……I couldn’t make the photo I wanted to feature in this article work. The person who took the photo way back in 1946 (my Mom) had my Dad’s head to close to the top and I wanted to make sure I got the little girl in the white fur coat (my sister, Marsha) holding his hand as he clasped his high school diploma in his other hand. Yes, John D. Herron, mill worker, recently-elected Justice of the Peace, World War II veteran and proud father of six-year-old Marsha had just received his New Cumberland High School Diploma. Life and responsibilities had meant the high school diploma eluded him until this proud moment. He valued education and he was always proud he, unlike many of his peers, had gotten this far.

……Dad had dropped out of high school to go to work at Weirton Steel as a scrapper.  He married my Mom; they had Marsha; and then he joined the Navy to fight in World War II.  He returned after the war to resume his job at Weirton Steel and to assume his new duties as Justice of the Peace, a position to which he was elected during the War.

…….Neither of those positions required a high school degree and the money was pretty good.  A former sheriff had only finished eighth grade.  But having that high school diploma was so important to Dad that he used the GI Bill and returned to high school and graduate.   I wasn’t there when this picture was taken, but I can only imagine the pride he felt. 

……Dad wasn’t alone in using the GI Bill.  The late John Kuzio told me that he had gone to work rather than finish high school.  When he returned from the WW II.  The high school made a special schedule to accommodate his work schedule and when he had graduated high school, the GI Bill paid for him to go to the University of Pittsburgh where he got his bachelor’s degree.  John once told me why he had chosen Pitt over West Liberty.   It was a totally practical decision.  He didn’t have a car and he could catch a bus to Pittsburgh and rent a room.  There was no bus to West Liberty.  John Kuzio is one of my heroes.

……Both men came from a generation that valued education, an education that money and opportunity often put beyond their reach.  My own father expressed the dream he never realized but was always in his mind in the LIFE MAGAZINE article in 1973  “as a boy, Herron would eat lunch on the Courthouse roof then climb in a window and watch trials.   He was a“farm boy smitten by the romance of the courthouse, of law and politics.”   And he was quoted as saying “God, I’da love to be a criminal lawyer, but college was out of the question.”

…….I just knew when Doug graduated law school Dad was looking down and in my heart I know when Doug goes to trial Dad has positioned himself somewhere in the room. And, now that Katie has become an attorney too, I bet he’s right beside her. Sometimes dreams take generations to come true.

…….Times have changed for the good for those who may have dropped out of school and the Adult Education Program in Hancock County is an excellent resource for those wanting to return to school and/or get their GED.  Check it out.

…..Kudos to the Hancock County Board of Education for realizing how much that high school diploma meant to Carmen McBride and presenting her with an honorary diploma.  Mrs. McBride’s perseverance is an inspiration to us

……..Please take the time to read what will be included in the school bond levy.   It’s important and necessary if our schools are to remain safe and up-to-date.   The only change I see is the removal of the tennis courts for Oak Glen and Weir High in the proposal.   I know Oak Glen plays at Chester City Park which has been much improved.   I believe Weir High plays at Starvaggi, but I really can’t speak to its condition.