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ATA Tribute to First President
of ATA
Clyde Weltzien
This Article about the First President of the ATA.
It was written up in the Beacon Journal in the 70s
Cars,
causes keep Clyde on the move
Biography in
brief
By MARILYN MARCHIONE
Beacon Journal Staff Writer
"This is my 50th year in business and I've seen a .lot come and go,"
said Clyde Weltzien, one of Wadsworth's foremost citizens, who helped
his son, Dan, to found Skypark, a unique airport community, 10 years ago.
But the things Weltzien talks about having seen come and go have nothing to
do with airports or planes - they're cars, which the 72-year-old Weltzien
has made his business since he started working weekends and nights in
a garage. while taking classes in electrical engineering at the University
of Akron In the 1920s.
"People
laugh at me now when I tell them some of the names of the old cars,"
be said, rattling off a list of models ranging from Packard, Essex, Peerless,
Haynes and Saxon to what Weltzien called the "really living"
car -- the , sporty Stutz. ,
Cars are probably the best reason Weltzien
is widely known in town. In 1941 he opened the Carburator and Ignition
Co., In Broad St., Wad worth, from which he has sold automotive parts
retail and - wholesale ever since.
But the community and civic activities
he participates in, which include projects for the United Church of Christ
have contributed to making Weltzien well known in the city and, county.
He has been chairman of the United Fund drive, the Salvation Army board
of directors, president of the Wadsworth Airmen's Association end 26-year
treasurer of the local Red Cross chapter.
Weltzien
boasts that he joined the Wadsworth Rotary Club 34 years ago and has missed
only one meeting since that time. He served as the organization's president
and is now a member of its board of directors.
HE
also talks warmly about his "kids," both the real ones - two
daughters and a son, Dan - and the "adopted" ones with whom
he has shared his home - the 20 Experiment in International Living program
students sponsored by the Rotary Club.
The exchange program is for Europeans
18 to 31 who can speak English fluently and are willing to live with an
American family sponsor for eight weeks, he explained. Weltzien said among
the 20 he hosted are current prominent members of the European business
community and govt.
During,
World War ,II Weltzien sold government war bonds at night and won a county
award for selling $3.5 million worth over a three-year period
He
relishes his activities and community projects, saying, "I would
die in two years if I did like some old people and just sat down and played
cards."
Weltzien met his wife, the ,former
Geneva Everhard, when he sold her father a portable radio which later
broke. Mr. Everhard called Weltzien to repair the radio on an emergency
basis because Charles Lindbergh was making h ,tonic flight across the
Atlantic and the Everhard family did, not want to miss out on the excitement
of listening to the, news of his landing.
Weltzien
married Geneva in. 1928, and they later settled .in a home on the 15 acre
hilltop property at 1601 Mennonite Rd. which they still occupy ,
Their
home has a hobby greenhouse which Weltzien primes, and overlooks rolling
hills with chestnut trees and berry bushes which the Weltziens cultivate
- the chestnuts for sale in town, the berries for gifts to friends.
AT 71, and 70, respectively,
Clyde and Geneva Weltzien are senior citizens who act anything but "senior-ish."
The home features a dance floor in' the basement, and the walls are lined
with the Weltziens' collection of dance records from the last 40 years.
"I love the big band sounds, but my wife loves rock' said Weltzien, adding
that they frequently hold large dance parties.
Mrs. Weltzien
writes the airport log for the Wadsworth News-Banner and has been writing
general airport news for about 18 years.
Clyde Weltzien still is working half-days at his automotive parts store, and
says he has every intention of continuing.
"People
ask me when I'm going to retire," he said.. "I hope I never
retire. When I die, I want to die with my boots on.
CLYDE PASSED AWAY DECEMBER
24th 1977
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