The Dash Between: Sue Kerchmar, Elyria bartender, daughter of Slovak immigrants

Sue Kerchmar adopted the motto and rallying cry "Push and Pray" in her later years to express her determination to use her walker-on-wheels to get from one room to another and to continue to live in her own home despite physical limitations.

The same phrase could be used to describe her lifelong philosophy. Throughout her life, the Elyria great-grandmother took matters into her own hands to achieve positive outcomes. She devised plans, took actions toward making things happen, then prayed that she would achieve her goals.


In 1942, the former Sue Sklenar traveled to Colorado, where John Kerchmar Jr. was stationed with the Army Air Forces, before John was sent overseas for service in World War II.

When she found out that her visually impaired son, John III, could learn to read Braille in the city of Lorain, Sue called a radio program seeking a listener who would give her son a ride to the classes. She later enrolled him in a school for the blind in Columbus. She wanted him to be self-sufficient.

Click here to read about The Dash Between June 5, 1923, when Sue was born Susan Sklenar in Elyria, Ohio, and August 10, 2010, when the former Kerchmar’s West Side Café bartender died at age 87, in the Sept. 12, 2010, edition of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram.

Bob Emery, visionary who built Loyal Oak Lake Park in Summit County in 1955

In 1955, Bob Emery turned what seemed to be an unusable plot of land in the Norton area of Summit County, Ohio, into a popular recreation area called Loyal Oak Lake Park, where families could swim, play baseball, picnic and camp.



Thirty years later, Bob upgraded, redesigned and transformed the neglected Ridge Top Golf Course in Medina County, Ohio, into a state-of-the-art facility that continues to attract a faithful following of golfers.

He co-owned both recreation areas with his wife, Darlene, and another golf facility -- Oak Knolls Golf Club in Kent in Portage County, Ohio -- with friend Phil Baker.

The Dash Between Feb. 17, 1932, when the 12th of 16 siblings was born in Copley Township, Ohio, and July 1, 2010, when the Wadsworth, Ohio, grandfather died at age 78, was featured in the Sept. 7, 2010, edition of the Medina County Gazette.

Eva Mae Pugh, prize-winning Tupperware lady

Eva Mae Pugh earned enough points in Tupperware sales to receive a van to haul her products to Tupperware parties -- an amazing feat for someone who did not drive.

"Eva was a good seller," said Tupperware colleague Nora Ritter. "She earned lots of free stuff -- big and little -- and earned good money."

The Dash Between April 19, 1924, when Eva was born a coal miner's daughter in West Virginia, and July 24, 2010, when the Tupperware lady of Lorain, Ohio, died at age 86, appears in the Aug. 22, 2010, edition of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram.

Barbara Shea Baldwin, Youngstown native, managed gas stations in Lorain County

Barb Baldwin, who graduated from Ursuline High School in Youngstown, Ohio, in 1957, became a pioneer of sorts for Sohio (Standard Oil of Ohio) in the 1970s.

She began managing gas stations in Lorain County, Ohio, when handling such a job was unusual for a woman.

Barb managed one of the first Sohio gas stations in Amherst, Ohio, which was converted into a self-service operation after pump-your-own-gas facilities were legalized in the state in 1977.

In many ways, it was like a family business.

Barb, whose maiden name was Shea, met her husband, Dick, at a Sohio station in Youngstown, where he was a mechanic. He later became an auditor for the company.

Each of their three sons worked for the oil company at some point in their lives.

Click here to read about "The Dash Between" Feb. 3, 1939, when Barb was born in Youngstown, and July 13, 2010, when she died at Amherst Manor Nursing Home at age 71, in the Aug. 8, 2010, edition of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram.

Billy Ray, Medina County volunteer, Parma autoworker

Billy Ray volunteered with and served on several social service agencies and community service organizations in Medina County, Ohio, after retiring from the General Motors plant in Parma, Ohio, in the early 1990s.

This list of organizations includes:

• Medina County Family First Council;
• Medina Noon Kiwanis Club;
• Wayne/Medina Community Action Board;
• Salvation Army Board;
• Ohio State University Extension Advisory Committee;
• Second Baptist Church, Medina;
• Fellowship Baptist Church, Medina;
• and First Baptist Church, Wadsworth.

