Page 2 — ReflectionS 2014
ReflectionS PUBliSHeR Elizabeth Gorske
Managing editoR Eric Young editoRial Staff Sherry Barnum Tim Barnum Jason Ogden Emily Walker Thomas Williams adVeRtiSing SaleS Jama Gates Anthony Kachiros Carla Reeves Tracy Pardue-Smith coMPoSition Sharon Ehlert Jesse Karbowski eMail sherrybarnum@ogemawherald.com cover Photo
Photo by Jason Ogden
Mio resident Forrest Rhoads holds a copy of Rhoda Ritter’s book “Shore to Shore on the Michigan Riding & Hiking Trail.” On the Right, a young Rhoads mounts up on a horse.
Changing times brings new name By Sherry Barnum Adapting to change is something that everyone does as the years go by, and as times have changed for us, we decided it was time to change the name of our quarterly publication, Senior Times. We bring you the first edition of Reflections. Liz Gorske, publisher of Sunrise Printing & Publishing Inc., said the idea of retirement used to mean that you didn’t work anymore and were at home more. “Today retirement has changed,” she said. “And I think on of the differences is because of financial circumstances, so many of us aren’t able to retire at a younger age.” “Many of us baby boomers thought we would be retired by 50-55, but because of our parents living longer and our children going off to college and coming back, it’s kind of like a boomerang effect,” Gorske said. “We are having to help our kids out as they get out of college and find their path and are able to take care of themselves, so I think the financial strains have changed a lot for us.” Tracy Pardue-Smith, media representative, said a lot of people are retiring and starting another career. “I think you see a lot of that,” Gorske said. “The ones who have been able to retire, but have invested well or maybe were lucky enough to have a successful career and earn a nice living are in a place to start over and possibly turn a hobby or passion into a business.”
LOCATIONS IN STANDISH AND ROSE CITY
“We want people to know that our senior population is not an old person population.” — Tracy Pardue-Smith, Marketing Representative, Sunrise Printing & Publishing Inc.
“People are in a lot better shape because of changes in our healthcare system, diet, exercise, and our awareness of things as a whole,” she said. “People who are getting to be that senior age, don’t want to be called seniors. And by changing the Senior Times name, we wanted it to be more reflective or our readers,” said Lisa Saunders, marketing and circulation manager. “And by changing the publication from something that was at one time a preparation for the end of your life to something that is celebrating the second part of your life,” said Managing Editor Eric Young. “We want people to know that our senior population is not an old person population,” Smith said. “The name Senior Times didn’t quite tie in with the population we wanted to cover,” Gorske said. “By changing our publication name, we are opening it up more to people in their 40s or 50s who have retired or are approaching retirement.” Gorske said with higher enlistments in
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the military, servicemen and women who have made a career of it may be retiring at 40 and have stories to tell, and want to start that second part of their life Gorske hopes to bring new ideas for stories to the publication. “There are many of us getting closer to the age of retirement that may have empty nests, or have taken in our parents and are learning to adjust to taking care of them and working,” Gorske said. “They may not realize that they have great stories to tell.” “We want to be able to provide wisdom from our older generations along with the life experiences, we have as a soon to be retiring generation, reflecting on our past and looking forward to the future,” Gorske said. “We have learned, working on these sections and even in our jobs as journalist, that everybody has a story to tell,” Young said. “And when you’ve lived those years and have that life experience, you’ve experienced things that might not be interesting to you, but are to other people.” We hope you enjoy Reflections.
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ReflectionS 2014 — Page 3
Ogemaw County centenarian still helps out at senior center By thomas Williams
Courtesy Photo
Euretta LeMire of Prescott celebrated her 100th birthday in December with a surprise party thrown by her daughter.
