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 By JENNIFER TANGEMAN
Staff Writer
Few people exhibit an enthusiasm about historical artifacts as Jim Bowsher does.
When crews working for G.A. Wintzer and Son Co. started working to build new office space on West Auglaize Street, they came across some interesting finds where a rental home had previously sat.
Jim Kent and others of Kent Surveying began finding pieces of artifacts. They called in local history buff, Bowsher, to try to figure out what the bits and pieces meant.
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Residents claim making resolutions year-round, not just on New Year’s |
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Friday, 02 January 2009 |
By KRISTA HAYES
Staff Writer
With the passing of 2008, many Wapakoneta natives have already began making their resolutions for 2009 — and one person says she makes decrees throughout the year instead of saving them specifically for New Year’s.
“I don’t need New Year’s just to make a resolution or decision in my life,” Carol Manger said. “If there is something that I think needs changing, then I change it, no matter what time of the year it is.”
Manger said she has yet to make a resolution for 2009, but she does plan to continue to lose more weight by cutting back on what she eats, working out at the Wapakoneta Family YMCA on a daily basis and staying active. This includes practicing the piano — a skill Manger made a resolution to acquire in 2006.
“Two years ago in the middle of the year I made a resolution to learn how to play the piano,” Manger said. “At first, it was very difficult because I didn’t even know what a middle C was, let alone could I show you where it was at on the piano.”
Thanks to a little time and taking private lessons once a week for a year, Manger said she has now worked herself up to be able to compose the simplest of Christmas songs.
“I wouldn’t call myself a pro, but I have came a long way since first setting down to play, not even sure of what I was doing,” Manger said. “Like any resolution, it’s easy to get discouraged and frustrated when you’re first starting out. Although I still continue to play today, I think learning to do so might have come easier to me if I was younger or had a musical background. Like anything else, getting good at the piano took some time, and a lot of practice and effort.”
Similar to Manger, Wapakoneta resident Dan Luebrecht said resolutions are things that he makes year round, regardless if they fall on New Year’s Eve or not.
“I don’t get hung up on dates,” Luebrecht said. “If I feel I need to make a resolution, then I make one.”
Since making a resolution last year to lose weight and be better fit, Luebrecht said he has lost between 20 to 30 pounds by lifting weights every day and completing aerobics.
“Since last year, I have managed to keep the weight off, and now I am feeling much better,” Luebrecht said. “Not only is my blood pressure lower, but I’ve noticed I’ve had a lot more energy lately as well.”
After losing 75 pounds and gaining it back thanks to an unplanned pregnancy and a tumor on her back that forced Wapakoneta native Flo Paxton to be bed ridden for more than seven months in 2006, she has now made the resolution for 2009 to try and lose all the weight once again.
“Getting back into shape, toning up and losing weight, is a tough thing to do and not get frustrated with, especially since I’ve been through the whole process before,” Paxton said. “There are a ton of reasons why people are so gung-ho about losing weight in the beginning, but then fail to maintain exercising and dieting right, such as work, their daily busy lifestyles and being too exhausted at the end of the day. I know for me, since I had restrictions and couldn’t even walk or work for seven months, it was just easier to order out than to make dinner.”
With more and more people making New Year’s resolutions to lose weight these days, stick to their diets or to exercise on a daily basis, Gretchen Schneider, of Wapakoneta, said she can understand how the newness of the decision to do so can wear off with time.
“Sometimes people can set unrealistic goals for themselves, but more times than not people just start being inattentive about their goals and before you know it, old habits start creeping back in and outside activities and influences start taking over,” Schneider said.
Ted Adkins, a personal trainer at the Wapakoneta Family YMCA, agreed.
“The biggest reason why people fail to lose weight is because of the actual effort it takes to do so,” Adkins said. “When their health is involved, people’s biggest detour is being able to change their ways of life, making working out and exercising a mandatory daily routine instead of just a weekly habit.”
Yet another reason why Adkins said people fail to stay physically in shape is due to the declining economy.
“Money issues have become a big problem because of the cost of a single or family membership to the Y, along with the cost of gas it takes to drive to get to the facility,” Adkins said. “Overall, people just don’t want to take the time or make the effort to stay healthy and physically fit.”
When asked what his New Year’s resolution was, Adkins replied he is not making one this year because he didn’t feel he needed to make one.
“The lifestyle I am living right now is great, Adkins said. “At 53, I am in perfect health where I can play basketball with the big boys four to five times a week and still manage to grab the rim each time. I’ve stuck with the same pattern for years and it hasn’t failed me yet, so I’m on the perfect path to staying fit and healthy.
“What I love the most about exercising is that it helps get rid of all the anxieties one accumulates in life. It helps you fight your problems and gives you a good, positive attitude,” he said. “That’s why people just need to stick with it no matter what and stop making excuses for themselves. They say for every hour you work out, you are suppose to get two more hours of energy a day, and you know when people are going to get that energy? When they sit up and get out of bed in the morning, and that right there is worth it to me.”
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Last Updated ( Monday, 05 January 2009 )
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