NEW ALSACE
RISING SUN / OHIO COUNTY
October 2017 THE BEACON Page 23
NEW ALSACE
By Maxine Klump
Community Correspondent
newalsace @ goBEACONnews . com
Hello Everyone , Zachary ( Zac ) Ahaus enlisted in the U . S . Marines and left July 24 for Parris Island , SC . He joined the Marine ' s Early Entry Program for high school seniors in Aug . 2016 . According to his mother , Karen Ahaus , " This program initiates the value of teamwork by requiring the boys to endure rigorous workouts two times a week in preparation for boot camp ." She stated , “ Zac has always
Zac Ahaus been fascinated by the military and spoke of enlisting throughout high school ." Zac joined the Marines with the love and support of his family . He is in Delta company and plans a career in the infantry with the goal of becoming an officer . He graduates on Oct . 20 and , after a 10-day leave , will continue training at Fort LeJeune .
Zac is the son of Karen and Brian Ahaus and the older brother of Lauren Ahaus and Ben Ahaus . He is the grandson of Darlene Murray , Gary Murray , and Vera and Henry Ahaus . Zac attended grade school at St . Paul Catholic Elementary School in New Alsace . His mother said , " In the third grade he was trained to serve Holy Mass and he served faithfully every weekend through his senior year . Zac was an active member of All Saints Youth group and played basketball for the church ' s CYO team . He accompanied a group of young adults to World Youth Day in Poland last summer to see Pope Francis and celebrate our faith with over a million youth from around the world ." Zac always has had goals he sets and he is a natural leader . He loves being with his family and friends , enjoys camping , hunting , and shooting skeet with his Grandpa Ahaus . Zac graduated from East Central High School , Class of 2017 .
Congratulations Zac . We are proud of you !
The New Alsace American Legion Auxiliary Post # 452 reported that they sponsored two girls from East Central High School at the Hoosier Girl State which was held the week of June 18-24 at Trine University . Mary Brand and Sophia Lubic were the delegates . During that week they were able to participate in the process of establishing a mock state government where each girl ran for a county , state , or city office , and elected representatives for each of the offices . Several scholarships were awarded to delegates during the awards program . Mary Brand was awarded a $ 1,000.00 Samsung scholarship for the school of her choice . We thank the girls for taking time out of their busy schedules to attend Girls State and actively participate in this very educational experience .
My grandson , Lee Lillie , plays in a band called Lift the Medium . They had their CD release on Aug . 18 . Lee plays a 7-string bass guitar . My husband , Mike , played guitar , so I like that Lee is following in his footsteps . The band is made up of Joey , Joe , and Jake , so Lee goes by LJ - using his middle initial . My
O ur favorite song on the new CD is called " Have Mercy ." The best part is that their songs are uplifting . Their music is featured on local radio stations , and they were written up in City Beat Magazine So proud of you , Lee .
The New Alsace American Legion Post # 452 will hold their October Euchre Tournament on Oct . 15 . Doors open at noon - play begins at 1 p . m . Everyone is welcome !
Our condolences to the family and friends of Mary Fritsch who passed away on Aug . 7 at the age of ninetysix . She leaves her children : Nick ( Monica ) Fritsch , Luci ( Rudy ) Schenk , Diane ( Willie ) Berdeguez , Linda ( John ) Waechter , Grace ( George ) Ritzi , Marcy ( the late Jerry ) Erhart , twenty-two grandchildren and twenty-two great-grandchildren . She is preceded in death by her husband Stanley Fritsch and her daughter Julia Conboy .
Mary grew up on a farm and applied her farming skills her entire life . She not only helped with farm chores , but also planted , harvested , and canned the produce from her huge garden . In addition , she baked homemade bread ( up to eight loaves ) twice a week . Mary was also a seamstress who made most of her daughters ' clothing . She also made cross-stitched quilts and donated at least one to the St . Paul Church picnic every year . Some of her quilts were at her visitation . Absolutely beautiful ! She made her last quilt when she was ninetythree years of age . In addition to her devotion to her family and church , Mary also served her country as a member of the Women ' s Army Corps ( WAC ) during WWII .
I always admired Mary for her WAC uniform and service in the Women ' s Army Corps and for her many quilts . Our daughters were good friends , and we enjoyed conversing about their activities . She was always so easy to talk with . Mary will be missed .
Our condolences to the family and friends of Dottie Lingg who passed away on Aug . 9 at the age of 92 . She leaves her husband of seventy years , George Lingg , three daughters , Monica ( David ) Wiggins , Judi Lingg , and Mary ( Les ) Finn , and three granddaughters , Shauna Steigerwald , Tammy Donawerth , and Tiffany Callaway .
Dottie was a very giving person to her family , the church , and the community . She was a member of St . Paul ' s Ladies Sodality , sang in the choir when she was younger , made quilts for the annual St . Paul Church picnic , and worked as a Teacher ' s Aide at St . Paul ' s Catholic Elementary School .
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Her daughter , Mary , remembered that “ My mother loved to cook , bake , and sew . We always woke in the morning to the smell of donuts , pastries , cookies , or cakes being baked . Mom used to sew our dresses - we all three had identical dresses . Mom made all our Halloween costumes ." Dottie is also remembered by many children as the lady who gave them lollipops .
I think of Dottie as a good friend . When I would see her with George , I ' d think of my husband Mike . George and Dottie were so much in love . It reminded me of how much love Mike and I had for each other . Dottie , we ' ll all miss you .
Halloween will be celebrated at the end of this month . It was always a big feast in our family . My mother would dress up in special outfits , especially the " fat lady !" We always marched in the Sunman Halloween parade . So much fun in those days ... Happy Halloween ! Boo ! Space gone , so long .
