By Cindy Toopes, Courier Staff writer
September 02, 2008 11:48 am
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OTTUMWA — Good morning, Readers!
I hope your holiday is going well and you have a chance to do something fun and/or relaxing. You’re all in my future as I write this Friday afternoon.
Maybe you’ve taken a few moments to be thankful for work, for labor. Is that a stretch for some of you? Sorry. Then be thankful there was a labor movement because that’s why you’ve got the day off.
The U.S. Department of Labor Web site (www.dol.gov) said “Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers.”
Also, “... the vital force of labor added materially to the highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known ... It’s appropriate the nation pay tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation's strength, freedom, and leadership — the American worker.”
OK, end of civics lesson.
Maybe Labor Day is where you catch your breath before the fall season of everything starts. Schools are back in session, symphonies are tuning up, community players throughout southeast Iowa are gearing up and Ottumwa Women’s Club is about to start a new year of programs.
This coming weekend Ottumwa Area Arts Council will host a free showing of “This American Gothic,” a documentary by Sasha Waters Freyer, at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 7, at Bridge View Center, followed by a reception. Freyer will then be available for questions or comments.
Delta Days will be Saturday and Sunday Sept. 6-7. Those folks will have parades, an ugly truck contest, scavenger hunt and the dedication of the new Delta Bridge.
This past weekend the Soap Creek Saddle Club headed out on horseback to the Fort Madison Rodeo. Thomas Terrell, 16, of Packwood is back in the saddle again. An accident about a year ago sidelined him from last year’s ride, according to Cindy Terrell, his mother.
A severe storm hit when Thomas was working horses with the Amish and a 32-foot steel door hit him and threw him into a field about 28 feet away. He was in intensive care for three days and his mom wouldn’t let him ride last year.
If Thomas has anything that hurts after the ride and the week-long rodeo, I bet it’s his face. I just know he didn’t quit smiling.
This last item brings smiles and tears. I’m sad to hear of Steve Barnett’s passing Aug. 28. He was an original member of Ottumwa Regional Mobile Intensive Care Services (ORMICS) and a member of the Wapello County Ambulance Service, which preceded ORMICS.
I smile when I think of Steve’s passion for maps of Ottumwa and the surrounding area. He was an emergency responder most of his life and he wanted to know which streets and roads were closed or had construction obstacles.
City and county street departments sent him updates and Steve put those in the notebooks he stocked in the ORMICS rigs. He collected info from wherever he could about what roads were closed.
When you’re going out at 2 a.m. on a call about someone choking, you don’t want to lose 30 minutes or even 30 seconds taking a detour. Steve put a lot of time into preventing detours and I’ll always believe his maps saved time and lives.
Tears slide down my face when I think of Steve’s family handling his funeral on Labor Day, a major holiday. That’s a tough road none of us want to travel. The service is 10 a.m. Monday at Reece Funeral Home.
I did a couple of stories about Steve, whom I called “the map man.” He made a copy of his map book for me and that still makes me smile.
I’ll be adding a note to the map book I made: “Blessed are the map makers. They show us the way.”
Cindy Toopes can be reached at (641) 683-5376 or via e-mail at cindy@ottumwacourier.com.
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Photos
Cindy Toopes