Hostetler to be honored at Thursday’s senior lunch
It’s often called “the golden years.” A time to relax, embrace the freedom of retirement and reflect on a life well-lived.
But that wasn’t enough for Ken Hostetler. Because even though he didn’t have any specific plans when he retired after 40 years of running a dairy farm, it didn’t take long for that to change.
Hostetler was in his 80s when Dean Horn, director of Habitat for Humanity, asked him if he would be interested in helping them build homes. Not just help, but supervise the projects. Of course he checked with his wife, Jeanette, first, but his answer was a quick “yes!” Horn referred to Hostetler’s commitment to HFH as “unparalleled.”
His heart for volunteering didn’t stop there. Hostetler also went to the Gulf Coast three times, Virginia twice and the Mississippi River area, all to lend a hand with clean up or carpentry following a natural disaster.
And when he couldn’t build homes anymore, Hostetler joined the Meals on Wheels team. He started out delivering meals two days a week but soon went to four.
Though he continued that ministry into his 90s, a medical condition eventually required him to focus on his health. But his volunteer days aren’t over: Hostetler now helps out at The Homestead, where he lives, by working on the raised garden beds, providing fresh vegetables to the people in his community.
It’s this spirit of service the Logan County Council on Aging wishes to honor in naming Hostetler the county’s 2023 Outstanding Senior Citizen of the Year. He will be recognized on Senior Citizens Day, Thursday, May 18, as part of Older Americans Month. The 2023 OAM theme is “Aging Unbound.”
A presentation will take place Thursday morning at the Logan County Friendly Senior Center, 934 S. Main Street, Bellefontaine. Plus, all senior citizens are invited to stop by between 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. to pick up a free carry-out chicken lunch.
Mary Jo Altstaetter, a friend and former neighbor of Hostetler’s, nominated him for the award. His community service inspired her and, she added, “Whatever he does, he always seems to have a joyful heart.”
Humble man that he is, Hostetler is honored by the recognition but doesn’t think he deserves it. “We’re up here at Logan Acres,” he said, “and there are people here a lot worse off than I am.”
Born in 1930, Hostetler started out in construction but, after four years, knew that wasn’t the job for him.
“One snowy, windy November day I was laying brick on the outside of a home and came to realize I didn’t want to do this the rest of my life.”
Since he had experience working on a farm, Hostetler decided to start a dairy, which eventually led to a herd of 70 cows.
In 1952, Hostetler married Jeanette Shumaker, and they had two children. Tragically, their oldest son, Neil, died in a farming accident at the age of 36. Their other son, Dennis, lives outside Bellefontaine.
Neil had two children, Courtney (Oakley) and Jerrod Hostetler, who live in the area as well. Ken and Jeanette also have two great-grandchildren, Harper and Hunter Oakley.
“I’ll tell you what my motto is,” Hostetler commented. “There’s a verse in the Bible that says don’t work to please man but work to please God, and that’s what I try to do.”