by Megan Merrick Hamilton
I adore our regular Ace customers that customers that come to chat and there is one in particular I look forward to more than any other, Vern Whitten. To my knowledge he is still the only customer in the 59 year history of the store that we have actually called his wife to verify it was okay to sell him a pole saw, not because he wasn’t able-bodied. In fact it is quite the opposite. We called because there comes a time after the age of 90 that a person deserves to actually retire and just take it easy. He was buying the saw that day to help out on a Habitat for Humanity project he was involved in.
You see Vern and his lovely wife Ida Lou; lead a life of service to others. They both seem to be driven by a need help those around them, brighten the lives of those around them, and overall leave this world a much better place than when they found it. There is a John Holmes quote that just seems so perfect for Vern and Ida Lou, “There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.” And perhaps this is why they are both in such terrific physical shape.
Although it would be quite rude to share Vern’s exact age, I think he would appreciate people trying to do the math in their in head when I reveal he was born in 1924. Just yesterday he recalled in the store with perfect clarity that the first class he ever taught was in Greenland in 1942, on a Saturday no less. It took a few more questions to learn that the reason he was in Greenland at all was as an Army soldier during World War II. I was standing in front of him in awe of man who had literally helped to defend our country and witnessed firsthand such an important and traumatic time in history. I was standing in front of greatness, and yet he has always described the things I see as most impressive, anecdotally … as if they happened by accident.
One of the accomplishments I think Vern is most proud of happened his first few years in teaching. He was a math teacher and single-handedly brought his students to record high test score levels in his first three years of education. He understood his students, he put himself in their shoes, and more importantly he out-witted a flawed system. And although our conversation just happened yesterday, I cannot recall the precise numbers although Vern knows every percentage by heart some 60 plus years later. Today he still continues to tutor children in the community for free. He refuses payment because he loves it. He told me that he appreciates the challenge of helping under-performing math students succeed. In truth, I think he views all his many hours of service to others as somewhat self-serving for the joy it brings him. And this is precisely why I want to be like Vern when I grow up. I want to walk through life with an altruistic heart and mindset of abundance and gratitude, just like Vern. Yep, my hero!
