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A Hard Working Man of Few Words
I met Elwood Egger a little over four years ago.
We first met at church.
Elwood didn’t say much at all to me for the first three years that we knew each other…
He’d give me a handshake and a nod of acknowledgement at the end of the service…
…that was about all he gave me.

I don’t know why
…but my first impression of Elwood was that he was Amish
…maybe it was because he was such a plain man
…a man of few words
…or maybe it was his very practical clothing
…or his snow white beard

Last year,
Elwood got pneumonia and was hospitalized for the first time in his whole life.
And…I visited Elwood in the hospital.
…either because he was lonely or
…full of steroids…
…I met a totally different Elwood than the one I had gotten to know earlier!
He talked…a lot…
Finally, I thought, a wall has come down between us!
But Jill cautioned me
…that’s the most I’ve heard my dad say…ever!
Then, Elwood had to move into Jill and Joe’s house.
I would pass by there on my way to Carriage Court…
and I’d see him there, sitting on Jill’s side porch
…in one of the white rocking chairs.
…so I felt comfortable enough to stop by and sit with him awhile on the porch
Now…I’m not saying we talked a lot…
…but I believe…we had understanding…
Then…with this last trip to the hospital
(for his broken hip)
My first impression of Elwood got really messed up…
He not only talked my ear off…
…he also became inseparable from a florescent-red
(shockingly vibrant-red!) stocking cap
Seeing Elwood in this bland hospital room…with that red hat on…
…was like seeing a cardinal in a snow storm!
So…now…that’s my final impression of Elwood
….a cardinal in a snow storm.
Quite a statement…from a man of few words!

Jill described her dad,
as someone who always said what was on his mind,
…but who didn’t waste a whole lot of time or words saying it
Kinda like a cardinal in a snow storm.

Elwood was born June 27, 1925 on a farm in Monroe County, Ohio
…to the late Herman J. and Minnie Claus Egger
….where he grew up…living a plain and hard life.

He retired after 33 years
as a machine operator at Dennison Hydraulics
He worked the second shift…
He would come home around 12:30, very early in the morning,
…and Jill remembers she would wake up, crawl into her daddy’s lap
…and be rocked back to sleep in front of the old heater/stove.

During the day…he was well-known for his carpentry skills and cabinet making.
If you ever get a chance to visit the family home on Walnut Street,
…you’ll find all kinds of creative “solutions” that Jill’s dad fixed up in the house…
…hidden light switches
…and convenient cubbies
And he left his mark on our church as well:
Where there are two little stools for Bride and Bride’s maid to sit on
(so they don’t crush their dresses)
…a collection box that King Joash would envy
…and a kitchen counter…topped with red Formica….
(boasting hidden electrical outlets
…for the roaster ovens of yore and the crock pots of today)

Jill remembers her dad enjoyed gardening…BIG gardening
and the family did a lot of canning
and they shared their labors with friends and neighbors.
A stronghold for his family,
he was a man of few words
…and a big heart.
He and his wife, Bonnie,
…along with two biological children…Jill and Don
…fostered 38 children in their home throughout their 45 years of marriage.

Life was never easy for Elwood.
There was a never ending list of chores to do,
and work that could run…from sun-up to sundown.

Elwood’s story is a story that many of us are familiar with…
Either it is the story of our own lives,
…or the story of our parents lives
…or the story of our grandparents lives.
It is the story of a plain and simple, hardworking life.
A life that required scrapping together bits and pieces…
…of putting together scraps to create something whole.
Such is the way life for most people
….for most of recorded history, in fact.
Plain and hard.
For most people, life is an unending litany
…of toil and drudgery,
…of fear and worry,
…of happiness and joy, and of hope and promise.
We, in these first years of 21th century,
…may have created a more complex world
…and our worries and concerns may revolve more around our creations and our technology.
(…our world not being so plain and simple)
But…we have our worry too…
…being disquieted by the complex society that whirls around us in a frenzy

And even though…or in spite of…Elwood’s plain and simple life
…It took Elwood quite a while to undo his life
…It took quite a while for Elwood to leave us
But that’s because living is hard to undo…
…no matter how simple or complex it is.

