By Steve Flairty
NKyTribune columnist
I was thrilled to see that two friends from Campbellsville, Fred and Betty Sue Schuhmann, were honored recently by their local Kiwanis Club with the 2016 “Santa’s Helpers” award, according to an article in the Central Kentucky News-Journal.
In the article, their friend and the one who nominated the retired couple, Sara Cobb, said: “They are the kind of people who do things without being asked and they are kind of quiet helpers. They aren’t looking for recognition. They just do it out of the goodness of their heart.”
The two spend most of their volunteer time helping out at the C & S Mission Store, in Campbellsville. They are involved actively in their place of worship, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, also in town, and they support a local substance abuse help center called The Healing Place. The couple ministers to a neighbor in need by running errands and picking up mail and medicines.
In short, they are living a highly productive retirement, a credit to their community.
Fred and Betty Sue Schuhmann (Photo by Kaitlin Keane/Central Kentucky News-Journal)
The Schuhmanns’ example got me to thinking about other Kentucky retirees across the state using their retirement years to improve lives of those in their communities. I believe there’s a gold mine out there for those with a modicum of good health willing to use their talents, time, and most importantly, their passions to make those advanced years a dawn of service rather than twilight years of diminishing involvement with others.
Here are a few more examples of people like the Schuhmanns:
Prestonsburg resident John Rosenberg, in his mid-eighties, is a whirlwind of activity in support of arranging financial support for those unable to afford legal services in eastern Kentucky. His wife, Jean, in her early seventies, supports his work and pushes hard for positive community initiatives around Prestonsburg.
Martha Sparks, from her retirement center home in Wilmore, has written numerous books in the last decade on the subjects of personal caregiving and one about grandparents raising their grandchildren.
Retired teacher Ruth Lature of Hopkinsville has stayed busy in a pioneering and effective program for dyslexic learners, along with enjoying her business/hobby of selling glassware.
Another retired teacher, Roger Garrison, Nicholasville, uses his training to serve as the music director of a church in Lexington, while life after the classroom for Charlotte Wethington, Morning View, is as an advocate for programs and laws to fight substance abuse.
Until his death at age 93 a few years ago, Harold Slade was instrumental in establishing the Cynthiana-Harrison County Museum, an amazing place replete with thousands of memorabilia pieces celebrating those who came before in the Harrison community. Harold also spent countless hours keeping a local cemetery neatly trimmed and kept the gravestones clean and repaired. Harold, ironically, while in his eighties, chased a home invader down the street with a baseball bat, garnering a story about it in the Courier-Journal.
Down in Adair County, Kendall Harvey retired from a long career as a building contractor, quickly got bored and considered going back to the work.
A chance meeting with a special needs child at a local restaurant inspired him to use his amazing mechanical ability to build a three-wheel bike for the boy—and made a happy difference. A few years later, Kendall’s life scorecard showed that he made 157 similar three wheelers that he gave away to other children, along with a few adults.
The example of selflessness garnered a corps of people in the community who supported his work financially. What a productive life for a person in his seventies!
According to an article written by Mike Denham in the Northern Kentucky Tribune, Kentucky’s 65-year-old and up population is about 670,000, and he quotes federal statistics as showing these seniors volunteer nearly 100 hours per year, about three times the number of those 35 and younger.
That’s impressive and a big boost for the state’s well-being. I’d love to get your feedback regarding ways Kentucky seniors you know are giving of themselves in a powerful way!
Speaking of positive goings-on in the state, here’s some information regarding the opposite end of the age range —- Kentucky’s children.
Comedian John Crissman, Lexington, has announced a contest to compete for “Funniest Kid in the Bluegrass.” It will take place on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 2 p.m. at Joseph-Beth Booksellers, in Lexington, and has 12 contestants, ages 7-13.
According to Crissman, “A monthly Kids Open Mic event is held the third Saturday of each month at 2 p.m. at the bookstore. While it is too late to sign up for the Jan. 21 contest, youth are encouraged to participate at the next open mic event scheduled for Feb. 18 at 2 p.m.”
Crissman trained at the iconic Second City in Chicago, and today fashions his contribution as “teaching young people the joy of laughing and giving laughter as well.” I previously wrote about his work in a previous Kentucky by Heart column.
For more information, contact Crissman at john.crissman@gmail.com or 859-559-5362.
Steve Flairty is a teacher, public speaker and an author of six books: a biography of former Kentucky Afield host Tim Farmer and five in the Kentucky’s Everyday Heroes series, including a kids’ version. Steve’s “Kentucky’s Everyday Heroes #4,” was released in 2015. Steve is a senior correspondent for Kentucky Monthly, a weekly NKyTribune columnist and a member of the Kentucky Humanities Council Speakers Bureau. Contact him at sflairty2001@yahoo.com or visit his Facebook page, “Kentucky in Common: Word Sketches in Tribute.” (Steve’s photo by Connie McDonald)
