Elmer Ward came from Minnesota to Whitefish to accept employment at Plum Creek. He will, at the drop of a hat, relate many stories about the early days of Plum Creek and the activities he performed during his 39 years of service on the green chain, the trimmer and clean-up crew.

After the death of his first wife, with whom he had three children, he met and married Nikki, who was born and raised in Whitefish. They have been together 19 years and enjoy their integrated family, which now includes nine grandchildren.

Always a loyal and dedicated worker, Elmer found little time to partake of the amenities of the area, and in retirement he enjoys getting together with his family, volunteering, working in his yard and watching television.

He volunteers at the Whitefish Soroptimist Thrift Haus and North Valley Food Bank. At the food bank, he primarily meets the truck from the central location and delivers the food to the local repository.

At the Thrift Haus, it was discovered early on that, of all the volunteers, he had the strongest back, the result being that it became his role to cart heavy, unwanted material to the dump. In addition, he pitches in to move heavy objects and "do whatever needs to be done," all of which he thoroughly enjoys.

In describing his volunteer work, he says, "I love doing it, I really do." Co-workers are lavish in their praise of him. "The most absolute wonderful man I ever worked with," proclaims one, and "the ladies who do the sorting couldn't do the job without him," says another, explaining that "he handles every single bag that comes in."

Elmer, your willingness to step up and do the heavy work lightens the burdens of life for many members of our community, and we thank you.

— Jake Heckathorn

This column is dedicated to those who give freely of their time and energy to worthwhile community projects, but whose efforts often go unnoticed. If you know such a person, please e-mail [email protected].