing the world, but what really happened is the Peace Corps changed me,” Corinna concludes. “It forced me to grow mentally, physically and emotionally; and I loved it!”
Back to top

9/12/14
Partners with the community
He is a graduate of Marysville High School, an award winning athletic field turf manager and a former police chief of the city of Marysville. By the time Eugene Mayer graduated from The Ohio State University, he was already a member of the Marysville Auxiliary Police Force.
In June of 1961 he had returned to town to work for O.M. Scott and Sons (now Scotts Miracle-Gro), but had completed the police training course two months before. That training course was just one night a week for two months and then they were ready for service.
His day job was in turf research and on Saturday night he worked for the Marysville Police Dept. At that time there was only one patrol car and if that was not working the officer had to drive his own car!
In his early years on patrol, there were several standout moments. One night he and Jack Holton (a full-time policeman) were sent on a domestic call. Eugene said those could be tricky and officers had to be very careful. The wife answered the door with blood all over her. She said her husband had been out drinking and was passed out on the couch. She wanted him removed. After further investigation, the officers discovered the blood was from the husband. The wife had beaten him. So, for several good reasons, they took him out of the home, maybe for his own protection?
Another evening while off duty, Eugene was at the home of another auxiliary policeman, Dick Bright. They were in the backyard and looked over to see flames shooting from a chimney. Of course their duty was to warn the family. They raced to the house and banged on the door. The woman saw two men outside at night and wouldn’t open it. Finally they showed their I.D. and said, “We are Marysville auxiliary police, you have a fire, open up!” She finally opened the door and told them there was no fire there. They had the wrong house! It was next door. Well, they were trying to help.
Eugene’s first drug raid was in the 1960s. Six officers went to a house on the west side of town where young adults were smoking pot! Oh, how the definition of a drug raid has sadly changed.
There were also times when the police just took offending teenagers home, instead of arresting them.
By 1975, there were at least two police cruisers, but of course no pagers or cell phones yet. Three Marysville policemen and their wives (Eugene and Ruth Ann Mayer, Chief Vern and Jan Bright and Carl Calaski and Glenda) had gone to Columbus for the evening to see the movie, “Towering Inferno.” On the way home, they saw fire trucks and wondered if they were headed to Marysville? Jan remembers Eugene trying to get some info on his police radio, but all they heard was Oakland Hotel. With that he brought out his red light and siren and sped back to town. When they got back, there was the old Oakland Hotel (at the corner of Fifth and Main Sts.) totally engulfed in fire. Eugene said it was such a surprise and coincidence. The men all went to work quickly in the downtown area and the wives went home to get their uniforms and equipment. Its hard to remember how it was when we didn’t have instant communication and, for the most part, how much better our lives and services are because of technology.
So, Eugene continued to gain police experience and after 38 years retired from Scotts. At that time, the police chief position was open. He applied along with 40 others and was hired. That began his four years as police chief, from 2000 to 2004.
Eugene had goals for the department. One was to increase the number of detectives from one to three. There was a 20-case backload before he did that. He initiated the dept. slogan of “Partners with the Community.” He rewrote the policies and procedures being used today and promoted core values of integrity, dedication, courage and empathy. He also tried to teach his employees to be good listeners.
After leaving the job of chief, he went back to the auxiliary staff until 2012, serving the police force for a total of 51 years.
In his later years of service, there was a bank robbery, which was solved with the help of the FBI, a murder in a parking lot and a missing woman report in 2001. That case of Patty Adkins was never solved and it still haunts him today. Is she still alive or was she murdered after leaving work late one night? In order to try to solve this case, expert investigators were hired and a suspect’s garage floor was even dug up looking for her body. Eugene says the case consumed much of his time for about a year.
Eugene certainly cares about and has dedicated many years to our community.
To read last week’s story about Eugene’s sports turf expertise in Ohio and Florida, just see the story below, "Keeping it green".
 Back to top

9/5/14
Keeping it green
When a person finds something he likes to do, shouldn’t he just work at it in every venue possible? That’s what Eugene Mayer is doing.
I began working on this story by asking him how he got started advising the grounds crew at the Minnesota Twins field for spring training in Ft. Myers, Florida. The conversation went on to his telling me that he also does that for the Columbus Crew and Columbus Clippers, which led to our trip to Clipper Stadium at Huntington Park to see the home of the AAA baseball team and my appreciation of Eugene’s hard work.
As we walked onto the field on this sunny afternoon, the Clippers were preparing for a playoff game that night. It was my first time to stand on a professional baseball field, but I have to say, I’ve never seen such beautiful grass. There was not a weed in sight and s-o-o-o perfectly green!
Eugene not only serves as a consultant to this team along with the stadium for the Columbus Crew, but also in Cincinnati at Prasco Park and in Fort Myers at Hammond Stadium, home of spring training for the Minnesota Twins. In 1994, he also oversaw the development and maintenance of the Rose Bowl field for the World Cup.
Eugene has lived in the Marysville area all his life, graduating from Marysville High School in 1956 and from The Ohio State University in 1961 with a bachelor’s degree in agriculture.
He went to work for O. M. Scott & Sons and was there for 38 years. He worked in various capacities, 21 years of that in research, and he received numerous patents in types of grass. In 2000, he was honored by the National sportsTURF Manager’s Association with the manager of the year award.
As Eugene and I toured Clippers Stadium, it became clear that he knew everyone. He introduced me to the head groundskeeper and the stadium manager (who sent me home with two gently used baseballs), and we even marched into the president’s office for discussion of the beautiful stadium and how long they’ve known each other.
Eugene has been involved with the Clippers organization since about 1995. When the new Franklin County-owned stadium was built five years ago, he oversaw construction of the field and drainage, which cost about $1 million. There are two acres of sod.
During construction, clay was compacted at home plate, along the baselines and at the pitcher’s mound. The rest of the field has sand underneath it, 10 inches deep, and pea gravel needed to control drainage of the field. Since it’s a sand-based field, it can take as much as 15 inches of water in an hour, if necessary.
There is also an irrigation system, remotely controlled, for the dry times. It took four months to build just the field. Now during the season, he consults on fertilizer and disease situations. Scotts Miracle-Gro provides all the products used on the field.  I can see it’s a project he’s very proud to be associated with.
In 1990, Eugene began consulting with The Ohio State University along with a group of three other advisers on the turf for the football field. The grass they originally chose did not hold up well with the beating from football cleats so another variety was put down. By 1995, a new formula was used which worked well. Just a few years ago that turf was taken up and replaced with an artificial type.
As Eugene said, “Grass grows by inches, turf is destroyed by feet.” He knows the artificial turf is a good thing, because football players are so hard on the grass, but it did break his heart a little after all the work they put into perfecting the grass in the stadium.
You can see that since retiring from Scotts in December, 1998, he has kept busy. He and his wife, Ruth Ann, spend the winter in Punta Gorda, Fla. He continues to consult with many sports stadiums, still farms his own 600 acres along with his son Tony and, oh yes, from 2000 to 2004 he served as Marysville’s police chief. We’ll have more in the future about those years as an auxiliary policeman and later, chief.
___
Did you see it?
A few months ago, I discussed in this column the new Honda Acura commercial, which was filmed in Marysville. It features two homes on West Seventh St. and the well-known Benny’s Pizza entrance on Industrial Parkway. I have seen a shortened version on TV this  week. The full commercial, almost two minutes long, can be viewed on YouTube and Facebook. It’s loud, busy and gets your attention. If you missed that column, click here.
Back to top

8/29/14
Flying with Darth
The requirements were, be a Journal-Tribune subscriber, fill out the entry form and deliver it to the J-T on time. Having fulfilled all this, Dorothy Baughman entered the contest and her name was drawn to win a ride in the Darth Vader balloon at the recent All Ohio Balloon Fest in Marysville.
She was elated! In fact she was quick to say that she never wins anything. A ride in the Darth Vader balloon usually costs about $250.
But then she had the thought, at 76 was she too old, maybe not agile enough to climb in the basket, especially for people with short legs?
On the other hand, she thought her grandson, Steven, would like to go instead. She’d offer it to him. But he wasn’t able to go so Dorothy was on. Her fears were misplaced for she easily climbed into the basket of the balloon for a smooth lift off.
It’s a huge balloon, the largest one at the balloon fest, and it has a tiny basket where she traveled along with pilot Michel Lambert. He has brought his balloon from Belgium for the last five years. It only flies in about five events in the United States each year.
Dorothy said it was a beautiful evening and a great view from up in the sky. The large crew of about 10 people were all from Scott’s Miracle Gro company and volunteering to help with the balloon through United Way. Dorothy said their volunteering has also prompted her to make her own extra donation to the United Way this year.
 Since the balloon is so big, it takes a lot of people to help get the air out after it lands. Dorothy saw Michel, the pilot, rolling on top of the balloon on the ground to try and force the air from it. She could see it was going to take forever for one man to get that done, so Dorothy and some of the other volunteers started rolling on the ground on top of the balloon to push the air out. Oh, I really wish I had a picture of that!
This wasn’t Dorothy’s first balloon ride. In 1980 she was treated to a ride by Jack Scott, a Nationwide Insurance agent, and one of the original Balloon Fest (called the rally in those days) organizers. She worked for him at the time, plus she and her husband, the late David Baughman, were quite involved with the early balloon rallies for many years. At that time David along with his fellow Lions Club members put on a big dinner for the balloonists.
She has attended the balloon event for all these 39 years and last year, unrelated to the Balloon Fest, she even had a close encounter with a balloon. Inside her house, she heard a loud noise and once outside, saw a balloonist lowering his basket down near a boat she had parked in her driveway with a for sale sign on it. While watching him, she was so afraid he was going to run into her house because the balloon was so low. Finally he yelled down from the balloon, “How much do you want for that boat?” When she told him the price he simply said, “Guess you don’t want to sell it very much,” then fired up his balloon and took off.
Dorothy has lived in Union County all her life, graduating from Chuckery-Darby High School in Unionville Center in 1955. She is part of the Blumenschein family who were farmers on Brown-Moder Rd. Dorothy’s family were of German descent. At home they spoke German and even when she attended St. John’s Lutheran Church there was a service in German. She also remembers that the men sat on one side of the church and the women on the other. As a child she had to sit up front and knew that she better behave.
Of course her parents spoke both German and English. When she heard her parents speaking German on the telephone, she knew they had to be talking to her grandparents. In the 1940s, because of World War II, it became unpopular to speak German outside of the house and her parents encouraged her to only speak English. About that time I am told, Trinity Lutheran Church in Marysville discontinued its German service.
So, even though today Dorothy can only count in German, she now has two balloon rides under her belt.
Back to top

8/22/14
Delivering the Journal-Tribune
Working as a newspaper carrier can be a life-changing event. It teaches responsibility and the rewards of earning your own spending money. Two of the youngest carriers at the Journal-Tribune are Kage Moss, age 8, and his sister Cecellia, 6. They have what is called the downtown route which involves delivering 29 papers six days a week in about a four block area.
The two children walk all over uptown Marysville with their grandmother, Teresa, who is known as “Nana” and who carries the J-T paper bag for them. They are proud to be second-generation carriers, following in the footsteps of their father, Nick.
At first they served as substitutes on other routes and now they have their own. When I asked them what they liked about delivering papers besides the money they earn, they both said they like the exercise and the walking around town plus the wonderful tips from merchants. The youngsters have received free frozen custard from Whit’s and cookies from the Ribbon Box (Kage’s favorite is chocolate chip), and Dan Dailey of Union Electronics gives them candy. (That caused this former dental hygienist to remind them about brushing their teeth after all that sugar.)
Their route takes them only about a half hour and is teaching them  responsibility and appreciation of a grandmother who helps them every day. Kage and Cecellia (who wanted you to know she has her first loose tooth) have started third and first grade respectively, so they will be working a little later in the afternoon now.
___
Update on Aunt Katie
You may remember in the last few months I have written several times about Aunt Katie Snodgrass, who in 1899 was celebrating her 103rd birthday. She lived in Milford Center and was interviewed by a Marysville Tribune reporter that year. She was part of a pioneer family and smoked a pipe, and had two husbands and seven children.
I have had many comments about her stories, but none quite like this. Recently, amateur historian Roger Geer told me that he is fascinated by this woman and had done some research of his own about her. Then when he went to the Milford Center cemetery to find her grave, all he found was one for her husband. After a thorough search of the area he discovered her grave marker with 1899 on it. Since it was lying partially buried in the mud and tipped over, he couldn’t move it. So, he and a friend brought in some heavy equipment to pull it up and place the marker in what Roger believes to be the proper place. Once it was cleaned up, it looked like new after being protected for possibly many years by the soil.
It was certainly his good deed for the week! If you missed the Aunt Katie stories, go to marysvillejt.com, click on off the hook and then on archives.
___
MHS grad Steven Rutledge
After he graduated from Marysville high school in 1995, Stephen Rutledge went on to Ohio University where he had dual interests in the arts and science. He was not only a painter, sculptor and sketcher, but also his interest extended to biology and organic chemistry.
He didn’t know which way life would take him. The disciplines both seemed so different. But then there was the opportunity to blend both and after graduating with dual degrees, one bachelor of science and one bachelor of fine arts in 2001, he was able to use both.
Steven and his wife, Lindsay, moved to Windsor, Colorado, where he became associated with Scott Orthotic Labs and was involved with making adjustments in prosthetics and orthotics. There the company puts together plaster, metal, leather and plastic in ways Steven had never seen it used. He fell in love with the possibility of helping people through his artistic talent. These two disciplines of fine arts and science would benefit each other.
Now Steven, Lindsey and their two sons live in Enid, Oklahoma, and he is associated with Hanger Prosthetics and works as a certified orthotist/prosthetist. He spends his days helping disabled patients strengthen their existing limbs that do not function properly, and aids many as they work through the entire amputation and prosthetic process. He is able to create their new limbs with both his artistic talents and scientific training.
Steven said, “There is no one-size-fits-all approach to what we do. There will always be room for a more creative touch.”
Back to top

