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Hail to the chief: Mayor Martin |
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Monday, 15 June 2009 |
 Ridgway mayor James Donald Martin, right, waves to the crowd during the June 6 parade through downtown Ridgway with Jean, his wife of 56 years. The couple will celebrate their 57th wedding anniversary Nov. 29. By Joseph Bell
At 77 years old, Ridgway mayor James Donald Martin shows no signs of slowing down as he sits on his back porch enjoying a comfortable afternoon. Recent heart surgery proved only to be a slight speed bump as the mayor prepares to return to Ridgway Borough Council.
But for a man who never initially considered entering the political arena, Martin said he feels his time in office was a blessing.
"But with the people, a lot of them wanted me to run again, but I told (my wife) Jean, 'you know, I think it's time because if I win again, I'd be 82 years old the next time I'd have to run,' so I feel it's time," Martin said. "I'll miss it but I'll stay active on committees.
"If I'm asked to do something for the veterans, I'll be there. We're not leaving the community, we're not going south, we're here."
~The early years~
Born Aug. 12, 1931, in Ridgway, Martin was a 1949 graduate of St. Marys Area High School.
"In 1937, my dad died suddenly and that left my mother and seven children, and one on the way," Martin said. "My oldest brother was out of school and got a job at Speer Carbon in St. Marys, so we moved there because we had no car, that's how we got up there."
After working at Speer Resistor for a year, Martin enlisted in the United States Navy and served from 1951 to 1955.
~Military days~
"When I got out of boot camp, I went to Philadelphia and boarded an aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. Gilbert Islands, and the CVE 107 and I stayed on that for three and a half years, the same carrier," Martin said as he remembers the lengthy voyage. "We went over to all the countries and we went through the Panama Canal to get to the Pacific Ocean, over to Japan and Korea.
"We docked in every country that we went to but it would be months before we'd get to Japan, it took us that long to get through the canal."
Entering the service at only 19 years of age, Martin said the thought of leaving home and going to a strange place proved trying.
"I made a lot of new friends but I left (Ridgway) myself," Martin said. "I went out to Great Lakes (Naval Training Center), that's where the training center was and of course you get put in with a company and I met a lot of new people.
"It's a little scary at first because I rode the train to Pittsburgh alone and then on out to Great Lakes (Naval Training Center)."
But Martin soon became friends with seven other soldiers at boot camp and they all were assigned to the U.S.S. Gilbert Islands for three and a half years.
~My darling Jean~
Martin sympathizes with the soldiers of today who must spend time overseas away from their wives.
Nov. 29, 1952, is a day that Ridgway's premier politician will never forget.
"Jean and I had gotten married in 1952, Nov. 29, 1952," Martin said. "This year will be 57 years."
At the time, the ship would anchor in Boston for repairs, usually for weeks or a month at a time, which enabled Martin to spend time with Jean.
"She'd come up and we'd find an apartment in the area and she'd stay while the repairs were being done," Martin said. "Then she'd go back home with her parents so we got to see each other at times.
"Then I got leave of course every year and I went in in 1951 and we were married in November of 1952."
The couple initially met in 1950 at Lake Chautauqua in New York.
"But she's a Ridgway girl," Martin said. "She was in training to be a nurse so she eventually graduated and nursed at the hospital for 30 years."
Looking back, Martin recalls the empty feeling of loneliness at the time.
"It got lonely, especially if we were gone for three to four months on the carrier but, as I look back, it went fast," Martin said. "When you're going through it, it looks like a long time.
"But every other year, they try to get half the crew home for Christmas, and the next year was Thanksgiving. That's why we got married Nov. 29, because I was on leave for Thanksgiving."
~Returning home~
After his tour of duty was complete, Martin returned to the area in 1955 and was employed at Speer Carbon.
"We couldn't find an apartment in St. Marys so we established one here (in Ridgway) in 1955 and I've been here ever since because everything worked out," Martin said. "I worked there until 1959, which is when Jean's dad hired me to work for Paul H. Lundin Trucking.
"That was her dad's trucking business and I worked there for 40 years."
The building is still situated behind Keystone Hardware in downtown Ridgway as the dock doors are still visible to this day.
"Then (Paul) had passed away and my brother-in-law and I were running the business and he decided in 1992 that he wanted to retire and sell the business off," Martin said. "So my son Steve bought it and we stayed there for a couple of years before moving to the old Domtar building."
The move, which gave the workers more space, was made around 1994.
"We had a good business going with warehousing and then we named it Martin Trucking & Warehouse once he bought it," Martin said. "We worked there in the warehousing business and when Ridgway Color closed, that took a lot of our business, that was a big color plant here.
"But we still stayed there and finally, I decided that it was enough for me and I retired at 72 years old, around 2004."
~The political arena~
Politics never seemed to be a part of James Martin's course through life. But when the dust clears, the popular local politician will have served as mayor for 23 years.
"I never thought to be in politics," Martin admits with a chuckle. "In 1986, the republican chairman called me and said 'Mayor (Robert) Howard is going to step down because of business.'
"So he was going to resign, it was his second year I think it was, so (the republican chairman) wanted to know if he could submit my name to council."
At first, Martin was surprised at the idea.
