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Gratitude begins in Kindergarten · The Gratitude Letters

0:01
Jen: May I ask how old you are?
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Kathryn: Sure. Ask.
0:05
Jen: How young are you?
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Kathryn: I'm 94.
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Jen: 94.
0:16
Jen: Do you remember James from kindergarten?
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Kathryn: I sure do. Would you like to see a picture of him?
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Jen: Oh, you kept these pictures all these years?
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Kathryn: Well, of course. Look at that. "James brought a lovely tulip to school.
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Kathryn: It was almost closed up tight. After an hour in a vase of water,
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Kathryn: the tulip opened completely with the petals curling the opposite way.
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Kathryn: 'It turned inside out,' James exclaimed. Early the next morning,
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Kathryn: the tulip was almost closed again, but it later turned inside out."
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Kathryn: That was a science lesson.
0:59
Kathryn: Do you know what color it was?
1:01
James: That I don't remember.
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Kathryn: And I don't either.
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Jen: Welcome to both of you. We are having our first episode of The Gratitude Letters,
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Jen: where we celebrate the power of saying thank you.
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Jen: Every other Thursday, we will share a real letter of gratitude written by one of you,
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Jen: our listeners, and we'll hear that letter read aloud to the person who made a
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Jen: difference in their life. I am Jen Shenk, your host,
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Jen: recording from Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana.
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Jen: Our first letter writer, James Gunden, is a retired healthcare executive and
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Jen: investor in Sellersville, Pennsylvania. He's written a letter to Kathryn
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Jen: Aschliman. Kathryn was his teacher at the Goshen College Laboratory Kindergarten,
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Jen: where she taught for 34 years. James, why did you want to write this letter to
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Jen: Kathryn? Out of all the people in your life, why did you choose her?
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James: Oh, that was easy. She was the first really influential adult in my life
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James: besides my parents, and the kindergarten experience was just amazing.
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James: And this all came about when at the Mennonite Convention last summer,
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James: Goshen College announced they were doing this whole thing called Gratitude Letters,
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James: and I'm like, "I know the perfect person that I need to write about."
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James: Ms... You'll always be Ms Kathryn Aschliman to me.
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Kathryn: That's fine.
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James: And so...
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Kathryn: By the way, somebody, one of the children asked me one day, "Ms Aschliman,
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Kathryn: why did you never get married?" And I said, "Oh my goodness,
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Kathryn: because I never had time." "Oh," she said,
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Kathryn: "it doesn't take long on a Sunday afternoon."
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Jen: From the mouths of babes.
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James: Ms Kathryn Aschliman, you are a very important person and a positive influence
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James: on my entire life. It is great to thank you and tell you in person what your love
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James: and friendship means to me. It started in 1963, now unbelievably 62 years ago,
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James: when my parents wisely enrolled me in the Goshen College Laboratory Kindergarten,
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James: where you taught kindergartners and college students majoring in education.
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James: Between the kindergarten students, the college graduate teachers you trained,
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James: then the students taught by them, you have positively influenced thousands of people.
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James: You cared for all your students. You provided a rich class experience.
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James: We went on field trips, sang songs, took walks, played games, and made crafts.
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James: Sometimes you invited parents to be a part of the class and come and observe.
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James: You taught with a gentle and loving approach.
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James: There was a student who needed extra attention.
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James: When story time came, she would come and sit on your lap while you read to us.
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James: You were able to casually support her needs without distraction or causing
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James: jealousy among the other students. You encouraged us.
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James: At Christmas time, Barbara drew a Christmas tree on a chalkboard next to the
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James: coat room.
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James: You pointed out the drawing and encouraged her to keep working at her art.
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James: During a class walk around campus, Goshen College biology Professor Witmer taught us
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James: about plants, nature, and our ecosystem.
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Kathryn: We hardly got off campus because we needed to stop and see all these things on the
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Kathryn: way to Witmer Woods, which our destination was.
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James: Absolutely. It was wonderful.
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Kathryn: And we...
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James: We used to have a weather station.
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Kathryn: Oh.
