I never really knew the kid well. I grew up within a quarter mile of him, just north of town. He was younger than I. But I remember my brother Louie and me riding to school with him and his dad during winter days when we couldn't ride our bikes.
I lost track of the kid when I left home to join the Marines, and he sort of drifted from my memory. But truth is stranger than fiction. As Yogi Berra sagely observed, it's tough to predict stuff, especially when it's in the future. Never could I have imagined that a half century later I would return to Monroe only to find myself a member of the Library Board that would honor the kid who had long ago drifted from my memory.
The "kid" I'm referring to is Ronald Aebly. He was a modest, unassuming lad, and even some of his classmates say they didn't know him well. In adulthood he retained a low profile but generated a reputation as being a genuine friend to many people around here. He was a frequent patron of the Monroe Library, where he used its periodicals to stay abreast of market and business news. Upon his untimely death, he left a generous bequest to the library that has enabled it to significantly enhance its services. Accordingly, at a recent ceremony the Library Board has formally named the periodicals room the "Ronald Aebly Room," in his honor.
The quality of a public library is a good indication of the literacy and public spiritedness of a community. It provides reading and educational materials, and programs available to all, regardless of income or social status - a true contribution to a sense of community. I was strongly reminded of this in preparing some comments for the recent dedication ceremony.
We all have heard the assertion that we are but six links away from nearly everyone in the world. In an area such as Monroe and surrounding area, we are but two links away from everyone else. If one is not a relative, co-worker, friend, classmate or neighbor to any given person around here, we know someone who is. Multiple connections abound.
The evening prior to Ron's dedication ceremony, I was at Turner Hall finishing coffee and enjoying music by Del Heins and Jerry Hastings. Katheryn Etter and her daughter Martha graciously invited me to join them at their table. Katheryn was a long-time school district nurse, connecting her to hundreds of people around here. She claims she doesn't remember me as a student. But that's only because I did nothing of consequence for which to be remembered. Unless, that is, getting kicked out of manual arts class by TR Holyoke, whose son TR Junior married my cousin Mardelle Elmer, whose mother was Martha Waelti Elmer, my dad's kid sister. Multiple connections abound.
As we were chatting about the forthcoming library room dedication, we noted the Scherer brothers Jake and Andy, and their mother Martha, at a nearby table. Whenever I see any of the Scherer boys, I think of their dad Herbie, who ran the threshing machine for our ring north of town - Hank Leuzinger, Ticky Kubly, Fred Brunkow, Lawrence Pest, Clark Bechtolt, Albert Heimann, Carl Schlittler, the senior John Waelti and a succession of renters of Fritzi Messmer's farm that is now Rolling Acres subdivision. If you think you don't know any of the many descendents of those threshers who still live around here, it is certain that you know someone who does. We are connected to our history and culture - and to each other - more than we realize.
Herbie's niece, Sandra, was a year behind me at the old North School. Those Scherers all are a good-looking bunch - Sandra was, still is, a real knockout. And everyone knows Louis Scherer, always moving stuff in an out of his van. Louis wears short sleeves until the arrival of sub-zero temperatures. He claims that moving furniture keeps him warm. I claim that it's genetics. Herbie had the same incredible resistance to cold weather - and an identical sense of humor, for that matter.
As we chatted with the Scherers about the forthcoming dedication in honor of Ron Aebly, I again was struck by multiple community connections. Ron's dad, Cap Aebly, was a member of the Monroe Township Board of Supervisors. Herbie Scherer's dad, J.B. Scherer, was a long-time chair of that board when I was a kid. And, Cap Aebly and Herbie Scherer were high school classmates back in the late 1920s. Martha Scherer still resides in that house along Wisconsin 69, very close to the east end of our home farm that is now occupied by my brother Louie.
My central point is that everybody around here is tied to each other in one way or another - which is what "community" is all about. Even though Ron Aebly maintained a low profile, he had multiple community connections, exemplified by the many relatives, friends and classmates who attended the dedication ceremony in his honor. It is thus fitting and symbolic that Ron would select the public library, the very substance of community, as a means of cementing these connections.
The quality of its public library reflects the quality of a community. Thanks to Ronald Aebly's generous bequest, our library is enhanced. And he will remain connected in perpetuity to all who use and enjoy our library's services.
Supporting worthy causes including libraries, Monroe Arts Council, the Theater Guild, Turner Hall Building Fund, or any of many others, through contributions of time, talent or financial donations, enhances the feeling of being a part of and contributing to the future of our community. It is through these public-spirited efforts of so many people that we have such a thriving community of which we can take pride.
