Reflections On A Long and Blessed Life No.42

As mentioned earlier: When I graduated from college I was “assigned” to St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and School in Tracy California. My job assignment was to teach grades 4-8, serve as principal, and be the congregation’s Director of Youth and Christian Education. I was single. Upon arrival I was informed about my plan for living arrangements. I was to live with the family of Lydia and Arnold Zielske and their three children. I was assigned a bedroom and a shared bath. It was just a block off Main Street and 4 blocks from the school. Lydia provided all my meals including packed sandwiches for lunch .I think the cost was $85.00 a month. It was good deal in every way.

The Zielskes treated me with respect and then affection. Lydia introduced me to foods like lasagna which I had never eaten in Texas. And she had a brother in Lodi CA 70 miles away whom we visited together. He was the master wine maker at a well-known winery and introduced me to the wonderful variety of wines. Prior to that I only drank what I now remember as terrible: Manischewitz, a very sweet red wine!

Arnold was a devoted father and husband. He knew that his intelligence was not a match for Lydia’s and he accepted that. He had a job as a radio repairperson and he did that well. The situation got a little complicated because I had the eldest daughter as a student in my classroom. She was a sweet but underperforming student who tragically died of cancer at a young age.

The Zielslke’s had a most interesting and unique travel habit. As mentioned above we often visited some of the Zielski family in Lodi. We would arrive home well after midnight. Arnie would drive the car into the garage and close the door behind him. Then, at his suggestion, we all stayed in the car and just slept there for about 30 minutes, then picked up ourselves and the sleeping kids and went into our beds in the house and slept there till morning.

The family stayed in touch with me through the years. Some 20 years later they came to visit me in St. Louis. One little interesting detail of that visit is that Arnie asked me to assist him in purchasing the full multi-volume set of all the writings of Martin Luther. I doubt that he ever got through that virtual library! But I am eternally grateful to the Zielske’s for helping me get off well in my professional career.

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