Young love and springtime seem to match. Both are hopeful and about new beginnings. Everyone wants love to last and grow into meaningful lives. Many people live that hope.

Two such people also made Grove City their home for more than 60 years. Ed and Ginny Van Horn, both 82, celebrated their 60^th wedding anniversary on April 14.

In 1947, Ed’s father started a new business, Ohio Wire Form and Spring, now in its 65^th year, and in its third generation. At 16, Ed worked alongside his father. At night, he worked at Near’s Sandwich Shop next door.

“Business was slow at first and not a lot to do. So I worked at Near’s Sandwich Shop,” Ed said.

Little did he know that his future wife’s sister, Nellie, waitressed at the same shop. She introduced the two and, as they say, the rest is history.

When 1950, and the Korean War, came about, Ed enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. He served at Pope Air Base at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, never having to physically go to Korea. While at Ft. Bragg, he invited Ginny to visit and stay at the guest house on base. It was there he asked Ginny to be his wife and in 1952, they married at the chapel on base.

“I moved in with Ed’s parents, in Grove City, until his discharge,” Ginny said. “Later, Ed inherited their home and we continue to live there today.”

Ginny was a supervisor for Ohio Bell and worked for them 20 years. “I took breaks from time to time,” she said. Part of the reason was possibly the birth and care of two sons, Samuel and Stephen, 59 and 48. “Well, Sam was born one year and one week after we were married,” Ginny said.

After Ed’s discharge, he worked with his father at the business. Eventually he became president of the company. Now their son Stephen, of German Village, is President and Sam is Vice-President.

Sam and his wife, Pam, of the West Side, have three daughters and seven grandchildren. Naturally, making Ed and Ginny proud grand- and great-grandparents. This couple are music directors at the Van Horn’s church, Life in Christ Fellowship in West Jefferson.

When asked how they held a marriage together and remained so happy, the answer came easily: “Love and the help of the good Lord,” said Ed.

“Love and trust,” said Ginny. “Plus, we both love to golf!” she added smiling.

Sam told me their faith is strong and is part of what molded all their lives together.

“It’s how they reach out to others,” he said. “That piece of thread is what pulls us together. That’s the constant.”

Robert Browning wrote of this love the Van Horn’s share: “Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be, the last of life, for which the first was made. Our times are in his hand who saith, ‘A whole I planned, youth shows but half; Trust God: See all, nor be afraid!’”

NOTE: This edition of Suburban News Publications was the last. They were purchased by The Columbus Dispatch and all future weekly newspapers are being combined with This Week newspapers.

Exciting times to see almost two years work finished!

We’re not hard to find. You see us in venues from the corporate world to Kindergarten. The list is long.

Most are everyday people doing everyday activities.

Symptoms are invisible to most everyone but those living with multiple sclerosis.

This central nervous system disease causes sensations of numbness and tingling, indescribable fatigue, dizziness, blurred vision and often partial or complete blindness, muscle spasms, cognitive problems and more.

The majority of us have relapsing/remitting MS that comes and goes at will. The smaller percentage has progressive MS that declines rapidly.

We may find ourselves in the middle of a large, empty room unable to move safely because we don’t have anything to balance our bodies. That is one way that MS can be paralyzing because our bodies are rebelling within. The new normal is what our lives become as we adapt daily.

I asked Grove City businesses for donations of sweets to deliver to the Columbus TV stations, along with information about March being MS Awareness Month. Tim Horton’s on Broadway quickly agreed to a donation. The woman I spoke with said her sister has MS.

Jolly Pirate Donuts on Southwest Blvd. generously donated donuts along with Tim Horton’s on Stringtown Road.

While delivering the goodies, I found a woman whose best friend has MS and she joins her friend’s Walk MS team every year.

Another station quickly told me they have a staffer with MS.

Like I said, we’re not hard to find.

The mantra for people with MS is “knowledge is power.” When I was diagnosed in 1987, information about MS was elusive. No Internet to research, few celebrities were talking about having this disease, there were few books and no drugs to treat it.

Today information is plentiful and more than five drugs exist proven to slow progression with more being developed.

MS Awareness Month is important because the face of MS is changing.

For years MS was believed to be a disease affecting those age 20-50. Currently, MS has been diagnosed in children as young as three, with an estimated 8,000-10,000 children under the age of 18 living with MS, and in adults as old as 75.

Demand for services in the MS community continues to increase and change in scope. The Ohio Buckeye Chapter of the National MS Society is a lifeline of information and services for the more than 11,000 people with MS in the counties they serve. There are two other chapters in Ohio that also care for the more than 20,000 people in Ohio with MS.

The National MS Society is investing more than $6.3 million over a three-year period in Ohio institutions for 17 MS-related research projects – one of the highest investments nationwide.

How can you help? Befriend someone with MS, offer your arm for support. Consider sponsoring an MS event like the Walk MS in Columbus on April 21 at the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium to keep research and services possible.

For more information, call 1-800-FIGHT-MS  or visit the Web site at MSohiobuckeye.org.

I’ve learned…. That the less time I have to work with, the more things I get done.

The smell of bread baking is a favorite of mine. At 19, while living in an apartment in California, I followed the aroma and found an open door. I was invited in and sought advice on making bread. “Find a recipe you like and stick with it,” she said. “You’ll have flops and successes, but eventually you’ll catch on.”

Good advice and I ran with it.

I remembered the original recipe I used until I “caught on.” It was cut from a Red Star Yeast packet, taped to a 3×5 card and placed in my recipe box.

Now covered with signs I had used it for years, I remember my flops and successes.   How after years of practice, I learned how the dough felt in my hands when it was right – and when it wasn’t.

Memories on a yeast packet. Unexpected.

