The Baldecchi-Helton
friendship extends to the next
generation with Mandy’s son,
Ronan Helton Johnson, and
Alex on the soccer field.
We continued to know
each other in my college years when
first Chuck, and then later Erin, hired me as a
counselor for the school’s summer program. Our
relationship might have ended there, but then
The Lexington School entered all of our lives. The
Baldecchis arrived in Lexington just as I was moving
back home to Kentucky, and, with no family nearby,
they needed a babysitter. The first time I visited
their house on South Ashland, “sweetboy” Alex was
a month old and Bella, my “princess peanut butter
face,” was nearly two.
Even before I began to work at TLS, I saw
how deeply the Baldecchis were investing in the
community. I marveled at Bella’s stories from
KinderKlasse, peeked in from the playroom as they
hosted teachers at their table for semimonthly dinners,
and led the kids in their pajamas up the stairs as they
waved goodnight to Board members who were visiting
in the living room.
By the time “Miss Cade” came along, I’d joined the
staff at TLS. There’s much to say about what we have
accomplished in Chuck’s years there and I certainly
learned a lot from Chuck through all of those
experiences, but I’ll let others speak to those. From my
teenage years all the way to the newest role as a mom,
what I learned from the Baldecchis that I treasure
most is about parenting.
As a regular babysitter, I watched the family
grow and adapt over a decade, occasionally even
staying overnight when both parents left town. The
experience of getting three young children plus a
grown-up out the door and to school in the morning
is the closest thing to a parenting “dry run” that a
person could have. I now have the same type of high
chair and bib, the same books on sleeping and raising
a boy, the default shopping list of family-friendly
foods at Trader Joe’s, and my cooking incorporates
many Baldecchi recipes. I’ve seen how great these
three very different kids turned out, so I’m holding to
the same early bedtime and will do the same type of
chore chart. For a long time, I probably felt my view
of the family was exclusive and unique, but I realize
now that
through his
monthly head’s letters
and sit-downs with parents,
Chuck shared his children
with all of us. Through candor,
humor, and vulnerability, Chuck allowed
everyone insight into his own parenting
journey – a journey filled with challenges,
mistakes, and growth, just as the TLS Philosophy
Statement would recommend.
Chuck and Erin also shared their home with all of
us, particularly once it was next door. Erin’s generous
nature has allowed the community to enjoy a unique
and contiguous campus that includes both the school
buildings and the warm home at Scarlet Gate. No
matter what is going on with her own work, she
is unflappable as guests visit the property, whether
it be a science class conducting a nature walk or
CELEBRATION chairs taking a shovel to the earth
to bury a bottle of bourbon on the lawn. In my years
at TLS, she made sure to leave her kitchen door
unlocked as we constantly prepared to host more of
the TLS family, whether it was a gathering of new
parents, a faculty dinner, or the annual blowout that
is Holiday Homecoming. The Baldecchis have made
Scarlet Gate “the family home” for the entire TLS
family, and I trust this will remain so, one of the many
traditions they have established and part of the legacy
they leave.
My own experience with Chuck and Erin as
individuals speaks to their legacy as a family – Chuck
and Erin, Bella, Alex, and Cade made you feel like part
of the family, and made you feel at home. Now that I’m
a mom myself, it’s especially bittersweet for me to bid
farewell to this family that means so much to me. But
since leaving Lexington, I’ve already experienced what
they’ve helped establish at TLS: a sense of family and
home one can always count on and return to.
The Baldecchis have
made Scarlet Gate “the
family home” for the
entire TLS family, and
I trust this will remain
so, one of the many
traditions they have
established and part of
the legacy they leave.
—Mandy Helton
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