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BY SHARON PORTA
Times Correspondent | Thursday, July 01, 2004 | (No comments posted.)
HAMMOND -- There are many ways to celebrate a 75th anniversary, but the Whiting Lion's Club took a different approach Wednesday when it provided hot air balloon rides for disabled people in the area.
"We have been getting a very positive response; you don't see a lot of hot air balloons in Whiting," said Andy Dybel, the club's treasurer. "It was perfect weather, and we had to keep the balloon moving, so we even gave some rides to onlookers."
Dybel is an employee of ATC, which is the national sponsor of Serena's Song, a wheelchair-accessible hot air balloon. Through that association, Dybel decided to bring the balloon to the Robertsdale section of Hammond.
"A 75th anniversary doesn't happen too often," Dybel said. "We're not a young club and we're not very big, but we are active in the community. Through those activities, our special children's Christmas party and participation in Special Olympics, we knew a pool of disabled children who we thought would enjoy this."
More than 13,000 disabled children have been given rides on the balloon since 1985, a number that now includes groups from Wednesday morning and evening that lifted off from the Clark High School football field.
The idea got its start after Serena Waldman, now 21, who has cerebral palsy, rode in a hot air balloon in her home state of Iowa. Until that day, Serena could not express emotion and was unable to speak, but as the balloon soared upwards, she screamed with delight.
It was then that Gary Waldman, the girl's father, decided to commit his life to recreating that experience for other people with disabilities. He bought a balloon and named it Serena's Song.
"We've had kids speak their first words or stand for the first time in the balloon," Gary Waldman said. "We're looking for that first miracle every time we go up. There's the sensation of flight and of being the center of attention that solicits the first smiles and first laughter from these kids."
Waldman was on his way to a balloon festival in Lisle, Ill., so a stop in Robertsdale was convenient. The Whiting Lion's Club raised $1,500 to bring the balloon to the area, which helps pay for Waldman's costs and for fuel.
"I make no money with this, but it's what God is having me do," Waldman said. "It's been a delightful morning ... it's a beautiful view of the lake."
Jeremy Joseph, 19, of Whiting, was among those on the flight. Joseph suffers from cerebral palsy like Serena Waldman.
"It was fun," he said.
Blair Westfall, a member of the club for 41 years, remembers when the group had more than 100 people attending meetings. That number is now down to 20.
"When we had more industry here, we had plant managers, teachers, bankers; all were members," he said. "People have moved, the town has gotten smaller, and industry no longer has the pride in the community that they once did."
But bigger doesn't necessary mean better.
"We're doing more now than we did then, we have more people willing to help, " Westfall said.
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