But advice to “stick with it” served me well in many areas of my life. Had I not listened to her, or sought her out in the first place, I might never have had that gem of advice to run with.

Yeast can make or break a loaf of bread.  Several factors determine how well it will rise and make heavenly smelling bread. That thought reminds me of a parable in the Bible not about unleavened (without yeast) bread.

“The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.” Matthew 13:32-34

Believe me; I never work 60 pounds of flour at one time! But this verse is speaking of how yeast permeates the dough to give it “life” similar to how God’s Word works through our lives to help us grow. I love the analogy.

It doesn’t take much yeast to make bread rise, under the right conditions. And it’s infinitely easier to work small amounts of flour at one time. Yet if the yeast is old or handled poorly, the bread won’t rise. So we buy new yeast or read the directions again. Start over.

As we begin another year, we might be thinking of resolutions we made to lose weight, exercise more, learn a new skill or any number of ideas to improve our lives. My advice would be to stick with it till you find what works for you. And as in making yeast bread, work a little into your life gradually to make improvements until healthy choices are second nature.

I didn’t learn to make bread—or do anything really—overnight or without practice and failures. Think of inventors who toiled faithfully to make their dreams and ideas happen.

These same ingenious folks make our lives easier with choices that were unimaginable in my early life.

But today I still choose to learn things carefully, measure advice cautiously and accept failure as a learning tool. No, I don’t like failing. Looking back on my life I can see how those tough moments strengthened me.

So I stick with it till I get it right. Good advice.

I believe I have all I need to accomplish His purpose in my life.
{2 Peter 1:3}

I believe nothing is too difficult for me because nothing is impossible for the
God who lives in me.
{Philippians 4:13}

I believe even the biggest challenges in my life can be redeemed for my good
and His glory.
{Romans 8:28}

I believe I am loved just as I am and called to become even more like Jesus
every day.
{Hebrews 10:14}

I believe that He isn’t finished with me yet and is able to complete the good
work begun in me.
{Philippians 1:6}

I believe I am an overcomer, more than a conqueror, and nothing will keep God
from carrying out His plans!
{Romans 8:32-39}

Published: Grove City News
Wednesday, September 21, 2011

For 10 years, a pretty handmade bowl was one of my favorites. Written on the bottom was “2/5/01, Corinne Haines.”

I had purchased it at a restaurant across from City Hall in Grove
City as part of a project to raise money for the hungry. I knew the
artists were children and I was enamored.

One day I decided to learn who Corinne Haines is and where she is
now. I did a search for Haines’ living in Grove City. When 28 names
appeared, I sighed but started calling. When I reached Kimberly, I hit
gold. She is Corinne’s mom.

When I told her of my quest to learn about the little girl who made this pretty bowl, she chuckled.

“I often wondered who got the bowls she made. I bought one,” Kim said.

I told Kim it made my day when I found her. It made her day as a mom. We
moms have an unseen bond when we share stories about our “children.”

Sheila,
of the Grove City Parks and Recreation department, said the bowl was
part of the Empty Bowls project made during the Programmed Aftershool
Recreation for Kids (PARK).

Corinne told me she remembers making the ceramic bowls at Buckeye Woods Elementary School.

“I was so excited to be decorating the bowls because I loved arts and crafts … ,” Corinne said.

“I made three or four bowls that day and I worked very hard trying to make them as unique as possible.”

Time changed Corinne from a little girl to a young woman. At 19, she is a
sophomore at Denison University with double majors in biology and
economics, with a minor in math.

When you read Corinne’s resume,
the highlights are many. Some include avid tennis player, Key Club,
volunteer, baby-sitter, mentor, model, valet, homecoming court, blood
donor, honor society, and she is working two jobs this summer.

One day she might be on a ballot. Corinne was active in high school student council, with a long stint as class vice president.

She received the South-Western City School District Individual Leadership Pride Award and had a better-than 4.0 GPA.

I asked Corrine what makes her tick.

“My goal everyday when I wake up is to be a better person than I was the day before,” she told me.

“To simply better myself and better the lives of other people is my motivation.”

Her mother has always been the driving force in her life. “She is an
amazing woman — so strong, driven, smart and loving. She taught me to
want to be the best person I can be and to help others,” Corrine said.

“Without her, I highly doubt I would be the person I am today.”

Corinne loved growing up in a small town in a family with strong ties to the
community. Her great-grandfather, Walter Luebben opened the Grove City
Hardware in 1945. His wife, Marguerite, and their children Patty
Fleming, Robert and Richard Luebben all worked there.

Kim’s father, Robert, sold the store in 1999. He worked there 44 years and sold it after the rest of his family had passed away.

Corinne is one of many deep rooted, small-town success stories. Look around you
– they abound and they help our bowls overfloweth.

The photo at the top of my website was taken by my oldest grandson, Jacob. I love its simplicity and the fact that it is a sparrow.

Trying to remember the first time I heard the song “His Eye is on the Sparrow,” I did a search and came up with this YouTube version of the Ethel Waters singing the song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoCO_1GcoV0 -

The service was meaningful where the pastor talked about how we live the dash between our birth and death dates. It goes so fast. He would have been 94 in December and he often said, “It went so fast!”

He and my Mom were married 66 years and raised four children. He served in WWII, worked all his adult life, was an avid since childhood and loved a good joke. If he couldn’t think of one, he found some way to make a joke or try to make us laugh. He often missed the mark but at least he tried.

The fact he lost most of his vision to macular degeneration hit him hard. No more driving and he had to listen to his beloved books. But he met the challenge.

My solace during his illness and his funeral was that I know he no longer has those worries. I believe he is in heaven with God and His Son, Jesus. He is walking in heavenly light with visions we can only dream about.

I asked him if he would be waiting for me someday when I would join him in heaven. He nodded and smiled. Of course he will.