A Mills Township woman who turned 100 years old last December still finds the energy to craft baked goods for friends and family while volunteering at the senior center. Euretta LeMire said she was born on Christmas Eve in 1913 in Tamarack and baking in her kitchen helps her pass the time when she is not volunteering at the Ogemaw County Commission on Aging. “I always tell my friends they should learn how to bake,” she said. “Then they can always make their presents. They don’t have to buy as much and it doesn’t have to be dusted. Baking is the hobby I like. When everybody comes to my house, they check the cookie jar.” LeMire said she has slowed down in recent years, but still tries to help out when she can at the COA. “I like to volunteer at the Commission on Aging,” she said. “I have been doing that since we started it. I used to do more. Now I’m just a delegator. I’m the oldest one there, I think.” LeMire said she no longer drives herself to the senior center, but has plenty of people who help her get to the facility. “My son takes me if he is home,” she said. “I have a neighbor and another good friend and her husband who take me over there, too.” LeMire said she doesn’t follow any strict rules that helped her break the century barrier, and her 100th birthday felt like any other day. “Clean living and eating right,” she said. “I
felt the same as always. It didn’t feel any different.” LeMire said the highlight of her birthday was the surprise party organized by her daughter, Wendy Crum. “I sure was surprised my daughter had all my friends together for a party and didn’t tell me about it,” she said. “I thought we were just going out for dinner and we went in the room and there everybody was.” LeMire said she was born in Northern Michigan, but her family moved to Detroit when she was 6 years old and she stayed south until retirement in 1978. “My father was a night watchman at the Cadillac Car Company,” she said. “I went to school until the 11th grade. Then I went to work. I worked in a little factory that made wax for polishing cars. We made white shoe polish later on.” LeMire said her factory work was interrupted by a man named Alexander. “I worked for them for five or six years,” she said. “Then I got married. We didn’t have kids for over five years. We had three girls and one boy. He worked fitting car doors on Chryslers.” LeMire said she enjoys visitors and spending time out of the house, but it is harder in the wintertime. “I have some people who stop by,” she said. When it is nice out, I get out more. I haven’t been going out much right now. It is much too cold.”
Get up and get moving Winter Activities offered through Standish-Sterling Community Education Yoga classes offered on Wednesdays Standish-Sterling Community Education is now offering two sessions of yoga classes on Wednesday nights. You can choose from either the 6:00-7:00 pm or 7:15-8:15 class. The cost is $42.00 for the six week session, or you can just drop-in for $7.00 per one hour class. Classes are held in Room 404 in the High School. Anyone interested should call instructor Jodee Mitrzyk at (989) 525-6516, or the Community Education office at 846-3644 for more information.
Tai Chi class on Tuesdays This 10-week session of Tai-Chi fitness classes will be held on Tuesdays Jan. 14 through Mar. 18. The classes focus on the 37-movement Yang Style form of Tai Chi developed by Chen Man Cheng. Course instructor Kim Warren of Sterling will focus on the necessary principals participants need to develop in order to play the form. The emphasis will be on lowimpact exercises that help enhance relaxation, balance and stability of the participant. The class will be held once a week on Tuesdays from 7-8 pm in the Standish-Sterling Community Service Building next to the Middle School. You can “drop-in” at any time for $3.00 per session.
Zumba for Fitness MON & WED If you are looking for a high-energy way to dance yourself to total body fitness, Zumba is for you. Zumba is the only Latin-inspired dance fitness program that blends red-hot international music in the form of a “fitness party.” Classes will be held on Mondays & Wednesdays from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the Middle School. The cost is $5.00 per class.
Step Aerobics on Tuesdays and Thursdays Step aerobics continues on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting in January from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the S-S Middle School. Cost for each class is $5.00. Pre-registration is not required, just drop in and join in the fun.
Walkers welcome in Middle School The Middle School is once again open to adults who want to walk indoors for exercise. The school hallways will be available Monday through Thursday evenings from 5-8 p.m. through the fall and winter months.
