Golden Buckeye Newsletter

Message from the President

Greetings GBF members,

March and early April were busy for Golden Buckeye Fellowship with the “Turkish Delight” and the “Spring Brunch” events. I hope you were able to participate and enjoyed the good Food, Fellowship, and Fun!

Special thanks to Dan Stevens for arranging the Turkish Delight and Nannette Wright (and Roger Wright) for planning, coordinating, and setting up the Spring Brunch. Seventy of you were able to make it to that event!

At the Spring Brunch, we rolled out a “Keepsake Mug” with our new GBF logo on it (Thanks to Dan Stevens for designing our logo!).

This 11oz mug, pictured below, is great for hot drinks and will be available for purchase at upcoming events for only $10.

We are working on upcoming events, one of which is a FREE movie at the Plaza Theatre in downtown Miamisburg. We rented the Theatre on Father’s Day, June 15, starting at 4:30pm and are opening this event up to both you and your families.

If you’re looking for a fun way to celebrate Father’s Day with friends and family, this is the event for you. Concessions will be available for purchase at the Theatre, and there are several places in the immediate area to get ice cream, gelato, or candy treats before or after the movie.

For more information about this FREE event, go to: Goldenbuckeyefellowship.com/event-plaza-theatre

Even though this is a FREE event, please register so we know how many will attend.

In Website news, we thought it would be fun to include a section called “Member Corner”. This is where all GBF members can participate whether they are able to come out to events or cannot. In this section, you can share favorite recipes, eating places, hobbies, or travels with your fellow Golden Buckeyes. If you have something you would like to share, please email me a note! David.Starkey@GoldenBuckeye Fellowship. com

Blessings and Happy Spring to each of you!
David Starkey

April 2025

Spring Brunch

By Nancy Klasing

It was a chilly, drizzly morning on April 6 when 70 Golden Buckeyes came to the Kettering Church Fellowship Hall for a delightful social event. Many thanks to Nannette Wright who organized and was the leader for this event. The tables were decorated in beautiful spring colors which mimicked the bursting flowering trees and flowers that we all saw on our way to this event. The center pieces were large paper flowers in various spring colors. I heard that the very talented Nannette made them. The place settings were again beautiful spring flowered mats with matching plates and table ware. Nannette's assistants for decoration were Roger Wright, Janet White, Caleb Wright and his girlfriend Zoe.

The delicious meal was prepared by Marilyn Jackson and Debbie Haas. After prayer was offered by Roger Wright the meal was served cafeteria style. Caleb and Zoe assisted those who needed help. There were Vegan and Gluten free choices. The menu consisted of: Chile Cheese Puff eggs, Vegan Frittata, Roasted potatoes, Broccoli salad, Orzo salad, Caramel and Cinnamon rolls, and Bill's donuts. Everything was delicious and plentiful - just in case you wanted seconds!

Dan Stevens designed our new logo, which was used in the creation of a Golden Buckeye keepsake mug. They were made available for purchase at ten dollars each. There were many left so I'm sure you can purchase one in the future if desired.

We were privileged to be entertained by the Mountain Dulcimer Society of Dayton. MSDS is one of the oldest Dulcimer Groups in the United States. Chet Hines brought dulcimers to this area and is the founder of this group. We learned that there are many types of dulcimers. They are made by different people and all look different. Examples are the mountain dulcimer, hammered dulcimer and autoharp. There are many more but they are all 3 stringed instruments. This group's leader is Cindy Funk. She has been with them for 40 years. She also has a weekly radio show on WYSO out of Yellow Springs. Janelle Michael is a newer member. Her interest in stringed instruments started when she was 12 playing a guitar. She met a dulcimer player, Jean Ritchie, while still in school so started to learn how to play. The group of about 12 players delighted us with a variety of mountain type music which included "Golden Slippers." If you would like to learn more about this group, their web site is www.daytondulcimers.com.

Thanks again to all of those who worked hard to make this a very enjoyable event.

When Time Hangs Heavy

By Beryl Unger

Have you ever been house-bound? After falling into a window-well at the Kettering Church one snowy evening many years ago, I had to spend months in a wheelchair. Faith Barney, who drove a vehicle equipped for transporting her husband in his mobility chair, offered to take me out in the sunshine one day!

