Jim Bornhorst - RIP
To honor recently deceased Ft. Loramie farmer and civic leader, James J. Bornhorst the following write-up from his 2015 Loramie Schools Wall of Honor induction is provided. I had the pleasure of working for Jim during high school as documented in these previous blogposts. He taught me so much and I’m so grateful for having had the opportunity to know him, his wife Carol and their family.
Ft. Loramie Schools Wall of Honor Induction Ceremony - September 27, 2015 - Honoree Jim Bornhorst
James J. Bornhorst was born and raised on a farm west of Fort Loramie. After the passing of his father in 1951, Jim became the third generation owner of that family farm (pictured below).
In 1950, while still in high school, Jim started the Fort Loramie Livestock 4-H Club, Jim himself being the club’s advisor. He saw the need to help the youth in the community who were interested in the raising of livestock. That 4-H club is still in existence today (photo below). Jim also served as a member of the Shelby County Fair Board from 1954-1958.
 |
| 2022 Ft. Loramie Livestock 4H Members |
After serving two years in the U.S. Army, Jim married Carol Jean Buehler on September 29, 1956. While still farming, he worked at Minster Machine for eight years. Jim and Carol have six children, 24 grand- children, and 20 great-grandchildren. They will celebrate their 59th anniversary this year.
In 1968, the “Old Fashion Fourth of July” celebration was revived in Fort Loramie. Those who revived the celebration wanted to have one large community event to raise money for the various organizations and to provide the community with a good time. Jim volunteered to haul in the lumber that would be used for the various stands and continued to procure the lumber for this event for a number of years thereafter. Jim served on the St. Michael Catholic Church’s Parish Council during the tenure of Father Francis and Father Bensman. He was instrumental with the project of attaching a garage to the parish house.
In 1969, Jim was elected as clerk for McLean Township and served until 1975. He also served on the advisory board of Wapakoneta Production Credit Association from 1973-1985. His duties were to make recommendations to the staff to better serve the credit needs of local farmers.
Jim served two terms on the Fort Loramie School Board from 1976-1983. He served as president of the board in 1979 and in 1982. In 1977 there was one very crowded school building for grades K-12. The gymnasium was too small to host home basketball games, so area gyms were rented. During Jim’s first term on the school board, a much-needed new high school building was built on the corner of St. Rt. 705 and Greenback Road. This new facility was a center of pride for the entire community, providing for the educational and extra-curricular needs of the school district.
To accomplish the building of the school, funds were stretched to the maximum. Jim and fellow board members convinced the community that, through volunteerism, the seemingly-impossible process could be accomplished. Volunteers donated many hours of labor for such tasks as ground-preparation, inserting water and electric lines, and painting the interior. Passage of the tax levy for the necessary funds to build the school did not include the gym. Jim and eight community members co-signed a loan to provide the funds to build the gym. This was the formation of the GYM Committee, which continues to be in existence to this day.
Jim also helped to organize a project to create a cinder track behind the old school. He asked area farmers and business owners to provide trucks to haul the cinders from the Piqua Power Plant. This cinder track like pictured below provided the school district a practice track at no cost.
Jim was willing to participate in any work that was necessary to get an important job done. He wasn’t reluctant to talk to people and encourage them to get involved. As Lynn Dildine, principal of the elementary school in 1977, states, “Jim provided more than his share of the leadership necessary to convince the community that the money was well-spent, because the students were the main beneficiaries.”
Jim Bornhorst has always been a “behind the scenes” kind of guy. He has a lot of good ideas and follows through on getting things accomplished. Jim has instilled his children with those same values of service and volunteerism to their communities.
Rest in peace, my friend; deepest sympathies to Jim’s family.
~~~~~~~~
Receive a weekly email whenever there is a new blog post. Just click here to send me an email request and your name will be added to the distribution.
No comments:
Post a Comment