Wells County lost a couple unique ladies this past week, both of whom made a significant impact on those they knew and the community. One, many will recognize; the other, somewhat less so. I was privileged to know both.
Mary Ann Bricker and her husband Don were staples of their community (an old saying that fits the bill), leading the charge on so many efforts, and making a huge difference in the fortunes of their adopted small town of Vera Cruz. Together they opened and made the Camelot Reception Hall a huge success, Together they organized and hosted “A Big Day in a Small Town,” an annual pork chop dinner and fun-and-games day that raised money for a number of Vera Cruz projects, including the sewage system that hooked up to Bluffton.
Individually, Mary Ann held her own, serving as president of the Vera Cruz Town Board for more years than anyone can recall. At one time, there was an entity called the Wells County Crippled Children’s Foundation; Mary Ann was its champion.
Mary Ann and Don were devoted Democrats with a capital D. She served as the secretary to the county party for years, but the Brickers got to know and became friends with such people as Evan and Susan Bayh, who once stayed at their home. The Brickers were invited to be part of the inner circle at Bayh’s first inauguration as Indiana’s governor — reserved seats on the podium and at the dinner and party afterwards.
“She was one persistent lady,” former Bluffton Mayor Ted Ellis, a fellow Democrat, told me. “And you always knew where you stood with her; she wasn’t shy with her opinions,” he added with a chuckle. When asked about their role in getting sewer service for Vera Cruz, he confirmed, “It would not have happened without them. Most of the money came from state and federal funds and they pretty much camped out in Indianapolis until they got it.”
They were Street Fair enthusiasts, hosting a party at Camelot on the Monday night of fair week for many years, inviting community leaders to mingle with Poor Jack leaders and managers with whom of course they were good friends.
Her passing is the close of a different era.
I’ve known Missy Tyner ever since John Whicker asked me to serve on the board of Bi-County Services. Not well, but well enough to understand all the accolades about her since she died of pneumonia Feb. 8. Missy served on that board as the “consumer advocate.”
She struggled to communicate her thoughts but it was always clear she understood what was going on. It was also clear that the BCS staff loved her, but I didn’t fully comprehend that until this past week.
When Jim Barbieri died in 2006, we offered our readers a chance to share their memories and thoughts about him, resulting in a cascade of responses that took several days’ space to share. BCS has a weekly in-house newsletter which had to add several pages to include what people wanted to say about Missy.
It is important to know, as her devoted father Max shared in her obituary, when she was born, the doctors said she would never walk nor live past the age of 5. Her “devout mother,” Max wrote, taught her to walk, and “she graced this earth with her beautiful presence for 60 years.”
The stories from BCS staff display a person who wanted to make a difference in anything she became involved in — the Safety Committee and leading the Self-Advocates group in addition to serving on the board. But she was also “a jokester” and had “a contagious smile.” She enjoyed traveling with the BCS ladies group, and volunteered for community service outings whenever and wherever. That included ringing the bell for the Salvation Army, delivering Thanksgiving and Christmas packets, and visiting Head Start classes to name a few.
When former HR assistant Heather Baumgartner took board minutes, I knew that she often took Missy home afterwards. But I didn’t know that Heather also took her out for supper after some of those meetings, and once helped her “TP” a tree in a BCS manager’s front yard at Halloween.
“She had so much fun and laughed a ton,” Heather wrote. “It was something she’d never done before.”
Her program manager wrote two long paragraphs, including that Missy often asked questions about the news. She had a pretty keen awareness but struggled to fully understand this crazy world. She was, of course, not alone.
I think that most of us ultimately want to make a difference in this world; to leave it a bit better than we found it. Both Mary Ann and Missy accomplished that and Missy proved that even with seemingly insurmountable handicaps, it can still be done.
miller@news-banner.com
