I was just sitting here thinking of the bosses I have had in my life. I guess you might say that every person I ever worked for was, in a way, a boss. It was my job to keep them happy. Then if you wanted to stretch things you might say it was my job to keep audiences happy too if I wanted recommendations and referrals. With another stretch of the imagination you might say that it was my job during my working career to keep hundreds of thousands of people satisfied.
I can only recall one really dissatisfied client and darned if they didn’t call and invite me back two years later. I declined.
The truth without stretching it is that once I and my family moved in 1961 from Detroit to Battle Creek, Michigan I always considered myself sort of a “free agent.” My boss was located 112 miles away and I only saw him once or twice a year. Somehow I managed to keep all of my railroad bosses that same 112 miles away from me right up until my retirement in 1983.
When I hear people talking badly about a miserable, inconsiderate, demanding boss they must deal with on a daily basis all I can relate to is a produce manager in the Varsity Market in Detroit who I worked with one summer just before I turned thirteen years of age. In that case after weeks of abuse and being shorted on my actual hours, like the lyrics of that song say, “I told my boss where he could shove it.”
Before this moment, I never realized how blessed my life has been without having a boss hanging around my elbow.
Although Spirit of Christ Lutheran Church in Novi, Michigan, no longer exists (now Holy Cross Episcopal Church), the memories and contributions of Nettie Skrade live on. This is her story of the love of gardening. Nettie is no longer with us. She was born on February 3, 1907, and died on April 18, 2002, at the age of 95.
Nettie Skrade designed, planted and tends the garden at Spirit of Christ Lutheran Church in Novi, “A plant can tell of your love, ” she says. – Photo by George Waldman/Detroit Free Press[1]At Spirit of Christ Lutheran Church, flowers share space with evergreens.[1]
The Newspaper Article Made Her Day
Ellen Creager, Free Press Staff Writer, “She tends the garden every day in summer, because the petunias grow fast and weeks even faster.
“Some people say they’re gardeners, and they plant beds of begonias and then just leave them all summer,” Nettie Skrade says. “Know what? Pretty soon, those beds look like the back wheels of bad luck”
She laughs, and her smile crinkles up brown eyes shaded by a sturdy sun hat over white hair. Her hands are smooth and tan, with freckles making their way up her strong arms. She walks down a curving path of circular stones in the memory garden at Spirit of Christ Lutheran Church in Novi, which she designed and planted. She stops and touches a Bradford pear tree. Her fingers caress the almond-shaped leaves of emerald green. …”[1]
Detroit Free Press death notice, April 20, 2002
Age 95. Died Thursday afternoon, April 18, 2002, in Midland. she was born February 3, 1907 in Baker, Florida. She is survived by a daughter, Jacquelyn (Frederick) Brenner of Midland; a daughter-in-law, Kathy L. Skrade of Northville; four grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by a son, Kurt Paul Skrade. In accordance with Nettie s wishes, cremation has taken place. Those planning an expression of sympathy are asked to consider MidMichigan Hospice, 3007 N. Saginaw Road, Midland, MI 48640-4555, or the Holy Cross Episcopal Church in Northville. Ware-Smith-Woolever Funeral Home, 1200 W. Wheeler Street, Midland 48640. [2]
After this wonderful story was published by the Detroit Free Press, Nettie wrote a note to her friend, Terry Pochert, a few days afterwards. She made copies and wrote…
By now, dear Terry, I feel certain every person deserves “5 minutes of Fame” to know the experience of glowing in Glory and distantly feeling as one with real celebrities! If it has not yet been your experience, may it come soon! Ever, Nettie K Strade 6-23-91 [3]
A personal letter to Terry Pochert really shows what an angel Nettie was.
Late evening – Raining all afternoon but now snow nor ice – and you Dear Terry are basking in the sunshine at 75 degrees browning your complexion to prove it – and smilingly writing that picture in words…. [Read the entire letter as a PDF][4]
Why Don’t Dogs Wear Shoes? is a series of humorous stories “inspired by my grandkids,” says the author, a grandfather of ten. Jerry Chiappetta takes an offbeat look at the Phases of Life — Youth, Middle Age and “You’re lookin’ good…” He tells a hilarious story about saving puppies from a marauding raccoon, and offers a touching account of a boy’s first wilderness adventure. Learn about things grandpa knows for sure, such as how to kill time without grandma finding out…go on a flying adventure…view life from a dog’s point of view, plus other warm and fuzzy stuff, including how to live every moment. These true stories are clear and simple pieces that can be read aloud to children or grandchildren. Knee-slapping fun with a message, but never preachy. “Children are important,” Jerry says. “After all, they’re our replacements.”
WXYZ