8/15/14
It’s shark week!
 This week, the Discovery Channel focuses on everything about sharks. The Rev. David Poliafico respects them, too.
 It all began in Parma, Ohio, when he was just 10 years old and saw the movie “Jaws.” He was hooked on sharks and is still fascinated by them.
After graduating from Cleveland State University with a degree in music, his life took a different turn. He entered the seminary in Columbus, and five years later became Father David. He is currently the priest at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Marysville.
Even after being ordained in 1995, he has maintained his fascination with marine biology - mainly sharks! Vacation time each year has been spent scuba diving all over the world. He is a veteran of 100 dives. When I asked if he had ever experienced problems with his equipment or diving, he said he has run out of air twice and in those cases just had to go to the surface with no problems. For each dive he brings some of his own equipment, but rents tanks.
The worst place he has been was Honduras. He said that there was a huge language barrier and sand fleas everywhere. He would not recommend a trip to that country.
In preparation for the big guys - sharks - in Australia in 2008, he dove with Cristina Zenato, who was featured on Shark Week on the Discovery Channel and is one of the top five shark experts in the world. While wearing a chain mail suit, she put a shark to sleep by touching the snout. It puts them into a trance and after that Father David was able to actually touch the shark.
All of his dives to that point had been gearing up for the Australian trip where the sharks are giant. Prior to the trip, he had been in the water with sea lions, which are so cute, and small sharks that don’t seem too threatening. But then, on to Australia. This is where the big sharks are, the great whites, 15-foot males and 20-foot females, some weighing 2,000 lbs.
He boarded a boat in southern Australia with nine other people, both men and women, many who were marine biologists and scientists. It was a full-day trip to the area near the Neptune Islands. They were traveling with Andrew Fox, who is the son of the famous shark cage inventor, Rodney Fox. Rodney built the first high-quality shark cage and it was featured in the movie, “Jaws.” Rodney had been attacked by sharks many years ago and he beat all the odds by surviving. Father David chose this company for the dive because they were reputable and he was going to trust that cage 80 feet down in the ocean during their four days of diving.
In order to attract sharks, they put blood and fish guts in the water and it took only 40 minutes for the first sharks to arrive. The first day Father David was in the second group to dive. When the first group came up he was waiting for them and there was absolute silence from the group. Then one person said, “You’re going to have fun, the great whites are diving at the cage.” His heart was racing so fast he could feel it and hear it. There was both huge apprehension and excitement.
Once his group reached the bottom, the sharks began to ram the cage and it felt like a train hit him. He actually fell down in the cage and said he didn’t really expect this.
When divers first see the cage, they can’t help noticing a large open area called the photograph window. The first question every diver asks is, isn’t that kind of big? The reply from the inventor is that no shark can get through the space, but after looking at the picture of the cage, I thought it looked really big, too!
Once Father David survived the first dive, then the question was, did he want to do it again? He said it was both scary and fun. But he did go down a total of three times while on the boat.
 I was curious to know what the other divers thought when they found out that he is a priest. He replied that he tries to keep his identity private for as long as he can, but once it becomes known that he is a priest, he noticed that all the swearing stops.
Father David explained that sharks are very smart and when they enter an area the whole ocean freezes. Fish and humans do not move. They want to let the shark get by. He says sharks can detect one drop of blood in the ocean over a mile away and they actually have a sixth sense that we don’t have. He says they can feel when you are fearful - when your heart is racing as his was.
 So, it was a dream of a lifetime for Father David, and the entire time he’s telling me this scary story, he had a smile on his face. Obviously it was well worth all the preparation and anticipation. His dream is to go back to Australia some day, but he hasn’t been to the Red Sea yet. That might be next.
Back to top

8/8/14
Packing heat (have gun will travel)
It seems the public has become much more aware of protecting themselves these days. Three people I know well have recently obtained their concealed carry permits and own their own pistols.
Some say they have done this just because they can still buy a gun. Others say they want a pistol for protection in their home, their car or wherever they are, and to so, you need a concealed carry permit. The world is changing.
I decided to find out exactly what you have to do to get a gun today, since I know nothing about them. My friend, Karen Landon, is on her third pistol purchasing the latest one from a friend. In that case, there’s no background check. You just give your friend the money and you own the gun.
Karen says some women invest in jewelry, but she likes guns. She tells me that now if you buy a gun from a reputable dealer or store, they do a background check before they sell it to you.
Guns are not foreign to her, as they are to me. She grew up on a farm where they shot rabbits and squirrels for food and were taught, never kill anything unless you’re going to use it.
Now her gun is for protection. She is a widow and travels back and forth between Ohio and Florida, usually alone, and having a gun locked in the trunk is worthless (for which she would not need a concealed carry permit). So, the permit she sought was necessary to have the gun in the car, on the front seat with her, if necessary. The only problem will be when she travels through Georgia. Ohio and Georgia do not have reciprocal agreements, so her pistol will have to be in the trunk when she’s in that state. That seems crazy.
She can also keep the pistol in a large fanny pack-like case that hooks around her waist. Additionally, she showed me pictures of a holster that fits on the ladies bra and also a body pack that fits around the waist under your shirt to hold the pistol. If the weapon is in the bottom of a purse, it might be hard to find in an emergency.
Karen’s first gun was one she and her husband purchased at a sale 20 years ago at a price of $90. Now, many guns sell for $400 to over $1,000. They purchased the pistol after being robbed twice in Florida. One time they weren’t home. The second time they were asleep and didn’t hear a thing as the thief cut through their screen, came in and took jewelry and money. The police told them that thieves in their area of Florida will tap on the siding of the building and if no dog barks, they’ll break in. Sometimes, they even take the owners bike to get away. Karen thought that was reason enough to buy a gun.
Now to the concealed carry permit preparation, which requires 10 hours of class and two hours of shooting. In the class, some of the things covered are: parts of the weapon, how to clean it, what to do if it jams, loading and safety features and proper grip. That means no finger on the trigger until ready to shoot!
At the outdoor shooting range (where she was to provide two boxes of her own bullets at $20 a box), it was also stressed that Karen needed to be able to shoot with either hand in case of an injury. Also, there is a recoil with her pistol that jerks up after the shot. That’s something to get used to. Her instructor said, “Don’t hold the weapon out in front since it could be grabbed by an aggressor - keep it close to the chest to shoot in that case.”
Now that she has her permit, if stopped by a law enforcement officer, she is to take out her driver’s license and permit and hold them with both of her hands on the steering wheel. If it is dark, she is to turn on the light in the car. That’s to show she doesn’t have a gun in her hands. The law enforcement officer will know that she has the permit when they run her license for a check.
Another of my friends has had hunting rifles all his life and when his friend wanted to sell his Ruger 357 magnum with a six inch barrel, that was a fit for him. So, he purchased it. He also took the concealed carry course and then had a problem at the outdoor range. There, he was to spend two hours learning how to shoot it. He hadn’t yet put on his ear protection when the person next to him fired his pistol near his ear. Immediately my friend knew it was trouble. His hearing was affected because of nerve damage and now he has hearing aids, quite a price to pay. I hope he never has to fire his big pistol in self defense.
Another friend purchased her pistol, also a 357 magnum, for protection. She had a stalker in her neighborhood, who she saw looking in her windows several times. The person was eventually caught, prosecuted and jailed. But since he would be getting out, that worried her because she lived alone. Thus the purchase of a pistol and eventual concealed carry class.
Owning a firearm and arming it are both expensive and a big responsibility. For those who want one, it is the time to get your weapon and your permit. Who knows what’s in the future for gun ownership.
Back to top

8/1/14
China revisited
 Two young, now very American girls recently returned to China, their birth country, courtesy of that government. This is a tour provided to adopting parents and Chinese adopted children to acquaint the children with the country where they were born.
Claire Allen, 12, and her sister Catie, 9, are daughters of Cathy Allen (MHS class of ’82). They went on the trip along with the girls’ grandfather, Dave Allen, his friend, Lynne Bauman, and Claire’s friend, Skye Ferris. Cathy and her daughters, who were so excited to see it all, now live in the Falls Church, Virginia.
This 21-day tour is called a “reunion” trip by the Chinese government which pays the China travel costs of the parents and children (but not the international airfare or additional family costs). There were 100 in the group, which included 40 adoptees. In all, the Allen group was on 11 airplanes and stayed in 11 hotels. They report that all went very smoothly.
The trip involved visiting familiar cities like Shanghai, Beijing, Xi’an, plus smaller ones like Chengdu. The family visited the orphanages where the girls were adopted on their own at the beginning and end of the government-provided tour.
One of the first stops was Fenyi, site of Catie’s orphanage. When they arrived at the orphanage (which no longer houses babies, but is used for special needs boys), there was a sign welcoming her and she was treated like a queen. They even set off fireworks.
The family was able to review her file and see a note left by her mother with the baby at the gate of the orphanage, asking them to take good care of her. Dave got the impression that fewer girls are being abandoned now and many orphanages are shutting down. There is still officially a one child limit, but the law seems to be relaxing.
After joining the government tour group, the Allens went to The Great Wall, The Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, and then the Hutong District (old section) where they had lunch in a private home. Lunch is served in homes and in most restaurants around a table with a Lazy Susan in the middle, from which everyone serves themselves. A hutong is a traditional home built in a square around a courtyard. Several generations live in the free standing home. However, that is the old way which some still cling to.
Now, most people live in apartment skyscrapers, which are in constant construction to provide housing for cities ranging from 20 to 30 million people each. A small town in China has two million people. Chongqing has about 33 million in about 31,000 sq. miles, roughly the size of the state of Indiana. As a comparison, Columbus, Ohio, has 217 sq. miles.
Temperatures were very hot everywhere they went. The next stop was Chengdu where they visited a panda preserve and saw about 15 pandas of various sizes in a natural setting. The three girls got to sit next to a live panda and for a price have a picture taken while wearing hospital type gowns to protect the pandas. It was a fundraiser for the preserve.
Then they left the group and flew to Chongqing and picked up a local guide and van for the drive to Jianching, where Claire’s orphanage was. Cathy and Dave came to China in 2002 to get Claire when she was adopted, but because the SARS virus problem was in full force then, they stayed nearby in Chongqing, and had never seen the orphanage site themselves. Their guide was able to find it, but it is now a senior citizens place, not an orphanage, and they could only view the outside. The family felt it was probably not as satisfactory a visit for Claire as Catie’s was for her.
By this point in the trip, the group had had enough of Chinese buffet and went looking for American food. They found a McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and Starbucks! It was a welcome meal. The hamburgers at McDonalds had an egg on top.
 Before leaving for home they set out on a three-night cruise on the Yangzste River, which included going through a five lock system at the Three Gorges Dam. It provides not only flood control, but also hydroelectric power. Twenty more of these are planned.
On the side excursion the uh-oh moment occurred. Here’s how Lynne described it: “They put us on a ferry off our boat for a 50-minute ride to a smaller gorge. From there we were out in groups of 17 into these rickety looking wooden rowboats that four guys were going to row to the gorge inlet. However, there was so much debris in the water (natural debris such as logs, bark, etc. as well as trash) that the inlet was really clogged. There were about 10 boats in the water, and they started to row, but because of the clog, they decided to turn them all around and go back to the ferry. It was then that we heard crack-crack like firecrackers, turned around and saw a rock slide happening, which threw boulders into the water just ahead of us. The scariest part was seeing the look on the face of one of the boat rowers as he screamed (I suppose) “row like hell!” in Chinese. It all ended fine, but it was scary for a few minutes!”
Their final thoughts about China - The middle class has tasted the American good life and they like it and want it. As guides told the Allens, the 25-40 age group are the single children of the one-child policy and they are spoiled.
As a reaction to food and water, everyone except Cathy was sick at least one day while there.
There are high rise construction cranes everywhere.
The Chinese have to limit the number of cars sold in the biggest cities, because traffic is awful, but the urban economy seems to be booming.
Remember, it is still a one-party system and no one trusts the government.
Back to top

7/25/14
In 1940s - new rules for an old game
Summer is the season of outdoor sports and golf is high on my list. The only thing golfers usually have to dodge on the course is the occasional goose droppings or a stray golf ball. Not so in England during World War II. I have recently come across some golf rule modifications used during the war.
First, some background about Britain in 1940. Golf began in the United Kingdom years before, and even though there was a war on, the tough British weren’t going to let that stop their recreation.
During the summer and fall of 1940 the Battle of Britain was going on. It was an air campaign waged by the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) against the United Kingdom. The battle’s name is derived from a famous speech delivered by Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the House of Commons - “... the Battle of France is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin.”
The Battle of Britain was the first major campaign to be fought entirely by air forces and was also the largest and most sustained aerial bombing campaign to that date. The Germans were trying to gain air superiority over the Royal Air Force. As the battle progressed, the Luftwaffe targeted aircraft factories some near golf courses. Eventually the Luftwaffe resorted to attacking areas of political significance and using a terror bombing strategy.
Great Britain prevailed and by preventing German air superiority, it also prevented a planned sea invasion. This long battle was considered Germany’s first major defeat.
Meanwhile, golf was still going on at some clubs and golfers had to make concessions to the usual game. As the German aircraft attacked northern England and because of the icy weather conditions, the barrels of their guns had a small dab of wax in the muzzle to protect them from clogging with ice.
After attacking industrial or other targets close to golf courses, as they crossed the coast, they would clear their guns by firing a few rounds at the golf courses. Golfers were urged to take cover. You have to admire those brave Brits - don’t disrupt their usual lives!
New golf rules were initiated at several golf clubs. These are attributed to the Richmond golf club:
1. Players are asked to collect bomb and shrapnel splinters to save these causing damage to mowing machines.
2. In competition, during gunfire or while bombs are falling, players may take cover without penalty for ceasing play.
3. The positions of known delayed action bombs are marked by red flags at a reasonably, but not guaranteed safe distance there from.
4. Shrapnel and or bomb splinters on the fairway or in bunkers (sand traps) within a club’s length of a ball, may be moved without penalty.
5. A ball moved by enemy action may be replaced or if lost or destroyed, a ball may be dropped not nearer the hole without penalty.
6. A ball lying in a crater may be lifted and dropped not nearer the hole preserving the line to the hole without penalty.
7. A player whose stroke is affected by the simultaneous explosion of a bomb may play another ball from the same place. Penalty one stroke!
You have to admire the bravery of the Brits. At the end of the rules it said, “Keep calm and carry on!”
(Melanie Behrens - melb@marysvillejt.com)
Back to top