Read Matthew 11.28-30
“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Jesus lived in a world
where the biggest issues in a person’s life were the immediate,
the plain and the simple.
And he spoke in language that the folk around him could understand.
Jesus spoke
…of working yeast into flour to make dough,
…of scattering seeds on the soil,
…of lost sheep and coins
He spoken in simple terms using words that ordinary, hardworking, everyday people could understand,
words that told about the world, and how it all related to life and living

Jesus often used the plain and hardworking lives of his followers as illustrations
He spokes of the real concerns a person had,
…problems and issues about life that affected life at its core.
Words of a life lived and engaged in at a very personal, very real level,
…life at a level shared by countless other people down through the centuries,
since humanity first began

To you,
…who labor from dusk to dawn,
…who struggle to keep your children alive,
…who live in fear of disease
…who live oppressed by people in power who keep you down;
…whose concerns are the concerns of life and death,

His words are words of incredible comfort and promise.
For you are weary and burdened,
and you long for rest,
you long to escape the yoke that your world has placed on you.
Jesus’ words are words of comfort,
They form a promise for us,
whether we live in the first century,
or the 1920s,
or in the confusion and complexity of the 21st century
Jesus’ words speak to everyone,
to people whose language is immersed in the technological jargon of our age,
to the simple words of a plain, hard working man like Elwood.
It doesn’t matter.
Jesus Christ offers refuge from the burdens of the world, and his offer is simple and to the point.

“Come to me” he says “And I will give you rest.”

Being a hard working man of few words is a good thing I guess.
Our world is filled with a lot of extra words that needn’t be said.
Sometimes
—what with televisions and radios and shopping malls—
the noise we encounter is deafening.
No one sits in silence anymore, enjoying the sound of peace and quiet.
Two people can’t sit together without someone feeling pressured to fill in the void.
Extra words tend to clutter things up.
If you keep talking and talking,
eventually what you are trying to say will get lost in the pile of words,
or, the person you are talking just tunes you out.

Jesus wasn’t known for his wordiness…he was a man of action
… A Hard Working Man of Few Words

And so we are assured,
that as we face the losses we will inevitably face in our lives,
as loved ones pass from this life to the next,
…Jesus Christ will meet us at whatever level we need him.
And it his final promise for us all,
that as we close our eyes for the last time and breathe our last, that we will not be alone.

We can now turn Elwood over to the care of the one who promised that he would never leave us…alone,
To the one who will walk with us in the silence,
And lead us to the light,
the light of eternal life.
Amen.

… a neighborhood full of us kids!

I remember Jim and Peggy Dailey’s dad, Jim, would call them home at the end of a long day of play, by whistling a shrieking “wolf” whistle. A lot of times we would play softball or baseball on Ash Street, between Sixth and Seventh Streets. There were the Dailey kids, me and my two sisters, Marilyn and Judy Zell, Jim Gordon, Dan Behrens, Robin Rhodes and many other neighbors and friends who were visiting. We were about in our early teenage years.
It was great fun growing up on West Seventh Street because it was close to school (the West School building on Seventh Street) and nearby downtown. Walgamont’s Drug Store was the gathering place for sodas and elephant’s dandruff (ice cream with malt on top).
And of course, the Avalon Theater was the place to go on weekends across the street from the drug store. Carney’s and Haffner’s five and dime stores had candy jars full of sweets. You could buy a big hand full of candy for five cents. Isaly’s ice cream shop was located between Main and Plum Streets on East Fifth St. We’d go there once in a while and hang out.
As we grew and attended high school on West Sixth Street, most of us hardly ever missed a basketball game or a football game at the football field (now Lewis Park.)
Those days were innocent days full of friendships, slumber parties and dances. The GAA (Girls Athletic Association) dance was an event where the girls invited the boys. We had dance cards that were filled out ahead of time so you knew who you were going to dance with – which instilled a lot of excitement and “butterflies in the stomach.”
Another popular event was a sock hop – a dance where you had to take your shoes off in the gymnasium and records were played. What made a sock hop especially fun was that most kids attended.
Many kids went to the swimming pool during the summer months. Walking or riding our bikes on the way home from the pool, we would stop in at Parkview Restaurant and Drive In (where the drive through and Pizza Hut is now) for soft drinks and French fries.
We laughed a lot during the late fifties. We danced a lot, too. We formed lasting friendships which still are intimate and meaningful today.