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James: And the college students would record every day, and say on
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James: WGCS, humidity,
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James: barometric pressure, temperature, all that.
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Kathryn: Oh.
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James: Yes. And we got to see that and see how that worked. Yes,
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Kathryn: Yes, we did.
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James: On a windy day, a weed came rolling across the sidewalk.
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James: Then I asked Professor, "What is that called?" He says, "This is tumbleweed."
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Kathryn: And you know what? I think it's in my basement.
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Jen: The tumbleweed? You've kept it for 62 years?
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Kathryn: It hasn't tumbled far.
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James: You also invited parents to come and help the kindergarten students show off their
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James: pets, and we learned how to take care of them.
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James: My mother brought our collie named Taffy to the class.
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James: At that time, Lassie was the big hit show, so we had a collie.
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Kathryn: Right.
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James: When David brought that lamb in, we thought that was...
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Kathryn: Yes...
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James: such an interesting thing for us.
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Kathryn: I can still see it walking down the hall.
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James: Animals in church.
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Kathryn: Maybe it wasn't your year, but there was a duck that had a nest outside.
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Kathryn: Was it your year?
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James: No.
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Kathryn: I think I even spent part of the night when they were hatching at college.
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Kathryn: And then when it was time for these ducklings to go to the water,
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Kathryn: the nest was outside our window, but it took off to the south.
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Kathryn: It went the whole length of the church chapel,
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Kathryn: and then we followed those ducks... We stopped the traffic on Main Street.
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Kathryn: And these ducklings couldn't get up on the curb. And so I helped him up there.
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Kathryn: And we followed them all the way to the canal.
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James: Okay. Another time, Goshen Fire Department came in with a fire truck.
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James: We got to climb on the truck, learned how water would be pumped through those big
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James: hoses, the fire hydrants, and how they worked and how they functioned.
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James: And I'm gonna have to fact-check this, so I said in my letter,
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James: "A cowboy came and talked to us, played guitar, and sang at story time."
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James: Well, here's the thing. So in the booklet that you gave me,
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James: on one of our visits in 2004...
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Kathryn: Okay. 2004...
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James: It is recorded in here, although I did miss one detail.
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James: It was actually a ukulele that he brought in.
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Kathryn: Oh, yes.
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James: It was not a guitar, and that was on April 17th of that year.
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James: And for whatever reason, on April 13th, I brought in a ukulele.
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James: I don't know what it is with ukuleles.
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Kathryn: Oh, let me see. We surely had some music. Just trying to think what kind of a song
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Kathryn: we sang about chickens or chicks. Oh, I need to go and get something.
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Kathryn: Just a minute here.
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Kathryn: ♪ Oh, come along. Oh, come along. And sing a happy birthday song. ♪
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Kathryn: ♪ It's lots of
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Kathryn: fun to be here together as we sing and march along. ♪
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Kathryn: That's how you had celebrated a birthday.
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Kathryn: Oh, dear. We had fun.
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Jen: Did you ever get in trouble for things that you did?
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Jen: Did anyone ever raise an eyebrow at you like, "What is Kathryn doing?
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Jen: Now she's got a skunk. Now she's got a duck."
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Jen: I mean, did you ever have to have a conversation?
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Kathryn: Well, maybe they did it behind my back.
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Jen: Okay.
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Kathryn: I remember one time, the state inspector came into the kindergarten.
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Kathryn: On the report that, I guess it was she,
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Kathryn: was that she overheard two children in a discussion with each other: "Well,
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Kathryn: I don't like what you do, but I like you." That is pretty, a life principle.
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James: During Thanksgiving season, and this is also documented in the book,
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James: we roasted pumpkin seeds and prepared a dish from the pumpkin meat.
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James: I didn't think I'd like the seeds, but actually they were very, very good.
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James: They tasted good.
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Jen: Oh, dear. I'm just struck by the memories that you have, James, of this.
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Jen: I mean, this was so long ago. No offense, but this was so long ago.
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Jen: But these memories are just so clear that you're recounting this formative time in
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Jen: your life, and it's just the power of your influence, Kathryn.
