It was hard to say which day we looked forward to the most; each had its own rewards. We took Marilyn’s advice and got not only our morning coffee but our breakfast at Danny’s Gourmet next door to our hotel.
 
We could get made-to-order meals or grab ready-made sandwiches right there The fresh-fruit bar was glorious. We ate upstairs there and were ready to head out on foot for the Empire State Building.

As with all landmarks in this city, we could see it so far ahead that it didn’t seem as though it would be far. We passed a busy shopping district featuring the Macy’s mother ship, the largest retail store in the world. Brian and I stopped in for a look-see after the Empire State Building. The cosmetics section alone spanned what appeared to be the entire street level.  The purses went on forever in the second floor and I didn’t trust myself.

At the Empire State Building, the early arrival at 9:30 meant we could walk right in and hitch rides to the main exhibits of this building that was tallest in the world from its beginnings in 1931 to 1970 when the North Tower of the World Trade Center surpassed it. It’s now the 28th tallest in the world and fifth in the U.S.
 
Think King Kong and Sleepless in Seattle. There’s a great exhibit explaining its building and history. The elevator ride to the observation deck has a sweet surprise. As cables whisk you higher, look up and a TV screen in the top of the elevator shows a mini movie of builders working their way up as you go along with them and feel as though you are on an amusement ride ready to burst through the top of the building into the clouds.
 
There’s plenty of time to visit. The building is open until 2 a.m. This was one of Brian’s top picks for the trip and it did not disappoint.

We had delicious pizza left from the night before and a microwave to warm it. It tasted just as great the second day back in our room. Brian dozed; I relaxed and then took a long hot bath and washed my hair, prepping for our fancy night on the town.
 
To our surprise, the kids showed back up rather than meet us at the elegant Butter restaurant. They all took naps and by 4:30, we were ready to venture to Butter.

The meal was compliments of Sam and Allison and is the most elegant meal I’ve ever had. The restaurant's executive chef and chef is Food Network and Iron Chef America star Alex Guarnaschelli and the kids picked up her cookbook, The Home Cook: Recipes to Know by Heart, at the festival earlier in the day. 

I wanted to know how the restaurant got its name and the story behind the eclectic mix of dishware.

Our server was happy to answer that the late founder used to have a saying to describe something he loved. He would say “That’s butter.” And so Butter became the restaurant’s name. As for the dishes, Alex has a passion for all kinds of dishes so she collects them and they are used to compliment the food creations.

Then it was on to the Gershwin Theatre to see our first Broadway show! Wicked did not disappoint, and I still marvel at the swift set changes and staging that appeared instantly as if by magic.

And before we knew it, we had our second day and fancy night out under our belts.
 
Next: NYC Experience, Part 3: BRAND NEW START OF IT.

Not only is a trip to New York City big, it’s too big to summarize in one small blog post. It's downright BIGLY! So let’s do this in four parts.
 
Some background. Over the past few years, some combination of our immediate family members have  attended Indianapolis Colts away games to see match-ups with the Carolina Panthers, Tennessee Titans, Buffalo Bills, and Minnesota Vikings. So when the season schedule came out this summer, Brian asked our crew where they wanted to go. The kids said New York City.
 
And if we’re doing The Big Apple, let’s do it  right. But how do you narrow a NYC wish list? We started with what we wanted to see and do most. Everyone had a say: Colts and Jets on Sunday was the starting point. Then came Ground Zero with the 9/11 Memorial and Museum; a Broadway show; Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island and Ellis Island; Empire State Building and Katz’s Deli in Queens.
 
Nice start. Now, where to stay? I knew that the Art Association of Henry County folks take an annual Broadway tour every summer and always stay in Hotel Edison steps from Times Square. My friend and book-cover designer Marilyn Witt confirmed that it’s ideal. Done.
 
Of course this wasn’t just any old trip. This after all was THE BIG APPLE! It would also be a way to do up big my 60th birthday and Brian and my 40th wedding anniversary along with Sam and Allison’s sixth wedding anniversary.
 
So the process began of piecing together an agenda. We started early in the summer with reservations at Hotel Edison, a 1931 Art Deco establishment with modern amenities but the feel of old NYC. None other than Thomas Edison turned on the lights to open the place! We chose a family suite which worked out well for our tribe of five.

