SOSMagJulySeptember2020

There are various theories, which explain how we become who we are as adults. These are theories of adult development. I interviewed Sparky Weilnau, because I found his life story an interesting transformation from a 20-something year old to the man he is, today. His personality and character remind me of someone who would be in a Norman Rockwell painting. Like the one entitled, “The Farmer and the Bird” - hard-working, down-to-earth and caring. At age 69, he has lived and farmed in Milan Township for 44 years. He and his wife, Cathy, have been happily married for 47 years and are the proud parents of two sons, Phil and John. He is a 6th generation family farmer and the youngest son of Howard (whose nickname was “Sparky”) and Katie (Catherine) Weilnau. His two brothers, David and Allen were also farmers, until they retired. Sparky Weilnau: “I have always been an outdoor kind of guy. For fun, as a kid, I would play in the creek. My brothers and I liked to build dams, chase snakes, catch minnows and whatever else we could get into. That was when we had free time, which wasn’t very often,” he said. The family raised vegetables and sold them to Stokely’s canning company. It required a lot of physical labor to keep the weeds from overtaking the crops. Sparky explained, “There was no such thing as herbicides at this time. My brothers and I had to hoe. One thing is for sure, we learned to work whether we liked it or not. All three of us could not wait to get off the farm, when we grew up.” In 1969 he graduated from Edison High School. A self-described 1970’s hippie-liberal, he attended the GM Institute and studied mechanical engineering. “I would wear bell bottoms, I had paisley pants and wouldn’t cut my hair until someone from the Personnel Department would say to me, ‘Mr. Weilnau, it’s time to get your hair cut.’ ” Loving the outdoors and working in Lordstown, inside a factory for 7 days a week, 8 hours a day, was not a good fit. “It was a different work philosophy and I was indoors the entire time. I was used to being outside and working in a farming culture, where people were honest, a handshake was a promise and it was a promise you could trust.” In 1973, a friend asked Sparky if he wanted to go to Alaska with him. The idea of being self-reliant and living off the land in Alaska had great appeal. Leaving his sweetheart, Cathy Rice, who was attending The University of Akron, Sparky made the move. In August of that year, his bride-to-be moved to Alaska, too. Soon after, they were married by the local coroner, who also happened to be the Justice of the Peace. “We were foot loose and fancy free. by Sue Daugherty 6