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Jen: The gentle power that you had shaping these lives,
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Jen: that he is still remembering to this day
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Jen: how it formed him. It's just amazing to me.
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Kathryn: My privilege.
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Kathryn: I had an interest in children, I think, quite early. I was the youngest.
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Kathryn: My mother was from a family of 15, and she had eight brothers younger than she.
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Kathryn: She had three sons before this daughter. "Pearl, you got a girl."
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Kathryn: Well, what do you do with such a thing? That was me. She involved me.
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Kathryn: I mean, we worked together and learned a lot of things.
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Kathryn: When I was in elementary school,
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Kathryn: Mother often waited until I got home from school before we did the canning.
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Kathryn: However, I don't do any canning now.
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Kathryn: What does it look like? When I grew up, in our church circles,
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Kathryn: women would take commerce courses in high school, and then work as a secretary,
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Kathryn: and then marry, live ever after, happily ever after.
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Kathryn: For me, I remember when there were some recruiters from Goshen College came and
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Kathryn: were sitting at our dining table, and they talked about the dearth of teachers.
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Kathryn: And my parents, who both had finished eighth grade,
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Kathryn: thought that was a good idea to go off to college.
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Kathryn: Well, that's not what was happening in our church.
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Kathryn: And so when I stepped on the Goshen College campus in 1948,
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Kathryn: was the first time I had been here.
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Kathryn: In 1952, I went on a tour of Europe. It was Mennonite gathering of students.
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Kathryn: I went to northern Germany and then transferred to London,
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Kathryn: where I was with children's camps.
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Kathryn: That camp was in a bomb crater. That was their playground.
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Kathryn: That really opened my eyes to the impulse, or not impulse, impression.
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Kathryn: No, that I'm trying to find a word under some pile someplace.
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Kathryn: But to see that children were involved in, needed to be involved in peacemaking,
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Kathryn: that changed my focus of what life was all about.
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Kathryn: It was from the very beginning, from birth.
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Kathryn: They need, as always, love and acceptance and respect.
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James: You kept in touch with all your students.
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James: You organized kindergarten reunions when we were in high school, which we enjoyed.
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James: I remember we had a meal together and you lined us up in the same way that we did in
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James: the kindergarten pictures...
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Kathryn: Okay.
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James: which was, I got a little salty over that because Lee Miller was, like, really tall.
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Kathryn: I see.
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James: I was really short, and it's like, "Well, can't I stand next to Barbara or one of
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James: the other people?"
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Jen: But you had to keep it the same original line up.
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James: We had to keep the same line.
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Jen: You had to fall in line, James.
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James: We do not mess with Ms Aschliman. After college, I moved to Pennsylvania.
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James: On my frequent visits to Goshen, you would seek me out at church.
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James: You knew that I was working in technology and about my volunteer work with Mennonite
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James: organizations. You continually showed interest in me.
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James: You have volunteered in many ways to benefit others.
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James: I remember you helping to serve the meal following my father's funeral in Goshen in
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James: the year 2000.
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James: Your presence really provided reassurance to me. Now, here's a good memory.
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James: In the summer of 2013, we both attended the Mennonite Church convention in
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James: Phoenix. During a prayer walk through the city, we prayed at detention centers,
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James: the county courthouse, and at Sheriff Joe's office.
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James: We walked during one of the 31 consecutive days when the temperature climbed above
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James: 110 degrees.
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Kathryn: I remember that walk.
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James: Yes. Many people chose to stay inside, but there you were,
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James: front and center in the group. I was impressed, but not really surprised.
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James: The other thing I remember about that time when we were doing our walk,
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James: people didn't know who we were or what we were doing.
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James: There was a car came up next to us: "What are you guys protesting?"
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James: "We're not protesting. We're just here to pray."
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James: Back when it was time to graduate from kindergarten in 1964,
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James: I told my mother how much I loved Ms Aschliman and wanted her to know that.
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James: Mom suggested we buy a gift. We picked out a small pink vase and gave it to you after
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James: graduation.
