By Bernice Daulbaugh (born in 1921, Wadsworth), Laverne Franz (1919, North Olmsted), Flora Naftzger (1920, Cleveland), Joe Detwiler (1922, Smithville), Ed Selepchak (1924), and Finn Dietrichs (1924, Oslo, Norway). Compiled by Mark Mosgrove

    I sat down with five residents of the Medina County Home and had an engaging conversation about what has happened in Medina County and the world over the past eighty or so years. I must admit, some of the advances that the panel viewed as the greatest of the century I find myself taking for granted (because they were already here when I was born in 1968.) Sometimes we forget that indoor plumbing, computers and even cars have been around for just a very short time.

    All agreed that the Great Depression and World War Two were two of the most significant events to happen this century. When asked about how difficult it would be to live in a depression of that scale in today’s times, Ms. Franz said, “It would be harder now . . . ” due to our dependence on modern luxuries. Mr. Selepchak, a retired farmer, agreed: “Back then, it was like Amish country. You could live off the land to get by.”

    In regards to World War II, not only did the war create new boundaries and political and economic systems, but the return of the G.I.’s brought major social changes to America: “World War Two split up many families,” Ms. Franz said. Many GI’s had been away from home for the first time and had seen the world -- instead of going back to live in their hometowns, many of them settled down elsewhere. And they got married and had a lot of babies -- hence, the Baby Boomer Generation.

    All five on our panel reflected on the changing face of Medina County through the decades. The consolidation of the local schools into districts was noted as a significant event, as well as the locally-owned downtown stores being replaced by malls and strip centers.

    “We have moved from farmland with villages to an industrial area with more and better schools, libraries and countywide services,” Mr. Dietrichs said.

    All of the participants in our panel were amazed with the growth of the local hospitals. Growing from simple one-room buildings to major campuses with thousands of dollars of medical equipment, the emergence of modern medicine in the county has been pronounced. All felt that the growth has been spurred by a combination of advancing medical technology and the influx of people moving into the county. Furthermore, mobile emergency medical transportation didn’t even start coming into existence until FDR’s New Deal.

    “9-1-1 was the greatest thing ever invented,” Mr. Selepchak said.

    But these advances have also brought great social changes. Gone are the days of having a close friendship with the local merchants downtown. And as Mr. Dietrichs noted, milk was delivered directly to the home by horse-drawn buggy, then by truck, and finally it was easier and cheaper to buy it at the store. And he remembers the day when one could call and place an order with the local grocery store in the morning and have your order delivered in the afternoon.

    It is the mechanization of America that amazes Mr. Detwiler. “Switching from horse to car was the biggest advancement,” he said. Horses were used on the farm, and now machines have replaced them.

    But despite the great mechanical progress in farming, Mr. Selepchak is sensitive to the plight of today’s farmers. “It costs a hundred times more an acre than it used to. Many farmers are going broke now.”

    All agreed that the world is moving much faster than when they were growing up. Ms. Daulbaugh commented about the great strides made in space exploration. But even more wondrous than traveling in space, the ability to travel more quickly on earth has had profound effects on society.

    “People in many parts of the world are more mobile. There is much more political and social interplay,” Mr. Dietrichs said. “The standard of living has improved, along with education.”

    But yet, Mr. Selepchak pointed out, in some cases things are harder now. Most of the country’s roads, public buildings and infrastructure were built in the early to mid 1900s. Our country had the money, talent and labor to literally build this country from out of thin air.

    But today it has become hard enough to just maintain and repair those roads and buildings. One would think that if we had the means to build this country, it shouldn’t be as hard to maintain it.

    Our panel’s overall opinion of the rise of mass communication, in particular TV, tended to lean towards a negative view.

    “TV is a good thing if you don’t overuse it,” Mr. Dietrichs said. “But it is generally bad.”

    Why do kids watch a lot of TV? Mr. Selepchak said, “Kids don’t have anything to do.” If you visit the Amish, for instance, you will see children doing chores and keeping busy, even milking the cows.

    “It all comes down to the individual family,” Mr. Dietrichs said, “and how they raise their kids.” All on our panel agreed that people in general are still basically good, but it’s up to parents to raise their kids with good values.