-Janet (Zell) Scheiderer, MHS class of 1960

I had the honor of serving as emcee at our school superintendent’s retirement send off.  Here’s a few comments I made…

Larry Zimmerman’s frame of reference throughout his tenure as school superintendent allowed him to weigh key issues and decisions and balance his approach for our schools and our community with patience, a keen mind, caution and perseverance. Larry’s success is founded on his reference points… family, friendships and foresight.

Yes money is key. Yes politics is key. Yes competition is key. Yes requirements is key.

But, with the extreme honor of me standing here before you on this day of congratulations for a job well done, I can tell you personally that without a superintendent that is first a family man, second, a gentleman of the people and third, an intelligent leader with vision and foresight, we would have not had the fortunate years as we have had with Larry Zimmerman at the helm of our schools.

Larry is an outstanding father. He and his wife, Brenda, raised three Eagle Scouts, a trio of extremely talented sons – gifted physically, mentally, socially – all college students – with good heads on their shoulders – (well, there is Evan). Seriously, with having children of his own in our schools, he had the compassion and empathy for parents and families of our school system.

Larry’s friendships extend far beyond Marysville and Union County. I’m sure he could have needed his friendships much more at crucial times, during up and down moments and while making key decisions. He has always been an approachable administrator and a supportive friend. His close friendships have allowed him to keep his work in perspective and although all of us have enemies, Larry accepted his foes and keep them close out of respect for our schools and our kids.

His best friend and wife, Brenda, has been a stronghold for Larry. She patiently sat through many meeting nights, she calmly handled jabs at her husband from the public with grace and decorum and she stood beside her sons and their activities when Larry couldn’t be there because of work conflicts.

And the third F – foresight – Larry knew the proper time to do the proper thing is before he had to do it. His vision for our schools is the reason why Marysville has grown and why Marysville is an attractive place to live – one of the leading desireable towns to raise children in Ohio.

It is my extreme honor to be part of his historic day. Larry Zimmerman will go down in the Marysville history books alongside the likes of G. L. Kingsmore. He’s been a picture perfect example of a teacher, a coach, an administrator and a superintendent.

Thank you all for being here to honor Larry and his family. Let’s enjoy these moments together this afternoon, knowing that we are a huge part of Marysville history and the success and lasting pride of Marysville Exempted Village Schools.

With the death of Brian Channell this week, many of us are heartbroken at the loss of a child. We feel mixed emotions… confusion, bewilderment, disbelief, sadness, hopelessness… all stemming from a grievous tragedy.

Certainly, it is not possible to come close to understanding how Brian’s parents are feeling over the sudden death of their son.

I just reviewed the news clip of U.S. Representative Giffords resignation, following her tumultuous year of therapy and recovery after being shot. She and her family and friends also have felt various emotions of grief from her loss.

The Channell grief cannot be compared to the Giffords grief. But the common ground for both families is what was pointed out during Giffords resignation speech – that above all, what endures to be the most important aspect in recovery, healing and enduring is FAMILY and FRIENDSHIP.

I suggest that above all other complicated aspects of life and living – conflicts, separations, financial woes, addictions – family and friendship is the key to comfort, stability and gentleness – much needed needs of the Channells and Giffords.
We all must take heed of the grief of others and learn from them.
Scott Underwood

Taking Care Of Our Roots

Family ancestry is important to most of us. And leaving a legacy is something that we all want to be able to do. Just how will I be remembered when I’m gone? Did I make a difference in people’s lives? Did I leave an impression of good will and generosity?

We feel that how one is remembered is very significant. Dignified ceremonies – free of family strife and anxiety – is the way funerals should be approached. Life is full of unnecessary worries already.

We’re here when you’re looking for assurance,
want respect and need direction.
In the meantime, keep yourself and your loved ones healthy,
living life to the fullest.