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Kathryn: Oh dear, I thought I brought it. Oh. Here.
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Jen: Oh, you still have it. You brought it to the podcast. The small pink vase.
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Kathryn: I'm sorry, it has a little chip here.
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James: Totally unacceptable.
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Jen: That's amazing.
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Kathryn: No, it isn't. It's real. I'm sorry it has a chip out.
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James: I don't even see it.
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Kathryn: Oh, you better have your eyes checked.
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James: I should?
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James: In 2016, you volunteered by serving at a funeral again in Goshen.
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James: This time it was my mother's. At that time,
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James: my faulty recollection was that you gave the vase back to me,
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James: which I see is now wrong, but I think you gave,
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James: it must be because you gave me some other artifacts,
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James: that you said it was time for me to have these things.
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James: Yeah, that was really a sad time at my mother's funeral, and again,
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James: it was such a blessing for you to be there, you know,
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James: covering all these different spans and life events for me.
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James: I just wanna say thank you for being such a wonderful person and a good friend to
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James: me, and so many others. When the time comes,
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James: there's no doubt to me that Jesus will tell you,
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James: "Well done, my good and faithful servant."
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Jen: What's it feel like to hear this from him?
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Kathryn: Uh, sort of speechless. I'm very thankful for the opportunities I had.
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Kathryn: I always say that I had the best job on campus at Goshen College,
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Kathryn: because I got to interact with community people through the kindergarten.
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Kathryn: I remember Douglas Venter was at church, oh, this would've been 10 years ago,
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Kathryn: at children's time, came with his children.
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Kathryn: And to see him with his children,
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Kathryn: it was just a wonderful, unending kind of relationship.
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Jen: You stuck with it for 34 years and flourished.
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Jen: I think you were growing right along with your students.
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Kathryn: I think so.
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Kathryn: So when people say, "How are you?" I say, "Grateful."
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Kathryn: And they have no idea about this kind of gratefulness.
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Kathryn: Opportunities come knocking at the door. Just open it and go in.
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Jen: Thank you, James and Kathryn, for being our guests today, and thanks to you,
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Jen: our listeners. We hope this inspires you to reflect on who you're grateful for in
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Jen: your life.
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James: This is the unabridged version of my gratitude letter.
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James: It was way too long when I wrote it because I had so many things and memories
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James: about what a great influence you were on my life, I had to take a scalpel to it.
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James: So this is a little bit more complete.
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Kathryn: Oh. Oh, thank you. And James Gunden, yes.
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Jen: A note for our Goshen neighbors: down in the basement of the Goshen College
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Jen: library, you'll find the Children's Peace Collection, dedicated to Kathryn in 2017.
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Jen: Nothing makes her happier than seeing people use it.
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Jen: The Peace Collection is also next to her office, where you can meet her in person.
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Jen: If this is your first time with us, welcome!
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Jen: The Gratitude Letters is a brand new podcast about the people we're grateful
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Jen: for and taking a moment to let them know.
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Jen: In each episode, someone writes a letter of thanks and we bring it to life.
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Jen: Since this is our very first episode, here is how you can keep up with us.
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Jen: New episodes drop every other Thursday. So just search The Gratitude Letters wherever
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Jen: you listen to your podcasts and be sure to hit follow so you won't miss an update.
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Jen: Is there someone you'd like to thank? We would love to hear from you.
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Jen: Just visit our website at thegratitudeletters.org,
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Jen: where you will find everything you need to send us a letter of your own.
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Jen: You can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram,
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Jen: where you will be the first to hear the latest news.
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Jen: Today's show was produced and sound designed by Yebu Ji.
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Jen: Sound engineering by Grant Bachman and Alex Dugger.
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Jen: Original music by Hannis Brown. Our marketing manager is Melissa Troyer,
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Jen: and our audience engagement manager is Courtney Dobrzykowski.
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Jen: Duane Stoltzfus is our executive producer. The Gratitude Letters is part of More Than
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Jen: Just Stories. I'm your host, Jen Shenk, with the reminder that it's never too
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Jen: late, and it's always a good time to say thank you.