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Page 4 — ReflectionS 2014
Taking the final bow Lee exits the stage after Christmas concert
By Sherry Barnum After 14 years of teaching at the Standish-Sterling school district, Patti Lee, has decided it is time to retire. “My original idea was to teach math and science,” Lee said. “But while in travel choir, my professor approached me and told me I was going to be a music major.” Lee, originally from Standish, left when she was a junior in high school and graduated from Lutheran High Northwest in Farmington Hills. “I have never actually been in one place for 14 years,” she said. “So it is a big thing for me, because as a kid we moved around a lot.” “I decided to retire because I was going on disability,” she said. “I have fibromyalgia and dystonia, which is a form of parkinson’s disease.” Lee said she is going to focus on getting healthier while retired. “I have been working on my degree in counseling and should be finishing up soon, so I will have a degree in counseling, psychology and child mentalist development.” Lee said she has taught for a combined total of 20 years, teaching four years at a Christian school and two at a charter. “In 2000, I came to Standish-Sterling,” she said. “I put my name in the StandishSterling district every year for 10 years
before I was hired.” Lee said she was hired by Mrs. Kellberg, before she retired, who was the music teacher at the time. “I wanted to come back here, because my family is originally from here,” she said. Lee said the hardest part about her job was doing the programs, but it was also the part she enjoyed the most. “It was an opportunity to give so many different kids a chance to shine,” she said. One thing I always wanted to do with the programs was instill confidence in the kids and when they came up on stage every year they were amazing and would do an amazing job.” “Of course, I would be scared the practice before,” she said. “But that’s what it is all about, helping them become confident in what they do.” “Lee said the administrators would cringe about how complex her programs were. “They wanted them to be simple and easy,” she said. “But I wanted to make sure every kid had a part. I wanted to give them the feeling of confidence with them being up there between speaking and singing. And they always supported me.” Lee said she always tried to make her programs into a story. “I tried to find different songs in with the traditional songs, but not so traditional
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ReflectionS 2014 — Page 5
Running with dogs Lester keeps active with dogsledding By Sherry Barnum For Scott Lester, 52, of Mio, dogsledding was something that took his love for the outdoors and considered it with challenges. “I got started in dogsledding after watching the Iditarod a number of times,” he said. “It’s different, challenging, and it looked interesting.” Lester said dogsledding was the perfect thing for him. “I wanted to do it, so I made it happen,” he said. “I did a lot of research, had a dog shipped to me that was pregnant so I could start my own team, and got a hold of a couple of people that I knew in Oregon that did it, because that is where I am originally from.” “Mostly they did short distances, sprints and dry land and that wasn’t really what I was after,” he said. “I don’t want to be out on a cart all the time. I wanted on a sled and on snow, so I decided that I was going to go to Alaska.” Lester said he couldn’t find a place in Alaska that he wanted to go and he needed someone to show him the ropes. “Low and behold, I found a guy in Wisconsin looking for someone to take care of his dogs and help train and do a little bit of racing as well,” he said. “I didn’t have a problem with that, and I already had some sled dogs. So off to Wisconsin I
Sherry Barnum
Scott Lester, 52, of Mio laughs as one of his sleddogs tries to escape him. went.” Lester said he stayed there for a couple months and was ready to strike out on his own without having to buy his own property. “I knew I wanted snow, and I knew the cost of living in Alaska. And if I wanted the training I wanted, I knew I would have
to go to a kennel that would accept me with dogs,” he said. “So I went on dogsledcentral.com and found a handler wanted posting and ended up in Wisconsin. But I should have come here first and I knew Doctor Richard Macauley from West Branch, so I gave him a holler and have been here ever since.”