7/18/14
A woman’s view of golf
As you may know from my previous columns, I am a golfer. I do enjoy the game.
Now, I can hardly believe I said that. I used to hate it and I guess that is the way it is with many golfers. Sometimes one can say that, even from day to day, depending on the game that moment.
I like to play with old friends and those I’ve just met. The important thing for a good round is having fun, being kind and the positive demeanor of those in the foursome. You know what I mean. Their ability level is not that important to me. Imagine spending four hours with a difficult-to-get-along-with bore.
All that said about the game, I feel I need to report that male chauvinism still exists on the golf course. I think the world is moving out of that, but not so for some older men I’ve recently come in contact with. They seem to relish the saying, GOLF - gentlemen only, ladies forbidden!
When I first started playing, I remember saying I would never go out on the course on Saturday morning in the middle of all those men. I was a beginner. I didn’t feel comfortable doing that.
Well, all that has changed. Some 30 years later, I can hit the ball and I play quickly. Slow play is what most people complain about on the course.
I have now become one of those complainers. I don’t care if you hit the ball 20 times, just do it quickly, not four practice strokes later. I should add that many courses require you to play in four hours or so, depending on the length of the course.
Now to the slow-play male chauvinist part. While playing in Florida earlier this year with my group of friends, who also can hit the ball and play fast, we were lined up waiting for the first tee. That day our husbands happened to be in the group behind us. They knew they wouldn’t have to wait on us to hit during the round. The starter walked up to them and apologized because they were behind two groups of women. Can you imagine that? They answered, “Don’t worry about us, those are our wives. They won’t hold us up.” That put the starter in his place. He walked away sheepishly, the first act of male disapproval of women on the course for the day.
Then we started to play. There were only three men in front of our foursome, but we began waiting on them almost every shot. Sometimes, their tee shots didn’t even reach the ladies tee and then there were the three or four practice swings which produced only average shots later. It was frustrating - I am a very impatient woman in that situation.
So, nine holes were finally done and we went to the clubhouse for water, etc. before continuing. In fact, we decided to take longer than usual to go back out. It would give those slow-playing men a chance to get out of our way.
When we arrived on the 10th tee, the men were just starting the 11th hole. Maybe now we could just play instead of waiting every shot. After our tee shots, the ranger appeared. He’s the guy who’s supposed to keep things moving. Sometimes it says “player assistance” on their cart, but frankly, I’ve never seen them help anyone.
The ranger said, “You need to pick up the pace. You are falling behind.” That was just the final insult. I began telling how we had waited every shot and the other women in my foursome started to chime in. He cut me off in mid sentence saying, “I told you to move on.” Since we didn’t want to be ejected from the course, we shut up. Thus the second male chauvinist problem for the day.
We quickly caught up to the old buzzards (that’s what we were calling them) and the wait began again. Then a good thing happened. On the 15th hole, with four holes to play, those men stepped aside and let us play through. No one cared it took almost five hours to play, one hour longer than usual.
 So is the plight of golfing women. But we shouldn’t complain. After all, they let us out on the course for another day of fun.
Back to top

7/11/14
Check one off the bucket list
I would guess a lot of people have a bucket list. Those are things you want to do before you die (kick the bucket, thus the name), and often you think you will probably never will be able to do. Last week I had the chance to check one off my list. I was able to play the Pebble Beach golf course in northern California ... you know, the one that’s on TV and used to be the Bing Crosby Tournament.
On the Pebble Beach course, 15 holes are on the Pacific Ocean which involves steep cliffs, beautiful blue -green water breaking on the rocks below with seals playing at the base of the hole.
We arrived in San Francisco and then took the two-hour, traffic-filled drive down to Pebble Beach, which is also near Monterey and Carmel-by-the-Sea. This is not just a pretty part of the country, it is beautiful, and views are everywhere that just take your breath away. That makes the very difficult golf course easier to stomach.
I decided my score didn’t matter. I was just going to enjoy the beauty, oh yes, and then there was the wind and surprising cliffs up ahead where your ball could roll off. Of course, one time I landed on the edge of that cliff and feeling very lucky started to hit my ball, and as I did it rolled down the cliff. I believe I lost three balls that day in similar circumstances.
When I landed in sand traps, they were so deep that after hitting, I had to crawl out on my knees. I didn’t always get the ball out the first time either.
Oprah Winfrey’s house is on hole number 10, situated right on the beach where the seals play. It is a sprawling, white stucco mansion with a guesthouse. It just doesn’t seem quite right that someone who doesn’t even play golf should have such a property located on the most scenic course.
Now, I’m used to seeing the beach in Florida where everything is flat as can be. But in California in this location, the beaches all have rocky coasts that stand four stories high making the view fantastic. Several of the greens and tees were located at the top of these cliffs. Many of the cities, particularly Carmel and Monterey, are also quite hilly and yet located right on the water.
The clubhouse at both Pebble Beach and sister course Spanish Bay are comfortable, but not fancy. The decor is newly redone, but maintained in the look of the 1940s and 50s. Certainly the golf course and the area around it did not disappoint and is actually much more beautiful than seeing it on television. I highly recommend the trip even if you’re not a golfer. That part of the country is so different from ours and so lovely.
This trip also included two days in San Francisco and that meant we had to go to wine country. If you drink wine at all and you get to San Francisco you must go, even though Sonoma and Napa are a bit of a hike. Sonoma was a little more than an hour drive.
In San Francisco, the temperature had been in the 60s but as we moved north and inland to Sonoma it was about 80 in just a short time. That heat along with cool nights is apparently good for the grapes, which right now are tiny, green and bitter, waiting to be harvested in the fall.
By the time we got to the second vineyard in Napa, which is another 20 minutes down the road, it was hotter, close to 100 degrees. There, we spent time in the keg room. The vintner explained that wine barrels sit on shelves in that room, where the temperature is maintained at 60 degrees all the time as the wine is made ready. The barrel room is not air-conditioned, but stays at that temperature all the time because of the insulation and the way it was built and with help from the climate.
The wooden barrels made of French oak cost $1,200 each. We were looking at more than 100 of them. They are reused for five years. Red wine is aged for at least five years and white wine is not aged.
Some other interesting facts we learned were: 95 percent of wine made in the U.S. is consumed within five years. Americans consume more wine than any other country in the world. A cork costs 85 cents and all bottles should be stored on their side to keep the cork moist. The screw top on a bottle costs only four cents and does not allow bacteria to enter the bottle as the cork can, plus the bottle can be stored upright.
The winemaker at Madonna winery, owned for 100 years by the Bartolucci family, said that you should not store red wine in a warm cabinet, but if you don’t have a wine cellar or cooler place, you may store it in the refrigerator. Just take it out and let it come up to room temperature before you drink it. Room temperature is considered 57 degrees (something about a dark old castle) not 72.
A stay in San Francisco is always interesting. Things are much more free-wheeling than here. There, you may possess one ounce of marijuana. I’m not sure if that’s one cigarette or if it could be one interesting batch of brownies? We saw the usual abundance of homeless people, some eating out of trash cans and others begging. Also, two men sleeping on the street had plugged their cell phones to an outside outlet and we’re charging them as they slept.
We were told that the city of San Francisco gives any homeless person $400 a month plus another $200 for food, and if they have a dog they can receive an additional $75. This situation has made it comfortable and welcoming to be a homeless person there. So the state of Nevada, which, we understand, has an abundance of homeless persons, is now offering them one way bus tickets to San Francisco. This helps not only Nevada, but also the homeless person who can be subsidized. Apparently the mayors of San Francisco and Nevada cities are now in heavy talks about this situation.
The trip was educational, the take-your-breath-away views were wonderful and the bucket list was shortened.
Back to top

7/3/14
West Seventh Street stars in television commercial
Most of our lives involve a routine and then sometimes opportunities come along to break that up. Several homeowners living on West Seventh Street recently had a unique experience. The Acura division of Honda decided to use Marysville, and specifically some homes on that street, as the basis for a television commercial.
The Craftsman style home of Janice and John Freudenberg was one of those chosen and filming was done in the dining room. Their table which seats eight was replaced with one for 10 and the window coverings were removed by the Los Angeles-based film company to  expose the unique window design.
Janice said they were approached weeks ago by the film crew for use of their home and eventually decided to let them have a tour. An agreement was reached to utilize their house for three days. They considered it as a once in a lifetime event. During filming, Janice was able to stay and watch. After covering all the wood floors and carpet for protection, the film company brought in their own furniture.
 No sound was used during filming and the Freudenbergs were told music would be added later. Even so, Janice said the director called, “Quiet, roll it,” all the things we would expect, and then shouted directions to the actors.
The Freudenbergs emphasized the extreme courtesy with which the film company operated. It was a unique experience and they would do it again in a minute.
Karla Ezerins and her husband, local builder Bill Laurenson, live just a few houses down Seventh Street. Their home was also chosen for its charm. Just as the Laurenson family returned from vacation, the film crew showed up at their home asking for permission to see inside. The crew chose their bedroom and backyard patio for the commercial.
Since there seemed to be people everywhere, for this family of four, moving to a motel was their best option as the filming took place. A smaller bed was brought into their bedroom and art work changed. The ceiling fan was also changed, and a large mirror was added and left for the Laurensons. All their floors were also covered for protection.
Then on the patio, tables and chairs, a smoker and patio lights were added. Karla said there were many actors and a huge crew on site for the patio party filming which included fireworks. Also, there were port-a-potties and rain, so their patio and grounds suffered a bit from that event and it will take time to recover.
During the three days the crew used the home, the Laurenson’s younger son, Wes, who is 10, had to return each day to feed his fish. At one point the art director working with the crew, decided to share some filming secrets with him and told him not to tell anyone until the commercial appeared. He took that seriously and has kept the secrets so far.
Just like the Freudenbergs, the Laurensons decided to allow use of their home because they thought it was something that would probably never happen again. They would also do it again, but with more understanding of how their home would be returned to them.
Neither family was told when this will appear on television, so now we wait for the final product!
Back to top

6/27/14
Grandmother of the year - not
 Some of the funniest stories reported in my column come from friends. I used to say my friends do the craziest things and here’s another example of us all getting older and having lots on our mind. This story may even remind you of something that has happened to you.
 While talking with one of these long-time friends recently, I heard her say, “I’m not going to be named grandmother of the year.” I knew this was going to be a good story. She has been my friend for years and I know her to be a responsible, reasonable person, but this kind of thing happens to all of us sometimes.
 She began by telling me she recently had the responsibility of picking up her middle school-age grandson, when he was dropped off by a school bus. This summer, he is participating in a multi-week program at Bunsold Middle School. It’s called the BASE (Bunsold After School Enrichment) program. His family takes him to the drop-off spot, where he is picked up by a Marysville school bus and taken to the school and back to that place. Then someone has to provide transportation for him to go home. This was his grandmother’s job.
 When this story begins, my friend and her husband had just left town for a trip to the Dublin area. As they drove through Dublin she looked over to the side and said, “that’s where I picked up our grandson once.” She immediately turned to her husband and said, “Oh no,  I was supposed to do that today too, but in Marysville.”
 Thank heaven for cell phones. She quickly called her daughter and asked, “Who picked him up ?” Her daughter immediately replied, “Didn’t you?” Quickly my friend started thinking no, this can’t be. It was raining heavily. He would be left outside alone, but he is 12 years old.
 Then in the background of the phone call with her daughter she heard commotion. There was another call for her about her son. It seems he was in the car with someone he just met. Don’t we always tell our children - never to get in the car with strangers? Well this was a good choice on her grandson’s part.
 There he was standing in the rain getting wet since his grandmother forgot him and a man in a very important vehicle pulled up to offer his help. He said something like, “Young man, can I help you?” After finding out the problem, he produced his sheriff’s badge. You see, this was Union County Sheriff Jamie Patton offering his help to the youngster who clearly needed it. They contacted his mother and the sheriff drove him to her office.
 On the way to the office, he got to see all the bells and whistles in the sheriff’s car and in the end received a junior deputy badge and other goodies. The adventure has to be the source of lots of great stories for this boy, even in years to come.
 Of course, he was fine that day, just a little wet. In fact, I told my friend she should now point out that had she not forgotten to pick him up, he would never have had this adventure and the opportunity to know the sheriff so well. You never know when that friendship will come in handy, and thank you to Sheriff Patton!
 All is well at the youngster’s house and my friend is now continuing to do periodic duty in getting him home from the bus stop. But she’s pretty sure no one will nominate her for grandmother of the year this month.
 Life is busy and complicated for most of us and it really makes me feel good to know that other people forget important things, too.
___
Update on Aunt Katie
 You may remember a few weeks ago the story of Aunt Katie King Phelps Snodgrass who lived in the Milford Center area in 1899, and according to the Marysville Tribune of that year, was about to be 103 years old. She died that year.
 I told you a little about her life. She shot a deer as it was about to enter her cabin. Another time an Indian came in her cabin and measured her baby’s foot. She didn’t know it was for a pair of moccasins and was scared almost to death. Also, she was a well-known weaver of cloth.
 Now thanks to a reader, I have more information about her, published in the Marysville Tribune in 1895. Her grandfather King was killed in the Revolutionary War. His son, Balser, her father, received only six months schooling in Dutch and in English. After he married, he bought a Revolutionary soldier’s land warrant in Union County, Ohio, known as the Uncle Ray Morse property. The family moved to that land in 1807. Katie was 11 years old.
 Her education was limited to three months of school each winter. A young man named Ralph Phelps who had been carrying the U.S. Mail from Worthington to Urbana was hired to teach. She married him in 1816. They had four children. They lived in the wilderness raising hogs, where wolves howled outside the house and fires were built to frighten them away. Eventually they returned to their own land near Milford Center to market flax as Katie was a weaver. Phelps died in 1831.
 Aunt Katie, as she was known to everyone, married James Snodgrass in 1835. She said it was more for a home than love, but they had three children. Snodgrass died in 1867.
 Aunt Katie who was member of the Presbyterian Church and lived to be 103. If you missed the original story about her, go to marysvillejt.com, click on Off the Hook and then on archives.
Back to top

