CLEARFIELD – CCAAA Meals on Wheels driver, Sherry Tubbs, has retired after 36 years of service.
Sherry has been with the Home-delivered Meals Program since March of 1983. She was a substitute for about six months prior to that date.
Nearly all of her years have been spent delivering in the Morrisdale area. She shared that she has delivered to some generations of families; she also made special mention of an elderly couple and, later, their sons. All of them have passed now.
She adds, “I do get to spend a few minutes with each consumer every day for 250 times a year, so that adds up to a lot of minutes. You get to know people individually.”
“Sometimes I am the only person my people see for days on end. They may have adult children who don’t live here or are even in another state and, while they keep in touch, they may not get to see them as often as they would like.”
“I did other jobs before that were just a job, but this job is different because it is a service. It’s never the same two days in a row and different from home to home. It really is almost a life.”
She continued, saying: “When I started, my kids were in elementary school. They were allowed, at that time, once a week to ride with me in the summer. Now it is not that way. It was when we had volunteers and they would volunteer for that day.
“The kids really enjoyed it. They would eat their PB&J sandwiches, as we rode along. Once we saw ostriches and the kids were thrilled.
“The owner of the four ostriches lived next door to the consumer and they shared a driveway. The owner of the ostriches was panicked because they are so tall – over six feet and weighed over 400 pounds.
“Of course, these birds were behind a tall fence but could reach over with their long necks. That was a really adventurous day.”
During another story, Sherry shared that: “My route is not in town and you can see almost anything, like the day the full-grown bear jumped off a bank in front of the car. He made it and I did, too. The bank was right off the road; it was a very scary few moments.”
She also really enjoyed when the consumers shared their special times and days with her, saying “it’s a really touching thing to experience. I also share my special times with them. It’s a two-way street.”
“Thirty-six years,” as Sherry observed, “is a lot of miles, a lot of meals and a lot of great people – and the people are what it’s all about. And I’ve loved every minute of it.”
Programs and services of the agency are funded in part by the Pennsylvania Department of Aging, the Clearfield County Area Agency on Aging, Inc., Mature Resources Foundation and local and consumer contributions.
