To the editor:
At the beginning of a new year, the media spends much time reviewing major events of the previous one. Most of these stories are on a national/international level, such as the death of significant individuals like Nelson Mandela. But 2013 saw the loss of two leaders at the local level, men who are not going to garner much media attention but are no less important to us.
I belong to a writers group, Up North Authors Circle, facilitated by Kathleen Marsh, of Townsend. We meet at the public library in Lakewood, which is my hometown. Both Kathleen and I have written local history books about our communities.
This past year saw the passing of one relatively young, dynamic community leader from each of these small towns: Richard Pintsch, of Townsend, and Terry Rank, of Lakewood. Neither was an elected political leader. Each served his community in the retail business. But Rich and Terry were giants in the vital area of community service, supporting our fire departments, rescue squads, community events, veterans groups and, yes, even UNAC.
Richard Pintsch was an important resource for Kathleen, who was not originally from Townsend, as she researched Townsend’s history to write her three books. He also provided much support in her efforts to save the Holt & Balcolm Logging Camp Museum in Lakewood.
Terry Rank eagerly shared with me whatever information he had about Lakewood. To show his pride in a town he loved, he named different areas of his SuperValu grocery store after people who had played a part in Lakewood’s history. Terry chose to sell the books written by local authors without taking any percentage of the sales price to cover his costs. That was a significant factor in these authors being able to afford the high cost of publishing a book.
Family and friends of Rich and Terry, UNAC members and all of northern Oconto County continue to mourn the loss of these two irreplaceable human beings. Fortunately, both left behind strong families that are stepping forward to fill the void and maintain their legacies.
This is critical, as we live in a time when nearly all of our top local graduates must leave us in order to pursue their dreams. But as Rich and Terry would say, “We will endure; we always do.”
Tom Thielke,
Crandon
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