6/20/14
Allie’s in the race
She’s only 21 years old and a recent graduate of Ashland University in criminal justice, but now is headed for a gigantic experience. Allie Spain, MHS class of 2010, will be taking on the World Race, which she first learned about in college. No, she can’t win a million dollars like on TV, and, in fact, she has to pay for it.
The World Race, which began in 2006, is described by its organizers as, “A journey to 11 countries in 11 months to serve ‘the least of these’ while amongst real and raw community. It facilitates discipleship through the process of discovering into the abundant life He promised. It births partnerships with ministries around the world.”
 Allie will be traveling to the Asian countries of India, Nepal, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, China, Japan, Mongolia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Vietnam. She tells me she also speaks none of these languages, but an English-speaking person is promised to be available to the group in each country of this mission trip.
After a week of training in the United States dealing with how to handle yourself in foreign travel and in particular situations in missionary work, she will proceed to Asia with a group of 40 to 50 people in her squad. Once in the country, these squads will be divided into groups of seven called the team and they will live in tents, churches and sometimes with host families. Immunizations are required and undoubtedly unusual food will be eaten. For the first three months, a squad leader will be traveling with the group. This is a person who has been involved with the World Race before, and after three months the group will then be on its own.
Allie said: “ I will have the opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus in parts of the world where they have never heard His name before. I will get the chance to work with orphans, the homeless, widows, women trapped in sex trafficking and so many more groups of people who need a hope to cling to.”
She specifically mentioned that in Thailand her group will be working in the red light district offering friendship and a way out to the women working in the trade there.
For what could undoubtedly be a life-changing experience, Allie needs to raise $16,000 for her expenses including just $4 a day for food. Her fundraising so far has produced about 45% of the amount. She could use your help. If you want to learn more about the World Race and Allie’s journey to this point go to alliespain.theworldrace.org.
I hope to hear periodically and will report to you about Allie and this amazing adventure beginning next fall.
Back to top

6/13/14
Before you die!
I recently received this note from a friend and it really made me laugh. Then, when I passed it on to another friend I received an interesting reply. Here’s the first part:
“Note to self - cancel credit cards prior to death!” Be sure and cancel your credit cards before you die! This is so priceless and so easy to see happening. With customer service as it sometimes is today, some people just don’t think logically.
A lady died this past January and ANZ bank billed her for February and March for their annual service charges on her credit card, adding late fees and interest on the monthly charge. The balance had been $0, but is now somewhere around $60.
A family member placed a call to ANZ Bank.
Family member - “I am calling to tell you that she died in January.”
ANZ - “The account was never closed and the late fees and charges still apply.”
Family member - “Maybe you should turn it over to collections.” ANZ - “Since it is two months past due, it already has been.”
Family member - “So, what will they do when they find out she is dead?” ANZ - “Either report her account to the frauds division or report her to the credit bureau, maybe both!”
Family member - “Do you think God will be mad at her?” ANZ - “Excuse me?”
Family member - “Did you just get what I was telling you? The part about her being dead?” ANZ - “Sir, you’ll have to speak to my supervisor.”
(Supervisor gets on the phone) Family member - “I’m calling to tell you she died in January.” ANZ - “The account was never closed and the late fees and charges still apply.”
Family member - “You mean you want to collect from her estate?” ANZ - (stammer) “Are you her lawyer?”
Family member - “No, I’m her great nephew.” ANZ - “Could you fax us a certificate of death?”
Family member -  “Sure.” (After they get the fax) ANZ - “Our system just isn’t set up for death. I don’t know what more I can do to help.”
Family member - “Well, if you figure it out, great! If not, you could just keep billing her. I don’t think she will care.” ANZ - “Well, the late fees and charges do still apply.”
Family member - “Would you like her new billing address?”ANZ - “That might help.”
Family member - “Rookwood Memorial Cemetery, 1249 Centenary Rd., Sydney, Plot Number 1049.” ANZ - “Sir, that’s a cemetery!”
Family member - “Well, what do you do with deceased people on your planet?”
As I said, this really made me laugh so I sent it on to a friend. After she finished laughing she told this story:
“Melanie, This actually happened to me. Mom had a credit card. Back then they would send you one in the mail. I cannot believe my mother would ever use a credit card. Cash out of the refrigerator/freezer was more her style. She never purchased anything on it. She died. Later I got a letter in regard to her past due credit card which was just the maintenance fees. I can’t remember the amount. This is another reason I did not believe she had or wanted a credit card. Pay for using a credit card to purchase anything - no way would my mother do this. Her refrigerator/freezer never charged her maintenance fees. She paid a local auto dealer cash for her last car and paid for a cabin in Michigan with cash from her refrigerator/freezer.”
“I got in touch with the credit card company and told them she had died and we had no record of her using the card. Okay, they said, but I kept getting past due bills. Then I got a letter about being turned over to a collection agency. I got calls from them. I explained the whole thing to them. Okay, they said, but still got call after call. Finally, the last call I got I did ask them if they wanted her address. Yes they said. I told them the plot number at Oakdale Cemetery, Marysville, Ohio, no phone available. I never got another phone call. I think they sent someone out to make a house harassment call.”
So, in case you have enough warning about death, remember the craziness that could follow if you still have credit cards with fees.
Where are they now?
Matt Vollrath, MHS class of 2001, currently works as director of admissions marketing at Lipscomb University, a private school of about 4,500 students in Nashville, Tennessee. He has just been chosen to participate in the Fulbright International Education Administrators Program.
He was selected for the German Seminar which will run from Oct. 4 to Oct. 18 in Berlin and Mainz. During that time, the group will visit with leaders of the German government and university system, learning about international study abroad, exchange, and recruiting programs.
Back to top

6/6/14
Building a habitat dream
Owning your own home has been said to be the American dream. For many of us it was just an expected thing we would have, some day.
The procedure for home ownership is usually this: go to the lender, give them your information and once your loan is approved a down payment is required. Once all that happens, you are able to buy your new home.
For some, it doesn’t work that way. Circumstances in their lives have made it impossible to buy a home in the conventional fashion. In order to help these people, Habitat for Humanity steps in. It provides a new home, which the eventual, qualifying owner pays for in sweat equity and in the form of a mortgage in their own name. They must be able to repay this 33-year mortgage provided by the U.S.D.A. (United States Department of Agriculture). So, the recipient of the home must qualify financially to make the payments, and is required to take courses in home finance plus home repair and maintenance.
To help recipients of a Habitat for Humanity house, volunteers build the house. The home currently being built on London Avenue is on a beautiful corner lot at Collingwood Drive which was purchased at a reduced amount because it would be used for this purpose. Every Saturday about 18 volunteers put in four hours in the morning and another 18 volunteers work four hours in the afternoon, wearing their bright green shirts, to have this home completed by August.
Along with the volunteers, contractor Bill Lawrenson brings his construction crew in to work for minimal pay to qualify as the required professionals. In fact, licensed contractors in the fields of HVAC, plumbing, and electric are also required to work on the home in teams with the volunteers. In addition, Dayton Power & Light Co. employees put in long, extra hours to have the electricity ready to go when needed to start construction.
 Today, 22 people arrived to put in a day of work on the home representing the U.S.D.A., some coming from here in Ohio and others from Washington DC.
The house currently being constructed will be three bedrooms, two baths and a living room/kitchen combination. It will house a mother and two children. Most Habitat for Humanity houses do not include the garage, but this one will, since it was required by the location in town.
Locally, volunteer Jim Cesa is the head of Habitat for Humanity and he also has a volunteer board of directors. The day I was there to see what was going on, Memorial Hospital had provided breakfast and lunch for the volunteers and a neighbor stopped by bringing chips, snacks and gift cards to a local grocery for all the volunteers. To help on this project you must be 18 years old or 16 years old with parental permission.
The group is looking for more volunteers and help. Work takes place on Saturday, all day with morning and afternoon crews. If you can’t do physical work, financial help is welcome. The future homeowner is also expected to put in at least 150 hours of sweat equity. There are four others in the pipeline waiting for houses and they are also permitted to help with houses being built now, while they are waiting for theirs.
When the home is finished, the master gardeners, headed by George McVey, will donate shrubs to complete landscaping.
The project is a labor of love for our community. Just think, these people are building a home for someone they hardly know. Eventually, Habitat for Humanity would like to be able to complete two houses a year. To be able to do that, their dream is to have a “restore” sometime in the future, which will sell good, used building materials. The money would then help fund materials needed for construction.
If you would like to help with this project in any way, go to www.unioncountyhabitat.org or contact Cesa at 614-306-3225.
Back to top

5/30/14
Oh to be 103
 Her name was Catherine King Snodgrass, but a reporter who interviewed her in 1899 representing the Marysville Tribune, referred to her as Aunt Katie. Apparently, that’s what everyone called her and we don’t know why the difference in spelling of her name with a K instead of a C. On Jan. 11, 1899, the unnamed reporter from the Tribune went to visit Aunt Katie because she had celebrated her 103rd birthday.
According to the reporter, Katie was doing pretty well at this point. She lived in the Milford Center area in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Grimm. We don’t know if the Grimms were relatives or just friends who had taken her in. The reporter described her room in their home as very cozy with a cheerful fire burning in the stove. There were three clay pipes and a box of matches on the table near her bed.
It seems Aunt Katie liked to smoke, which she said she did from morning until night, a habit she began when she was 45 years old. Also, every day she consumed a tablespoonful of whiskey. What a gal! She was rarely sick and, as most women did in those days, worked very hard in the home.
Born in Virginia in 1796, she came from sturdy parentage, German to the core it was said because her grandfather came directly from Germany. When she was four years old her father decided he wanted to explore the west and traveled to Kentucky. In that year, 1800, this meant all the region lying beyond the mountains to the west. They ended up in Louisville, where she grew up.
At age 19, Katie told her father she wanted to marry Ralph Phelps. Unfortunately, her father called him a terrible Yankee and she would be well to watch him. He did not favor the marriage. Katie continued her declarations of love, saying she would go to the end of the world with him. Her father finally allowed them to marry, and then the couple moved in with her parents.
They quickly had seven children. At the time of the interview, only one of her children, William, then 70, was still living. He was in Nebraska. In those times it probably meant she hadn’t seen him for many years. Eventually, the Phelps family moved to Zanesville and then to a farm near Milford Center. Katie helped clear the land, plant the crops and prepare rails for a new fence.
 This was a wild territory at that time. As a young wife she told stories of abounding wild animals around their home and of shooting a deer that tried to enter her front door. Another time a large Indian broke into the cabin during the absence of her husband drawing a scalping knife. With that he cut a piece of bark from the floor, after which he demanded to measure her child’s foot. It seems all he wanted to do was make the baby a pair of moccasins. This was an act of goodwill — what a big relief. She said it “skeered her considerable.” She said at this time Marysville was not even on the map.
Her husband, Ralph, died and even in these later years she still referred to him as her first true love. Then in 1835, she married a neighbor, James Snodgrass. She said it was more for the sake of a home than anything else, since her parents were both dead. She had high regard for Mr. Snodgrass and learned to love him as the years went by.
As a young girl, she was taught to weave, and from then on until she was 80 years old, it was said in the Tribune: “Scarcely, a day passed when she did not work on making cloth and carpet. She became famous for her weaving ability and a wager was once laid upon her ability to weave more than anyone in the county. She won that battle clearly established by weaving 13 yards of linen in one day and of the finest quality too.”
Aunt Katie had a long, and it appears, a happy life.  She was alive through some of the life of every American president up to that point, since she was born on the day George Washington died. She saw the life and death of over four generations and when the reporter asked about the end of her life she said. “I am ready to go anytime God calls me.” She died two months later in March of 1899. No doubt some of the descendants of Aunt Katie are still in Union County today.
Back to top

5/23/14
Never thought I’d say that
If you know me well, I think you would consider me a traditional person. While enjoying all the advantages that technology can provide in this modern time, I still like some of the ways we always did “stuff.”
For instance, I like a little more formality to life than we have at this time. There are just some instances when the cut-offs and ball caps should be left at home. Oh yes, I also still like it when a man holds the door for me.
Ok, all that said, I have changed my mind about a traditional part of our society. Like many of those way over 40, when it came to reading the newspaper, I enjoyed the touch and feel of the paper and turning the pages. I thought reading it on the computer was going to be horrible, but I decided to try it since that is how the world is changing. Could I accept this new way?
One of the reasons the e-edition was started at The Journal-Tribune was as a convenience for our subscribers who were out of state. Then they could read the newspaper very easily every day while away.
I began reading the J-T on my laptop computer. It’s a simple thing to do. Once you have a subscription to the Journal-Tribune you also have free online newspaper service. Just notify the office and they will get you started. You simply go to marysvillejt.com, type in your email address, make up your own password and you’re ready to go. Our newspaper is easy to navigate and the pictures are quite sharp and colorful.
After succeeding at the first part, my next brave step was to download the free app for the Marysville Journal-Tribune on my iPad. You may remember about a year ago I ventured into the iPad world and it was so different. After many trips to the Genius Bar at the Apple store learning to use the iPad, I can say, I get it. In fact, I rarely use my computer now. Most of my columns are written on my iPad mini.
 But, how would it be to read the newspaper on this small device? The answer is, it’s great. If you have an iPad, just touch the screen on the app and the front page appears. Of course the print can be made larger on an iPad by just spreading the screen out so everything is very easy to read. Editions from several previous weeks are also available there.
One of the best parts of reading online is that the Journal-Tribune can be read by 3 p.m. each day. Sometimes it is even available as early as 1 p.m. If you’re out of town, no worries, the Journal-Tribune is always with you via the Internet.
 So, I never thought I’d say this and I feel like I’ve taken a huge step forward. I enjoy reading the Marysville Journal-Tribune online. If you haven’t tried it, maybe you should give it a shot.
___
Maybe you didn’t know
Karen Ruetty has served as director of the Union County Cancer Society for 19 years. To keep the overhead low, her office is in her home and that means more money available to serve those in Union County. All the money raised here, stays here, unlike some other organizations. At this time, 65 local people are receiving help during their cancer treatment. Some money for this group comes from The United Way and direct donations are also welcomed.
Anyone who has cancer is eligible to receive money for gasoline (based on mileage), wigs, and prescriptions. All they have to do is ask in the form of an application. Those serving on this board are, Gerald Graves, Roger Brake, Janet Pyers, Ann Anderson and Markette Bayliss. Those who need assistance or who would like to donate to this organization can learn more at unioncountycancersociety.org or call 937-642-3910.
Back to top