Sam got online and ordered our Sunday Colts/Jets tickets. We voted on seeing Wicked at the Gershwin Theatre on Saturday night, doing the Statue and Ellis Island Monday, 9/11 sites on Friday and Empire State Building Saturday morning. That was close to the order in which we secured reservations and tickets online. Word to the wise: Early! Get your tickets early as there are sellouts if you wait.
 
With our top picks secured, we filled in the schedule over the next few months. For example, our kids discovered that the New York Wine and Food Festival is the Saturday we’re there and they wanted to go. Sam and Allison enjoy cooking and learning about food culture so they planned our meal stops. Allison researched our logistics -- which helped like crazy.

We’re happy for a solid agenda. There’s so much to see and do with distractions every step of the way that a plan is essential to get in what you want most and still experience surprises along the way.
 
FRIDAY ARRIVES!:
 
We took an early flight (two hours) and landed at LaGuardia. We went to the cab line only to be told there was a long delay. Ben hopped on his Uber app and we had a ride within minutes. We were headed for Manhattan.
 
Less than an hour later we arrived at Hotel Edison in Midtown and stashed our bags in holding as our room wasn't ready. First stop: lunch at O’Hara’s Pub. The restaurant is at Ground Zero, steps from a fire station. After 9/11, this small eatery became a spontaneous tribute site where first responders from all over not only the U.S. but the world arrive and place their patches on the walls and doors in a unique show of solidarity with their brothers and sisters who lost their lives on that fateful day in 2001. It is an inspiring tribute.

After our meal we toured the memorial, which is in two parts – one for each tower that went down that day. Water falls into big square holes in the center. Around the edges are engraved names of those who perished in those towers. Each name, a life.

Steps away we entered the museum. It was packed with people and all around, as with everywhere you go in NYC, you hear people of every race and nation speaking in their native tongues as they go about their business. You realize that you are in an international, not only a national city. It's an awesome experience just to look and listen.
 
The museum holds displays of emergency vehicles from that day, artifacts of everyday life found on the street, snippets of messages left on answering machines from people in the towers from that morning, photos, news clips and art. One major piece of art is a wall of blue squares depicting the blues of the perfect sky that day. There is this quote in the midst of the blue: NO DAY SHALL ERASE YOU FROM THE MEMORY OF TIME. This is a translation of the original Latin of "The Aeneid."
 
It occurs that not only is this museum packed on the random day we visited, but every day, and you hear people talking about where they were when they heard of the horrific attacks. Fifty or perhaps 100 years from now, this museum shall still be packed with people as the people who remember the day are few, then none, but time’s memory remains.
 
From there, we hoofed it to Wall Street where the boys were able to squeeze in long enough for a photo with the iconic Charging Bull, in "pasture" there only since 1989, which surprised me.
 
Brian and Ben paused for a shot of them at Federal Hall, the site where the colonial Stamp Act Congress met to draft a message to King George III protesting “taxation without representation.” The building isn’t original but the lower Manhattan location is, overseen now by a statue of George Washington.

Then it was a Subway ride back to our hotel. As if on cue, we arrived at complimentary cocktail-and- appetizer hour in the lobby where live music performed – you guessed it – New York, New York.

After seeing our rooms and claiming our beds, everyone was in the mood for pizza so we found Pazeria Family & Friends Italian Restaurant & Bar and enjoyed a couple of authentic NYC pies. Leftovers would serve Brian and me well for Saturday lunch while the kids hit up the wine and food festival.

By the time we hit the sheets, we had walked 9.6 miles.
 
Next: Day 2: CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS.

We're solidly into the years when our kids' friends are getting married. Friday night was a special one, as we saw one of Ben's dear childhood buddies, Taylor Sullivan, tie the knot with his bride, Tara, the girl he met at Purdue and the one who knew early freshman year that she would marry the boy.

Not only were Taylor and Ben close during all their childhood, but his folks, Jim and Marilyn, were and are special friends to Brian and me as well. I'm so glad I got this photo of Marilyn and Taylor during the mother-son dance.

Seeing the pure delight and radiance on Marilyn's face took me back six years this month when I found myself utterly surprised at how magical and emotional it felt to dance with Sam at he and Allison's reception to "I Hope You Dance."

Here's Ben and Taylor and I'm glad I got this shot too.

And of course, Tara and Taylor.

After a beautiful evening at The Ritz-Charles, it was home to bed and then up to help my friend Patti prepare for another wedding. This time, it was for her brother. Patti promised to contribute her signature Sugar Cookies, her Aunt Martha's recipe.

