Hey, I never knew your middle name. Where did you go to college?
I graduated in 1968 from Bluffton High School and had no idea what I wanted for my life I just knew I needed to get out of Bluffton. I had heard about Freeman Jr. College through a student of my father's at BC and decided that's where I wanted to go. I majored in music and Tim, my husband, who I met there, with a general education degree. Our intent was to finish college but, unfortunately it never happened.
Tell me about your family.
I met my husband Tim at FJC and we got married the summer we graduated - 1970. It was the height of the Vietnam war, Tim was - and still is - a CO, so we did two years of VS in Cincinnati through MCC as Tim's alternative service. Our experience with MCC and working in the Over The Rhine area of Cincinnati was life-changing for us. That experience had a profound impact on our world view.
After VS, in 1972, we moved back to Freeman where Tim worked at a printing press and I worked in a nursing home as a nursing assistant. After two years we moved to Athens, and laster Amesville, Ohio for two years. Tim worked at a printing company and I worked in a hospital.
Tim's mother, who lived in Freeman, became ill with cancer, so we moved back to Freeman in 1979, and we have lived here ever since. Both of Tim's parents are gone - my dad died in 1999, my mom lives in Freeman. She will be 88 years old this summer.
We have two children: Jeremy, who is news editor at the Freeman Courier. He and his family - wife Stacey, daughter Ella and son Oliver - live in Freeman. Our daughter AnnaMarie Cornett lives in Lexington, Kentucky, with her husband Roy, daughter Sophie, son Riley and baby soon to be born - in June. Anna is the executive assistant to the CEO of the Lexington Public Library.
When was the last time you were in Bluffton?
The last time we were in Bluffton was for a memorial service for my father at First Mennonite Church - I believe it was in 1999.
Okay, give me some memories you have of Bluffton.
When I think of Bluffton I think of our beautiful house and yard on Bixel Road - Riley Creek, the wildflowers in spring, the frogs croaking and lulling us to sleep at night.....My memories of Bluffton are focused almost exclusively on our home, and riding our bikes into town, or walking to the college farm and hanging out at the swinging bridge.
Do you ever write for your newspaper?
My husband Tim is the publisher of the Freeman Courier, and has been since 1985. I don't do any writing for the newspaper, but I put together a monthly newsletter for our hospital, where I am the foundation director. I'm not a great writer, but I think I am a decent writer.
What's it like living in South Dakota?
What can I say about the state of South Dakota? It's windy. Temperatures can be extreme. Winters are brutal, summers hot.
South Dakota is a conservative state - however it is also a populist state - we have elected some liberal democrats like George McGovern, Tim Johnson and Tom Daschle. I've never been able to figure that one out!
How are Bluffton and Freeman similar?
Bluffton and Freeman are somewhat similar in that they are small, predominantly Mennonite communities. Freeman Jr. College closed in 1985.
Bluffton is about twice the size of Freeman, and probably more liberal. Freeman has a very strong choral tradition, with two large rural Mennonite churches where (classical and choral) music is an integral part of the service.
Freeman puts on a yearly festival called Schmeckfest. Schmeckfest means "tasting festival." It is held for two weekends, typically the two weekends prior to Easter, at which 1,000 guests are fed typical German food.
The event, which has taken place annually since 1959, raises thousands of dollars to benefit Freeman Academy, our local Mennonite high school. A full scale musical production is also a part of this very special weekend. This year it is "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." Last year it was "Into the Woods."
Let's switch subjects for a moment. What's the worst movie you ever saw, you know, the one you wished you had your money back for?
The worst movie I ever saw? I have no idea. When we see a bad movie I put it out of my head, however The Blair Witch Project comes to mind.......... my top movies are To Kill A Mockingbird, In America, Dead Poet's Society, Crash, and The Godfather Series.
Who gave you your quarry test in the Buckeye?
I am clueless about who gave me my quarry swimming test. My sister, Sara, says Dan Luginbuhl gave her her's - perhaps he did mine as well. All I remember about that event was my cousin Jimmy standing and yelling at me 'COME ON BIX YOU CAN DO IT!!!! COME ON COME ON COME ON BIX!!!!!!!!
What are your passions in life?
My family, and my grandkids who I adore more than anything in this world. music - piano, specifically; nature; animals. Knitting. Traveling.
