Enon’s Grube named parade grand marshal

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MAD RIVER TOWNSHIP — The Enon and Mad River Township Fire and EMS Association has named longtime resident Larry Grube to serve as grand marshal of the 2015 Fourth of July Parade in the Village of Enon.

According to Deputy Chief Elmer Beard, the association is keeping with tradition by honoring an exceptional citizen in the community to preside over the annual parade which is scheduled to step off at 1 p.m. Saturday, July 4 at Indian Valley Middle School, 510 S. Xenia Drive, and conclude at the fire and EMS station, located at 260 E. Main St.

“Larry Grube is a well-respected resident of the village and has diligently served this community for many years. He is well deserving of the honor,” Beard said.

Grube, 70, said was very surprised when Maxine McKee, a 39-year volunteer member of the township fire and EMS department, delivered the news to him last week.

“At first, I thought Maxine was kidding, and she promptly informed me that she was quite serious,” Grube said during an interview on Monday evening. “I then asked her why the fire and EMS association selected me because I’m just an ordinary guy.”

A resident for 65 years, Grube moved from Lake Charles, La. to the Enon community in 1950, along with his father Kenneth and older brother Delbert.

“I grew up living on my grandparents’ farm which was located near Greenon High School, and I think my grandparents were part of the group of residents who helped established Rocky Point Chapel,” Grube said.

As a teen, Grube said he was popular in high school and served as student council president. He was also a member of the high school track team and played the title role in the school production of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. Grube graduated from Greenon High School in June 1962 and shortly after graduation, enlisted in the United States Air Force.

“There were only 74 seniors in my graduation class, and the students knew nearly everyone at that time,” said Grube.

During his four-year career in the Air Force, Grube was stationed at Lockbourne Air Force Base near Columbus, Ohio and was a member of an air refueling wing that supported military operations during the Vietnam War.

“We would fly out of Riverside, Calif. to Hawaii and then, we would fly on to Guam and Vietnam. After we refueled the planes, we would then return to Hawaii,” Grube said.

After his honorable discharge from the Air Force, Grube attended Southern Ohio College and received an Associate of Science degree in computer programming.

Grube continued to establish firm roots in the community, and he and Nancy Parrish were wed in July 1967. Since their marriage, the couple has resided in the Village of Enon and has embraced the hometown values the community has maintained throughout the years. They also attend the Enon United Methodist Church where Grube serves as usher.

“I can’t think of a better place to live and raise a family,” said Grube. “I’ve really have enjoyed living in Enon, and I intend to live here the rest of my life.”

Grube became well known throughout the community after he purchased a mobile tanker distributorship from Enon resident Casey (Frank) Shoemaker in 1976 and delivered heating oil and other petroleum products to many homes and businesses for 19 years.

“I had a 2,000-pound Union 76 Steel mobile tanker, and 80 percent of my route was in southern Clark County,” Grube said. “Often, I would start at the end of a street in a residential area of the village and fill up one tank after another tank. I delivered heating oil during the blizzard in 1977 and I have delivered fuel to homes at 2:30 a.m.”

For many years, the father of three, who is now a grandfather of seven, played an active role in a number of youth sports organizations in the village.

“I coached my two sons and daughter’s soccer teams and my daughter’s softball team for several years,” Grube noted.

Grube recalled when he coached his daughter’s softball team the first season she participated in Enon Girls’ Softball.

“The team primarily consisted of little girls who were in Cyndee’s (daughter) Brownie troop. The girls and I knew very little about softball, but we had a good time. However, over the years, the girls improved, and we ended up with an all-star team that won the girls’ softball tournament.”

In 1976, Grube took on the part-time position of cemetery sexton for the township which eventually became a full-time position when he sold his fuel oil distributorship in 1996. Both Beard and Grube’s wife, Nancy, noted that his service as cemetery sexton was one of the biggest contributions Grube made to the community.

“Larry was one of the best cemetery sextons the township ever had. He put his heart and soul into making Enon Cemetery a nice and respectable place where residents could visit the gravesites of their love ones,” Nancy Grube said.

Grube also served as the clerk/treasurer from 1988 through 1991 for the Village of Enon. Councilman Jerry Crane, who was mayor of the village during Grube’s term in office, said Grube was exceptionally efficient at his job.

“Larry was one of the hardest working clerks I have ever seen. He had no computer and calculated everything with pencil and paper. His money-management skills were excellent,” Crane said.

Enon Mayor Tim Howard, who was serving as village administrator and water works superintendent during Grube’s term as clerk/treasure, recounted how Grube always had a great sense of humor.

“There were many times when village discussions would get somewhat heated. And unexpectedly, Larry would interject some form of humor that would lighten things up and bring everyone back to a more relaxed state,” said Howard.

Beard pointed out that unique, sandblasted signs that Grube crafted are posted at the entrances to Galloway and Porter Parks and at several business establishments in the village.

The military veteran and longtime member of Enon VFW Post 8437 noted that he was honored to be chosen as grand marshal of the Independence Day Parade.

“I am delighted. It truly is a privilege,” Grube said.

The public is also invited to an open house and a picnic lunch at the fire and EMS station following the parade.

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