There’s No Place Like Home with Bill and Kay Vogel (2021)

Pages: 84, Printing: Smith Printing Company, Editing: Marjorie Toensing

Upon his return from serving in World War II, my grandfather Bill Vogel resumed his quest to become a major league baseball player. Unfortunately, the minor league team he tried out for wanted players much younger than he, so in 1947 he began working for his father, Arnold, at the New Market Bank and playing baseball on town teams. He not only loved baseball, but he also lived baseball, suiting up for his final game at age ninety.

       Bill, the New Market city boy, met Kay, the Montgomery country girl, when she was teaching country school. A year later they began dating, and after a few months, he “popped the question,” to which she said, “Yes!”  They were married in 1950, and in the next decade they became proud parents of four children: Bob, Mary, Jan, and Ken.

       Though busy at home, in 1958 Kay began working at the bank, handling bookkeeping and other tasks. When Arnold retired in 1960, he handed the reins to Bill, who remembers times when he and Kay didn’t know for sure if they could manage all the work and stress; but they hung in there, and they did. My father, Bob, became bank president in 1985, and I, in 2014. It is an incredible honor for me to be the fourth generation to lead New Market Bank. I have been inspired by the examples my father, grandfather, and great-grandfather have set.

       Grandpa and Grandma celebrated their seventy-first wedding anniversary on June 6, 2021. Our family holds them in such high regard for a multitude of reasons. Grandpa’s commitment to the task at hand and his work ethic have made a lasting impression on us. One of his favorite sayings has been, “Practice, practice, practice.” From him we learned that one need not be perfect but one must strive to continuously improve. Even more important, he showed us that one doesn’t quit when the going gets tough. Instead, you give it your all and stick it out.

       Grandma’s selfless love and care for others have most impressed us. As a child, I biked to her and Grandpa’s house in the summer at least once a week. She seemed always to be in her kitchen, where I would sit at the counter and visit while she made so many delicious things. I intentionally lingered towards dinnertime so I would be invited to join her and Grandpa for the evening meal. Over the past several years, our family has seen Grandma survive many medical challenges, and we have gained tremendous admiration for her “silent strength” that has helped her through tough times.

       As a couple, Grandpa and Grandma share an unconditional love. You see and feel it in the way they look at each other and the respect with which they treat one another. They laugh easily and often, which makes all comfortable in their presence.

       When Bill and Kay retired from the New Market Bank’s Board of Directors in December 2019, our family pondered a gift that would best thank them for their service and sacrifice. Through Michelle Klamm, who I met in a peer group at the University of St. Thomas, I was introduced to memoirist Michael Ransom, and he worked with us to help write the story of their lives.

       I believe I speak for all the Vogels in saying that we have been truly blessed to have Bill and Kay as parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. May this book be a lasting tribute to them to be treasured by our current family and all Vogel generations to come.

Anita Drentlaw