Sunflowers and Ball jars were the theme and we decorated for close to three hours, discussing politics (being able to both agree on some things and disagree on others without getting mad; it's called civil discourse). We discussed a lot of things and the morning went fast.

We've done this for years. She bakes them. I help decorate them. I heard the cookies were a hit

This morning was our church's annual Labor for Your Neighbor. You sign up for a community site where you go help out. My team painted two sheds and weeded a couple's property. It felt so good and fulfilling to see the tasks complete when we pulled away!

Brian and I skipped the pizza party that followed. We're both watching our diets. He had a big reward Friday night when he got dressed for the wedding. He decided to try on an old sport jacket he hadn't worn in years, thinking it would still be too small. But no, it fit perfectly! So he wore it.

Here's a typical meal for me right now until I get over it. Gotta keep at this weight-loss thing.  I think I can, I think I can ...

Have a great October week everyone.

SULPHUR SPRINGS — Iron Kettle Owner Melinda Grounds knows her customers.

On a Thursday morning she greets a regular, telling him that if he hadn't arrived in the restaurant by 11, she'd be calling to check on him. She knows that another customer is having a birthday over the weekend and privately shares with the visiting reporter that a surprise party — hosted by the diner — in the works. When still another customer calls in a to-go order, Melinda confirms the specifics of his standard order by heart.

It's all pretty much a typical morning in the life of the outgoing business owner who treats, and thinks of, her customers as friends.

"I just like the people, the community," says Grounds of why she does what she does. "That makes a big difference."

A Kennard native and Knightstown High School graduate, Grounds worked at the New Castle Kroger for 12 years, then purchased the restaurant from her aunt, Lida Sullivan at the start of 1992. The restaurant has been a staple in town for approaching six decades. The current owner says when she saw the Iron Kettle as "a good business and you sure don't want to see it go down. It keeps the town going."

Grounds and husband Ron live nearby. Their son Zach lives in Pendleton. Grandchildren are Ziranda, 10, and Boone, 7 months.

Grounds has good things to say about her employees. Tammy Fowler has been a cook and server at Iron Kettle for 20 years, opening up the restaurant at 5:30 a.m. each morning. "She does it all," Grounds says. "She can walk and talk and cook at the same time."

Fowler says of her job, "I just like the people and I guess you can put I really like my boss too."

Employee Dawn Bolden has been at the restaurant for seven years and describes her role as doing "a little bit of everything."

She says of working there, "Everybody feels like family. It's always fun to come to work. Never a dull day."

Lyndsey Doyle has been working in the popular restaurant for a few months and says the business has "great people and great customers. There's never a dull day here. Always lots of conversation."

Jim Hedges is one of many regulars. He lives north of town and is a retired Muncie South High School principal. His favorite dishes are Swiss steak, meatloaf and ribs. Along with the food, his favorite thing about the restaurant are the people.

Topper Painter, a retired farmer, says of the Iron Kettle, "It's just a good country restaurant. (I) come up here every day for lunch. Eat with my buddy here," he says, referring to Hedges.

Grounds said that the restaurant has regulars for each of the three meals a day it serves. Not only do regulars come in to dine, but there are to-go orders on a daily basis that can include farmers or say the Duke plant nearby that might call in a dozen or more orders to go.

Some of the meals the restaurant is known for include Monday's ham and beans day; meatloaf on Wednesdays and hand-breaded grouper fried or grilled on Thursdays and Fridays. On Fridays expect fried chicken and every day, there are homemade mashed potatoes and gravy. Grounds is proud of the homemade Ranch dressing.

And of course, there's plenty of other things on the menu.

But one thing is for sure, according to Grounds, "We don't have anything that's sugar-free or diet."

The restaurant also hosts clubs or groups that want to meet in the private dining room. There's no charge for the meeting space as long as folks order food.

Iron Kettle is located at 103 Meridian St., Sulphur Springs. Hours are 5:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays; 5:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Fridays and 5:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays. Closed Sundays.

Says Grounds, "Believe me if something's going on they call here. They call here for everything."

The following article appeared in a special section Sunday in The Courier-Times under the theme Cultivating Henry County: Family Farms. Any time I can mix it up with some llamas, it's a good day.

by Donna Cronk

For years, Allen and Sue Davis and their daughter, Lindsay (now Lindsay Brown), raised sheep on their rural New Castle property, west of Cadiz. After Lindsay's tenth year showing 4-H sheep, she and her mom were at the Indiana State Fair and watched a llama exhibition. But they did something more than merely watch.

