Nancy Kline, top left, helps Putnam Heritage residents Juli Hernando, left, and Amy Gedelian, right, with an art project recently.
David Trinko | The Lima News
PANDORA — It started off as a hobby, as a way to pass the time with a friend and her mother in a nursing home.
Nancy Kline brought along a craft as she and her friend, Karen Doll, visited the Meadows of Leipsic back in 2012, so they could talk and do something together. Before long, nearly a dozen residents asked if they could join the activity.
Over time, Kline began bringing her craft projects to other care facilities in Putnam County, including Hilty Home in Pandora and Putnam Heritage in Ottawa.
“It’s just fun, you know?” Kline said. “Crafts are my hobby. So I like to share my hobby.”
Kline, one of nine local winners of the Jefferson Awards for Public Service, does all this despite her own troubles, including her latest fight battling breast cancer. While she’s backed off a bit to recover, she keeps volunteering. She said she leans on her Christian faith.
“Some people, when they have things happen to them that aren’t so good, they give up,” Kline said. “And I can’t say I haven’t been there at a few points. But then, between me and God, when I say, ‘OK, God, what can I do tomorrow to make someone’s life better?’ When I do that, I don’t focus on me.”
That impressed Doll.
“Nancy continues to do as much volunteer work as possible even after being diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer in 2021,” Doll wrote in her Jefferson Award nomination letter. “She talks freely about her diagnosis and encourages others with health issues.”
With her crafts, sometimes she’ll bring projects to paint. Other times, they’ll embroider on pillows or make bracelets. She always brings a respect for the people before her.
“These are not children. I don’t bring children’s crafts,” Kline said. “I remember that these are adults, and some of them have limited abilities. You have to think of that, they can only use one arm or they have arthritis.”
She never charged for her services, knowing that the people in these facilities often have limited income. She learned how to find deals at dollar stores and garage sales.
“She provides the supplies on her own and creates crafts that can be done by people with limited use of their hands or eyesight,” Doll wrote.
Despite whatever money she spent, Kline knew she came out ahead.
“I get back so much more than I give,” Kline said. “I have met wonderful people and heard wonderful stories.”
It’s just part of the service for Kline, the retired editor of the Putnam County Sentinel. She also helps with the Putnam County Task Force For Youth, helping with annual skating events and Safety City. For years, she helped with the Putnam County Historical Society, including with its newsletter. She also served with the Kiwanis in Ottawa and with Putnam County Habitat for Humanity.
As a writer, she encourages people to share their family stories on paper, often helping people write books they can pass on to future generations of the family, for free. She also works at the Putnam County District Library, showing people how to use technology.
She encourages others to take whatever gifts they have and share them. She didn’t need a large organization to tell her what to do. She saw a need, and she helped.
“I tell people to just start small,” Kline said. “Take a hobby you have. Do you like singing? Do you like playing an instrument? … Take whatever happy you have, and share it. People enjoy that you’re doing it.”
ONLY ON LIMAOHIO.COM
See more Jefferson Awards profiles at LimaOhio.com/tag/jefferson.
Reach David Trinko at 567-242-0467 or on Twitter @Lima_Trinko.