Lester said typically he heads up to the Upper Peninsula to train in Newberry. “I usually take off anywhere between the first of November to December,” he said. “I rent a cabin up there and everyone I associate with up there is an Iditarod veteran. We are a very tight knit community and this year I just didn’t have the funds to go.” “It definitely is a dogsledding community there,” he said. “And when you are training, you are essentially running a 30 to 40 mile stretch between cabins. So when you are out on runs, you pull over at their cabins, water and feed the dogs, have a cup of coffee, visit for a little bit and then out you go again, and that’s just how it works.” Lester said he doesn’t have a direct reason as to why he got into dogsledding, but some people thinks he got into it because of an accident he was in. “I was in a horrendous wreck probably seven years ago, where I went down a 80 foot embankment and came out on a stretcher,” he said. “And everybody says it was a life changing experience, but I say it wasn’t I just decided to do something different.” “I have a criminal justice background and was working in the criminal end of things. After the wreck I decided I didn’t
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Page 6 — ReflectionS 2014
Zygiel part of several county achievements while serving as commissioner By tim Barnum Lifelong Arenac County resident Virginia Zygiel has served on the board of commissioners for more than a decade over two tenures as a commissioner. Zygiel was a commissioner from 1997 to 2006, and was then elected to the board once again in 2012. She first ran for the board of commissioners after working at StandishSterling schools and the Arenac County Jail. “I lived in Arenac County my whole life, and I had worked off and on in the school system in the cafeteria,” she said. “I think there were seven part-time and six full-time people at the cafeteria at the school. When the canteen food service came in, my hours were cut way back to half time. They were building the jail at this time, and that’s when I applied for running the food service at the jail. When I retired from the jail after 14 years, I retired in April and I filed in May for county commissioner.” The 83-year-old Clayton Township resident said she did not want to take it easy just because she retired. “I kind of felt that I knew a lot that was going on in the county, and felt I wasn’t ready to settle down in the rocking chair yet, so I thought (being a commissioner) was something I’d like to do,” she said. Digging into county finances and budgeting may turn many away, but Zygiel said she was interested in that part of the job. She was shocked at how much she did not know
after getting elected. “I ran stating that I wanted to be active in the county funds and was interested in the financial part of it,” she said. “Then, when I got into it, there were a lot of surprises, because there are a lot of things you think you know that you don’t know.” For one, the schedule commissioners keep is much more full than most people assume. Zygiel said the job is more than just showing up at the board’s two monthly meetings. “There are follow ups to do,” she said. “There are meetings that you go to, that you bring information back from. I’m on the council on aging. I just got information on their audit and I have to bring that back to the county.” Zygiel said she also serves on the mental health board for the county, the board of health, which requires her to take monthly trips to Harrison, and routinely attends township board meetings for the townships she represents. During her time on the county board, Zygiel said there have been many achievements she is proud of. She was part of the board that received a bond to build the 911 center at the sheriff’s department, negotiated to make MMR the county’s ambulance provider, paved the back parking lot at the county building, and had new boilers installed at the courthouse and jail. Working toward those achievements by keeping a packed schedule and being vigilant about staying within the budget comes
Tim Barnum
Virginia Zygiel sits at the Commissioners table during their bi-weekly meeting. with some reward, Zygiel said, as she gets to be around people she enjoys and continues to learn new things. “I really like being on the county board,” she said. “I like the things that I’ve learned, and I like the staff. I like the people. It seems like there is always something new to learn.” Anyone who might want to serve on the
board should make sure they understand how county government works before they make the decision to run for a position, Zygiel said. “Do some research on the working of the county, how involved it is,” she said. “I thought I knew so much more until I got in
See ZyGIeL, 8
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Mio man recalls days of horse riding on Shore-to-Shore Trail Forrest Rhoads, 78, a Mio resident, has had a life-long passion for horses beginning as a youth growing up in Comins. His first ride was not a car, but a horse he bought when he was 14-years-old. As part of the deal, he had to train the animal himself, which he named Thunder. “It cost me $60, can you believe that?” Forrest said. Forrest was one of the many youths in Fairview who owned horses, riding the animals to baseball games and other functions in town. The group of young men would take rides around the forests and community with their mounts. Forrest said his passion for horses came when he was very young when carnivals would come into town. “Even when I was a little kid I wanted to ride the ponies,” he said. His passion for horses, and knowledge of the animals would lead to Forrest’s involvement more than 50 years ago with the Michigan Shore-to-Shore Trail, a horse and hiking trail that spans more than 250 miles from the Sleeping Bear Dunes along the coast of Lake Michigan, to the sandy shores of Lake Huron in Oscoda. Hundreds of riders travel the trail on horseback every year, taking as many as nine days to complete the route. The trail links scenic stretches of Michigans northern woodlands from loca-
tion to location and campground to campground. But before 1962 the trail did not exist, Forrest said. He said the development of the trail was by his good friend Jim Hardy, who was the owner of the Lost Creek Sky Ranch in Luzerne, as well as Traverse City dude ranch owner Rex Garn. According to Forrest, Hardy’s dude ranch, which allowed guests to rent horses for riding, was limited in its scope of where individuals could ride. Forrest said riders at the ranch could only do “circle trips” with rides basically beginning and ending at the ranch’s barn through a circle ride through the woods. To remedy this, Hardy approached the U.S. Forest Service about an idea he had to create a horse trail on federal land from lake to lake. “I was working for the forest service at the time,” Forrest said. Hardy convinced forest service officials that a shore to shore trail would be a good idea and perhaps boost tourism in Northern Michigan. So a district ranger assigned Forrest to help his friend plot out the path for the venture. According to Forrest, the men poured over timber maps and created a path on paper of where the trail should run. They then took to horses, armed with a compass and blue spray paint, to ride the
See RhOaDS, 9
Courtesy photo
Above, a young Forrest Rhoads stands with his colt named Amigo. Forrest has had a lifelong passion for horses and spent time training them as a youth, including Amigo. Right, Rhoads holds a copy of Rhoda Ritter’s book “Shore to Shore on the Michigan Riding & Hiking Trail.” Rhoads and others were vital in the 1960s in the creation of the trail, which spans from Lake Michigan to Lake Huron.
