Residents thankful for those who took them under their wing
As many pause this week to take stock of what they are thankful for, it may not always be material goods that top the list.
This Thanksgiving some in Butler County are grateful for the lessons they've received or the inspiration they've gotten from the people in their lives.
For Saxonburg Mayor Sue Bauman, it was a fellow mayor turned mentor who helped her settle into her official duties.
Bauman said, “This year has been a very challenging, as well as a fulfilling, year for me. I have met and worked with many new and interesting individuals who have inspired and taught me about a job that I only thought I knew how to do.”
“Jim Swartz, mayor of Freeport, has been a wonderful mentor to me. To me, mentoring is the balance of two worlds that overlap for a period of time, and for the first few months, as a new mayor, that is exactly how I felt about him,” Bauman said.
“He reached out and gave me the basics and then encouraged me to make my own decisions to fulfill the role of mayor in the best way I could and in my own way, ”she said.
“He understood my love for the town of Saxonburg as only another mayor could; he taught me how to perform a wedding ceremony; and he taught me the basics of maintaining a police department,” she added.
Bauman said, “If I ever have the privilege of mentoring someone, I would start with these simple basics: You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream and if a job is worth doing, it is worth doing right.”
Bauman concluded, “Lastly, when you are living the best version of yourself, you inspire others to live the best version of their selves.”
For the Rev. Jim Kirk, pastor of Valencia Presbyterian Church, 80 Sterrett St., Valencia, his inspiration helped him choose his life's work.“It was Dr. Richard Morledge, and this was before I went to seminary. He became a friend,” said Kirk.“He was pastor emeritus at Bakerstown Presbyterian Church and then was chaplain at Grove City College. I actually met him while he as at Bakerstown, and he led some adult retreats for the church I attended, and that's where I got to know him,” Kirk said.“He had a very strong faith, and he taught me a lot on how to be a pastor. He was a great teacher, he was a mentor. He is very much a people person,” Kirk said. “ He is retired and now living over at St. Barnabas.”Kirk said he would pass on Morledge's lesson: “I would say pray a lot and listen for God's voice.”For Tracey Dailey, Karns City High School girls soccer coach, she doesn't have to look any further for lessons than her family.“My mother (Deb Pollock) has been gone nine years, but there isn't a day that goes by that something she taught me doesn't come up,” said Dailey.“She taught me to work hard and always follow your dream, never give up,” she said. “The challenges you face will only make you better as a person. How you overcome those challenges will make you who you are.”Dailey says the lessons her mother taught her that she would pass down are: “Never settle. Work your hardest. Always believe there is someone doing more than you, but as long as you give 100 percent all the time, you will be able to succeed in your endeavors.”Mary Pataky, director of the Butler County Meals on Wheels, also credits her mother.
“My biggest influence and inspiration in life was my mother. My dad passed away at very young age. I was the youngest of six children and finances were tight,” she said. “My mom had lived through the Depression and learned to be very frugal, but more importantly that doing for and helping others should not be just at Christmas time but on a daily basis.”Pataky said, “When mom heard of someone in need she would be there to see what that need was. She would prepare food, sew clothing, make a quilt, watch the children, etc. This would all be done with a light heart and not a thank you expected.”Pataky said, “I believe that my mom's ways have inspired me to be the person I am today with my desire to help others in need. I am very blessed.”Sandy Ihlenfeld, healthy living association director for the Butler County YMCA, said she was inspired by another relation.“It would have to be my mother-in-law Joan Ihlenfled,” she said.“She stepped into my life at a very important time in my youth. She raised a son who is still amazing to me after 35 years of marriage,” Ihlenfeld said.“And she encouraged me to follow my dreams both academically and in the areas I enjoy. She said 'If you do what you love you will always love what you do.'”“She is my inspiration and she is still alive. She is 80 and doing well,” she said.As for lessons she would pass along, Ihlenfeld said, “I would say remember life balance in the mix of what you do. Life balance is finding a good balance between work and personal life.”
She added, “Remember that exercise truly is medicine and so if you take care of yourself, you will be able to do more for others.”“And last, remember to give of your time and talents because paying it forward is the only legacy we leave,” Ihlenfeld said.Rick Davanzati, the Butler High School boys and girls varsity cross country head coach, credits his parents, Lois and Enrico “Rick” Davanzati.“They taught me right from wrong to start with,” Davanzati said.“They always gave me the opportunity to try new things and at the same time they made me responsible. If I wanted to try something new, I had to stick with it and not just quit without making an honest effort,” he said.“A lesson to pass down?” said Davanzati “There are a lot of different things I would like to pass down, but one thing is to give to others, really, because no matter how bad off you are, there is always somebody that can be worse off than you.”And because it is Thanksgiving, food can't be ignored.Bill McGary of Volant is a practitioner and one who enjoys Early American cooking and cooking techniques. He holds seminars and teaches classes in hearth cooking and credits a teacher with sparking his interest.“I would say a teacher in high school that I had, a teacher of early American history (was a mentor to me). His name was Joseph Fusco. He always taught with the philosophy in mind that when we measure history in terms of wars, that we were missing the greater part of history,” he said. “That when a war occurred all civilization was breaking down.”
McGary said, “We need to look at the time between those wars when life was occurring normally. And it was just a kind of evolution from that into cooking. Food is one element of life that links us to the past, the cooking and producing of food.”And the lesson McGary would pass on?“Maybe an appreciation for the abundance and diversity of food that we have in our country,” he said.<br/><br/><br/><br/>
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