March will soon be gone and April and Spring are on their way! I was talking to someone Wednesday who said they were having snow. I laughed and replied we weren’t. Not much later, yes we were. The Northwest wind was helping it to look like a blizzard. By mid afternoon, it had stopped.
Friday was not a good day for me. It seemed like everything was going wrong! Have you ever had a day like that? I took time to go and look over some cards I had received from friends. I couldn’t believe it when I found three cards that had never been opened! It was just like they were not meant to be opened at the time they were sent but to be at another time when the contents were what was needed.
Monday was the School Board meeting in Remsen. It is negotiating time for hiring. It is not pleasant for either side. I was reading the other day where the government is now looking into “how” the extra COVID money is being spent. Somehow, for some, there is no end to wanting as much as can be gotten from this free money. Do they not know that sometime down the road, we are going to be paying through taxes all this extra money handed out? When I looked at the increase in Social Security, I found that the increase in Medicare took that and more. I can see where some seniors are having a rough time of trying to make ends meet.
The schools are winding down with what seems like activity after activity coming all at once. Graduation is soon upon them. With the world the way it is, hopefully it will not affect the future of these that are graduating. This COVID-19 bit has not been good for anyone.
Talking about schools, while looking for something, I found an article on Mrs. Ethel Gund in the March 19, 1959 Marcus News. “Mrs. Gund Completes 32 Years on Board”. Monday evening, for the first time in 32 years, the board of directors on the Marcus Independent school district organized and made its plans for the future without Mrs. W.L. Gund as a member.
Mrs Gund was appointed on January 12, 1927, to fill a vacancy and has been re-elected to that office every two years since that time.
Several years ago, Mrs. Gund decided that she had served long enough, and did not file for the office. However, several friends decided they still wanted her on the board and organized a write-in campaign that proved to be unique in that it was successful.
Mrs. Gund has been a faithful and efficient member of the board and has imperturbably weathered the numerous minor crises that face such boards through the years.
It would be difficult to say how many different board members Mrs. Gund has served with during the 32 years, but it is possible to make a rough estimate of the number of meetings she has attended. The figure would probably be in excess of 1,000, requiring several hours of each meeting.
Mrs. Gund certainly deserves the gratitude of the community for all these hours of service, and the simple fact that she had been returned to her office fifteen times demonstrates that her efforts were appreciated.
Her husband, the late W.L. Gund, almost matched her period of service, being the district treasurer for 30 years.
The Marcus Public Library was made possible because of W. L. and Ethel Gund who left money for the Gund Library. She also left money for a scholarship of a graduate at the Marcus school that has been going on for years. She did care about our community.
Melvin Dorr was elected president of the board of directors of the Marcus Independent school district to serve until the new community school district took place July 1. Herman Fischer, local contractor, and Dr. L.L. Julius, Marcus dentist were two new board members. They replace Mrs. W.L. Gund and George Scott, neither of whom were candidates for re-election.
It was in January that Helen, sister of Elsie Slagter called and told of her son, Scott dying unexpectedly. She was going to send an obituary up to be in the Marcus News. This past Wednesday, I received his obituary that had been mailed the last of January. I do not know what is going on with mail. Zachary is still waiting for two lawn mowing checks since August and I never did get a check from an insurance company.
If I receive mail that is not mine, I take it back to the post office. Evidently not everyone does this.
Remember in your thoughts and prayers those who have lost loved ones to death, are experiencing health problems, some of which are terminal, are trying to make ends meet even though they have a job, encourage those who are not working to find a job, especially since their weekly government checks will begin being reduced, and encourage those who have distanced themselves from friends and family to build a bridge rather than a wall. Count your blessings.
I will close with a quote from Mark Twain (1835-1910) author and humorist, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.”