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The Cottage, offering a friendly, home like atmosphere By Sherry Barnum After opening its doors to the public in the spring of 2012, The Cottage has been offering opportunities to make lasting relationships to people requiring adult day services in Ogemaw County. “The goal of Ogemaw Commission on Aging programs is to offer services that support older adults in living at home, independently as long as possible,” said Deana Nichols. “We included space for The Cottage at our new location as making use of Adult Day Services can go a long way toward delaying (or, in some cases, eliminating) the decision for long term care.” Nichols said spending some time away from family increases feelings of independence in the guests and provides an opportunity for everyone involved to take a break from each other, and everyone has a chance to do their own thing. “When a loved one is living with a change in health, it means changes for the people who love them as well. It often changes the way daily activities are accomplished –– like grocery shopping and haircuts –– and it usually means that roles have changed; whether the care partners are spouses, or parent and child, or any other type or relationship,” she said. “Changing roles is something we are seldom prepared for, but we all have the ability to adapt. The Cottage offers support for all parties during these times, and serves as a resource for families as they create their ‘new normal.’” Nichols said adult day service was not available in
Ogemaw County for quite some time prior to the opening of The Cottage. The cottage is open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. by appointment only, and days will be extended as the need arises. Nichols said The Cottage is open to those 60 and older who utilize the support of a care-partner. “We are open to Ogemaw County residents, as well as residents of the surrounding counties, who are found to be eligible following an assessment,” she said. Nichols said registration is necessary to determine eligibility at The Cottage. “Registration generally starts with a phone call,” she said. “During the phone call, we will do a preliminary screening to determine if this person is a likely candidate for The Cottage. Certain guidelines must be met. During the phone call, we will arrange a date and time to meet with the guest and family for an initial assessment and on that date we will conclude the registration process, although there will be updates to the assessments every three months.” Nichols said one of the things The Cottage offers is a friendly, home-like atmosphere. “We have many fun games that target both large and small motor skills,” she said. “We have Netflix which allows us the flexibility to choose shows based on the interests of our guests. We offer personal care to those who desire it. We also offer a variety of social activities such as coffee time, bingo, and holiday parties.” “We have arts and crafts on Wednesdays, where creativity
Sherry Barnum
The Cottage offers guests a home like atmosphere as seen above. and individuality really shines. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we have the option to attend a low-impact exercise group. We offer opportunities for making music as well as listening to it,” Nichols said. “We have a variety of sensory activities as well as puzzles, group activities, and yes, even relaxation time. We recognize how demanding caring relationships can be for all involved, so we also watch for opportunities to offer helpful resources to support our guests and their families.”
Zygiel: Stays active as part of the Arenac County Commissioners FROM PaGe 6 there, too.” When she has spare time, Zygiel likes to work outdoors, read and do work around the house, and just generally stay busy.
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“I’m still very active,” she said. “I’m healthy. I don’t have any health problems.” Zygiel has several family members living in the area. She said she has a brother in Standish Township, a sister in Mio and a
daughter-in-law and grandchildren in West Branch. Zygiel also has siblings in Traverse City, Cheboygan and Edwardsburg, near the Ohio state line, and a daughter living in
California. Zygiel is the District 2 county commissioner, and represents Clayton, Mason and Turner townships, and a portion of Au Gres Township.