"We bought two llamas," recalls Sue of their quick decision that day.

The two geldings, Prince and Romeo, were the start of a new era for the family, that of raising and showing llamas all over the country as well as Allen becoming a show judge with the Alpaca and Llama Show Association.

"It just kept growing," Sue says of their interest in these animals that has spanned almost 25 years. "We've met lots of nice people from all over the U.S. and Canada."

At one time they also bred and sold the animals but now maintain their herd for their own family's enjoyment.

There are two classes of showing llamas: performance and halter. The Davises work in the halter class.

When judging llamas, Allen says, "You're basically looking at the confirmation of the animal structure. You watch their walk, squareness of front legs and rear legs, walk, top line, sqareness of their rump, length of neck."

Historically, llamas were used for packing / utility animals in South America where they were better than horses or mules for that purpose. They are also guard animals by nature. Interestingly enough, Sue says that Noblesville has the largest 4-H llama youth association in the nation with an average of 100 4-Hers participating.

Lindsay says they are used on farms within herds to protect the other animals. If they become aware of danger, they sound a special "alarm" call to alert the others. A herd of llamas will surround its own young ones to protect them from predators. And when llamas are content, they hum.

Says Allen, "They're like a dog. A lot of it is in the breeding."

Other attributes of the creatures are that they are people-pleasers, very clean and can even be potty trained.

The Davis farm, called Rose Cottage Llamas, is home to the one-time national grand champion wool male llama, a Bolivian llama named Conductor. The family says he won every show he was in for three years. He also served as national reserve champion during his prime. He is deceased now but a large, framed picture of him is featured on a wall. Llamas can live into their 20s.

Allen says of llamas, "When you are around them, they have a calmness to them that makes your mind and your body calm." He says they are quick learners.

Says Sue, "I like to watch their gracefulness. They're nice to each other."

Adds Lindsay, "They always remember you by your scent."

Lindsay says of the animals, "They all have their own personality. There's always one female in charge." Lindsay and her children, Luke and Layla, were on hand to talk about the llamas on the day The Courier-Times visited. The Browns make their home in Hagerstown.

Right now the rural New Castle family has a herd of 10 females and three males.

Allen owned AJ Pools in Anderson for 40 years. He's now retired. Sue, who is a high school special education teacher at Shenandoah, says she misses showing the animals. However, with two young grandchildren, who knows? Rose Cottage llamas may again be back in show rings once again.

This past weekend in central and east-central Indiana has been rainy with if not exactly a chill in the air, the kind of air where a sweatshirt feels good. I'll come around to fall, as I always do. But for now, I want to relish the end of summer.

Since schools open in early August now, the pool has been closed for weeks, the season's trip to Cordry Lake a memory, and the 4-H and Mooreland fairs in the books for 2018. Tonight, Bible Study Fellowship resumes in Middletown, a sure sign that a new season is approaching.

I don't want to close out summer without a thank you to folks I don't know and don't even see, but they provide so much: those flowers and vegetables placed at the edge of roads throughout our state. They leave glass jars and even cash boxes encouraging passersby to use the honor system of paying for the produce.

There's something humbly refreshing about this kind of random trust. And apparently it works because these stands are there daily for folks to pick up luscious red tomatoes to slice and top off our burgers and flowers to arrange in Ball jars for the center of our kitchen tables.

One site has a scales and a cash box. One day I didn't have the right change but decided to leave a tip. The extra coin wasn't for the merch -- although it could have been -- rather, it was a tip for the stand owner's faith in humanity.

At a flower stand though, I picked up two beautiful $5 bunches. I only had a twenty so I delved into the glass jar for a ten and went happily on my way.

In a few weeks I'll see some pumpkins along the road and stop and pick up a few. I'll dig out my best fall wreath for the front door and fill my wooden bowl with gourds. Brian has already mentioned Halloween candy.

But for now, at least until the calendar tells me I'm out of season, I'll enjoy the last of summer's in-season goodness, its bounty, its harvest. Summer remains for a few more days. I'm not rushing it away.

The following column ran today in The Courier-Times.

by Donna Cronk

Here’s what I know: When working with the public, you will likely hear complaints more often than you do compliments.

Here’s what I know as a member of that same public: I am no different. I will speak up when the product I ordered is inferior and needs to go back, or tell my husband or friend when there’s something that bugs me about mankind – or about the state of Indiana roads.

