Although Marion wasn’t home in the beginning for Clare and Deb Wood, Marion will always be home in the end.
Clare, a ’69 Gladwin graduate, and Deb, a ’77 Marion graduate [who moved here with her grandparents in the 8th grade] met while working at Evart Products in the late ‘80s. Married in ’89, the couple raised their kids [Shane and Jeff] right here in Marion, and this is where they’ve built their lives, memories, and friendships.
The newly retired couple – Clare retired from Ventra/Evart Products in 2019 after nearly 50 years; Deb retired in 2021 after 41 years – have been enjoying their free time by staying busy and staying active.
They both volunteer with the Feeding America program, and Deb is an active member of the Marion Library and the Marion Friends of the Library. Both love to read, golf, and take their bikes out on the trails. And of course, they enjoy spending time with their family and friends – including those they met while at Evart Products/Ventra.
We caught up with Clare and Deb recently and learned a little bit more about their story. We learned that they’re certainly more than just a couple of faces in the crowd.
Marion Press: Where were you born and raised? What kept you busy growing up?
Deb: I was born in Pontiac, and I went to school in Lake Orion. I moved up here in 8th grade. My grandparents raised my sister [Sherry Jackson] and I, and my grandma [Margaret Johnston] worked at General Motors for a while. We lived on a lake [in the suburbs of Detroit], and there was a lady across the street who we’d stay with quite a bit, and we’d fish off her dock. So we fished a lot, and played with Lincoln logs! We had a little cement swimming pool in the backyard – it never really had much water in it – and we used to catch turtles and put them in there all the time.
MP: How’d you make your way to Marion? What kept you busy here?
Deb: My grandpa passed away, and my grandma decided to move up this way. We had a farm out west of Marion, about a mile and a half. We had cows, and some pigs.
I was a cheerleader, I played basketball. My grandma kept us pretty busy on the farm. We had a pickle garden one year; picked pickles and took them over to McBain… We used to do a lot of haying with the Mosher’s growing up – there was always something to do on the farm. School, farming, and hanging with friends.
MP: What about you Clare, where were you born and raised? What kept you busy?
Clare: North of Clare, out in the country.
MP: Is that where your name came from?
Clare: I have no idea. I think my mom wanted a girl, because I had an older brother…
MP: So they had the name picked out.
Clare: Yeah, and there I was! Been burdened with that my whole life.
MP: That’s a cool name though.
Deb: That was a pretty common name years ago – we’ve run into some other older men named Clare.
Clare: I went to Gladwin schools – we were right on the [district] line, so I was a Flying G. Helping out on neighbor’s farms – we couldn’t see any neighbors; we were pretty much out there by ourselves. Between school and working on the farms in the summer, that took up most of my time. A lot of haying – the guy [I worked for] had a big sheep ranch – so we’d just hay all summer long. We were so far out that I couldn’t play sports – we were about 12 miles from the school – and back then that was a long way. I got to play basketball one year, but after that [my parents] said that was too much running around.
MP: How and when did you two meet?
Deb: At the shop, Ventra. It was ’87 or ’88.
MP: Did you guys work there for a long time? What all did you do there?
Deb: I retired after 41 years in August of ‘21. I’ve done just about everything: I was an assembler, I was an inspector, I was a machine operator, and when I retired, I was a gauge tech.
Clare: I hired in in ’69, in the fall. Retired in 2019, just under 50 years. I drove hi-lo for a while, and then I ran a machine for about 15 years. The job that I did went out of production, and they couldn’t find anything else for me to do, so they put me in the office!
MP: What did you enjoy the most about your time at Ventra?
Deb: The people; the friends that we’ve made. Most of our friends have retired; there’s a few that still work there. Once a month, we have a girl’s night – which [happens to be] tonight – and there’s anywhere from 13 to 20 of us who meet for dinner. We go somewhere different every time, and it’s all girls who have retired from there. And tomorrow night is couple’s night – and I think tomorrow there might be 25 to 30 of us going out to dinner. It’s all people that we’ve met from working.
MP: Tell us a little bit about the Wood family.
Deb: Married in ’89. Our oldest son, Shane, and his family live in Clarkston; we have a grandson who will be 14 next month. Then we have Jeff, and Jeff lives in Saginaw – he and his fiancée are getting married at the end of October.
MP: What keeps you busy these days?
Deb: We golf a lot. We read a lot. And then we started going south for at least a month in the wintertime. Last year, we went to Florida, but this year we’re thinking about Arizona or Texas, just for something different. Hanging with friends, gardening… I thought I was going to be canning tomatoes, but the bugs started eating them. Marsha Turner told me to put baking soda on my tomatoes, and on the ground, and I haven’t had any bugs since! It won’t hurt you, it’s cheap, and it’s better than using [chemical] pesticides.
Clare: When I go golfing, I enjoy taking other people with me. I get to show them parts of the course that they’ve never seen before when we’re out looking for my ball.
MP: They get the scenic tour of the golf course.
Clare: When I was working, I’d always say: “If I could play more, I’d get a lot better.” I’ve proved that’s not true. I’m just as bad as ever.
Deb: But he’s played 22 different courses this year. He’s got a couple buds that he goes with, and he’s in a league.
I used to quilt a lot, but not so much quite anymore – how many quilts can a person have!?! I’ve probably made 50 or so and given them to friends and family.
MP: You know, someday people will really appreciate that kind of stuff…
Deb: I hope so. We always ask the boys: “Do you guys want any of our stuff?” “No…” “Well, you better want these quilts!”
We bought E-bikes last year, and we ride those quite a lot; we’ve got over 400 miles on them.
MP: How long have you lived up here [on 8th Street by the water tower]?
Clare: We bought this in ’98.
MP: That’s almost 25 years.
Clare: You do something on the house, and you think: “Why is my driveway cracked? I just replaced that when I moved in here.” And then you realize, well, I guess it has been 25 years! I had to get a new furnace, and I’m thinking, “That’s the second furnace I’ve put in.” There are other things – being in the sunset of your life – you just put on the metal roof, and you don’t ever have to worry about that again.
MP: What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given? Who have been your role models?
Deb: Always be kind and treat others the way that you want to be treated. That’s what I really try to do. And if you want something, you work hard for it. I can remember my grandpa always saying that: “If you want it, you work for it. Get a job.”
Clare: I didn’t appreciate it at the time, but my dad [Jean Wood]. He was paralyzed in a farming accident when I was 5. He never complained about his situation in life, and he could always point out people who had it harder than he did. He was pretty grateful; he was never negative about it.
MP: What have you enjoyed the most about being a part of the Marion community?
Deb: The people. I know everybody says that, but everybody is friendly here. We have awesome neighbors; the neighbors we have are just great. Ann [Coon] is an awesome neighbor. It’s very quiet up here; we have deer and turkeys in our yard.
We don’t have to worry about traffic.
MP: Looking back, what are some of your fondest memories of your time here in Marion?
Clare: Jeff’s school years, and all the activities that he was in. Getting to meet all the parents, and building those relationships.
Deb: Going to all those ball games. Doubleheader baseball games. Getting home at 10 o’clock, and then I’d get up at 4:30 to go to work. You just think, “Wow.” Those are the best years; watching your kids grow up. Lots of good memories there.