Billy, pictured here receiving an award from the Medina Noon Kiwanis Club, was recognized many times for his community service. He was well-known throughout the Medina area for his good-deed doing, yet shied away from the spotlight.

Billy posed for the photo on the left for a United Way campaign.

Read the Aug. 2, 2010, edition of the Medina County Gazette for "The Dash Between" June 26, 1927, when the longtime Medina, Ohio, resident was born Billy Wray in College Grove, Tenn., and June 26, 2010, when he died at Southwest General Medical Center in Middleburg Heights, Ohio, on his 83rd birthday.

Julanne Rotta, piano teacher, owned Bell Studios in Elyria, Ohio

Julanne M. Rotta, pictured here with her husband, Donald, taught students to play piano and keyboards at Bell Piano Studio on the second floor of the Driscol Music building on Broad Street in Elyria, Ohio, from 1978 to 2000.

She retained the name of the business after purchasing it from its founder.

After moving to Huron, Ohio, Julanne commuted to Elyria several times a week to continue giving lessons to her students, most of whom lived in Elyria.

She estimated that she taught more than 2,000 students – from young children to retirees – during her teaching career.

In order to keep students interested in their lessons, Julanne had them practice music they liked - from classical to pop to country - in addition to scales and other basics.

Julanne died of complications from cancer on July 25, 2010, at Concord Care Center in Sandusky, Ohio, at age 60.

She was born Julanne Marie Isabelle, the eldest of three siblings, in Marquette, Mich. Her father was an iron ore miner; her mother, a schoolteacher.

"Jules," as she was known to many, played piano at an early age. At 4, she began playing piano for church choirs in Marquette.

When she was 5, she appeared on television with several other young pianists in a segment of the "Ed Sullivan Show" featuring piano prodigies.

Julanne graduated from Marquette Senior High School and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music at Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, where she majored in piano performance.

In recent decades, she occasionally played piano at Zion Lutheran in Huron, according to her husband. She also played for fellow Concord Care residents and for church services conducted by local ministers at the nursing home.

She and Donald were married on April 12, 1986, at Messiah Lutheran Church in Marquette.

In addition to her husband, Julanne is survived by her sister, Mary (Terry) St. Pierre of Escanaba, Mich.; brother, Henry J. Isabelle of Fredonia, Wis.; and a nephew.

She also is survived by her husband’s sons, Christopher (Gwen) Rotta of Amherst, Ohio, Stephen (Laura) Rotta of Riverview, Fla., and Jeffrey Rotta of Woodstock, Ga.; four grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Henry Wilfred and Julanne Marie (nee Honkavaara) Isabelle.

Arrangements were by Hempel Funeral Home of Amherst, Ohio.

Dixie Slaughenhaupt, former Elyria RN, always looked for ways to help others

Even after Dixie Slaughenhaupt lost the ability to control her balance in the 1980s and depended on an electric wheelchair to get around, she acted as an advocate for fellow patients at Amherst Manor nursing home, coached young nurses and volunteered as a reading tutor for elementary school students.

Dixie, who died June 15, 2010, at age 68, had mobility issues for most of her life.

As a child in the 1940s, she had surgeries to correct scoliosis or curvature of the spine, which doctors believed was caused by undiagnosed polio during infancy.

Years later, the results of tests performed at the Cleveland Clinic identified Chiari malformation, a structural defect in the part of the brain that controls balance, as the culprit.

"She overcame so many physical obstacles in her life," said her neighbor Muriel Koepp. "She never let it get in the way of her doing the things that she wanted to do."

Mainly, Dixie wanted to help others.

"She was an incredible person, so insightful to problems and situations, always focusing on the positive, interested in everything," Koepp said. "I just know she was put here on Earth by God to be a shining example of courage and faith to each one of us."

Click here to read more about the "Dash Between" January 8, 1942, when the Elyria Township, Ohio, resident was born Dixie Cole in Galion, Ohio, and June 15, 2010, when Jim Slaughenhaupt's wife died at Aristocrat Berea, in the July 25, 2010, edition of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram.