Serving Our Seniors Magazine: Jan - Mar 2022

Lake Erie Love By Sue Daugherty CAM AND PAT SHENIGO Perkins Twp residents, Cam and Pat Shenigo have been married for 39 years. They are the owners of ShenCon Construction and Pat is serving his third term as an Erie County Commissioner. Cam, 60, remembers when she first set eyes on her spouse-to-be, “I was a freshman in high school and it was during study hall. He barely knew I existed.” Pat, 63, explained, “Back then I was a little skinny guy who would come to study hall with wet hair. The girls would tell me I looked like I had greasy hair. I remember I would sit down at the study hall table and the girls would all say ‘ewww, ewww!’ (aka gross) when they saw my hands.” His hands were stained black. Pat explained that he didn’t play sports. Instead, he worked second shift for his father in the steel business. For Cam, she didn’t find the greasy-hair look nor the dirty-hands detracting. She remembers being at the ice skating rink when Pat was there. Cam’s friend was leaving and Cam wanted to stay, because Pat was there. Pat offered to take Cam home and she accepted. “He took me out for hot chocolate.” She remembers that he kept the car running so she could stay warm, as he went inside and brought the hot chocolate to the car. Later that year, at a basketball game, Cam recalls strategically meandering over to sit near Pat. “He invited me to go out to eat pizza with a group of students after the basketball game,” she said. After that, they became steady couple. Cam became an x-ray technician. Pat was starting his own construction business. By day she worked at Providence Hospital and after work and on weekends, she helped Pat build houses. “I was so impressed by his ability to do things and fix things. He was such a hard worker and so ambitious. I credit him for causing me to find my ambition,” Cam said. Pat said the same about Cam. He admired and appreciated how hard she worked. “She would do anything that we needed to get done.” At the time, Cam had the blisters to prove it. They built four houses together and sold the first three. Pat proposed to her on Christmas Eve 1981 and they married in September 1982. They built their fourth home, together, and moved into it after they married. 6