Atypical & Awesome “Happy Birthday, Daddy”

My father is 80 years old today. I almost feel silly calling him “my father” as I share him with my three sisters and at one time hundreds of other kids. You see, my “daddy” started the Geneva City Schools in the early seventies. For decades, he served as the Superintendent AND High School principal at the same time. If you went to high school in Geneva from 1970 (ish) to 1995, Mr. Melton was your principal. He was strict but kind and fair. Let’s be honest- he was and is legendary. That school was his life. Many years into his retirement, he served on the city council of our little town of 4,000 people and even served one term as mayor. If there was a committee, chances are he was on it- service has been his calling. From public education to hunters’ education and everything in between, he has served. He was on the very first Festival on the Rivers Committee and still serves today- over thirty years later. He is a worker- a doer- and humble. Way back when Geneva finally got a middle school there was a movement to name it after him and he promptly said- “no, thank you”. He is not a man who wants accolades although he certainly has earned them. He was and is a good “daddy” but I think all who know him will agree his favorite role has been that as a grandfather. You would not believe what Mr.Melton let those grandkids do when they were little! He still pretty much spoils them all rotten even though most of the grandkids have grown up. We have been blessed. I didn’t “get it” when I was a teenager and felt like an outsider because I was “Mr.Melton’s daughter”. Today, I say- thank God I am and thank God for the values he taught me.