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are living longer and this population is only going to
get larger over time.” She also said, “It is better that
people stay at home than be forced to move.”
Marian recalled that most of the planning meetings, for
the Senior Services Tax Levy and starting Serving Our
Seniors, took place at the home of the Judge and her
husband, Dean Lucal. She remembers saying to Ray,
“We can do this.”
He replied, “Of course we can do
this, but it is going to be a hell of a
lot of work.” Marian laughed as she
shared this story. Then she said,
“He was right. It was a lot of work,
but it was fun.”
I told Marian, “I think you are
going to be the only person I will ever hear say that
being responsible for the success of a levy campaign
is fun.”
As they plotted out their campaign plan, Ray and
Marian dedicated an entire bedroom wall for a giant
Erie County map. They would put pins on the map,
so they could track how their sign campaign was
progressing; and they had hundreds and hundreds
of index cards with signatures, giving their campaign
committee permission to plant a campaign sign on
each property.
To top it all off, Ray and Marian synchronized the
placement of the bright yellow signs that said “VOTE
YES Senior Services Tax Levy” so that all of the signs
became visible throughout all of Erie County on the
same day. No matter where you lived in Erie County,
you couldn’t help but notice this new message that
emerged out of the ground – overnight.
The Koch’s garage was the sign-making shop. Their
adult children and their elementary aged grandchildren
helped to supply the labor. Today, all have fond
memories of stapling yard signs and the garage being
used as the yard sign warehouse for the March 1996
levy.
Ray & Marian recruited others to help them talk to
groups about the Senior Services Tax Levy. The talks
took place in every community throughout Erie County.
Even though they had many others helping them,
Marian recalls that every night they had somewhere to
go to speak.
“We talked and talked and talked to people and
organizations to get them to vote for this. Every night
we were speaking somewhere. I remember how we
made sure that we talked to the people who left for
Florida. We made sure they turned in their absentee
ballots,” said Marian.
Their talks would turn the sign campaign into a friendly
competition. Marian would make dozens and dozens
of “Friendship Cakes”. Jane Lucal attested, “They
were delicious.” Those who agreed to take a yard sign
would be placed in a drawing to win a “Friendship
Cake”, home-made by Marian Koch. “It worked!”,
Marian said. “You wouldn’t believe the number of signs
distributed - or the number of cakes I made,” she said
as she smiled.
Marian didn’t experience any frustrations or regrets
for taking on this challenge. “I enjoyed the whole
campaign process, right along with Ray. Because he
enjoyed it, I enjoyed it,” she said. “He knew we could
pass it, if we worked at it. I remember staying up until
midnight at the county building watching the voting
results come in. It was exciting and it passed by a
large margin,” recalled Marian.
Judge Lucal emphasized how important it is that the
community members be acknowledged for supporting
the Senior Services Tax Levy and for taking care of
people in our county.
Judge Lucal said, “We had the idea. It was others who
made it happen. In some of the other counties these
levies fail. It’s not the leaders. It’s the people who live
here. They are the people who make or break any
Ray & Marian Koch
Ray Koch