RISING SUN / OHIO COUNTY
By PG Gentrup
Community Correspondent
risingsun @ goBEACONnews . com
FALL FESTIVAL Klemme ’ s Corner United Church of Christ
Oct . 1 , 2017 11 a . m . – 4 p . m . Chicken Dinner – Hayride to the Pumpkin Patch Kids Games – Music – Crafts – Bake Sale Silent Auction – Basket Raffle-Painted Pumpkins I-74 to St . Leon Exit . Go North on S . R . # 1 and follow signs to 11001 Bossert Rd .; Brookville , IN 47012
Saturday Oct . 21 , 9am-3pm
St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross Church 23455 Gavin Lane in Bright Large Building @ Rear of Gavin Lane
FREE ADMISSION GREAT SHOPPING-FOOD-FRIENDLY ATMOSPHERE CRAFTERS + VENDORS , 812-656-8700 TO RESERVE A SPOT
I try to keep up on the news coming from the old I & M Plant in Lawrenceburg since there are so many people here in Ohio County who worked and retired from there . It ’ s sad to see the old lady going away . I retired from there , and many of my friends made a career of working at the power plant . I grew up in Lawrenceburg with eight kids who ended up working together at I & M- Lanny Wyatt , Donnie Starker , Clarence Tibbetts , Barry Kaffenberger , Mike Johnson , Jack Day , and Mike Lafollette . Seven of us are veterans ; only Lanny wasn ’ t because he had polio as a kid but recovered from it . He more than made up for it with his dedication to the Lawrenceburg Life Squad and his church . Lanny also organized the People Helping People organization at I & M that has helped so many people with groceries etc . through the years .
I donated platelets and plasma a few weeks ago at the Rising Sun High School . I started donating blood back in 1965 and , except for a one-year period where I wasn ’ t allowed to donate because of my return from Vietnam , I ’ ve tried to donate regularly . One of my collections is the gallon pins they give you for each gallon you donate . I passed the thirtyone-gallon mark and tell people that the way to reach that is to get old . Kevin Smith does a wonderful job coordinating the blood drives at RSHS . Seeing the students donating blood is very nice . Hopefully , they will continue donating for years to come .
We ’ ll be taking another bus trip to Wright Patterson Air Force Base on Sept . 27 with fifty-five local veterans . My favorite is the plane that was used to fly President Kennedy ’ s body home from Dallas after he was assassinated on Nov . 22 , 1963 . I ’ ve walked thru that plane several times and I still get goose bumps .
I attended the Rising Sun City Council Meeting on Aug . 3 with several veterans who made up the standing-room-only crowd . We attended the meeting to make sure the council approved the additions to the area on the riverfront where our Veterans ’ Tribute Tower is located . The project is finally approved . Some area residents were concerned about the noise from the flapping of the flag in the breeze and the hooks holding the flag hitting the pole , but the hooks for this display will be internal preventing excessive noise . I wonder if they stopped to think that two Purple Heart Recipients were in attendance , Larry Young and Walt Bryant . I ’ ll bet that Larry and Walt wished that was all they had to worry about when they were wounded on a battlefield in Vietnam . My buddy , Jerry Bondurant , was in attendance ; he grew up here in Rising Sun . His grandson , Brett Bondurant , is a True American Hero who lost both legs in Afghanistan .
Thanks to Mayor Brent Bascom and the Rising Sun City Council for their support .
Another Cass Union School Reunion was held and had a good turnout . My wife , Paula , attended Cass Union School with her brother , Mickey . Scholarships were presented to Tristan Brown , Aaron Peterson , and Scott Webb . The old school still stands on the corner of Cass Union Road and Route 262 .
The local ALS Walk will take place on Sept . 16 starting at 11:00 AM at the Rising Sun / Ohio Co . Senior Citizens Community Building . Hopefully , some of you will see this and show up for this fund raiser for research to beat this terrible disease . I ’ ve known several people were stricken and killed by this monster . The Rising Sun Alumni Basketball game for the boys and girls was held on Aug . 12 . Many former players and coaches showed up for the funfilled event . Seeing so many former players getting together was wonderful and brings back a lot of memories of the Shiner teams that have a tremendous history . You can see teams honored in the Wilson Hall of Fame which is named after legendary coaches , Mike and Shelia Wilson .
I watched the eclipse of the sun on Aug . 21 , but unless it ’ s a total eclipse like we ’ ll have in seven years , I didn ’ t see much to get excited about . I guess the school kids had fun with it . Watching it get dark and then light again will be the excitement when the total eclipse occurs .
The annual Detmer Reunion was held in Rising Sun on July 16 . Seventy family members attended . The family is well known in our area . Dean Carrigan was the oldest attendee .
The Donnie Bowman 5K run was held at Quercus Grove on Aug . 12 . Many local runners participated in this fund raiser for the scholarship to remember a great family man who had a tremendous sense of humor . Peyton Merica was the overall winner of the men ’ s race and he ’ s only twelve years old . The women ’ s winner was Morgan Barnes , who is also twelve .
We have a young celebrity . The recent rodeo was held at the fairgrounds on Aug . 18 where Jayden Scudder participated in the bull riding contest . He comes from a rodeo family . His dad , Jason , and grandpa , Raymond , were very active in the rodeo .
The Rising Sun Fire Dept . was awarded a $ 5000 grant from the Ohio County Community Foundation . Stephanie Scott , coordinator , presented the check to Fire Chief , John Miller .
I watched my ten-year-old grandson , Kaden , blast his first over-the- fence Little League home run , and I ’ m sure people heard me here in Rising Sun because as soon as he hit it , I was on my feet yelling because I knew it was GONE .
Take some time to get out and enjoy the weather because before we know it , the cold weather will be coming . Take care of each other and good health to all of you and thank GOD for all his blessings .
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