She took me to the bicycle track beside the Miami River. What a joy it was for me to be outdoors and to have someone to chat with! That act of kindness was second nature to her. She and Silvia Wynne had ministered regularly to shut-ins, usually taking along a whole meal that could be shared between all three of them, or a game to play, or possibly a CD to listen to. Their purpose was to find ways to spend quality time together. So when Buckeye Sue Parks-Shoemaker, invited me to go with herself and Phyllis Williams to visit Faith, formerly the Beavercreek church Buckeye representative, and now a resident at Quaker Heights nursing home, I was very happy to do so!

We found Faith asleep in her wheelchair, parked beside other residents placed in front of the TV in a public area. She could sleep through the chatter on the screen, but awoke at the sound of Sue's voice, familiar to her, as Sue visits her on a regular basis. With the nurse's permission, Sue wheeled Faith back to her room, and read her the birthday card messages we had brought. Faith tried to answer her questions, but the answers were difficult to understand. One word answers worked best. She enjoyed a strawberry from the small bowl of fruit we brought, but needed guidance with the fork.

Faith was very active at Beavercreek Church–was their church organist for many years. So we were not surprised when she smiled when offered to be taken to the piano in this facility. Unfortunately she could not play it, as the footrest of the wheelchair kept her too far away from the keyboard. But we could see she had wanted to try! Instead, Sue played a couple of her favorite hymns, inviting Faith, Phyllis and I to sing. But after the first few bars, Faith's eyes closed. We could see she was getting tired, so back to her room we went!

On our return, Sue searched for a recording of Pastor Delthony Gordon, the pastor of Beavercreek Church, singing "How Great Thou Art" on YouTube. Faith smiled in recognition, though kept her eyes shut while attempting to sing along with him. She definitely perks up when music is involved!

Sue asked Faith if she would like to go back to bed, and Faith nodded, too tired to speak. Sue offered to recite Psalms 91 in closing, and again we watched Faith's lips move as she joined in as best she could before falling asleep. We then closed our visit with a short prayer, and left after letting the nurse know we were leaving and that Faith wanted to be put back in bed.

Time is our most valuable possession–especially to those of us who have already retired. If you are looking for a way to feel useful, needed, and appreciated, may I suggest that visiting these lonely souls is a great way to spend some time!

Faith Barney's Passing

By Sue Parks

It was difficult to see Faith decline over an extended period of time, but how reassuring to know that her suffering is over, and that she sleeps in Jesus awaiting the sound of the trumpet.

Her testimony had always been "I don't understand, but he has a plan."

I look forward even more to the great resurrection day.

***Faith passed away on March 27, 2025 at the age of 84***

Member Visits

By Art Caviness

From Beryl’s visitation story, you can see that organizing a small group of Golden Buckeyes to visit and sing with Faith Barney, was enjoyed by all involved.

Does this represent an opportunity for other similar groups and visits? If you know of someone like Faith who cannot attend any (or most) of the GBF events, and who would still enjoy being a part of GBF social interaction, please send the name of that person to your GBF church representative, or to me at art.caviness@yahoo.com.

If you read the story above and would like to be included in a group to visit and sing with someone who cannot attend most GBF events, please respond in the same way. If this sounds like a mission that fits you, we would like to hear about it!

GBF Senior Men's Softball

By Gerald Meyer

The start of another softball season is just around the corner. This year will bring some changes but the activity & fun to be had is the same. Activity organizer Gerald Meyer will be handing over the leadership to Art Caviness and Bobby Hartloff.

Traditionally the group would initiate play from around Memorial Day to sometime after Labor Day. Last year Art had the men playing to the end of October. Cooperative weather is the operative word. It must be over 50 degrees, no rain & at least four participants. The group meets at Ernst Park in Kettering on Thursday's at 11:00 & the play ends at noon.

The senior men have embraced all ages & sexes. The youngest player has been Isaiah Cobb. Amy Wallace has broken the glass ceiling and I should say has made an impact on the group. The oldest participant was Dave Allison who got a hit at the age of 90.

As a historical footnote the first game was played nine years ago at Ernst Park. Art Caviness, Carol Good and Frank Perez defeated Dave Allison, Dwayne Early and Gerald Meyer 4-1. It should be noted that Dwayne was the first player to get injured diving for a ball. We do not encourage any heroics, no base running and try to keep the game as safe as possible yet boys will be boys.

If you or anyone you know would like to enjoy some wholesome Christian fellowship, love baseball, then give Art Caviness a call at 937-433-8355.