Guest column: Church search leads to long life in Ottawa

When Don came driving into the city of Ottawa on a bright Sunday morning in the fall of 1955, he had no idea he would spend the rest of his life here. He was looking for a church to attend.

Driving his newly acquired grey Plymouth, he saw a sign at the edge of the downtown park, directing him one block east to the Paul Street Bible Church.

He decided to attend.

Twenty-four years old, and a recent graduate of Wheaton College in Wheaton, he was newly employed at what is now the Illinois Industrial School for Boys in Sheridan. (Then referred to as “Sheridan reformatory”) Don was a history teacher and housing was provided at the school.

It wasn’t a fancy church – an old brick mansion with an “Anderson” building attached to provide an auditorium. Inside were “converted” theater seats and a concrete floor. The choir, dressed in maroon robes, entered the choir loft as the organist played a hymn. A wooden cross highlighted the baptistry behind them.

Six feet tall, with dark hair and an athletic build, he was dressed appropriately in a navy blue suit, white shirt and tie. He took a seat near the back next to a man who would later become his father-in-law.

The blonde girl in the front row of the choir noticed him immediately.

At the close of the service, some of the men of the church invited him to accompany them to the La Salle County Jail to participate in their monthly jail service.

He agreed.

They walked to the stone jailhouse, with black bars on the windows, which was only a block away. The men carried the wooden pump organ which the blonde girl would play while the men sang hymns at the top of the metal stairs. Then the pastor or a leader of the group would deliver a message from the Bible.

Don joined Paul Street Bible Church, and continued to participate in the monthly jail service.

He fell in love with the blonde girl, whose name was Carole Hassley, and they were married in 1958. By that time, Don was employed as the principal of the Wedron Community Consolidated School, a few miles north of Ottawa, where he taught seventh and eighth grades, coached the basketball team and occasionally drove the school bus.

In the years that followed Don was employed in the Ottawa Elementary Schools, beginning at Lincoln, then Shabbona, then Central, and finally at McKinley for many years. In the summers he worked for Ottawa Recreation on the various playgrounds of Ottawa. Don and Carole lived in south Ottawa and their three sons attended Ottawa grade and high schools. They sometimes visited their dad on the playground to play washers or a game of baseball. Don served as a playground supervisor for Ottawa Recreation Department from 1965 to 1986, a total of 22 years.

Upon his retirement from the Ottawa Elementary Schools in 1991, Don became the chaplain at the new La Salle County Jail, now located north of Ottawa, where he served for 20 years.

Today Don and his wife, Carole, reside north of Ottawa in an area once called “Field Hill.”

They are the parents of three sons, Daniel (Ruthe) of Springfield, Mo.; Paul (Deborah) of Indianapolis, Ind., and Tim (Stephanie) of Ottawa. They have six grandchildren ranging in age from 19 to 29.  In June, 2021, Don and Carole will celebrate 63 years of marriage.

Don has also been active in the local Gideon Camp for many years. He and his wife, Carole are members of River Valley Church in Ottawa.

Don will celebrate his 90th birthday May 14; birthday greetings may be sent to Don at 204 Forest Park Place, Ottawa. A family celebration will be observed on May 15.

Carole Ledbetter is a longtime Write Team member who resides in Ottawa.