Tucker Award handed out

Mount Gilead Mayor Donna Carver presented the Nathan Tucker Award to Ruth Logan and Robin Brucker at the Aug. 21 meeting of the Village Council. The Tucker Award is given to individuals who care about people and strive to make Mount Gilead a better place to live through volunteer, professional, and business activities and projects.

Logan is known for going above and beyond in every aspect of her life to make Mount Gilead a better place to live for those around her. At 102 years old, she shares her homemade bread with friends and family along with offering clever wit and a listening ear.

Logan is a native of Bucyrus and attended Capital University before transferring to The Ohio State University where she met Jack Logan, also a student there. She graduated with a degree in home economics in 1943, and Jack enlisted in the Army Air Corps and taught other soldiers to be pilots. They married and together moved to the Logan family farm in 1946.

While raising her family of four children, Logan quickly became involved in the Mount Gilead schools and community. Once her children were all in school, she began teaching first grade at Mount Gilead from 1964-84. It was her idea to take the first graders on a field trip to see the potato packing process at the Logan farm. Over the years, hundreds of children got to take home a huge potato for dinner.

Logan was active as a leader of the Baste and Taste 4-H club. She taught many young ladies to cook, bake, and sew from 1959-67.

She was one of a group of volunteers from across the county to found Hopeline, a crisis intervention line. She became the secretary for Friends of Hopeline, and in 1986, they published a cookbook as a fundraiser. Now called Helpline of Delaware and Morrow Counties, the group remains committed to serving the mental health needs of the area.

Another important activity in her life was serving on the Mount Gilead Public Library Board for 15 years from 1994-2003 and 2006-10. She worked with the architect during the construction of the new building on High Street, which was completed in 2000.

From 1984 to 2020, Logan was very active in the American Red Cross of North Central Ohio, serving as board secretary and as blood drive coordinator for Trinity United Methodist Church. She often donated food for the blood donors and made sure the canteen was staffed. She received the Clara Barton Award in 1995. She co-chaired the Quilt Project, the largest single fund-raising project in recent years. In 2015, Logan was honored with the Karen Fishburn Award for exceptional service and leadership.

A longtime member of the Marion Madrigal Singers, she lent her alto voice to the group and performed in many different venues. She also created many of the medieval costumes worn by the singers.

Logan has been a faithful member of Trinity United Methodist Church for 77 years. She taught the pre-school Sunday School class and served as the church historian. She sang in the choir for many decades. She has supported the United Methodist Women by helping with many meals served at the church. At home, she constantly sews book bags, layettes children’s hospital gowns, and kimonos for Midwest Mission projects.

From 2016-19, she worked with a group of volunteers in the Genealogy annex of the Mount Gilead Public Library, helping to open and prepare for the preservation of all the original legal documents of Morrow County. They worked almost every afternoon on this project, preparing the documents for digitization by professionals. The process will make the documents accessible to all people doing research, telling the story of Mount Gilead and Morrow County’s history and helping researchers all over the world view the original documents from the past.

Logan was nominated for the Nathan Tucker Award by Tim Clapper and Kay Hines. They are responsible for researching much of her story.

Brucker came to the community as a high school art teacher at Mount Gilead High School after teaching for a short time at Northmor High School. She grew up in Euclid, Ohio, and graduated from the University of Mount Union in Alliance, Ohio.

As the art teacher at Mount Gilead High School, she interested many students in the arts through her classes while teaching for more than 30 years. She also has been a professor in education at The Ohio State University in Marion. Several Mount Gilead High School alumni have gone on to professions in teaching art and as professional artists.

Brucker is active in Trinity United Methodist Church and has been a leader in the children’s “Kids in Action” after-school program. She sings in the choir, and for several years, she has been the leader of a Bible class and reading group that meets every Tuesday afternoon at Sames & Cook restaurant in Mount Gilead.

Brucker and her husband, Jim, were very involved in the local square dance group “Hicks and Chicks” until his passing in 2020. She is the mother of Rob, who lives with his wife and daughter in Boston. Her son, Jamie, served as Mount Gilead mayor before becoming the Morrow County operations manager.

Her recent project has been to initiate a series of walking tours in the village for the Morrow County Historical Society. The first walking tour last fall was titled “Murder, Mystery, and Mayhem.” She researched the history of several characters from the past with the help of Stan Sipe. She delighted groups who walked along downtown, imagining what life must have been like in days gone by.

This summer, her “Famous and Infamous” tours captivated guests. She is guiding architecture tours in the village this summer and fall to highlight buildings in the downtown area. Many are looking forward to her “Murder, Mystery and Mayhem 2.0” in October.

Proceeds from the walking tour donations go to improvements at the History Center, where she is a trustee and works on displays and programs.

Alberta Stojkovic is a correspondent for the Morrow County Sentinel.