Once I might have said "going to Penn State football games", for during the past two decades we have enjoyed going several times each season. But we really don't do that anymore. As we've gotten older we have become much more selective about where we sit and good tickets, which have become much more expensive, are much harder to buy. And they've changed the parking areas several times making it much more inconvenient for old guys, even with a handicapped permit. But I still do follow Penn State football daily on the internet.
I guess I could also answer "church work", but I do that more to serve the Lord and to use the gifts he has given me. I am still heavily involved in Awana and spend many hours each week as financial secretary of our church. Does that qualify as a hobby?
But recently I have begun to realize that "writing" probably qualifies as a hobby. Although I have never had any training, I have had numerous opportunities through working for newspapers, writing blogs, and preparing materials for my grandchildren. That probably is a little unusual considering that I've only ever had one English teacher who I feel actually taught me practical things. In seventh and eighth grade, Marjorie Enck was a superb teacher. We often were "scared" of her classes but we were prepared, she taught, we learned, and we remember. Recently, on Facebook, well over 60 former students testified to this.
It was during those junior high years that I really began to write. I was serving as scorekeeper for the local little league baseball league and I was asked to write a summary of the results each week for the weekly Lititz Record Express. That developed into covering high school sports events for the local paper. And by the time I reached high school I was writing two columns each week - Spotlight On Sports, covering area sports, and High School Highlights, covering other high school activities. For two years I also wrote scripts for 15 minute radio programs for a program that I led on a local radio station every three weeks.
These experiences led me to good summer jobs. For three summers I worked on the editorial staff of the Record Express, writing local news, doing layouts, and even selling ads. In fact, one summer while I was in college, the editor turned all his duties over to me and I actually ran and produced the entire paper that summer. For two summers I worked for the Lancaster and York Sunday News staffs. In addition to doing things like rewrites and preparing the weekly television guide, I was given some major writing duties which really stretched me and even provided some bylines. When I worked in the York office I also did some photography while covering stories. And then, after my junior year in college, I secured a summer job with the Sunbury Daily Item where I did strictly editorial work.
While working for the Sunday News I made some excellent contacts, especially sports editors George Crudden and Bill Fisher. They encouraged me and trusted me with major projects and then, after beginning my job at Penn Manor, they annually hired me for 25 years to cover sports events for the paper, especially football games. And so most Falls during those years I spent my Saturdays writing about area football games. What a great experience that was. It not only was fun but it provided some extra income, especially in the days when teacher pay was not too great.
Also, for several years I had an extra assignment at Penn Manor doing public relations work which essentially meant writing news releases for district events. I also helped produce newsletters for district employees.
My interest in sports and writing almost took me a different direction early in my teaching career. A gentleman who I had worked for in public relations while I was a student at Susquehanna University contacted me and offered me a job to serve as assistant director of public directions, with an emphasis in sports, at Wagner College on Staten Island. If it had been a different location, I would have been tempted to say yes to the offer. But thankfully the Lord kept me where I was, at Penn Manor.
Then, later in my life, along came the internet and blogs and more opportunities to write. And that is a topic for my next blog.
So what is my hobby? Maybe I now have an answer.
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