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Tuesday October 6, 2015 Edition
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Celebrating 48 Years Of Marriage Service And Smooth Edges

All about family! This is the 40th Wedding party Sept. 2007. Left to right - David, Carrie, Sara, Brad, Christina and in the front grandson Barret.
photo by Photo Provided
All about family! This is the 40th Wedding party Sept. 2007. Left to right - David, Carrie, Sara, Brad, Christina and in the front grandson Barret.
Brad Howe getting his Chief Master Sergeant stripes with daughters Christina on left and Carrie on right in June of 2002.
photo by Photo Provided
Brad Howe getting his Chief Master Sergeant stripes with daughters Christina on left and Carrie on right in June of 2002.

Tuesday October 6, 2015

By Cookie Steponaitis

Brad & Sara Howe celebrated their 48th anniversary on September 30th and are not only closing in on five decades of marriage, but four plus decades of community service as well. Meeting at a party in 1967 in Alexandria,Virginia, the pair have literally been together ever since. Marrying that same year and moving to Vermont in 1968, both Brad & Sara Howe loved the vibrancy of the community and have been a part of the community revolution that has occurred in this area over time. A revolution led by citizens from every walk of life in service with each other.
    Born and raised in Richford, Vermont, Brad Howe classifies his teen years as ones of trouble and credits the interaction with two key groups of people for moving him forward in a better way. First was the local Lions Club who put in a Ski Tow directly across the street from his home. Offering not only night skiing but also opportunities including ski patrol and private instruction, Howe became heavily involved. One Lions Club member, a retired military skiing instructor taught Howe and others to ski parallel as well as many lessons about life. The second life altering component of Brad Howe’s teen years came in the form of enlisting in the US Navy at seventeen. Attending boot camp during the summer between his junior and senior year and setting off for a  two week tour on a Destroyer taught Howe not only many skills, but set in motion a career that would span not only five years in the Navy, but also a thirty-one year service career in the Vermont Air Guard.
    Linked by history and passion to organizations like the American Legion since 1967 and the Lions Club since 1984, Brad Howe sees service as a natural extension of his career choices and upbringing. “You try to do things for your country,” shared Howe. “You pick projects and places where you feel you can have an impact and see results.” In addition to his civic organizations, Howe has also served key roles in the community through the Water Board, the Bixby Library Board, and most notably for Brad Howe, nine years on the Vergennes Elementary School Board. “In 1988, there were three of us on the Board,” reminisced Howe. “Lesten Mattison, Lee LeBoeuf and I decided it was time to make a sorely needed addition to the elementary school. We saw the project through from start to finish and did construction during the winter months. We came in under budget and even left money behind in escrow. We really knew for the community and the children, the plant had to be improved and the addition of a gymnasium/multi-purpose room would provide space for many diverse activities for years to come. Of all of the projects I have been involved with, that is the one I am the most proud of.”
    Sara “Root” Howe was just out of high school in rural Pennsylvania and working in Washington DC as a Long Distance Operator from 11pm-7am when she attended the party at the home of a friend in Alexandria and crossed paths with a young Navy Petty Officer  named Brad Howe. Married soon after, the young couple settled in the Champlain Valley and Sara went to work for Simmonds Precision along with husband Brad. When their children Carrie and Christina arrived, Sara began a pattern that over forty years later continues to amaze her with how full circle she has come. “I built my schedule around the children,” shared Sara Howe. “I started when the kids were young and became a Brownie Troop Leader. Then it was volunteering in the schools and working with all ages in projects that spanned from bake sales to uniforms, school necessities and scholarships.” As Sara changed jobs and careers to include Kinney Drugs, Kennedy Brothers, Panton General Store, and now the Bixby Library, the customers, clients and people Sara had contact with moved along with her.
    Over the course of the years Sara took on the role of ceramics instructor, Weight Watchers Instructor, Water District Board, and in every case found herself engaged in conversations with people of all ages about what goals, ideas and direction they wanted to take the town in. Listening and really hearing their voices, Sara Howe was often the conduit for people to get their opinions heard and ideas brought to the right place for action.  Now as grandson Barret enters middle school, the Howes look back on the community they moved to and the one they see now and feel very positive about the changes the county and towns have taken over time.
    Celebrating a 48 year milestone of marriage, both Brad & Sara Howe chuckled when they were asked to share advice to those just beginning the journey. With a smile and a symmetry  that can only come from time as a pair, both agreed to share what they called Brad’s allegory. “ When you are younger you tend to get upset with the small stuff and over react, “ shared the Howes. “ As you get older you tend to look back and wonder what you were upset about. It is really like a rock tumbler, that as it is in use, knocks all the sharp edges off. If you are really staying together and are committed to each other you realize it is a give and take and you emerge with smooth edges and wonder what you got all upset about years before. Marriage is a partnership with neither one in command and nor should there be. Give and take, each with their own strength and weaknesses, but with smoothed edges.”
    Spending time with the Howe’s is not only enjoyable but a bit like watching a precision pair of tennis players handle a match. There are volleys, short bursts of humor and passion, but a synergy that can only be honed over time. As the celebration of the anniversary dies down the pair will be where they have always chosen to be, side by side and with sleeves rolled up and in the midst of community service and change.


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