Recently I waited in line to check out groceries. The line was long but I had used this cashier before and knew she was worth the wait. She’s a talker, yes, but words don’t slow her in the least. Once I overheard her say that she has customers who time their shopping with her working schedule so they can use her line. She is proud of this; proud of doing her work well.

One day I overheard her talking about a brother who had been promoted as a heating-and-cooling professional. It was a hot day, and that’s how the topic came up. She told the customer ahead of me that he was good at what he did, and as a result, in high demand. He had an offer to change jobs but his employer asked him what it would take to keep him. He landed a raise and a promotion.

When it was my turn to check out, I watched this woman work. She not only rang up my items quickly, but skillfully loaded them into my cloth bags, making sure they were not too heavy, yet full. Her work was equal parts experience, talent and caring about doing her job right. I complimented her on her expertise.

“I want to be the best,” she said of her work. “I look at it as a puzzle.”

The dried-goods boxes were arranged almost as art. The colds placed together, the canned goods dispersed just right, the breads fluffy, the eggs unbroken.

I wanted to get home and put everything away, but first, a detour to the service desk. I wanted to compliment this clerk on her service in an official way, and let her employer know how much I appreciated her bright outlook, work ethic, speed and skill.

The clerk there was happy to give me a form to fill out and I was happy to complete it. From there, I have no idea what happened, but something good, I hope. Maybe it was a supervisor’s compliment, or a kind word from the store manager letting the line clerk know she had been caught in the act of doing something well.

I would like to meet the mama of my cashier and her brother. I’d say she did a good deal right in raising them.

Several years ago I had an above-and-beyond experience at the bank drive-thru window. I had turned off the engine and when I went to start my van, nothing happened. The female teller told me to hold on, that she had jumper cables in her vehicle. Out she came, pulling her truck around to my van – and jumped it! Soon I was on my way, destined for a new battery.

I called the bank’s main office to report this amazing teller’s work in saving the day, not to mention saving me a service or even towing bill.

Sometime later another bank employee told me that because of my call, the teller I reported was given special recognition and a meal out for her effort. That made me happy.

Today I challenge you to catch someone doing something right. And report them for it!

We’re each a member of the public. So it’s on us to help make our corner of the world a better place to live, work and be a human being. And wouldn’t it be nice to make someone’s day in the process?

Donna Cronk is Neighbors Editor at The Courier-Times. She also edits the quarterly her magazine for women.

Several months ago I was contacted by the Area VII Extension Homemakers Retreat Committee to see if I would be their opening-morning speaker as well as sit in on a break-out afternoon session, a review of my first novel, Sweetland of Liberty Bed & Breakfast.

The retreat was earlier this week at Lake Placid retreat center near Hartford City.  It took less than an hour to make my way to the grounds, complete with pretty scenery like this.

I found a table set up in the main auditorium for me to decorate and stock with books. On a whim, I grabbed the two teapots I had at home that were filled with flowers I bought at a local roadside stand. The flowers had already seen in two occasions by then: Sam's birthday dinner a week ago, and my church life-group's meeting Sunday night.

In some ways, the retreat was like old-home week. I hadn't been there long when here came two from my home county of Union: Sally Redinger and Marla Neukum. Sally is married to Art, who was my 4-H Extension director 41 years ago! Marla is a retired Union County Elementary School teacher.

Several Henry County Extension Homemakers were there, too, including state officer Teresa Bell who was the one who suggested my name for the program! Thank you, Teresa. Among other counties represented were my home county of Madison.

The retreat theme was RELIVE YOUR TEENS. During an entertaining video featuring people, music, trends and fashions from several decades, some "models" put on a style show of fashions from eras past.

It was fun to give the speech, written for this occasion, called BACK TO THE FUTURE: IT'S NEVER TOO LATE, then enjoy visiting over lunch with several women. I was delighted to meet and chat with Rush County Extension Director Gracie Marlatt. Then it was time for the book review break-out session where 13 gathered to discuss Sweetland. It's always interesting to hear questions and observations readers have.

I'm grateful for every opportunity as the journey continues.

By DONNA CRONK - dcronk@thecouriertimes.com

South African native Rod Smith became First Presbyterian Church in New Castle’s new pastor on July 17. A U.S. citizen, he was ordained decades ago in South Africa. His official status with the Presbyterian Church is Commissioned Ruling Elder (CRE). He is believed to be the 38th pastor in the church’s history, dating to 1845.

