July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
The magic of the conservation club (05/13/08)
Letter to the Editor
To the editor:
I read the story about the Jay County Conservation Club with a smile on my face because I also grew up going out there. My grandparents were Nell and Bob Antrim, who lived on High Street in Portland. My Pop was one fantastic barber, baseball player and story teller. He also liked to shoot skeet. I remember going out to see him shoot, watching along with my grandmother. I learned a lot at the conservation club. I learned I didn't like the sound of guns. I also learned to love nature and how to enjoy it.
My brother Jeff Wehrly and I used to get up early Saturday and walk to our grandparents house. On nice days - especially nice spring days - we'd go to the conservation club and "Ding" (the name we called our gramma) would pack up cookies or pretzels and drinks for an adventure. We just took off walking, wandering into the small streams looking for tadpoles, counting how many different wild flowers we could find.
Ding always knew the names of all the wild flowers. Her greatest gift was being able to spot a four-leaf clover. She would point to a spot and we'd start looking with serious childhood focus. We'd always find at least one lucky four-leaf clover. Of course, you never pick a five-leaf clover for fear of having bad luck. Ding always spotted fairies, but I had an awful time seeing them for years, until I realized, like Ding told me, "just relax and believe." You know I finally was able to spot those fairies and I'm teaching my grandkids how to do it too.
The conservation club was my favorite place as a kid. The May Pole was great fun. I used to fly around that thing and imagine I was going to plop into the pond. You could pretend most anything at the conservation club. Jeff and I were adventurous players. We loved the woods, the streams and the pond.
We learned to appreciate the water's edge, the thorns and snakes. We knew what it was like to get caught in the rain with no place to go. I could go on and on, but you're getting the message.
It's a valuable place that can be a magical place for a child. It deserves your support.
Cindy Giltner
Portland[[In-content Ad]]
I read the story about the Jay County Conservation Club with a smile on my face because I also grew up going out there. My grandparents were Nell and Bob Antrim, who lived on High Street in Portland. My Pop was one fantastic barber, baseball player and story teller. He also liked to shoot skeet. I remember going out to see him shoot, watching along with my grandmother. I learned a lot at the conservation club. I learned I didn't like the sound of guns. I also learned to love nature and how to enjoy it.
My brother Jeff Wehrly and I used to get up early Saturday and walk to our grandparents house. On nice days - especially nice spring days - we'd go to the conservation club and "Ding" (the name we called our gramma) would pack up cookies or pretzels and drinks for an adventure. We just took off walking, wandering into the small streams looking for tadpoles, counting how many different wild flowers we could find.
Ding always knew the names of all the wild flowers. Her greatest gift was being able to spot a four-leaf clover. She would point to a spot and we'd start looking with serious childhood focus. We'd always find at least one lucky four-leaf clover. Of course, you never pick a five-leaf clover for fear of having bad luck. Ding always spotted fairies, but I had an awful time seeing them for years, until I realized, like Ding told me, "just relax and believe." You know I finally was able to spot those fairies and I'm teaching my grandkids how to do it too.
The conservation club was my favorite place as a kid. The May Pole was great fun. I used to fly around that thing and imagine I was going to plop into the pond. You could pretend most anything at the conservation club. Jeff and I were adventurous players. We loved the woods, the streams and the pond.
We learned to appreciate the water's edge, the thorns and snakes. We knew what it was like to get caught in the rain with no place to go. I could go on and on, but you're getting the message.
It's a valuable place that can be a magical place for a child. It deserves your support.
Cindy Giltner
Portland[[In-content Ad]]
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