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ReflectionS 2014 — Page 9
Rhoads: Passion and knowledge led to involvement on Shore-to-Shore trail FROM PaGe 7 trail from Grayling to Tawas, the original eastern terminus of the trail, to plot out a path marking the way with the paint on trees. “It took a long time. We would go for one day, go back to civilization; we were out sometimes for two or three days,” Forrest said. The men carried supplies to camp on a mule and went across raw land marking a path as best they could for the trail. In some areas where the land differed from the original map, they would improve and blaze trails over private land with permission of land owners. Where needed, the forest service would bulldoze a trail out of the forest. The route also connected existing trails and forest paths. Only one time during the creation of the path did they ever have a dispute with someone who didn’t want the trail on their property, Forrest said. Forrest said it was near Mio where a landowner was not happy about the trail development. He said the adjacent land owner told Forrest and Hardy they could move one of his fence posts and continue the trail.
“Believe it or not that was the only dispute there was,” Forrest said. Forrest said one of the reasons the trail is different today is because the forest service changed the route to only be on forest service land, as to avoid conflicts with private property owners. Originally the trail was connected to tourist locations and towns, so riders would come into communities to spend money. The original trail even led right to the Lost Creek Sky Ranch. But over the years, the route has changed. Nevertheless, the annual Michigan Trail Riders Association — the group which formed to help maintain the trail — grew exponentially. Forrest said the riders’ annual ride went from 18 horseback riders the first year to more than 100 in more recent years. He said the association has so many riders who utilize the trails — not just counting people who are not involved with the association and ride the trail — they must do several rides a year. “I don’t think anyone realized it would get to the size it is now, I mean the amount of people who go through it,” he said. “In fact, they have a voice now where they can
be heard in Lansing if they want something now.” Forrest would not continue working for the forest service, but would continue working in the forests of Michigan as a timber cruiser for various papers mills all around Michigan, eventually retiring in Mio in the 1990s. Forrest no longer rides regularly, but mounts up on a horse every year to honor Jim Hardy. Forrest said Hardy passed away in a plane crash near Oscoda, and his son, Mike Hardy of Mio, holds the annual Jim Hardy Memorial Ride to honor the memory of his father. According to Forrest, he borrows a horse and saddle for the event to honor his friend. He said the men who originally had a tourism idea for Michigan would like how much the trail’s popularity has grown. “I think Jim would be amazed at how it’s turned out, and Rex Garn as well,” he said. Forrest said he misses the old days of his friends, and riding the trails regularly, but at the same time has good memories of those times. “Half the fun of riding is having friends to ride with, you know, and right now a lot
Courtesy photo
A young Forrest Rhoads mounts up on a horse. of my friends are too old to ride and they don’t ride anymore,” he said. “It’s like golf or anything else.” More information about the Michigan Shore-to-Shore trail and the Michigan Trail Riders Association can be found by visiting www.mtra.org.
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Page 10 — ReflectionS 2014
Dogsledding: gives Lester the challenges he enjoys FROM PaGe 5 want to do that anymore,” he said. “I was told I was lucky to be alive after the wreck. Whether or not that had something to do with me getting in to dogsledding, I don’t know. But I have never played it safe.” Lester said he has mountain climbed with his dad when he was younger and just enjoyed being outside. “This fit the bill,” he said. “And while I have climbed a lot of mountains all over the cascade range, I had never done anything like this. Dogsledding is more of an individual sport, where you are out on the course typically with your best buddies, meaning your dogs, and you are by yourself. I enjoy that. But to honestly say the accident was the reason, I don’t know, I don’t have it, I think it was more a collage of different events that made me decide to dogsled.” Having run 10 to 12 races, Lester said there is always more he can learn. “When I was in Wisconsin, I went out six or eight times with the person I was working for before he sent me out on my own,” he said. “But it wasn’t until I started picking Tom Roy’s brain before the knowledge started pouring in. I have learned so much from him that I would never have learned in a book, and it has been a wonderful, wonderful journey.” Lester said he thought he knew every-