He is delighted to be here.

“The people are hard working, committed, faithful,” Smith said. “They love their city. They love their church. They’re generous, kind, open.”

Smith resides with his two sons, Thulani, 20, and Nate, 16, in Indianapolis. He hopes to relocate to New Castle.
He is excited about being back in active ministry. His journey to this job dates back a couple decades. It also involves meeting the Danny Danielson family. The Danielsons were avid Henry County community supporters and philanthropists.
Smith’s roots

Originally from Durban, South Africa, several generations of Smith’s family had roots there. While serving a church in South Africa, he invited Christians from around the world to visit. A team from Tabernacle Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis visited and on that team were Duane and Susie (Danielson) Anderson, the daughter of the late Danny and Patty Danielson.

“We had a wonderful experience together,” Smith said. After that meeting, he was asked by a church search committee to move to Indy and be part of the church’s pastoral staff. He was there for eight years starting in 1990.
An avid traveler, Smith said, “I always knew I’d live in another country but I didn’t know what that country would be. When the invitation came to move to the states I just took it because it fit with what I knew.”
From his service with the Indianapolis church, he left to establish with friends a faith-based counseling service, Open Hand, for the juvenile courts system and for the state office of Family and Children.
Along the way he adopted two sons, Thulani, 20, now a junior at Butler University and Nate, 16, a sophomore at North Central High School.
When the boys became school-aged, he went to work as an English teacher and later dean for St. Richard’s School where the boys attended.
New Castle connection

Twenty years ago he spoke at a New Castle Presbyterian Church’s family retreat where he met Dan and Becky Riley of Greenfield, members of the New Castle church. He recently reconnected with them and learned that Dan was filling in at churches in Lewisville and Knightstown that were in between pastors.
Smith said of the work, “I want to do that.”
He had been aching to preach.
“I even prepared a Christmas sermon in case someone got ill,” Smith recalled of last year.
He was asked in fill in on Jan. 28 in southern Henry County.
“I felt like a jockey who had found his horse after many years,” Smith recalled.
After being asked back to preach again, he was told that New Castle Presbyterian was still looking for a pastor. He was quite interested but didn’t know if it would work out since he is not Presbyterian. But it did, and the rest is history.

“Here I am and I’m having fun,” Smith said, adding, “I’m enjoying learning New Castle, enjoying learning what the culture is all about.”
New Castle Presbyterian Church elder, John Lansinger, has been a member there for 43 years. He said of Smith, “He is a breath of fresh air.”
Lansinger lauds the pastor for his “tremendous amount of energy, care for people,” and the time he has spent meeting with members and shut ins. He spoke of Smith’s “great sense of humor,” and how he has new ideas and jumps right in to implement them, such as contributing to some community services and a new Wednesday-morning Bible study.
Additional interests

Smith also teaches internationally and interdenominationally with a Christian organization, Youth With A Mission (YWAM) which he has done for 30 years. The idea is to train young people to serve around the world. He has taken his sons on countless trips throughout the world.
He has also maintained a daily South African newspaper column for 17 years called “You and Me.” It’s the longest-running  newspaper column by one writer in the country,” he said.

Not only is Smith close to his sons, but he speaks with his own siblings daily. His family was close growing up. Along with photos of his boys in his office, there’s one of Smith’s father taken during his service in the British Navy during World War II. The sailor’s wartime boat sank and he survived by swimming in the ocean for days. He swam in oil to keep the sharks away but suffered for months with blood poisoning as a result. He went on to live, however, until 1994.

“He was a paragon of generosity and courage,” the son said of his father. He would like to add a photo of his mother from that period but cannot find it.
Special invite

The church has Sunday school weekly at 9:15 a.m., followed by services at 10:30 a.m. This Sunday, Aug. 26, however, is a special Sunday when the church will celebrate public education and educators. The pastor issues a special invite to everyone who has served as a public educator, administrator or to people who love or loved educators. They will be honored during the worship service.
Smith has sent invitations to a dozen or more schools and to New Castle Mayor Greg York. York has accepted the invitation to Sunday’s services. First Presbyterian Church is at 1202 Church St., New Castle.

The pastor said that only a fool would not want schools to be safe, but he also sees a danger in making things so safe that freedom of thought and creativity would be stifled.
“I have great faith in this particular community at this particular time at this particular location,” Smith said.