5/16/14
Diver, instructor, now historian
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Army Special Forces Underwater Operations School in Key West, Fla. Many have trained there over the years and one special Marysville grad, Billy Hoopes (MHS class of ’84), was an instructor there. Now he serves as historian for the school and was recently mentioned in the Key West newspaper, “The Citizen.”
The paper did a feature about the school saying America’s most classified operatives and military commandos have come there for underwater combat training. It’s an elite school taught by Green Berets (Army Special Forces). According to the Citizen: “Hoopes now organizes instructor reunions every two years. He is an amateur historian on combat diving and the Army dive school. He was also an instructor at the Navy SEAL dive program in California as part of a joint training exercise with the Navy.”
Billy initially went through the Special Forces Underwater Operations School (SFUWO) as a student in 1993, nine years after MHS graduation. He had been in the military since 1985 and a member of the Green Berets since 1992. In 1995, he was assigned to the school as an instructor and spent three years there teaching the combat diver and combat diving supervisor courses.
Now retired, he can look back on varied experiences in the Army. Billy said: “After completing that assignment I was reassigned to 10th Special Forces Group at Fort Carson, Colo. (Colorado Springs). During that assignment is when I deployed to Zvornik, Bosnia Herzegovina. The house our team (8 guys) was living in was attacked by Serbian paramilitary in response to the bombing of Serbia that NATO was conducting during Operation Allied Force. During the attack, which was mainly with rocket-propelled grenades, a round penetrated the room I was sleeping in and missed me by less than two feet.”
“After the Fort Carson assignment, I was selected for an instructor exchange billet at the USN Special Warfare Center, BUDS ( Basic Underwater Demolition/Seal) training course. I worked in the diving phase of the SEAL training pipeline. We’d been conducting the instructor exchange program since the early nineties, teaching the same diving curriculum as our school in Key West. There were a couple of SEALs who were assigned to our school in Key West also. I spent four years in Coronado, Calif. for this assignment and made many trips to our school in Key West. I was officially assigned to the school in Key West with duty at BUDs. I retired after 20 years of service in 2005.”
“Since retiring I have lived in Colorado Springs and still work at 10th SFG in the amphibious operations department. My job mainly consists of the maintenance and repair of all water-related equipment used there, mostly closed-circuit rebreathers (Draeger MK25 rebreather which is the rig used by both SEALS and Green Berets), open-circuit SCUBA gear, kayaks, and zodiac inflatable boats.”
I asked Billy about scary moments in the water and he said: “Ninety-nine percent of our combat diving operations are conducted at night, which can be a little scary for new divers. Picture this scene: 50 degrees water temperature, outfitted in a dry suit, diving equipment, individual weapon, compass board with depth gauge and watch, and its 2 a.m., falling backwards from the boat into an inky blackness of Puget Sound. This is just an example, but you get the picture. The compass board and depth gauge are illuminated underwater, so that’s all you can see. Everything else you feel, pressure from increasing depth and things bumping into you. For me, the darkness is comforting, it allows you to just relax and focus on your compass board, and most importantly you don’t see things that bump into you, which helps.”
“Once, while conducting a small boat long range movement in Puget Sound, I had a close encounter with an adult Orca. We’d stopped to take a break in the middle of the night well off the coast of Seattle and out of nowhere the whale popped up next to our 12-foot inflatable boat. It was an amazing site only illuminated by the light of the moon. Nobody said a word. The whale surfaced a few times looking us over and disappeared into the dark water.”
“Diving and parachuting are things you must be able to overcome the fear of, at least to be in our business. Some guys just aren’t comfortable in a water environment and our school does an excellent job of identifying and pulling these guys from training.”
After a childhood spent at Marysville pools and Mill Creek and other muddy ponds throughout Union County, I was extremely comfortable in an aquatic setting.”
He and his wife Stephanie live in Colorado, Springs. He has a daughter, Amy. His next reunion is with his Marysville High School class this summer.
Back to top

5/9/14
MHS students take a break
Spring break is a wonderful thing, a diversion from the winter routine. Some who are lucky get to leave town for a week or so and others leave the country, like the group of 19 Marysville High School students and their three chaperones.
Theirs was billed as an educational tour of Middle and Eastern Europe including, Berlin, Dresden, Prague, Kraków and Budapest. They saw the Berlin wall, cathedrals, castles, the Wieliczka Salt Mines (where everyone licked salt off the wall) and the extermination camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau.
The city of Berlin they say, still suffers in appearance and in comparison between the old east and west sides (communist and free). The buildings in the old east sector still look gray, somber and very basic.
 Budapest may have been the most beautiful city with well-preserved buildings amidst modern ones. It was originally comprised of two cities, Buda and Pest. There, everyone enjoyed Hungarian goulash, a tomato-based soup. In Poland their breakfast buffet included dill pickles, sauerkraut salad and pasta salad, a surprise to everyone.
The visit to the extermination camps was a sobering experience. A spokesman for the group said: “The visit to Auschwitz and Birkenau was particularly moving and memorable for all of us. To see the items that are in the museum created in the barracks of the prisoners was unsettling. The shocking displays of suitcases, personal items like shoes, shaving brushes, hairbrushes, and even an unbelievable amount of prisoner’s cut hair to be used by the Germans for garments, etc., made the sadness of those camps become more real in such a surreal setting.”
On the trip there were many learning opportunities including dealing with foreign currency, and routine passport stops. At one of those, a chaperone’s passport was taken. The authorities entered the motorcoach the group was traveling in and all had to show passports. One chaperone had to surrender his for about five minutes, causing some concern. Then it was returned and the group could travel on. Apparently, this sort of thing happens to him a lot even in the U.S. with the TSA. So, he wasn’t surprised. It was good for the students to see that not everyone gets to travel as freely as we do in the U.S.
The chaperones were pleased to report that no one got lost and for the most part all went smoothly, which says a lot for a group of 22 people in foreign countries. In fact, the 19 MHS students got rave reviews from the tour director and hotel clerks.
The educational trip for next year will be to Paris, Normandy and the Loire Valley. Sign me up now.
Back to top

5/2/14
The 50th is really big
 A class reunion is time for remembering. Some can’t wait to go. Others are afraid of how they’ll look, whether they will know everyone and whether others will remember them? With all that in mind, the Marysville High School class of 1964 is in the process of celebrating their 50th reunion.
 This was not to be a one-shot deal. In fact, it is a celebration with three distinct events.
 The classmates began last October by appearing on a float in the Marysville homecoming parade. The second part was a Caribbean cruise. Finally, they will end this year of memories with a two-day event in late June.
 The class of 1964 began its reunions 10 years later in 1974 and has had one every five years since. There were 144 students in the class and it was larger than usual because that is the year Marysville consolidated with Northwestern Schools in Raymond. When those students came to Marysville it added about 45 new classmates.
 When reunion organizers began discussing arrangements for the three-part reunion, Russell Bigelow suggested a seven-day cruise. Eventually 21 classmates signed up and there were also 20 spouses and significant-others also along on the trip for a total of 41.
 They came from eight states. Traveling the farthest were Ronnie and Jean Ann Henry from Alaska. Also cruising with the class were Nevin and Bev Lantry. He was the MHS band director and she the majorette coordinator in 1964. The cruise left from San Juan, Puerto Rico, and went to St. Croix, St. Kitts, Dominica, Granada and St. Thomas, a perfect remedy for this terrible winter in Ohio.
 Judy Michael, a member of the class, reported the food was fantastic, and the excursions great, but she said the best part was sitting around at the end of the day talking about old times and where their lives had taken them.
 Speaking of island excursions, on St. Kitts Judy said this was a surprise of sorts. She and three other classmates decided to go zip lining. Some of them had done this before and knew it to be a quick and yet usually fun trip downward, landing on a platform. While this was quick, about 30 seconds, and beautiful, sliding over a rain forest, the end was big! In fact, there was no platform to land on. The participants simply hit the end, which was made up of fat springs about 10 feet long at about 20 mph. She says it was a big jolt.
 On the top deck of the ship at night, member of the class Gary “Houston” Shirk proved to be a good entertainer with singing while playing his guitar.
 Now with two of the three events of the class reunion over, the group will complete their celebration in late June.
Back to top

4/25/14
She was my friend
I met her about 30 years ago on the tennis court. She was the experienced player and I the beginner. We played together for many years and became friends. Blanche Sampsel lovingly known as Dolly to everyone, was a lot of fun! She loved to laugh with others and about herself as she told stories, usually involving her family.
For some reason she never wanted anyone to know exactly how old she was, hiding her age at every opportunity, even though she always looked much younger than what I suspected was her real age. Now that she has passed away, everyone knows for sure. Sorry about that, Dolly.
I was once told that when she entered Memorial Hospital for surgery, she gave them at least three different birth dates at different times, in an attempt to always keep them guessing — I guess.
Dolly and I had a running joke about her age. Sometimes she would be talking about the years when she was in high school in the Cleveland area and I would say, “What year was that, Dolly?” You could see she was going to start to answer me and then she would smile and say, “Oh, no you don’t.”  I made many failed attempts to actually get her to admit her age or at least the year she was born. I never tripped her up, however.
One day when we were playing tennis she turned to me and said, “Mel, will you write about me when I’m gone?” I had recently been ill and told her I was sure she was going to outlive me. Now the opposite has come true and I’m here to tell all what a great person she was.
Dolly was from a large Irish, Catholic family and grew up near Cleveland. It was a close-knit group of aunts, uncles, and cousins and for many years there was a summer reunion at Cedar Point of this huge extended family.
Dolly and her husband, Jim came to Marysville in the early 1950s and he served as the only surgeon at Memorial Hospital for many years. That meant Jim was gone a lot, so it was Dolly and her five children. Jim and the children were her life. They had four boys Kevin, Bill, James and Charles and one daughter, Mary or Moe. After Moe died several years ago, life changed greatly for Dolly. We noticed the sadness never really left her. Then she retired from tennis, but I’m pretty sure she was at least 80 by then. Of course, she made sure I couldn’t be sure of that.
Dolly and Jim lived close to the Marysville swimming pool and this was a place where she was a regular. She was a great swimmer and diver. Reportedly, on the last day before the pool closed at the end of the summer, Dolly and Margaret Mackan would take a ceremonial dive off of the board. Her dive was perfect every time, even in her later years.
Though her hearing failed in her last years, she always had a ready smile and stories about her family. She was surely someone who brought a smile to your face and we will all remember her fondly.
So, this is for you, Dolly — I was proud to call you friend.
Back to top

4/18/14
Birthdays and politics in Myanmar
This is the third installment in our most recent look into the life of Marysville grad Lori Black. She lives in Mandalay, Myanmar, and teaches first grade in an international school. (If you missed the last two stories about Lori, just go to marysvillejt.com and click on Off the Hook, then on archives.)
In Myanmar (formerly Burma) there is an interesting twist on birthday celebrations.
Lori begins: “Another tradition that I find quite interesting in Myanmar is the manner in which birthdays are celebrated. Just like in the states, birthdays are an important day in a child’s life, and meant to be celebrated. They still have cake, candles, singing, and gift giving, only the gift giving is done by the birthday boy or girl.”
“In most cases, birthday gifts are declined by the guest of honor and must be given on a different day, but they proudly bring their own (usually massive) cake and ice cream, and then they bring gifts for each person at the party. In this case, it means that the birthday boy or girl has to bring 29 gifts for each student and one gift for each of the three teachers! The student proudly passes out a goody bag to each student. They hand out pencils, markers, pencil cases, pencil sharpeners, pillows, wall decals, erasers, notebooks, folders, or snacks for everyone. While it does seem expensive at the time, I find it to be an interesting concept. In the end, everyone spends about the same on one another. I do feel fortunate though, that my birthday falls during the summer vacation.”
Lori has been able to travel frequently. “After almost ten months in Myanmar, I finally got to go to Pyin Oo Lwin, a small mountain town used by the British Army as a military outpost during their occupation to escape the Mandalay and Yangon heat. It has been in the upper 90s the last couple of weeks and this is just the beginning of the hot season. I went there during their annual flower festival at the National Kandawgyi Botanical Gardens. It was full of exotic flowers and animals. Gibbons swung freely through the trees. I got to stroll through the town that seems as if it had stopped in time. Many of the old British colonial summer homes still stand in good condition and colorful horse carriages still fill the streets.”
“One of my most exciting moments in Myanmar was going to the Mandalay Literary Festival to see an interview with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. She is the daughter of General Aung San, a former military leader of Myanmar known as ‘The Father of Burma.’ She is also an author, the leader of the National League for Democracy, a possible presidential candidate in the 2015 elections if they are held, (she was elected president years ago but the military government wouldn’t give up power.) and a Nobel Peace Prize winner. The government has been a military one for almost 80 years, but democracy may be there soon.”
“Unfortunately, the auditorium had a maximum capacity of approximately 100 people, including all of the media that came to record the event. I caught a glimpse of her as she rolled by in a car surrounded by guards linked at the arm. I didn’t even bother trying to elbow my way into the auditorium. Instead, I sat happily and watched her interview on a big screen outside, but I do hope to see her speak again in the coming year during the campaigns.”
Lori originally went to Myanmar for just a year but has decided to stay on for another. Her reasons are this: “I have decided to stay because I am really happy at my school and I love this country. I wake up every day and look forward to going to work, seeing my students, and being in my class. I love driving down the dusty streets and dodging cattle and sheep. I find it incredible that I pass by the most beautiful pagodas and stupas in Asia every day. I still can’t get over the fact that I’m friends with a monk. My life is wonderful here. I couldn’t ask for more.”
We’ll have more in the future from Myanmar through Lori’s eyes.
Back to top

