Grandpa

This is an article in the hometown paper about my Grandpa. It was good to read his comments on the questions he was asked, as he doesn't talk much.

Friday, February 01, 2008

Lehman's life continues to be woven with lots of work
By Jim Langham

Lifelong resident Willis Lehman continued to do the same thing on his 95th birthday on Thursday that he has done the rest of his life—get up at 6:15 a.m. and prepared to go to work.

Lehman, a resident at Swiss Village, spends six days a week cutting jeans, sewing them together, and weaving them into carpets, placemats, and mug mats.

That's his primary job. His backup work involves working with ceramics. He cleans ceramics as they come out of the kiln, cleans them up, and paints them. That only happens on Wednesday.

In his recreation time on Friday morning, Lehman hits the home's pool area to poke the pool balls into the side pockets. That is perhaps his latest passion, one that he didn't take up until his wife, Maggie (Wulliman), passed several years ago.

"He really hit the ground running when they (Willis and Maggie) moved here in 1990," said Willis' son, Orlyn Lehman. "He's always doing something. I don't think that he ever would have imagined that he would take up pool when he was close to 90-years-old."

Lehman is currently Swiss Village's longest living resident in the same apartment.He credits his passion for weaving to Barb Yoder and Sharon Allspaw, who first introduced the idea of weaving..

"At first when I looked at it, I didn't know if I wanted to do it," observed Lehman. "But when I started, I realized that there wasn't much to it. There wasn't much to learn."That was over 1,100 rugs and hundreds of place mats and mug mats ago. These days, Lehman can be found at his place of work six days a week. His work is sold in a Swiss Village shop. In addition, he takes custom-made orders from customers in the community.

"You start up with jeans; you cut them up into pieces," explained Lehman. "You tear them into strips and then you have to sew them together. The different colors of denim in the jeans causes variations in the color of the carpets.

"When you're finished, you tie the strips at the end into knots, and that's all there is to it," added Lehman.Lehman was born to William and Caroline Lehman on Jan. 31, 1913. He was raised on the old home place, located on the south side of the road, two miles east of Berne on Indiana 218.

He farmed his entire life until he moved to Swiss Village."I started milking as soon as I could make it up to the cow," mused Lehman.

He initially attended the Hirschy School (one-room) and eventually Berne High School. During his community service with the Mennonite Church, he worked on the state hospital farm near Norristown, PA.

His greatest joy at the First Mennonite Church was assisting with outreach projects such as the church's meat canning project. He also enjoyed activity with the church's men's fellowship group, as well as other "helping projects.

"When asked the secret of his longevity and good health, Lehman replied, "there are not secrets, the Lord gave me a strong heart and a good clean mind."I just enjoy doing this (weaving," continued Lehman. "It's okay; it's a lot of fun. I feel good when people tell me how much they enjoy the rugs. The Lord has really been good to my family and me.

"When I think of it, I realize that I'm getting closer to 100," said Lehman. "Sometimes I wonder how close I'm going to get. The Lord has been good to my family and me. I've tried to be faithful, read the Bible, and pray."

posted by Clint Anderson @ 10:44 AM

I always know where to find Grandpa when I go visit. :)