November 13, 2007 - Volume 16, No. 46

a Winkler Company publication

Also featuring photos from our monthly supplement...

The Painted Lady of St. Anne's Hill

E. D. Smith Custodian Lew Parlett retires

Edwin D. Smith school staff dressed as Lew Parlett pose with Parlett (pictured at center in Elvis costume)

By Ryan Wineberg

On October 31, teachers and administrators at Edwin D. Smith Elementary School celebrated Halloween in an unusual way—they dressed up as long-time Head Custodian Lew Parlett. After thirty-two years of service to Smith, 73-year old Parlett is turning in his keys and retiring. But this long-time employee and friend of Oakwood schools will not be soon forgotten; when asked about Mr. Parlett, Principal Nance Bradds said, “He is very beloved,” he took great care of this building and gave us the gift of friendship.

And friendship with Parlett means a good deal of teasing. According to School Nurse Bobbie Logan, Lew came into her office on her first day and said he didn’t feel well. He said he was sick and needed a clinic dismissal pass. When Nurse Logan tried to convince Parlett that passes were only for children, he went on to say that he was also tired, sick and tired of Principal Nance Bradds, and he wanted it written on his clinic dismissal pass. When Nurse Logan finally agreed to give him the pass, he promptly handed it in to Bradds who nearly fell on the floor laughing.

On October 31, Principal Bradds presented Mr. Parlett with his final Smith clinic dismissal pass “for good behavior and for being the most beloved employee.” When asked how he wanted to be remembered, Mr. Parlett said, I want to be remembered for “helping the future.” Parlett has kept Smith safe and clean for the children of Oakwood for 32 years. He continued to work hard even after the biggest mess he ever encountered—he came in one morning to find a pipe had burst and three rooms were flooded with water. He has been an excellent link between the school’s administrators and the people of Oakwood, helping both the PTO and the OCC with their school and community endeavors, and he has been a friend to the people with whom he works (Bradds).

Lew Parlett is a kind man, and we wish him well as he embarks on this new chapter of his life. From all of in Oakwood, thank you for your efforts. You made Edwin D. Smith a nice place to work and study; and in the words of Superintendent Dr. Mary Jo Scalzo you “made a difference;” you helped the future.

Oak Tree Corner finds new home in Oakwood

By Ryan Wineberg

You’ll find Oak Tree Corner at its new home on the corner of Far Hills and Schantz in Oakwood. From the outside, it looks like any other house in the neighborhood but what’s going on inside is very different. Here at Oak Tree Corner, staff and volunteers are dedicated to helping kids grieve the loss of a loved one. On Wednesday nights this house at 136 Far Hills Avenue will host children and their families, first for dinner at six and then for games, art and discussion, all aimed at getting the sadness inside, out.

The program at Oak Tree Corner is a Companionship Program, one of eight in Ohio and two-hundred throughout the country. Companionship Programs allow children to direct the grieving process; that is, the children are free to talk, arrange art projects, suggest a game or simply remain quiet. It’s up to them. Trained volunteers and staff are present to guide the grieving process, and the volunteers here come from all walks of life and age groups - from twenty-one to seventy.

I had the opportunity to visit Oak Tree Corner last Wednesday. As Director Vicki Braun took me from room to room, the stories of loss told themselves. In the creativity corner, there’s a big yellow picture, entitled Memory Lane. Some of the kids made it together. It’s a collection of memories, what these kids remember about their lost fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers. One child remembered shopping with mom, while another had drawn dad next to a sunflower because he grew them. On another wall hung collages. One collage contained a turkey, a dog and gun because these boys missed hunting with dad. It’s funny what you remember when someone’s gone but the remembering is so important, and at Oak Tree Corner it’s encouraged.

Something else they try to do here is “normalize” the experience of loss for these kids. Braun explained that when a child loses a loved one, other kids can sometimes shy away, afraid they too could be affected, leaving a grieving child very much alone. At Oak Tree Corner, kids learn “that they’re not alone and they didn’t make it [death] happen.”

Oak Tree Corner is committed to creating a “safe and caring community” and so far it’s been a community endeavor. Since coming to Oakwood, Oak Tree Corner undertook the major job of remodeling the kitchen but not without the help of the Chairs of the Kitchen Campaign, Stacey MacDonald and Julie Winch and the generous support of Oakwood residents. Oak Tree plans to use this kitchen to make cookies, big pots of soup on cold winter nights and to host a dinner between Christmas and New Years. Oak Tree Corner is dedicated to being a safe-place for the broken-hearted - and we welcome them to their new home.

Just passing through…

Photo by Constance Ordeman

Just two of the herd – a mother and her mature fawn. The Ordeman family saw seven together in the same area (Oakwood at Ridgeway). Go slow on the brick road!

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