Just One More Walk Around!

[This article was published in the Centralia Sentinel newspaper Feb. 14, 2008 and is reprinted here with permission by the author - my mother.]

Just One More Walk Around!

Well, here I am approaching 70 years old and I am still thinking about Odin. I think back to when I was a lone child delivering the Centralia Sentinel in Odin. What I want to do is to go back to Odin and walk my old paper route just one more time. Although I spent many an evening walking around delivering my papers I just can’t seem to get the experience out of my head!

I had my share of trauma. Dogs chased me and I was scared of them most of the time. I had no boots or gloves and in the winter I would play simple games of warming each of my hands in my pockets and pretending they were really warm. There was a gentleman that lived at the end of Woods Street that I was so scared of. He had a huge red horse which he rode to town to get his groceries and mail. I had to open his rusty old gate and go around the back of his large scary and spooky house to collect. No matter how often I went around the back of his house to collect, he never answered the door. However, one day he did open his door and paid up his bill. He was so kind and gentle. This taught me a lesson that I have carried with me through the years. The outward appearance of an individual may not reflect the true nature of that person.

I was a scared child. I was afraid of persons that I perceived to be grouchy, or people that lived in fine houses and people that obviously had more fine things in life than we did. You see, we were a big family and we did not receive an allowance nor did I get the money from the paper route. I had absolutely no spending money. After school most of the classmates went to the local Drug Store to get a cherry coke. Sometimes, I too would go, but I couldn’t buy a coke so I would stand around and dream of all the items displayed on the counter and in the cases.

Odin Schools – I am so grateful for the wonderful schooling I received at Odin. I realized when I went out into the world to work that I received a wonderful and outstanding education in Odin. Spelling: Mrs. Mattie Martin forced us to want to spell and spell we did! She went over the words daily and learning to spell helped me more than I can explain. This helped in my career. I was a medical secretary for two hospitals. Also, the training in office skills was terrific. Although I could not afford to go to college, the special training I received at the Odin school carried me way above many college educated co-workers. I ended up working as an assistant to the President of a large corporation.

So, before my 70th birthday this year, I plan to come to Odin and walk my old paper route, walk to school, down Main and back to my home street. Thanks to my childhood in Odin, it gave me a wonderful life!!

Sincerely,
Norina Veronica (Ingles) Lovvorn