This is an essay by Fred Steiner published in Bluffton Anthology. For more information about the book click here.

It’s difficult to count how many mothers have touched one’s life. Go ahead. Try counting.

Being Mother’s Day weekend, I’ll make a feeble attempt to demonstrate what I mean. My account could be the same as your account. Only the names would change.

As a reference point, these illustrations are from my own youth. Although none of these women are my mother, each knew how to play the mother trump card. Each did it in a way to make her profession a noble one.

I’ll start with the old Lawn Avenue-Elm Street neighborhood. Alice DeVier (mother of Sue, Bonnie, Val and Jim), was all of the following to the kids in our neighborhood: banker, therapist, tie- breaker, popcorn-maker.

Sue Wilch Groves (mother of Vicky, Robin and Penny), caretaker of an endless supply of homemade Kool Aid push-up pops.

Edna Oyer, always willing to purchase those seed packets that grade school kids sold for school fund- raisers.

Mabel Herr and Marjorie Basinger, made us think they were really trying to guess who we were on Halloween, even though it was pretty obvious.

Pauline Augsburger (mother of Roger and Anita), allowed us to tear up her back yard as the neighborhood football field.

Lois Benroth (mother of Jan), who always had a good story to tell from her work at Triplett.

Mrs. Welch, the Missionary Church preacher’s wife (mother of Reggie, Dick and Jim), who had the largest sandbox in North America, and allowed the neighborhood to build cities in it all summer.

Treva Kinsinger (mother of Pauline, Mark, Kent and Clair), as a Cub Scout den mother, she was never paid enough for all she put up with the boys in Den 2, Troop 256.

Although they had no children of their own, grade school teachers Minerva Hilty and Meredith Stepleton qualify for this list, having handled 30 or more elementary youngsters 180 days a year from 8 to 3.

Add to that list Theola Sutermeister, eighth grade language arts teacher.

It took me years to figure out why First Methodist Church youth choir director Marcene Martz (mother of Janet, Barb and Jack) always let the boys leave rehearsal 10 minutes early each week. (We thought she was rewarding us.)

And, First Methodist SS teacher Cleda Clements, who, although had no children of her own, gave boys model cars for Christmas presents because she worked at Crow’s 5 and 10.

Faery Stager, whose neighborhood grocery, now the location of Village Laundromat, allowed young boys to spend more time than necessary to choose their selection of penny and nickel candy.

Jo Souder, as BHS band director, treated every band member as her own kid. (Sometimes this was not a good thing.)

Elfrieda Howe, who somehow managed to turn her house into a Kindergarten five days a week. She taught us how to make turtles from those orange candiesand cloves.

Gerry Fields, who as the head checkout at Urich’s IGA, wasn’t afraid to put teenage carryout boys in their place.

This is a sample of the content of "Bluffton Anthology - A creek runs through it." Copies are now available for $24.95 plus tax in Bluffton at:
• Roots by Strattons
• The Food Store
• The Black Lab
• Bluffton Senior Citizens Center
• The Dough Hook
• Polished
• In Ada at The Inn at ONU