4/11/14
J. R. McCoy - songwriter/musician
He’s a 1999 graduate of Fairbanks High School where he was a running back on the football team. Now, J. R. McCoy lives in Nashville and is a songwriter and musician performing with Jerrod Niemann in a band called “The Hung Jury.” Their two recent hits are “Lover Lover” and “Drink to That All Night,” and their newest album called “High Noon” has just been released. Now they will all be performing at The All Ohio Balloon Fest in Marysville on Thursday, Aug. 14. The concert is sponsored by the Richwood Bank and the Journal-Tribune.
 J.R. grew up in Union County and was raised by his grandparents, John and Martha McCoy. John was a teacher and also an assistant football coach at Fairbanks High School. J.R. says his grandmother took him to church, where he did his first singing and instilled in him those basic Christian values, while his grandfather taught him to be a hard worker.
In high school he sang in the church choir and wrote Christian music that led him to writing country music today. After graduation from Ashland University (he was there on a football scholarship) in early childhood education, J.R. went directly to Nashville to be a songwriter and performer.
His grandfather wasn’t too happy about that. He felt the music business was too uncertain and wanted J.R. to be a teacher/coach like him. But before John passed away two years ago, he was able to see and enjoy his grandson’s success and even display a picture of his band on the wall of his room at the Gables.
The first two years in Nashville were rough as is the music business in general. Early on, he used his education degree to work as a part-time aide in special education in a high school. The rest of the time he wrote songs and played in the Nashville clubs. Eventually, he signed with a music publisher and met Jerrod Niemann (the headliner at the Balloon Fest). That changed his life. Jerrod as the lead singer of the band, has also become a close friend. They have been working together as Jerrod Niemann and “The Hung Jury” for six years. J.R. describes himself as a utility man, playing guitar, percussion and harmonica, whatever is needed.
He’s been married for two years and met his wife Kelly on a blind date in Nashville. J.R. says he wanted to marry her right away, and the proposal that would follow was memorable. The band was performing in Toledo, where they were touring with Gary Allen. Jerrod called Kelly up on the stage and J.R. was quickly down on one knee asking for her hand! Jerrod was playing, the audience was clapping and Kelly was crying, while they danced on stage. I say this makes J.R. a pretty romantic guy.
The life of a musician on tour can be tough. There are often several weeks at a time, on the road away from home, returning just to see family and do laundry. Then they are back out again.
While on the tour bus, J.R. says the band sleeps in special bunks outfitted with a pull down T.V. screen and music hook up. Sometimes as he’s setting up each night to perform, he has to think, “What town am I in?” On the other hand, he loves the music business and the people in it.
Getting to know Garth Brooks was tops on his list. J.R. calls him one of the coolest people. Garth is a friend of Jerrod, J.R. and the guys in “The Hung Jury.” Not too long ago the band was touring Oklahoma near the home of Garth and he invited them over for lunch. As they exited the bus he was waiting and stuck out his hand saying, “Hi, I’m Garth,” to those he was meeting for the first time. After lunch there were many stories about life in the music business. Garth is a big college football fan (including Ohio State) and J.R. calls him a super human being.
 In his years in the business, J.R. has performed with Blake Shelton, Brad Paisley and Miranda Lambert for starters. Now the band is on tour with Keith Urban this summer.
Tickets for their performance at the All Ohio Balloon Fest on Thursday, Aug. 14 will go on sale tomorrow at the Taste of Marysville being held at Marysville High School Field House. A general admission ticket is $20, preferred seating is $40 and VIP is $80. For J. R. McCoy, life is good!
Back to top

4/4/14
Head shaving and hot coals - ugh!
Last week I began our latest look into the life of Marysville grad Lori Black. She teaches first grade in an international school in the country of Myanmar. Through her reports, we are able to see into an exotic world most of us will never visit. In this segment, she tells about walking on hot coals, but first describes the head shaving event.
Lori relates: “Myanmar is a predominately Buddhist country. One tradition that is still regularly practiced is a head shaving ceremony where a young girl or boy has their head shaved, dawns a robe, and gets a chance to be a novice monk for a week. The child will become respected and the parents will gain merit in the community. At one point in a child’s life, they may choose to take part in the activity, and they can do so more than once, gaining them and their family even more merit and respect.”
 “A co-worker and I were invited to a head-shaving ceremony of a student named Larry (a second grade student at her school).”
Lori added that all of the students at the school adopt an “English name.”
“They all have English names at our school. It is kind of hilarious, though. You get some pretty ridiculous names, like Lebron James, Cherry, Honey, Sweety...there’s even a Beyoncé. They obviously get to choose their names.”
“The event begins early in the morning and ends in the evening, but you are only expected to come for a short time in the afternoon. We threw on our Sunday best, hopped on a motorbike (I had to ride side-saddle), and searched for the monastery. We could hear the music from blocks away.”
“We arrived to professional video cameras and flashes of digital cameras. I felt like we were on the red carpet. Everyone was dressed in their fanciest longyis (traditional dresses). Finally, we saw Larry and his little sister. He was dressed in turquoise silk and decorated with diamonds and make-up, and so was his 5 year-old sister. He was so excited to see us there. We ate and talked to his parents and other families from the school. Later that evening, Larry and his sister had their heads shaved and spent the week praying and asking for donations of food in the community around the monastery.”
Lori then reported on the hot coals in the night event, and a Muslim ritual: “I heard rumors of men walking on fire, praying, and chest beating in the wee hours of the night. I did some research and found out it is called Ashura, the mourning of Muharram, son of the Prophet Muhammad.”
 “In the middle of the night, I set off with a group of friends to see what all of the fuss was about. We found a crowded alleyway filled with vendors, women in hijabs, or head scarves, and a bed of flaming coals. A group of people stood outside a candle-lit prayer room, peaking into the barred off windows. The room was packed with young men, chanting in prayer and beating their chests - hard. The chest pounding and the chanting stopped. Lights came on and men poured out into the street with a mission. They gathered around three floats, raised them on their shoulders, and walked through the back alleys of Mandalay. About an hour later, they returned. The crowd was full of energy. The last event of the night was men walking on fire.”
“The same group of men that were pounding their chests when we had arrived continued praying until they received a call to go ahead with the final process of mourning. All at once, about 50 boys and young men, dressed in red and white robes poured out of the mosque, carrying flags, still chanting prayers. They encircled the bed of coals, waved the flags over them, and lined up at the head of the carpet of flames. The first to cross were boys, younger than my first grade students. They were assisted across by older men holding their hands to ensure that they did not fall. Each that crossed was older than the last. Some men hopped through on the balls of their feet and other stomped through, scattering embers about the soil. Once everyone had passed, they repeated the process two more times. (Ouch!) After the final boy had crossed, a crowd of male spectators lined up and did the same. Some even carried their baby daughters across. They said it was for health and happiness, and since women cannot cross, this would be the only chance their little girls could gain luck from the tradition.”
 Lori tells me there were no burned feet after this event. She says its mind over matter. It’s so hard for me to believe this can be done.
Next week we’ll have birthdays a different way and politics of the country.
Back to top

3/28/14
Lori Black gets tricked
Marysville High School grad Lori Black, class of ‘03, is currently teaching in an English speaking, international school in Mandalay, Myanmar, formerly Burma. She has just finished the school year teaching first grade, and has signed on to stay for another term. She teaches 10 months, but is currently on break since their summer is now. The temperature can be upwards of 100 degrees with 100 percent humidity.
The school has decided to follow the American schedule for the 2014-2015 school year and will begin classes in September and end in June. Since the break is so long, teachers will hold summer camp sessions for three months during the summer.
In the past year, Lori has shared many unique experiences with us from a place most of us will never see. So, here is her latest adventure.
Lori begins: “The relationships I have with my students have bloomed. I know them well and appreciate them as people, however small they are. They are inquisitive, curious, and impressive beings who soak up knowledge and begin to use it as soon as they get a chance. I realize that these children are the future of this country. They will be the change that this country has needed for the past 80 years.”
She is also a good sport as she describes here: “Each month on the day of the full moon, there is some sort of celebration here in Myanmar. In November, we had the Festival of Lights. I had been warned that it was similar to Halloween in the United States, but I didn’t quite understand what was meant by that until it happened. It started early, my helmet went missing from my motorbike. (She bought it as soon as she arrived there, learning quickly that transportation was a necessity.) Everyone kept a straight face, claiming they had no idea what was going on, and they commented on what a strange coincidence it was that all of the foreign teachers were having the same problems.”
“Near the end of the day, people started coming up to us, asking us for money. Considering the culture here, this is not something people would do. Confused, everyone coughed up the money. In the afternoon, a few of us went out on our motorbikes, only to be stopped by giggling children blocking the road with a rope, asking for money or candy. We looked down the road and there were about 10 more road blocks. We soon realized this was all part of the trickery and decided to take part in the fun. I grabbed a couple of bags of candy and a hundred dollar bill and had it changed into one hundred thousand kyats and decided to drive into the country.”
“Each road block was the same - a group of giddy children and young adults with a rope across the road collecting their toll. My friends and I tossed them candy and about a dollar for each child. At the end of the day, we saw delighted groups of children sitting alongside the road, showing off how much money and candy they had collected.”
“That evening, I climbed up Mandalay Hill with a group of teachers to see the Festival of Lights. The pagoda was surrounded by people who were lighting small white candles that shaped words in the local language. Groups of women were singing prayers behind the flames. I was told by a monk that I was to make a wish each time I lit a candle and my wish would come true. The next day, my helmet was back on my motorbike and everything was back to normal.”
Next week we’ll read about head shaving and hot coal walking in Myanmar!
Back to top

3/21/14
Find my phone
I have finally graduated from my BlackBerry cell phone to a new up-to-date iPhone. I’ve heard a lot about the feature on it called “find my phone.” After all, this is an expensive piece of equipment and if lost, this built-in tool could help you find it. Just as I was wondering how this really works, my friend Patrice Shields had this great story for me. Even if you don’t have this phone you might be able to help one who does in the event of a lost phone.
Patrice and Randall Shields live in Greenfield, Ind. and we know them through the newspaper business. Recently they traveled to Thailand with all their family for a visit. Two of their three grown children were actually living there for a short time on business. This would come in handy later when it was important for someone to know their way around the city of Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Patrice describes their son, Zack, who was living there temporarily, as prone to losing things. This time it was his iPhone. Zack was in the process of moving all his belongings from one place to another in Chiang Mai and was aboard a version of mass transportation called a songkow. It is a type of pick-up truck with a half cover over the back, so that passengers in the back sitting on seats can see out. The driver is in the front separated from his passengers and the cost is 60 cents to ride.
Shortly after exiting the songkow Zack realized he did not have his phone. A panic went over him and his family. What a place to lose your cell phone — in Thailand.
He searched everywhere and finally narrowed it down to the songkow. The problem was how to find the phone. First they called it several times. Surprise — no answer. Zack realized he had the search feature available, so his father went into action on the computer. He went to find my phone — iCloud and there were instructions to check in with your Apple ID. Shortly a map of the world appears. Then a marker shows up and sometimes even gives an address of the place where your phone is located. Then it gives you an option to send a note saying, please return my phone to whatever place and also you can send an alert sound if there is still power in the phone. Zack decided to go after it himself.
Randall soon saw the phone pinging on the map and that it was probably moving along in the songkow. Zack and his friend, Shannon, (who knew his way around the city) hopped on a motor scooter, armed with another cell phone and began the journey to the exact spot where the songkow was, all the time talking to Randall on another cell phone. When they reached the exact spot, Zack got off his scooter and went right up to the songkow sitting on the street quickly searching in the back. He didn’t find the phone. Then he went to the driver, opened the door, and got in and sat down while his friend waited on the scooter.
He said, “I lost my phone and I’m sure you have it in the vehicle.” The driver said, “No phone, no phone.” Zack asked his father again on the other phone, “Are you sure this is it?” Randall said, “Yes, right where you are.” Zack again said bravely, “You have my phone and I am not leaving until you give it to me.”
The driver appeared to get nervous and suddenly started searching through a bag on the side of his seat. Soon the cell phone appeared in his hand asking, “This what you looking for?” Zack said it was his phone and took it from him. The driver then said he wanted the equivalent of three dollars for the phone. Zack decided to pay him, but told the driver he had to go back to his friend on the motor scooter to get the money. When Zack got out of the cab, phone in hand, the driver drove off, apparently getting cold feet about the extortion.
So, Zack had his phone back. He didn’t have to pay any ransom for it. “Find my phone” really works. What a place to test it out, though!
If you lose your phone now you will know how to go about finding it. I’m sure your recovery won’t be quite this dramatic, but I know it will be as rewarding.
Skiing for a living
She’s the manager of the Women’s International Ski team, the marketing coordinator for the K-2 ski company and the originator of the Women’s International Day of Skiing. Alyssa Clark is the daughter of Marysville High School grad Allen Clark, class of ‘71, and the granddaughter of Myrtle Conrad of Marysville.
Alyssa grew up in Whitefish, Mont. She is 25 years old and has been skiing since she was two. She now lives in Seattle and her mission is to promote women’s skiing and her K-2 brand of skis, boots and poles.
This winter was the first Women’s International Ski Day and was the result of the hard work of Alyssa. All over the world, some 68 women’s events occurred on the same day, many in the U.S. plus Switzerland and Japan. She is already planning next season’s day, which will be 12/13/14. Right now her life and career center around skiing and promotion of the sport for women.
Back to top

3/14/14
St. Patrick’s Day almost here
The man for whom the day is named, Patrick, was born in Roman Britain in the fourth century, into a wealthy Romano-British family. His father was a deacon and his grandfather was a priest in the Christian church. At the age of 16, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and taken to Ireland as a slave.
It is believed he was held somewhere on the west coast of Ireland, possibly Mayo. He was told by God in a dream to flee from captivity to the coast, where he would board a ship and return to Britain. Upon returning, he quickly joined the church in Auxerre in Gaul and studied to be a priest.
In 432, he was called back to Ireland, though as a bishop, to Christianise the Irish from their native polytheism. He performed several miracles maybe even including driving all the snakes out of Ireland. The shamrock comes into play here because it is said he used it to explain the Christian doctrine of the Trinity to the Irish people, meaning Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all really one.
After nearly 30 years of evangelism, he died on March, 17, 461, and according to tradition, was buried at Downpatrick. Thus this day of celebration, which originated in Ireland, is named after St. Patrick. The Irish people are so colorful and interesting as evidenced by the humor which surrounds them and is often linked to the Catholic religion and drinking. They are certainly not afraid to laugh at themselves.
Some of my Irish friends have shared their humor with me, so now I share with you. I hope you enjoy a good reason to laugh! Here’s a salute to the Irish.
- An Irish priest is driving down to New York and gets stopped for speeding in Connecticut. The state trooper smells alcohol on the priest’s breath and then sees an empty wine bottle on the floor of the car.
He asks, “Sir, have you been drinking?” “Just water,” says the priest.
The trooper asks, “Then why do I smell wine?”
The priest looks at the bottle and says, “Goo Lord! He’s done it again!”
- Paddy was driving down the street in a sweat because he had an important meeting and couldn’t find a parking place.
Looking up to heaven he said, “Lord take pity on me. If you find me a parking place I will go to Mass every Sunday for the rest of my life and give up me Irish whiskey!”
Miraculously, a parking place appeared. Paddy looked up again and said, “Never mind I found one!”
- Gallagher opened the morning newspaper and was dumbfounded to read in the obituary column that he had died. He quickly phoned his best friend, Finney.
“Did you see the paper?” Asked Gallagher. “They say I died!”
“Yes I saw it,” replied Finney. “Where are you calling from?”
- Kevin told Pat that his wife was driving him to drink. Pat thinks he’s very lucky because his own wife makes him walk.
- O’Toole worked in the lumber yard for 20 years and all that time he been stealing wood and selling it. At last his conscience began to bother him and he went to confession to repent.
“Father, it’s been 15 years since my last confession and I’ve been stealing wood from the lumberyard all these years,” he told a priest.
“I understand my son,” said the priest. “Can you make a Novena?”
O’Toole said, “Father, if you have the plans, I have the lumber.”
- Irish philosophy - there are only two things to worry about, either you are well or you are sick. If you are well, there is nothing to worry about. If you are sick, there are two things to worry about - either you will get well or you will die.
If you get well, there’s nothing to worry about. If you die, there are two things to worry about - either you will go to heaven or to hell. If you go to heaven, there’s nothing to worry about. But if you go to hell, you’ll be so darn busy shaking hands with your friends you won’t have time to worry!
So, on this coming St. Patrick’s Day, these things I warmly wish for you, someone to love, a bit of sun, a beauty of cheer, and a guardian angel always near.
Knock, Knock. Who’s there? Irish. Irish who? Irish you a Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Back to top

