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- Category: Past Issues
By Ron P. Coderre
The turn of the year 2013 and in fact movement into any new year always gives us cause to adopt resolutions aimed at improving our lives in some manner. Closing out an old year, however also provides an opportunity for reflection, not only on the previous 365 days but also on our past in general.
At a recent YMCA event the words of Greater Hartford YMCA, President and CEO James O’S Morton rang a bell in my mind when he said, “We’ve all had a meaningful, caring adult in our lives at one time or another. Someone, who without realizing it, had positively impacted our future.”
In reflecting on those words two people immediately came to mind, Boston Red Sox Hall of Famer Ted Williams and President John F. Kennedy. These two men on a national level were role models whom I emulated when I was a young man. Thinking introspectively I also realized there were “ordinary” people whom I still think of when I look back on the small accomplishments I’ve enjoyed in life.
The first person who came to mind was my mother, Georgette Coderre. While my father worked every day, it was her responsibility to raise five children (eventually seven). No easy task. Thinking back, I wonder how she did it.
Getting us up and cleaned daily, fed, clothed and off to school on time. Once that was completed, it meant she could relax. Are you kidding? It was clean the house, do the loads of laundry (originally in the old fashioned Maytag), hang the clothes on the line to dry (no automatic dryer in those days), and get our noon meal prepared, as we came home from school each day for lunch in those days.
In the afternoon and evening it was folding and putting those clean duds away and getting ready for supper. Following our evening repast, which we ate as a family, she was by our side assisting, guiding and teaching her children with home work assignments. In the summer it was her responsibility to be certain we were safe and occupied. Often she carted four kids, on foot, approximately one mile to watch me play Little League baseball.
Without much fanfare or complaining she got the job done. Without realizing it she was the model who taught me organizational skills, time management, the value of hard work and patience. And by the way, she made certain we had a strong religious foundation and that church was an important part of our lives.
Outside the nest, our days for nine months of the early years were spent with the good Daughters of the Holy Spirit at St. Mary’s School. These ladies took education seriously in rooms filled with upwards of 40 kids per classroom.
Although all my teachers had some type of impact on my future, two ladies in particular stand out. My sixth grade teacher Sr. Theresa Augustine (Theresa Morneau) and my seventh grade teacher Sr. Theresa Thomas (Doris Berube) managed our classes with the skill of a NASA commander on a trip to the moon.
Without any of the modern teaching tools that are available to teachers and students today, these two ladies imparted knowledge professionally and with grace, style and humor. If we complained about the work load, little did we know that the foundation they were providing would make the secondary years and college assignments much easier to handle thanks to their understanding of the requirements that higher education posed. It was a lesson much appreciated in later years.
In the 1950’s Putnam enjoyed the leadership of a Mayor by the name of John N. Dempsey. He would later go on to serve the State of Connecticut as its Governor for the entire decade of the sixties. Through his son, Edward, who was a classmate, John Dempsey became a part of my life without realizing it.
After school we’d often spend time at the Dempsey household on South Main Street. Imagine the thrill this youngster got from seeing the Mayor come home or sometimes even inviting me out in his backyard and shooting a few hoops together. Always personable, Dempsey’s influence continued when he and his family moved into the Governor’s Mansion in Hartford.
The invitations as a teenager and young adult to visit the family or be part of gubernatorial functions were awe inspiring. Watching Governor Dempsey as he personally greeted people or led the state with great political aplomb made me “want to be like him when I grew up.” His knack for remembering names and making each person feel important are qualities that I wanted to emulate in life.
As an individual who aspired to a life in politics, even though in never moved politically beyond the local level, I firmly believe that what I witnessed and learned from John Dempsey as a young man moved me to voluntarily serve my family, my friends and my community, something I continue to do today. And by the way even to this day I attempt to know everyone I meet by name, just as John Dempsey did.
In high school we had the luxury of having a man who was our teacher/coach in the person of James “Jim” Greenhalgh. He was respectfully called “Coach” by everyone, even those who didn’t play team sports. A former U.S. Marine Corps veteran of WWII, Greenhalgh was a man of principle.
His gym classes, much like his team practices were orderly. Everyone knew exactly what was expected of them. Erect in stature, calm in demeanor and respected, Jim Greenhalgh had a knack of bringing out the best in everyone whose lives he touched. It was those qualities that helped to carry me in my own four years in the military and later in life. Facing challenges were done the Greenhalgh way. One of his mottos, “Don’t retreat; regroup,” is one that can be utilized in business and in life whenever a roadblock presents itself.
Although these five individuals probably never acknowledged the fact, they were what we refer to in today’s jargon as “impact players.” The Governor and Coach are now deceased but the “Good Sisters” and my mother are very much with us. I know I’ve told all of these people what they’ve meant to me in my life, but I’m thankful every day for the positive modeling they provided to me.
Do you know someone who was an “impact player” in your life? I’m certain you do. Why not take a moment and say thank you. The results of those words will be beneficial, for the receiver and the sender.