thing he needed to know after the first month of being in Wisconsin. But he learned so much more after tying in with someone who knows what they are doing. “If anyone is interested in getting into dogsledding, dogsledcentral.com is a great place to start,” he said. “Then you should find a kennel that does it there are a number of different types –– recreational and racing –– and then start picking their brains and go on the trail with them. Learn how to harness dogs, give shots, play with the pups. There is so much involved in learning what you need to learn it’s like learning a new job all over again.” “It can be a lot at once and you can start feeling overwhelmed and thinking you can’t do it. But if you put your mind to it, you can. It’s just one step at a time,” he said. Lester said he typically doesn’t start training until the fall. “Dogs overheat easily, so I don’t like training in the heat,” he said. “But you really have to watch in the fall that you are not overheating the dogs depending on what you use to train. I use a non-motorized quad and usually carry about 15 gallons of water just to go six miles, and the dogs will drink all of that in that span.” Lester said he is sure to hydrate the dogs before he goes out. “I try to hydrate my dogs as much as I can without them getting sick on the trail,” he said. “And when I go out, I add
the barometer and temperature together and if it goes over 100 degrees, I won’t go out. That’s how I was taught and it works.” Lester said training the dogs is just like a runner training for a marathon. “We start out going six miles and then up it to 10 miles, then 15, 20, 25. But when you get to each increment you stay there for a couple days,” he said. “When I train, I like to start doing back-to-back training. I may do a 20 and a 20 or a 20 and a five, depending on how they are doing.” Lester said coming into a season with snow, he may do the same thing on a sled. “The runs get longer and longer if you are a distance musher,” he said. “You might go a 24-hour period of time and when you come in, you may have done 200 miles. So you rest the dogs for a day or so and then do it all over again. But it’s all about getting the dogs into a routine.” Lester said when he comes to a checkpoint, everything has to be planned out a head of time. “There is a race in the U.P., the Iditarod Qualifier, where you go camp to camp. But by the time you are done, you’ve accomplished a little more than 300 miles,” he said. “At the first checkpoint, when you get to Fox River, you stay for about three and a half hours and then out you go again. That’s why the dogs need a routine.”
Lester said from the time he starts training in the fall to the end of the season in March, he does everything he would do at a checkpoint in training to get the dogs in the routine and that way he has a mental checklist of everything that needs to be done. “I have everything planned out ahead of time in my mind, because the faster I get it done, the faster the dogs can eat, rest for a few hours and get going again,” he said. “That’s why it’s very important to know your routine and that the dogs know it.” Lester said in addition to the dogs being in good condition, it’s just as important that he is also in good condition. “When I am loaded down, the dogs are pulling almost 900 pounds,” he said. “In training, if you were to run the Iditarod, without standing on (the sled), it weighs 400 pounds, because there is a mandatory checklist with things that you have to have at every checkpoint,” he said. “So no matter how you train the dogs, you train yourself with them.” “So a person should be in decent condition as well, because the better condition you are in, the faster down the trail you will go,” he said. Lester said it is his goal to run the Iditarod in 2018, and when he isn’t out on the trails with the dogs, he is traveling from fair to fair in the summer with his concession stand.
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ReflectionS 2014 — Page 11
Lee: retires after 14 years FROM PaGe 4 pier so the kids would get into it.” Lee said she would sometimes let her fourth and fifth graders write the words to the programs. “I would give them the song order and I would let them write their lines,” she said. “It worked out really well.” Lee said she started conducting spring programs because she wanted to bring something there that all the kids could be involved in. “We didn’t start them right away,” she said. “Standish didn’t have as much of a problem with it as Sterling did, but there were more and more children in Sterling that couldn’t participate in the Christmas program, so I wanted to do something that would involve all of them.” Lee said it has always been all about the kids.
“I always wanted to be a classroom teacher,” she said. “When I first started teaching music, I missed it because as a classroom teacher you get to see those kids and work with them everyday, but as a music teacher I got to see the kids from five years old to 10 or 11, and I did enjoy my job and I always told the kids I had the best job in the district.” Lee said over the 14 years she taught at Standish-Sterling, she put on 11 Christmas programs and 30 spring programs per year. “I don’t know if I would come back and sub, but I would like to come back and volunteer when I am feeling well,” she said. “I just want to tell the community thank you for letting me be involved in their lives and I will miss it.” “I have made some great friends with the teachers, and I will miss the kids the most,” she said.
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