3/7/14
Marysville’s Branch of the Keeley Institute
 A few weeks ago in the story about the history of the building housing Salon 122 (now on South Main St. in uptown Marysville), I mentioned the Keeley Institute.
 When the much-respected Dr. James Southard died in 1891, his home, now the site of Salon 122, was purchased by a franchise of the institute. It was a place for the cure of alcoholism and in 1893 was part of 118 branches across the country. By 1905 that number had dropped to 42. Maybe that is because it was not successful.
 Dr. Keeley will be remembered not only for the “Gold Cure Remedies,” which to be sure were a fraud, but also as a man who changed the perception and treatment of alcoholism. In several ways Keeley was a visionary. His “shot treatment” was an early form of “aversion therapy” and the introduction of his “Gold Club” as a means to keep the rehabilitated person sober, was a model social support system widely in use today. For the franchisee it was expensive, which made it very profitable for Keeley.
 He drew up elaborate contracts with investors dictating the terms of their rights to sell and administer his medicines. He sought quality operators, preferably doctors, and strove to maintain at the branch institutes the exact type of service and experience patients received at Dwight, Ill., his original treatment center. Dr. Leslie E. Keeley (1832-1901), a Civil War surgeon, came to Dwight, Ill. after the war and continued his study of alcoholics that began among the Union soldiers.
 In 1879, in a small wooden frame building, the Keeley Institute was founded with the proclamation that “Drunkenness is a disease and I can cure it.”
 He was challenged by Joseph Medill, editor of the Chicago Times, who selected six of the worst alcoholics he could find in Chicago. At the end of their Keeley treatment, Medill was surprised, saying, “I scarcely recognized them. They went away sots and returned gentlemen.”
 After years of experimentation, Keeley came to the conclusion that he had both a cure for drunkenness and opium addiction. He began advertising his Double Chloride of Gold Remedies in magazines and newspapers around the country and claimed a 95 percent cure rate.
 He had critics who said things like, “After an observation extending over a period of eighteen years, we have come to believe that no treatment for drunkness is of much value.”  And another said this, “Before taking charge of this institution, I knew of thirteen persons who had been at one time or another under my care, cases of the excessive use of intoxicating liquors, who went to one of the numerous Keeley Institutes; all with one exception, of these cases went back to the old habits of inebriety.”
 Whatever the success rate, Keeley had a lasting impact and a beginning to the treatment of alcoholism and drug abuse. Not long after the Keeley Institute moved into the Southard mansion in 1891, a man came to Marysville for treatment from Westerville named A.W. Glaze. It was said he was strongly in liquor when he arrived and then the physicians gave him his first injection of the Double Chloride of Gold. Just 30 minutes afterwards it had so neutralized the whiskey in him that he was very nearly sober.
 Three weeks later a Marysville Tribune reporter asked him if he thought the treatment would work for him. Mr. Glaze related: “I had no strong faith in the matter but I have all the faith in it a man can possibly have now. I came here determined to drink if I wanted it. But now I have changed my mind. I have been drinking for possibly 15 years but not so badly until the last four or five. I tell you they have worked every scheme on me to keep liquor away but in spite of them I would get whiskey. I was badly in liquor when I came here.”
 He continued: “I go home a cured man and I like the people of Marysville. They are kind and have treated me with utmost hospitality.”
 So the Keeley Institute seemed to help this man and possibly many others for a short time. Dr. Keeley died and the institutes closed in the early 1900s. More than 100 years later many still struggle with alcohol, but the tiny village of Marysville was part of the early movement to help this problem.
 To read the story about Dr. Southard and his home and office go to MarysvilleJT.com click on “Off the Hook” and then on “archives.”
Back to top

2/28/14
The creature enters
 You know, sometimes men can be useful. And once again my husband, Dan, came through, I think. Here’s how the situation went.
 Recently we were in Florida, where its warm and sunny and these things live. So, on our second day there we were both headed out the front door, destined for different places. There it was. The giant eight-inch long lizard (chameleon) at the edge of the front door. Now, we are on the  fourth floor so, what was that ugly, prehistoric creature doing up there? I just knew he was going to come in.
 I immediately said, “Quick, shut the door, it will be coming in.” He said, “What are you talking about? I don’t see exactly what you mean.” (You know, if it was a snake he would have been bitten by now!) Then as I raised my voice he said, “Oh, I see it.” Dan has many good qualities, but speed isn’t one of them!
 My voice was so shrill I’m sure everyone within 100 yards heard me. We had a monster about to enter our condo, ugh. I’m not exactly proud of my actions, but after all we had to stop it from coming in. They must run 100 miles an hour when they enter your place, as I have previously seen.
 The people on the first floor always say they are so cute, and they eat bugs, and we don’t mind if they come in. But, I think that’s one reason I don’t live on the first floor.
 Back to my story. The situation is that the creature is about to enter and I’m yelling for Dan to get it. He responded typically slower than I would have liked and as he reached to get it, it entered full speed into the living room. I immediately ran for the sofa and my feet were off the floor. I’ve seen them run under the sofa and then you don’t get them for days. I quickly was imagining it was going to be in the bed with me.
 I think you get the picture that I really don’t like these lizards. But right here I should say, I have killed many small bugs and yet I don’t like mice or lizards. Now it’s inside our apartment and Dan says, “Where did it go?” I clearly have no clue since I was busy being a big pansy. He began searching under the furniture while I was quickly announcing that in no way was I sleeping there that night. In fact, I’m trying to think which neighbor might put me up for the night.
 Conveniently, you may remember, I was on my way out when all this happened. I had some place to be and I went, asking Dan to please get that thing while I’m gone. And I’d like to see the body just to know you really got it. You see I didn’t put it past him to tell me he got it when he didn’t!
 When I returned, he promptly smiled and told me it was gone. Of course, I was not buying it. “Where’s the body,” I asked? He told me he let it go since killing them is said to be bad luck, and then told me this story.
 He said he looked under all the furniture and couldn’t find it. Then he wanted to get a can of pop out of a lower cabinet and noticed several had exploded (they had been there over the summer and fall months). There was liquid everywhere and he began to clean it up. As he did so, there was the creature (gecko/chameleon) on the side of one of the pop cans, licking the sugary liquid. Dan picked up the can and the creature stayed attached while he carried it outside. All the while it was lapping away at the liquid just before being tossed over the balcony into the grass.
 I thought the story was absolutely preposterous (what would you think?) and was quite intent on not accepting it, but several days later there was still no sign of the creature. I guess he really did save its life and make mine easier. So, men can be helpful and handy in many situations, I guess!
Back to top

2/21/14
The real first president
I recently received an interesting email from a friend about the real first president of the United States, saying it was not George Washington. You can imagine my surprise.
The email continued on saying that the real first president was in fact John Hanson. Could the history books and Mrs. Howell, my high school history teacher, be wrong?
This led me to do some research. I have learned over the years that you can’t believe everything you read on the Internet. I’ll bet you are not surprised by that. So I was determined to find out what this statement was all about. Soon I  learned the story was of course, false, but here’s the facts.
John Hanson was born in Maryland to a wealthy and prominent family in 1721. His father was a planter and owned slaves. The family was of English ancestry. Hanson and his wife had eight children.
He served in many local public offices like sheriff, county treasurer, surveyor and Maryland General Assembly. I guess you could say he was a civic minded guy. In fact, Hanson proved to be an excellent organizer. His county in Maryland actually sent the first troops to join Washington’s Army and it was because of Hanson. You see funds were scarce and he frequently paid the soldiers with his own money.
The Continental Congress was first formed in 1774, two years before the Declaration of Independence. While the Founding Fathers were working on the Declaration of Independence, Hanson was at home in Maryland making gun locks, storing powder, guarding prisoners, raising money and gathering troops, in other words, doing any tasks that went along with being chairman of the committee of observation, getting ready for war.
In 1777, he was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates for five terms and was named to the second Continental Congress in 1779 where he served in Philadelphia. The Articles of Confederation were eventually adopted in 1781. They stated that the president of Congress would serve a one-year term and Hanson became the first president to do so. This is where the story of him being the first U.S. president comes from.
A highlight of Hanson’s term was when George Washington presented  the sword of Cornwallis to Congress, thus ushering in a new era. Washington did not become president of United States until 1789, elected under the Constitution which was adopted in 1787.
Through Marysville resident Don Degood, I also came in contact with his friend, Art Sharp, historian and editor of Graybeard Magazine. When we asked him about the claim that John Hanson was the first U.S. president, he had this to say: “Technically, John Hanson and seven other people listed as presidents of the United States before George Washington were elected president of Congress, which operated under the Articles of Confederation, not the Constitution. At that time there was only one branch of government, Congress. There were no executive or judicial branches and no United States. Nobody even envisioned the United States as an outcome of the war. That was an afterthought until the Constitution and Bill of Rights were adopted and even then there were a lot of people who didn’t want the United States. Look at the wording in the Articles of Confederation, for example, ‘We the undersigned delegates of the states.’ It doesn’t  say the United States. The preamble to the Constitution, on the other hand, says clearly, ‘We the people of the United States.’ The argument about Hanson versus Washington as the first president has been going on for years and just does not hold water as far as I’m concerned.”
As I read on about this controversy I discovered that some members of John Hanson’s family, even 100 years after his death, started the story that he was actually the first president of the United States. I guess you can’t blame them for wanting to hype the name of their ancestor.
And as Paul Harvey used to say, now you know the rest of the story.
Back to top

2/14/14
Who was St. Valentine?
It’s Valentine’s Day, the day when we let the people around us know they are loved. The reason behind all the celebration is a kindly cleric named Valentine who died more than 1,000 years ago.
It is not exactly known why the 14th of February is Valentine’s Day or if Valentine really had any relationship to this day. So many years have passed since his death in the third century. Only legends are our source for the history of Valentine’s Day.
The modern St. Valentine’s Day celebrations are derived from ancient Christian and Roman tradition. In 496 AD, Pope Gelasius proclaimed Feb. 14 to be the feast day in honor of Saint Valentine, a Roman martyr who lived in the third century. It is this St. Valentine whom the modern holiday honors.
But there were at least three early Christian saints by the name of Valentine. One was a priest in Rome and another was a bishop in Terni. Nothing is known about the third one except that he died in Africa. Surprisingly, all three of them were said to have been martyred on Feb. 14. Maybe that’s where we got the date.
Rome in the third century had become a mess and there was frequent warring. A strong army was needed by emperor Claudius ll.
St. Valentine was a priest who lived around 270 AD in Rome and fell into disfavor with the emperor because Valentine was marrying young men and women secretly. The men could serve as soldiers and this angered the emperor. (Claudius II had prohibited marriage for young men because he thought a married man would concentrate on his family instead of serving as a good soldier. He thought it made men weak.)
The ban on marriage was a great shock for the Romans. The kindly bishop Valentine realized the injustice of the decree. He saw young lovers who gave up all hopes of being married. Whenever they thought of marrying, they went to Valentine who met them afterwards in a secret place, and joined them in the sacrament of matrimony. Claudius discovered this “friend of lovers,” and had him arrested.
When he met Valentine, he was said to have been impressed by the dignity and conviction of him. It is also said that the emperor tried to convert Valentine to the Roman gods but was unsuccessful in his efforts. Valentine not only refused to recognize Roman gods, he even attempted to convert the emperor to Christianity, knowing the consequences. This angered Claudius who ordered the execution of Valentine.
Just before his execution, he wrote a note to his jailer’s daughter, who had befriended him while there. He signed it, “From your Valentine.”
So, the 14th of February became a day for all lovers and Valentine became its Patron Saint. Eventually it was observed by young Romans who offered handwritten greetings of affection on this day, known as Valentines, to the women they admired. With the coming of Christianity, the day came to be known as St. Valentine’s Day.
Back to top

2/7/14
From Dr. Southard to Salon 122
While talking with Kerri Duncan, owner of Salon 122 on North Main Street in downtown Marysville, I learned that her building was originally the home of Dr. James Southard. She then referred me to the Marysville Public Library for more information. There I learned many more details from Sue Kienbaum.
The story began in the 1870s. Dr. James Southard was a physician who was apparently loved by all his patients. He built a home pictured here in about 1872. He died in 1891 after serving Marysville area residents for 37 years.
Dr. Southard was born in 1825 in Adams County and grew up in Licking County. He read medicine with Dr. Waters in Elizabethtown and Dr. Roe of Newark. He finally entered and later graduated with honors from Starling Medical College in Columbus in 1854. It was the forerunner of The Ohio State University Medical School.
Then he came to Marysville. We don’t know why he came here, but the town seems to have been quite glad to have him.
The Marysville Tribune of March, 18, 1891, describes Dr. Southard in this way: “Any old citizens who in their younger days were called to employ the professional services of Dr. Southard were his firm friends and patrons at the time of his death. His ability as a physician and surgeon was so apparent and held his patronage so close that it was hardly possibly even at his advanced age, to disturb. No person will miss his presence during their hours of affliction more than those to whom he has administered during sickness. During his 37 years in Marysville by his frugality and attention, he has been successful financially as well as in every other sense. He was pleasant and sociable in daily contact with people and had an unusual faculty of holding friends after they were once made. Those who knew him will note how gentle and sympathetic he was in his care.”
He sounds like quite a guy!
So, he built this new home at 122 N. Main St. in Marysville, now Salon 122. Sometime after his death, the Keeley Institute moved into the Southard property. It was a rehabilitation facility of the early days. Those who had what was called, a liquor habit, would go there to be treated. I’ll have more about that in a future column.
Next to the home was a small building at 124 N. Main St. which served as Dr. Southard’s office. After his death, his brother John Q. Southard moved his medical practice from Raymond and used his brother’s office. That building later housed attorney J.H. Willis in 1910. In 1921, it was the first home of McAuliffe’s Brothers Hardware store and in 1938 it was Fenton’s Dry Cleaning.
We know that Mrs. Tommy Southard owned the two properties in later years. We assume she was related in some way to the Dr. Southard family. When she died, both buildings became the property of her stepsister Mrs. Anna Smith Lemay. In 1953 she sold them to Weldon and Frieda Shaw for a photography studio. They in turn sold the small building to Ralph and Mary Sewell who moved it to the girl scout camp Mill-O-Rose on the Peoria road. That small building with so many lives still exists today.
According to the Journal-Tribune, in September 1953 a remodeling project began to Dr. Southard’s former home and thus we have the very different look today. An addition was attached where the small building had been.
Both these buildings which are way over 100 years old still survive. This is amazing since both were built so long ago with old techniques. Now we seem to tear down much younger buildings to make way for new ones.
Back to top