"I said' why would you want to do that?'" Martin recalls. "He told me there would be five or six names submitted and finally, on the last day, he called me and told me 'the meeting's tonight.' So I said 'OK.'
"So I get a call at about 9 p.m. that night and he tells me 'you're the mayor.'"
The rest is history.
"I've been the mayor ever since and when I leave office, it'll be 23 years," Martin said. "I had to run the course and I was always fortunate.
"Some years, I didn't have any competition, and others, I would, but I chose myself not to run this year. I knew I wasn't feeling that good but I didn't know I was going to have heart surgery. That was a surprise but I've come through that pretty good."
~Longevity~
As a member of the volunteer fire department for 45 years and mayor for 23 years, Martin said remaining dedicated to the tasks at hand proved not to be difficult.
"I enjoy both, being a fireman and being mayor," Martin said. "I enjoyed being mayor and people were good to me, so I've tried to respond.
"The mayor is in charge of the police department and the fire department, that's the main focus other than being a representative to the community. If I got a call or somebody was upset, we'd resolve it, so it wasn't difficult at all."
And through it all, Martin said he is proud to welcome new business to the community over the years.
"I served with Heritage Council and I'm proud of all the volunteers who do so much for the community through that organization," Martin said. "I've worked with civic clubs but, as far as any personal things that I did, I was there and I enjoyed Memorial Day and Veterans Day services, things for the military.
"I enjoyed doing that for them and, all in all, I tried and I enjoyed representing the community."
Despite not seeking mayoral reelection, Martin said he will still keep busy by actively participating on various committees in the area.
"The other thing with being the mayor, the only time the mayor votes is if council ends up in a tie," Martin said. "If they'd end up in a tie, then the mayor has to decide whether he's for or against whatever they're voting on.
"In my 23 years, I only had to break two ties. I worked with a lot of good council members and I'm proud of all of them. We had our disagreements but we still were friends and it was a good time."
~Future Ridgway~
As mayor, along with council, Martin reveals that the worst reality he has had to deal with is losing area plants, thus losing jobs for community members.
"Those were good jobs," Martin said. "We lost Ridgway Color, we lost Motion Control, and then we lost Allegheny Chemical. That was a lot of jobs.
"As mayor and council, we tried everything to try to keep them, but corporate made decisions. We tried to see if there was something we could do as a community to help them stay, so those were tough times because a lot of jobs were lost."
To this day, Martin said he still believes a major force behind the community's advancement would be the addition of more industry.
"We're doing pretty good with businesses downtown but you need manufacturing or something for the community," Martin said. "I'm hoping that the industry that we do have can survive the current economic times and I think that's what Ridgway has to face, the next mayor, and the next council.
"You have to pay for a lot of things and it comes from taxes. It's the only place that the borough and the schools get their money. The state is now going to be cutting, so it's going to be a tough road for the next year or so."
~Emotional ovation~
On Saturday, June 6, Martin and his wife Jean strolled down Main Street during the Ridgway Firemen's Carnival parade, much to the delight of the hometown faithful.
"It was wonderful to be able to get to the parade," Martin said. "It was just six weeks since I had surgery and the (Ridgway fire) chief (John Wygant) said 'you can ride with me,' but I told him that I'd like to get out and walk.
"It was a thrill for Jean and I to go up by the people and say my goodbye as mayor for the last parade."
It's been over a week since the parade ended, but Martin remains touched by the graciousness of the community.
"And the people were so good to me and my family when I laid in the hospital," Martin said. "The cards and the well wishes, people brought food to the house and people are wonderful in Ridgway, they really are.
"There were times when I told the boys 'I don't know if I'm going to make it,' but they'd tell me 'you're going to make it Dad.' It was a tough thing because a couple of things went wrong."
According to Martin, after surgery, he was unable to swallow.
"It's not fun to be fed by a tube so I'm really thankful and I got good care down there (at DuBois Regional Medical Center)," Martin said. "I can't say enough about all the people that took care of me, they were all wonderful, and the doctors, I had lots of them.
"The surgeon, he was very humorous, and that's the way I like to be so we got along good."
As Martin regains his strength on a daily basis, he looks forward to getting back to work and fulfilling his duties as mayor during the end of his term.
"It was a good journey," Martin said. "And I don't have any regrets."
~Family ties~
James Donald Martin and his wife Jean have four children, including daughter Cheryl, who married John DePanfilis; son Steve, married to Maureen Caggiano; son Jim, married to Alana Mitcheltree; and daughter Donna, married to Joel Feronti.
The couple has 11 grandchildren and two step-grandchildren.
"They all were raised here and the four children of mine never left the area," Martin said. "That's really something because a lot of people had to leave. But that's our family.
"We have two great-grandchildren now and they'd both be Steve and Maureen's. Their youngest boy lives in Las Vegas, and he has a boy. The other boy lives in Winchester, Va., and they have a little girl."
The old mayor smiles as he thinks about his two great-grandchildren.
"Never thought I'd see great-grandchildren, that's when I became old," Martin said as he laughs. "I never felt old, not even when they rushed me to DuBois, I had never really worried about my age.
"That's the first time I was ever really in the hospital, other than tonsils when I was a little kid, so I had 77 good years." |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 30 July 2009 )
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