Lena Louisa Kahrig Pettit
Lena Pettit has been
a major source of materials to several parts of this web site. In particular, she has contributed nearly
90% of the approximately 700 obituaries on the site. She has contributed many of the photo found on the site
particularly photos of one-room school houses, photos of Lewisville and
Miltonsburg and the surrounding areas.
Lena is an avid
genealogist having authored 7 books on members of her own family tree. She has also authored other genealogy
related books such as one memorializing her mother and an inventory of the
Middle Church Cemetery. As you visit
the site you will see a number of articles and photos attributed to Lena
Pettit. Thank you Lena for all your
help and materials.
Lena describes
herself as follows:
Hello, I'm Lena Kahrig Pettit. I was born near Miltonsburg, Ohio. My
parents told me that this was a great year for them, not only because I was
born but because it was the year Social Security was enacted. That meant an
easier life in their later years 
after working so hard on the
farm.
I began first grade in 1940 at the Miltonsburg
School. I was five years old. My dad was the school bus driver and drove me to
school every day. It was a two-room building with the lower grades on one side
and the upper grades on the other. I attended this school through seventh
grade, and then was transferred to Monroefield to graduate in the eighth grade.
I didn't mind transferring because everyone in this one-room school was my
relative, including the teacher. I was the oldest attending, so I was asked to
help the lower grades with their subjects.
During my youth, every Sunday meant getting to join
my relatives and friends at St. John's Middle Church. I played the piano in
Sunday school and the pipe organ during worship. I also sang in the church choir,
school choir, and played piano accordion in the school orchestra.
Between living with my parents and siblings on the
farm, attending church, and going to school, I had the best life any young girl
could want. I was the third oldest of the eight children in our 
family.
My graduation picture was
taken when I was sixteen. I graduated the following spring, in 1952, from
Lewisville High School. I received the Best Character and Personality Award on
graduation 
night. I owed it to all my
classmates for bringing out the best in me. It was a wonderful 12 years of
readin', writin' and 'rthmatic.
I went on to a married life and had two very special
children, one being an underwriter and the other an artist. This marriage ended
and then I lived alone for nine years, filling my life with education and work
of many different fields: church historian, trustee member,
secretary/treasurer, medical assistant training, senior bookkeeper in doctor's
office, counselor in weight loss company, Red Cross volunteer for seven years,
beauty consultant for 20 years, and retired as administrative assistant from a
retirement facility, not to mention many adult education classes along the way.
I first became interested in
genealogy in 1957. I thank my deceased grandmother for giving me my start in
preserving our family history. At her
funeral, the room was filled with many people that looked like strangers. I
thought it was just the entire community showing respect until they followed us
to the cemetery. I whispered into my mother's ear "Who are all these
people at my grandma's funeral?" She quietly told me that these were all
my relatives. I thought I was in heaven to have such a large family! That
evening, my mother began charting out different families for me and I have
never stopped collecting history since. My mother and dad were great people who
shared with me their interest in history, geography, writing, family, and
friends. My mother kept a journal from the time she was in the third grade.
They were both very active in church and the community.
I completed my first book in 1970 and have now
completed a total of seven family books including two of the
Christman/Pfalzgraf, Kahrig/Neuhart, Highman/Gatten, Pfalzgraf/Kilburn, 
Crawford/Rubel,
Claus/Ackerman, St. John's Cemetery records, plus other booklets on Matz,
Lewisville High School class rooster 1916-1958, and the class of 1952
historical booklet. There will be more to come in the future.
I'm a Life Member of the Monroe County Historical Society,
Monroe County OGS, Reynoldsburg Truro Historical Society, and of the Cypress
Wesleyan Church.
In 1992 I married a wonderful man, Tom Pettit. Together we have five children, four grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. Tom and I are enjoying our retirement years, visiting our family, and spending time with our roots in Monroe County to help preserve its rich history.
Material for this article was provided by Lena Kahrig Pettit --
e-mail: Lena
Pettit