1/31/14
Teacher turns principal at Raymond
She’s soft-spoken and kind, perfect for a first grade teacher. That’s what she was in the Marysville School System for 20 years and now she’s in her second year as principal at Raymond Elementary School, where there are about 220 students. Carol Lentz pointed out it is unusual in our school system for a teacher to move up to be principal, so she values this chance even more in the community of Raymond.
She grew up in Milton, W.Va., a town very much like Marysville. In high school she played both softball and volleyball and in 1983 graduated in a class of about 200 students. At Marshall University, she earned her bachelor’s degree in education. After moving to Ohio she received a Master of Arts degree in reading literacy and language arts plus her principal certification license at The Ohio State University.
Carol and her husband married in 1987 and now have two, nearly grown children. The family lives in Hilliard.
Carol started substituting in 1988 in Marysville and in 1990 she accepted a first grade job at Edgewood Elementary School. After seven years she moved on to Mill Valley Elementary when the building opened and was there until two years ago when she began her job as principal at Raymond. She is also a trained literacy coordinator and coach.
That brought us to the discussion of the third grade literacy tests being given this year to all students in Ohio. I have heard much from all the other elementary principals about this testing and what it will mean to their students. The child is given two chances to take the state mandated literacy test and pass it during the school year. If that doesn’t happen there will be another one given in the summer to enable the student to move on to fourth grade.
At Raymond, nearly 70 percent of the students have already passed this test in the beginning of the year. That speaks well for the school since it is meant to be passed at the end of third grade. Then there is the state option for a student to begin third grade again and possibly take some fourth grade classes with a chance to move up to fourth grade in mid-year, if they pass a test then. How this will work seems to be a subject that is yet to be decided.
 Raymond is a unique school in the Marysville system in that it is the oldest building and used to be part of the Northwestern Schools. There are two new additions to the building and the only part of the old structure still in use is the gym, with its big N on the floor for Northwestern, and the cafeteria. As we walked through the school, I saw the old trophy case built into the wall with some trophies dating back to 1935.
Today’s students at Raymond operate under the Covey Habits of behavior. It teaches a good mindset, Carol says, and teaches character expectations not only at school but also in life. Those who show good behavior are rewarded by receiving tickets for a drawing and a chance to win prizes periodically. But Carol also wants them to learn to behave properly even when no one is looking and even when there isn’t a chance to get a prize.
Students in grades one through four are all eligible to be part of the leadership teams. These are extra jobs available to show off their school and take pride in their building and the property. There are nine different teams some of which are public speaking, recycling, choir, dance, greeters, safety patrol and even natural environment.
Any new principal has adjustments to make and Carol finds her largest one was to learn all the names and families plus what she needed to know to help make the students experience at school better.
Back to top

1/24/14
He’s a principal/musician
His name is Craig Lautenschleger and he’s in his first year as principal at Mill Valley Elementary School in Marysville. He grew up on the west side of Columbus, graduating from Westland High School, and then the Ohio State University, where he received both bachelor’s and master’s degrees, plus his license in administration.
Craig’s first teaching assignment was close to home in New Albany. After teaching fourth grade there for eight years he was named teacher-on-special-assignment as the New Albany School System liaison to the community performing arts center. He helped coordinate the school’s use of this center by integrating students into appropriate exposure to visiting artists.
You see, Craig is a musician himself. In high school he played percussion instruments in the band and also now plays piano, plus writes music. He’s also anxious to eventually share music with students in his school.
His own recordings, “What Words Couldn’t Say” and “Rediscovery” are instrumentals and feature light piano background. They can be found on iTunes.
By 2007 he was ready to be principal and moved to River Valley Local Schools near Marion. In 2010 Craig went on to Teays Valley Schools, where he was able to set up a new elementary school, to be student ready. He called it a good challenge with students and teachers merging from three former elementaries.
Now at Mill Valley, he couldn’t be happier. One thing that attracted him to Marysville schools is the STEM concentration - a devotion to stressing development in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. That is his passion, too. He said the teachers in his school just get it. They are totally professional.
Craig believes that in a first year, anywhere, his job is to learn what families and teachers value and honor what is already working well. He has also set up an advisory group of 10 teachers called a building leadership team.
The 436 students at Mill Valley operate under the Covey Habits. This is considered to be the acceptable way to behave and includes the following: Be proactive; I’m in charge; Begin with the end in mind; Have a plan; Write down goals; Put first things first; Work first then play; Think win, win; Always think about others and yourself; Seek first to understand, then be understood - listen before you talk; Synergize - together is better; Sharpen the saw; and balance is best.
These habits are emphasized daily at school so students know what is expected.
The school holds periodic community meetings where students are recognized for practicing good choices. There, problems occurring at school are also discussed, as are solutions.
As with the other elementaries, third grade teachers are dealing with the state Third Grade Guarantee Reading Test. Students are tested in the fall and spring in reading. If they don’t pass, a summer test will also be available before they will be retained in the third grade. At Mill Valley, nearly 70 percent of third graders already passed the test on the first try.
Since Craig says he thrives on challenges in new situations, he must be most happy now. At home he has two tiny dogs who are his family. His spare time is filled with anything outdoors, particularly biking.
Back to top

1/17/14
The saga of the McGrew family
Here begins the story of my friends the McGrews. I have known Ted and Julie for many years through the newspaper business. They live in Indianapolis and have been to Marysville numerous times to helped us cheer on the Buckeyes at many Michigan games.
First, I should say, nobody got hurt here, but there were obstacles to overcome!
This story began shortly after Christmas and ended last week with the polar vortex or whatever that cold rush of air was. They planned a week of sun and warm temperatures beginning right after Christmas and continuing until their son, Charlie, had to go back to school on January 6. They left for the airport two days after Christmas and found their flight was canceled due to weather. After trying to make other arrangements that day, it became clear they would not leave until the next morning. All went home feeling so disappointed and one day of their vacation already gone. The McGrew family also hoped this wouldn’t be an omen, but maybe it was.
After finally arriving in Naples, Florida on an extremely hot day, all seemed well. The weather was up and down for the week. Some days warm, some cool, surely not a perfect vacation. The family had to go home as planned because Ted had to leave on a business trip (actually his company sales meeting) the next day or so they thought.
Then came the icy, snowy, frigid, impassable weather of early January. It was far worse in Indianapolis (where they had about 12 inches of snow), than in Marysville, Ohio. Indiana had mounds and mounds of snow beginning on Jan. 5, the day Ted was to leave on his trip. He arrived at the Indianapolis Airport finding his flight had been canceled at a connection in Atlanta and by then no one was to be traveling on the roads in Indianapolis. He was told he could leave the next morning, very early, so opted to stay in the hotel near the airport.
Sometimes these are just tough calls and who knows what is the right thing to do, Ted? While his family was home trying to keep their driveway clear after several snow blowing efforts, he was stuck in a hotel in the same town. Julie even reported the next day that her garage door was frozen shut (no Ted to help), but she is very resourceful! There was also a huge pile of snow at the bottom of the driveway. She couldn’t possibly get over it with her car. She felt trapped even though, really, where would she go?
That’s where a teenage son comes in handy. Charlie shoveled the bottom of the driveway and Julie attacked the frozen garage with a hair dryer on an extension cord. It may not be the recommended remedy, but it worked for her. Now she could get out if needed.
Oh yes, I forgot to also report there had been no television in their home for at least three days, because the satellite dishes were covered with snow and ice. That would have really made me crazy.
Back to the hotel and Ted. He was still there two days later, expecting each day to be able to fly out for his business trip. Sadly, that never happened and on the third day, when the roads became more passable, yet still treacherous, he went home having gone nowhere.
Thinking back, maybe that beginning was an omen!
This will be a memorable two weeks for the McGrews!
It could have been way worse. I just also heard the story of the first-time mom in Indianapolis who had to deliver her own baby alone because no one could reach her home during the storm. All went well there, too.
Back to top

1/10/14
Marysville grad is author
Shannon Kelley Upton, Marysville High School class of ‘93, is a wife, mother, public speaker and now author. Writing was not something she wanted to do or even liked. After all, she was a math major at the University of Toledo. But then her life led her to feel compelled to write and give help to other young mothers.
Shannon’s children are now 12, 8, and 4, and after her second child was born, she suffered from clinical anxiety, which severely impacted her life. When she became pregnant with her third child, the doctor told her the problem would get worse. Shannon prayed to God for help. But when her third child, Oliver, was born, all the anxiety was lifted from her. She credits the Lord for this miracle and then felt compelled to share her experiences with other young mothers.
Her speaking career has flourished and with it came this compulsion to write. Even though she had no training, she began the yearlong task of telling her story. Through it she advises how to unclutter your life. This is not a physical task, but a mental one, through thought and idea management. Her new book is titled "Organizing You" and is available on Amazon or through her website www.organizingJesusmoms.com and now at Lighthouse Christian Bookstore in Marysville. She will have a book signing tomorrow, Jan. 11 from 1 to 3 p.m.
___
Well done city projects
Congratulations to the city of Marysville for building projects well done. First completed was the new Justice Center on West Fifth Street. It’s a very attractive addition to that corner and much thought must have gone into its construction. One even more visible is the new building in the uptown area. The new City Hall at the corner of Main and Sixth streets was the site of a firehouse and long before that was City Hall along with the Marysville Opera House. The land for this project was purchased in 1864 and the planning began. It was completed in 1878 at a total cost of $12,495. The next year the city council purchased a striking clock for the bell tower at a cost of $915. On the lower floor were the Mayor’s office, fire dept., public library and city prison. On the second floor was a large auditorium, which had generous floor seating and a balcony. The walls were frescoed and it served as the Opera House. There, home talent shows took place along with imported performances.
The picture we show today was taken in 1927. It seems fitting that City Hall functions should move back to its original location and in another attractive addition to our uptown area. The city deserves congratulations for projects well planned and it looks like money well spent.
___
Notes from Lloyd Arnold
Lloyd Arnold, MHS class of ‘61, lives in Tokyo, Japan, and communicates with me frequently. Here are some of his recent comments after he received some editions of the Marysville Journal-Tribune.
“I noticed a few things about the contents (referring to the J-T). Although not exactly content, the size has changed and the paper is still only 75 cents! I think that if I lived in Marysville, I would be willing to pay at least $1. The prices of the homes in the realty ads are kind of out of sight. In one issue, there is an article about Moriroku opening an R & D facility. Way back, when I started to teach English for Time-life Educational Systems (in Japan) one of my classes was at Moriroku for about a year. The students were great! They made it a habit to take me out eating and drinking once a month. Also, they took me golfing two or three times and I still have some pictures from those rounds. I taught them until my wife Yasuko and I left for Phoenix. (Lloyd moved back to U.S. for a short time). As a token of their appreciation, they bought an expensive sweater ... for my wife and not me!
Fond memories, Lloyd”
Back to top

1/3/14
Children are safe and loved here
She began her life in Niles, Ohio. Lynette Lewis graduated from high school there. Later she earned her bachelor of science degree in deaf education from Kent State University and two master’s degrees from George Mason University, one in educational leadership and another in instructional technology. Now she is the principal of Navin Elementary School in Marysville.
When you are a teacher of the deaf there are only a few positions available, so Lynette moved to the Stafford School System in Virginia in 1994. There, she taught for nine years and was assistant principal for two.
Then the realization came that parents are getting older and she needed to come back to central Ohio. She took a job at Buckeye Valley School District. Her school was in Ostrander and her home was in Delaware.
 Four years later in 2009 she came to Navin Elementary, which had not had a principal for two years (other principals shared duties there). The staff was welcoming and four years later Lynette has nothing but praise for them, calling the staff the best she’s ever had, so kind and caring.
As we talked, she repeatedly mentioned creating a safe and loving atmosphere for learning. She said, “If a child likes you, they will work hard to please.” Her teachers try to create a feeling of family in their school. In fact, one of the rewards for good behavior in class is to have lunch with the principal in the conference room!
As with the other principals I have interviewed, Miss Lewis is very concerned about students learning to read. One of the reasons she wanted to come to Marysville schools was that they are a Literacy Collaborative school system. That is a joint effort with the Ohio State University where teachers have a chance for professional development and it involves literacy coaches. She describes this as a very successful, scientific way to teach reading. It’s the best way, she says.
The third grade reading guarantee test mandated by the state is in effect this year and anyone not scoring high enough will be retained in the third grade. All principals are very concerned about the effect and fairness of this test.
Third and fourth grade students at Navin Elementary have a chance to apply for CHAMPS (Covey Habits And Monarch Pride Students). It’s a leadership opportunity in the school. First, students apply and many are chosen for an interview. Then a total of 25 serve for several different projects. They greet visitors, seat kids in the auditorium, put books away in the library, take pictures at assemblies and even help the custodian after lunch. They also write and conduct announcements every morning. Miss Lewis says this only involves about 15 minutes a day, but is a valued program.
As a principal, she has seen crazy things in her schools. This may have been the scariest: At a previous school, someone broke in and set off all the fire extinguishers one night, which apparently have irritating chemicals. After the mess was cleaned up and the teachers came in the next day, several became sick and others had eye and ear irritation almost immediately. So, the buses of children were halted and diverted to another school for the day. It was a real learning experience about evacuation.
She can’t say enough good things about her students. Yes, some discipline is needed at times. It always ends with a hug. Her goal is for the children to know she cares about them.
She said, “We have great youngsters and great families. I love it here.”
Back to top

 Marysville Journal Tribune
copyright©2014
  All rights reserved