By Sharon Sullivan

Maynard Hesselbarth will never forget the person who gave him a ride when he was hitchhiking years ago.
Mamie Eisenhower was driving accompanied by her young son John when she stopped the car to give Maynard a ride. He was hitching back to college in Manhatten, Kansas. It was 1941 or 1942, and Mamie’s husband Dwight “Ike” was away at war.
“I grew up in Abilene – where (President) Eisenhower grew up,” Maynard said. “His family home was a block away from ours. I used to mow grass for his parents. They were a great family.”
Eisenhower’s presidential library now sits where Maynard’s old childhood home used to be in Abilene.
Although his father was a carpenter and his mom took in laundry, they didn’t earn a lot of money during the Depression. Maynard was one of nine children, one of whom died in infancy.
“My parents were poor. Mamie built a coffin and lined it with satin cloth. Neighbors did a lot for each other,” Maynard said.
“During the 1930s almost everybody was affected one way or another, Maynard said.
There were also a lot of dust storms in those days and people were forced to wear handkerchiefs over their mouths to avoid inhaling dust.
Maynard’s family cultivated a huge garden and also kept a cow and raised chickens.
“We were pretty lucky to have a big garden. It helped out during the Depression. We did eat good,” Maynard said.
Maynard worked as a social worker in various capacities during his career, including caseworker, director of a county social services department, and training mentally disabled people to become more self-sufficient.
He retired in 1987 and moved to Grand Junction the following year and began volunteering. For 11 years Maynard volunteered as a tutor at the library, and at elementary schools.
Then in May 2000, he returned to work as a part-time psychotherapist at Grand Junction’s Alpha Center, a privately owned mental health center where he still works.
Maynard provides therapy for individuals, couples, and parents suffering from anxiety, depression, panic attacks, and post-traumatic stress syndrome, Maynard said.
Maynard and his first wife moved into one of the retirement cottages at Hilltop’s Fountains in May 1999. His wife died six years later after a long illness, and 58 years of marriage.
A couple years later Maynard met Charlotte at the Fountains. He was playing pool and invited her to play, but she declined saying “she didn’t play pool.” She did talk him into playing bingo with her however.
When they met Charlotte had been widowed for 10 years after 51 years of marriage.
“We dated for quite awhile,” Maynard said. They met each other’s families, children. And then they married.
They will celebrate one year of marriage April 18.
The couple moved into the Fountains apartments. They love playing computer games on the big television screen in the Fountains activity room. They play Nintendo Wii sports like bowling, golf, tennis and boxing. “Bowling is the one we like the most,” Maynard said.
“There’s talk about a tournament between the Commons (another nearby Hilltop assisted living community) and the Fountains,” Maynard said.