Ebelhar retires after 50 years with same agency
By Suzi Bartholomy, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
Fifty years ago, fresh out of
The company has changed hands twice since her hire. For 30 years, she worked for
In years to come, there probably will not be many people who work 50 years for the same company, France said.
"I only thought of leaving once and went out on an interview," Ebelhar said. "As I sat there I thought, 'Why am I doing this.' I didn't really want to learn anything new. I knew what I wanted and realized I was happy with what I was doing," she said.
"It was just Don and me for several years. All the bookkeeping, payroll and applications for insurance were done on a manual typewriter," Ebelhar said.
"Don used to say he owned the business, but I was the boss," Ebelhar said. "I've had positions of bookkeeper, insurance customer rep, office manager, commercial lines manager and I've always served as treasurer of the corporation."
"Jeanette has been involved in training other insurance people in town," France said.
Ebelhar helped organize and was a charter member of Ohio Valley Insurance Women and served as its president for eight years. She served on state and regional committees and was named Insurance Woman of the Year in 1978.
"She was a big help," Worth said. "She sat at the front desk, and everything went through her."
In the five decades Ebelhar has worked for Horn's, she married the love of her life,
"We had 40 wonderful years together," Ebelhar said. "We did everything together."
The soon-to-be retiree said she won't have a problem keeping busy. "I'm not one to sit around."
She sings with three choruses and directs a hand-bell choir, bowls every Friday evening in a league and takes care of her 96-year-old mother.
There weren't many days the 69-year-old grandmother didn't want to go to work. "But you can't work anywhere for 50 years and not have your ups and downs," Ebelhar said.
On occasion, she said Horn and she would argue about something, and she wouldn't want to face him the next day. "He was like a father to me," she said.
"He said my mom and dad brought me into the world, but I was his," Ebelhar said. "I was still a teenager when I started here."
"It will be really strange, different without Jeanette. She is like family to us," France said. "Her girls babysat our children."
"We hired a person to fill her position, but that is not replacing her," France said. "It's remarkable in this day in time that someone would stay that long and be that committed."
If one word could describe Ebelhar, "it would be loyal," France said.
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