It Happened in Crawford County: Cheryl Luidhardt is dedicated to her hometown

Cheryl Luidhardt is a daughter of Charles Edsinger and Helen Karber Edsinger. He was known for Edsinger’s Appliance Store on North Sandusky Avenue from the 1950s through the 1970s. He repaired many televisions in the area. The Luidhardt name is well known around the Chatfield area and the early Pietist Church and its founders.

Cheryl was a middle child; her siblings are Jan Parson, Carol Kable, Kathy Frost and Roger Edsinger. She started school at Kilbourne and then Carlisle School. Asked what she liked about school, she replied “Everything, especially math.” She also loved music. Her dad was very musical, and she was in band and choir at school. Cheryl graduated from Bucyrus High School in 1971.

After graduation, Cheryl married Ed Luidhardt, a graduate of Colonel Crawford High School, in 1969. He was the son of Calvin and Mary Luidhardt, the eighth of nine children: Naomi Auck, David, Dan, Melvin, Lavina Newcomer, Ann Dunn, Cathy Bloomfield and Janet Dunbar. The children were born in a 10-year time frame.

Ed was a veteran of the U. S. Army. He drove semi-truck for more than 40 years and later retired from Hord Livestock in 2016. He continues to work on a seasonal basis for Fred and Carol Miller and their “Little Scioto Farms.” Driving truck was a hard job, and he’s still willing to work some more. He's an all-around worker for them but mainly drives truck, getting seeds for planting and harvesting grains. Ed is also very particular about their home property, and he keeps it looking really sharp. In addition, Ed has volunteered for many years laying the water lines down for the Bratwurst Festival.

When the couple got married, Cheryl said “we’ll live in town,” but Ed said, “we’ll live in the country.” He won, and she is glad he did! They’ve lived in the Wynford School District all these years.

In the meantime, Cheryl has worked outside the home for 35 years at Ohio Mutual Insurance, retiring in 2018 as senior statistical analyst. She really enjoyed working for the company — nice to work for, good people and she loved her job.

Cheryl takes after her dad. She is involved in civic groups such as the Bucyrus Preservation Society, where she was the treasurer and still does their financial work. She is a long-time member of the Bucyrus Lions Club, as was her dad, and is currently serving as their treasurer. She also does some computer work for the Crawford County Community Concert, specifically for the iTicket reservations.

Cheryl always has been a part of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Bucyrus and a lifelong member. She been involved in their music program, was a member of the choir in prior years and director of the cherub choir with children in preschool up to the fourth grade. She is also a member of the bell choir and a member of the various church groups. Cheryl is currently president of the church council.

Church is such a part of her life, it's just normal to be at St. Paul’s. One thing she likes to say is, “On Saturday, I think, 'Oh good, I get to go to church tomorrow,' not, 'I have to go to church.'” St. Paul’s is a great facility and open to many different organizations to hold meetings and activities. They have a very nice kitchen and roomy area including the stage for the needs of everyone.

The Bratwurst Festival used to have its queens dinner at St. Paul’s for years. Currently, the AA has its meetings there. In May 1957, 12 TWIGs (Together With Important Goals) were formed to organize the Bucyrus Women’s’ Auxiliary of Bucyrus Community Hospital. Cheryl’s mom, Helen, was a member of one of the TWIGs. The auxiliary had its Snowflake Bazaar at St. Paul’s. The Bucyrus Lions’ Club had its penny auction, and there were many Shrove Tuesday pancake suppers, plus the annual cookie walk for Christmas.

Ed and Cheryl have two children: Jennifer Hickman and John Luidhardt. Jennifer has been a third-grade teacher at Colonel Crawford for at least 17 years, and John works in Columbus at Middlestreet Graphics and Display, a division of G&J Pepsi, as client services specialist. Jennifer has four children — Zachary, Conner, Audrey and Samantha — all graduates of Wynford. Samantha just graduated this year.

“I’m lucky to have my grandkids living next door. It’s the best of both worlds," Cheryl said.

She is also very happy they stayed in the Bucyrus area, where her friends and most of the family reside. Cheryl feels it’s a great community.

Go online for more of Mary Fox’s stories and photos on bucyrustelegraphforum.com. If you are interested in sharing a story, write Mary Fox, 931 Marion Road, Bucyrus, OH 44820 or email littlefoxfactory@columbus.rr.com.

This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Cheryl Luidhardt is dedicated to church and community service