A Lorain Family Gives Thanks – 1937

On the same front page of the Lorain Journal that contained the article that I posted yesterday was this inspiring news item (below). It’s about the Rev. and Mrs. Herbert Veler of Lorain (he was pastor at First Lutheran at the time) and why they were so thankful on Thanksgiving 1937.

You see, their son Richard Paul had been born on October 29, 1936 but only weighed a little over four pounds. Consequently he was an ‘incubator baby’ that required special attention. Thanksgiving 1937 provided the perfect opportunity for the newspaper to catch up on his progress; read all about it in this article that appeared on the front page on November 24, 1937.

So what became of young Richard Paul Veler?

It sounds like he enjoyed a fruitful and meaningful life, although not in Lorain. But he remained a Buckeye.

An article in the Springfield News-Sun at the time of his passing in August 2016 noted, "A lifelong learner with a passion for literature, Veler went on to earn his B.A. in English from Wittenberg University in 1958, followed by his M.A. in English from Harvard University where he was also a Woodrow Wilson Fellow. 

"In 1964, he completed his Ph.D. in English at The Ohio State University before returning to Wittenberg to begin what would become a career spanning more than three decades as a beloved professor, Mark Twain scholar, editor and senior administrator. Called "the conscience of the university" by former Wittenberg President Baird Tipson, Veler led several initiatives at his alma mater. 

"Veler chaired the English Department for 12 years and served as University Editor for 14 years, which included editing Wittenberg Today, the flagship alumni publication, and the Wittenberg Review: An Undergraduate Journal of the Liberal Arts. 

"The recipient of multiple awards, including Wittenberg's top faculty prize, the Alumni Association Award for Distinguished Teaching in 1977, Veler went on to earn the University's highest recognition, the Wittenberg Medal of Honor, in 2010. 

"In presenting the award to her colleague, fellow Wittenberg Professor of English Robin Inboden shared that Veler embodied Wittenberg's mission, noting how he inspired hundreds of students "to love literature, as well as his ardent devotion to a life fully lived and not measured, as T.S. Eliot would say, in 'coffee spoons.'" In her words, "he achieved the elusive wholeness of person," and "modeled a faith in students that continues to guide and sustain" his colleagues and friends alike. His personal and professional career was defined by creativity, service, compassion and integrity with one colleague calling him "a man of elemental human goodness.” 

"His family's name lives on at Wittenberg through the Mildred L. Veler Meditation Chapel inside Weaver Chapel, and through an endowed scholarship. Veler was preceded in death by his wife Suzanne, and his parents, both of whom graduated from Wittenberg in 1929."