News
GAINS
We have hired a new Groundskeeper. Dale Ostrander began work
with us on September 17. Dale is a smart, interesting and engaging guy
and we are really looking forward to him joining our team!
Dale and his wife Connie have been married for 19 years. Their
daughter Emily is a senior and is applying to Duke, UNC and NC State. Their son Andrew is 12 and in the 7th grade. The Ostranders have their own organic farm in Elon, populated by a mule, turkeys, chickens and goats. And of course, dogs and cats. Ruth, the mule, is a 10-year old Tennessee walking horse and donkey cross who can be driven and
ridden. The turkeys are Standard Bronze and the chickens are Araucanas/
Americanas (they lay green-ish / blue eggs), Leg Horns white eggs), Wyandottas (brown eggs) and Rhode Island Reds (brown eggs). Their 7 Boar Goats include 3 billys and 4 does. The oldest billy weighs 225 pounds! Baron, the border collie, and Floyd, a Chesapeake Bay Retriever, make up the canine contingent and KiKi, Mow-Mow and Shadow are the resident cats. Dale and Connie both grew up in Lapeer Michigan which is near the thumb of Michigan. Dale has lived in Chicago, Hampton, VA; Waynesboro, VA; and now Elon, NC. Dale plays ice and roller hockey, table hockey, tennis and golf. He also coaches roller hockey and referees ice hockey. We knew Dale would fit right
in from our first conversation with him, for many reasons, not the least of which is his love of history. “I believe that teaching History is vital for understanding people and their culture,” he says. And so do we.
Losses
The departure of a coworker might cause you to celebrate or their absence may
leave a void. For the second time in a little over a year we have lost a member of our family. Bucky Johnston, our grounds manager and friend, took disability retirement, on July 31. He has been the last bastion of common sense around here since Harold Gunn’s transfer last summer. At once considerate and quick to argue, he is a southern-born bleeding heart who is equally at home on a tractor or a motorcycle. Bucky is unparalleled in even temperament, unrivaled in botanical knowledge and unable to use the English language as it was intended. It was worth the price of admission just to talk to him, and his work around the park transformed it into one of the most beautiful around. Perhaps the most important thing we have learned from watching the way he has handled himself while fighting his illness, is that there is no greater trait of character than compassion for others. We should all challenge ourselves to push back the blinders of mundane irritation and realize that even the people who drive us the maddest are still worthy of our consideration. We wish to thank Bucky for everything he has done for us, both intentional and unintentional and we look forward to his visits when he comes into town!