- Monroe native and resident, John Waelti, is a member of the Monroe Library Board. He can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net.
I lost track of the kid when I left home to join the Marines, and he sort of drifted from my memory. But truth is stranger than fiction. As Yogi Berra sagely observed, it's tough to predict stuff, especially when it's in the future. Never could I have imagined that a half century later I would return to Monroe only to find myself a member of the Library Board that would honor the kid who had long ago drifted from my memory.
The "kid" I'm referring to is Ronald Aebly. He was a modest, unassuming lad, and even some of his classmates say they didn't know him well. In adulthood he retained a low profile but generated a reputation as being a genuine friend to many people around here. He was a frequent patron of the Monroe Library, where he used its periodicals to stay abreast of market and business news. Upon his untimely death, he left a generous bequest to the library that has enabled it to significantly enhance its services. Accordingly, at a recent ceremony the Library Board has formally named the periodicals room the "Ronald Aebly Room," in his honor.
The quality of a public library is a good indication of the literacy and public spiritedness of a community. It provides reading and educational materials, and programs available to all, regardless of income or social status - a true contribution to a sense of community. I was strongly reminded of this in preparing some comments for the recent dedication ceremony.
We all have heard the assertion that we are but six links away from nearly everyone in the world. In an area such as Monroe and surrounding area, we are but two links away from everyone else. If one is not a relative, co-worker, friend, classmate or neighbor to any given person around here, we know someone who is. Multiple connections abound.
The evening prior to Ron's dedication ceremony, I was at Turner Hall finishing coffee and enjoying music by Del Heins and Jerry Hastings. Katheryn Etter and her daughter Martha graciously invited me to join them at their table. Katheryn was a long-time school district nurse, connecting her to hundreds of people around here. She claims she doesn't remember me as a student. But that's only because I did nothing of consequence for which to be remembered. Unless, that is, getting kicked out of manual arts class by TR Holyoke, whose son TR Junior married my cousin Mardelle Elmer, whose mother was Martha Waelti Elmer, my dad's kid sister. Multiple connections abound.
As we were chatting about the forthcoming library room dedication, we noted the Scherer brothers Jake and Andy, and their mother Martha, at a nearby table. Whenever I see any of the Scherer boys, I think of their dad Herbie, who ran the threshing machine for our ring north of town - Hank Leuzinger, Ticky Kubly, Fred Brunkow, Lawrence Pest, Clark Bechtolt, Albert Heimann, Carl Schlittler, the senior John Waelti and a succession of renters of Fritzi Messmer's farm that is now Rolling Acres subdivision. If you think you don't know any of the many descendents of those threshers who still live around here, it is certain that you know someone who does. We are connected to our history and culture - and to each other - more than we realize.
Herbie's niece, Sandra, was a year behind me at the old North School. Those Scherers all are a good-looking bunch - Sandra was, still is, a real knockout. And everyone knows Louis Scherer, always moving stuff in an out of his van. Louis wears short sleeves until the arrival of sub-zero temperatures. He claims that moving furniture keeps him warm. I claim that it's genetics. Herbie had the same incredible resistance to cold weather - and an identical sense of humor, for that matter.
As we chatted with the Scherers about the forthcoming dedication in honor of Ron Aebly, I again was struck by multiple community connections. Ron's dad, Cap Aebly, was a member of the Monroe Township Board of Supervisors. Herbie Scherer's dad, J.B. Scherer, was a long-time chair of that board when I was a kid. And, Cap Aebly and Herbie Scherer were high school classmates back in the late 1920s. Martha Scherer still resides in that house along Wisconsin 69, very close to the east end of our home farm that is now occupied by my brother Louie.
My central point is that everybody around here is tied to each other in one way or another - which is what "community" is all about. Even though Ron Aebly maintained a low profile, he had multiple community connections, exemplified by the many relatives, friends and classmates who attended the dedication ceremony in his honor. It is thus fitting and symbolic that Ron would select the public library, the very substance of community, as a means of cementing these connections.
The quality of its public library reflects the quality of a community. Thanks to Ronald Aebly's generous bequest, our library is enhanced. And he will remain connected in perpetuity to all who use and enjoy our library's services.
Supporting worthy causes including libraries, Monroe Arts Council, the Theater Guild, Turner Hall Building Fund, or any of many others, through contributions of time, talent or financial donations, enhances the feeling of being a part of and contributing to the future of our community. It is through these public-spirited efforts of so many people that we have such a thriving community of which we can take pride.
- Monroe native and resident, John Waelti, is a member of the Monroe Library Board. He can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net.
