A new ‘smooth operator’ at Marlow’s nutrition site

Growing older has its advantages (grandchildren, retirement and senior discounts, to name a few). But it also comes with negatives.
Many seniors are lonely, disabled, or barely able to squeeze by on small, fixed incomes. In fact, for some, reality is tinged with all of the above.
Some have food budgets that don’t allow for wholesome, nutritious meals on a regular basis, and others are physically unable to prepare such meals for themselves.
That’s where the Delta nutrition program comes in. This program provides delicious, nutritious lunches five days a week for the seniors in a given community for the nominal sum of only $1.50 a plate.
And that’s not all. The doors to the nutrition site open early enough to give the patrons an opportunity to visit with others, or perhaps even engage in a game of cards, dominoes or bingo, during a time set aside for such activities before lunchtime.
In short, the program satisfies not only the clients’ nutritional needs, but their hunger for social contact, as well. In fact, some probably enjoy the socializing at least as much as, if not more than, the cuisine.
Approximately twice a month, guest speakers visit the nutrition center to discuss senior-related issues, or healthcare professionals provide free health checks for the clients.
Through cooperation with ASCOG’s Area Agency on Aging, Delta has 32 nutrition sites in an eight-county area in southwest and south-central Oklahoma. One of those sites is located in Marlow’s Redbud Park.
The meals for Marlow’s seniors are actually prepared in Rush Springs, but they are served here under the supervision of a site manager.
For 16 years, Bea Boyles filled that position, until health problems forced her to retire at the end of September.
In the meantime, Celia Schaub, a lifetime resident of the Marlow area, had left her job as a Red River Transportation driver the previous March; and after six months of staying at home, she was itching to return to the workforce.
The timing was ideal. Hearing of the opening for a site manager, she applied. The field was narrowed to four candidates, then Celia survived the final cut and assumed her new responsibilities in late October.
Now, any program that provides lunches for 50 to 60 people five days a week, year in and year out, requires a manager with strong organizational skills and dedication.
Celia fits that description. She’s personable, efficient and certainly not afraid of a little hard work.
Her duties include keeping an inventory of such basic staples as paper products and milk, and replenishing any supplies that are running low; overseeing the kitchen operations; making bank deposits; supervising setup and cleanup procedures; “and of course, there’s the daily paperwork,” she said.
A number of the clients pitch in and help ensure that the program runs smoothly.
“We get a lot of help from our volunteers,” Celia noted. And as far as she’s concerned, the fact that she is in a supervisory position doesn’t mean she can’t clean up spills or help with other menial tasks.
“If there’s something I can do, I just jump in there and help them. We help each other out,” was the way she put it. She indicated that she is enjoying her new job.
Although their surname was decidedly German, Robert and Blanche Gardenhire welcomed their little colleen, Celia Ann, on St. Patrick’s Day 1951 in Duncan.
Their oldest child, Ronnie, is deceased, as are Robert and Blanche. Celia also has two sisters, Glenna Landram of Bray and Nelda Brown of Duncan.
Celia’s dad was the head mechanic for the city of Duncan for 30 years, and her mom worked for Gibson’s Discount Center for a number of years.
The family lived on Plato Road east of Duncan, in the Bray school district, so Celia was educated in the Bray schools, graduating in 1969.
And, mind you, she graduated from Bray High School.
Celia is one of a number of alumni who opposed the renaming of the school system when the Doyle schools were consolidated with it, and who still have trouble accepting the change.
“I don’t recognize Bray-Doyle,” was her frank, succinct assessment.
Celia was not an enthusiastic scholar, but she was a whiz on the basketball court.
“The only reason I went to school, anyway, was to play basketball,” she admitted candidly.
Celia’s refreshing candor is a vital part of who she is. Pretense and airs are traits totally alien to her. With her, it’s “what you sees is what you gets.”
She and Jerry Schaub starting dating as sophomores and married in September of their senior year. Jerry had joined the Marines in August and left for Camp Pendleton in October.
Celia stayed behind and finished high school; but she and another couple who had married their senior year set out for California the day after graduation. At first, the two couples lived in the same apartment complex, until Jerry completed his military training and was sent to Oceanside.
A year and a half after Celia arrived in California, Jerry was discharged from active duty, and the two headed “straight home as soon as he got out,” Celia recalled.
Jerry found his niche in the oilpatch and is employed as a pumper for Citation Oil.
Not long after their return home, the Schaubs’ first son, Steven, was born. Now 40, he lives in Lawton and works as a journeyman electrician for a firm out of Oklahoma City.
Daryl came along four years after Steven. He and his wife Tracy live near McLoud. They have a daughter, Emily, and a 3½-month-old son, Weston. Daryl is an inventory specialist at Tinker AFB.
For 7½ years while her boys were in school at Bray, Celia drove a school bus. She noted that she had a great group of students who dealt her little trouble. However, one suspects that she got her bluff in on them. Only once was she forced to do more than give them a look in her mirror—that time, she merely drove onto the shoulder and parked momentarily until order was restored.
Eventually, Daryl transferred to the Marlow schools and Celia hired on as a part-time employee with the Marlow Review, assisting with the job work and pressroom duties. She remained at the newspaper for 16½ years.
In 2005, she went to work for Red River Transportation, once more driving a bus, but this time, a people-mover with a capacity of 15 to 17 passengers and a route within the Duncan city limits. Red River also did contract transportation within the county, and Celia also helped with this.
Six months after her time with Red River ended, Celia learned of the job opening with the nutrition program.
Celia may not be president of the Neal McCoy fan club, but she’s been an avid follower of the country star for the past 18 years and would make an excellent candidate for the job.
She, her sister Glenna, and Lavonna Condit are bona fide members of his fan club.
“We just love Neal to death,” she enthused. “He‘s such a down-to-earth guy. Anytime he’s close, we make his concert.”
Whenever McCoy performs in Durant or Tulsa, you can bet the trio is somewhere in the crowd. And they travel to Branson every year to take in the country shows, including McCoy’s, Celia said.
She has also been a fan of Ada native Blake Shelton since he was 17, she said, and in recent years, has added Shelton’s wife, Miranda Lambert, to her list of favorites.
Other pastimes include playing games on her computer, fishing with Jerry, and watching OU athletics and the Oklahoma City Thunder, even at the Chesapeake Energy Arena, “as often as we can,” she said.
Although she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005, Celia is in excellent health now.
“I’m five years clear,” she noted.
And of course, still going strong.