Ada’s favorite “Don” celebrates his 84th birthday on April 28. “Don” Traxler is at Vancrest Ada, not able to have any visitors, as Vancrest is in a lockdown. Help him celebrate by sending him an email at [email protected] or call him at 419-957-9383.
Don doesn’t remember this interview he and I had in 2004. At the time I was a freelance writer for a Ohio Democrat publication. My beat was northwestern Ohio. Don was a natural fit for this publication. The article follows with some minor updates.
By Fred Steiner
When Don Traxler went to see Ronald Reagan campaign in Lima in 1984, Don set off the beepers as he walked through a metal detector.
The Secret Service didn’t ask him to empty his pockets. They should have. His pockets were filled with Mondale for President pins. The pins set off the beepers.
That’s not the first time Traxler’s antics have set off beepers. Figuratively speaking, he accomplished this feat several other times in his career as a grass-roots Ohio Democratic Party county worker.
Traxler’s career in politics included a long stint as chair of the Hardin County Democratic Party Central Committee and member of the county executive committee. His career in the Democrat Party is long and colorful.
A retired university professor, the Ada Democrat spent a lifetime in education. He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in education from Bowling Green State University and a doctorate in curriculum and education foundation from Ohio State University.
From 1968 until 1992 he was on the education faculty at Ohio Northern University. During his tenure at ONU he was, for seven years director of the teacher education department and chairperson of the education department.
While at ONU Traxler set off another beeper when he helped organize an Ohio Education Association (OEA) chapter – a faculty union – in a collective bargaining effort. That was 1973. He served as the first president of the organization. Today he’s a life member of the OEA and the National Education Association (NEA). He has served on the resolutions committee of both organizations.
One other activity while on the Ohio Northern faculty was his involvement with the college Democrat club. He served as the club’s advisor for many years.
“It (the club) became really active in 1988 when Mondale ran for president. We had a law student who had worked for Mondale in New York. He really got the club going,” said Traxler.
But when it all comes down to defining politics, Traxler says that it’s all about the grass roots. It’s door-to-door visits and talking with voters on their front porches. Put another way, it's involvement in the community.
That involvement also, in Traxler’s case, meant for many seasons being the public address announcer for Ada High School girls’ basketball, boys’ basketball and varsity football games. He started the PA job in the early 1990s. When the Ada girls’ team won the state basketball tournament in the late 1970s Traxler even led a couple cheers from the OSU arena floor to get the hometown fans going.
His resume makes many additional strong grass-roots statements. He’s a past president of the Ada Area Chamber of Commerce, past Ada mayor, past Ada council member and past Ada clerk-treasurer.
“Making contacts to get things for the community that you represent…to me that’s what politics is all about,” Traxler.
In June 2004 he was among 1,000 persons who attended a breakfast in Columbus with John Kerry, presidential candidate. Traxler had the opportunity to meet and speak briefly with Candidate Kerry following Kerry’s address to the group.
“I told him who I was, that I was chair of the Hardin County Democrats and that I lived in Ada where all the NFL footballs are made. I was right in the middle of my introduction when the photographer snapped a picture. Hence the funny facial expression when I was saying the word ‘football,’” he laughed.
As a footnote to this story, Ada footballs are another interesting story and beeper Traxler set off on his county chair career. In 2000 the Ohio county chairs were invited to meet Al Gore, presidential candidate, in Columbus.
“We all met him in an airport hangar before he spoke at Ohio State University,” recalls Traxler. “Gore started talking. He mentioned former OSU great Eddy George, who came up short in the Super Bowl that season. I interrupted Gore’s speech. I yelled, ‘Do you know where that ball was made?’ In Ada, Ohio.”
If Traxler’s political life was a suitcase, it would be plastered with stickers. They would reveal the many fascinating political races he’s participated in, including those where he ran for local office. Each has its own interesting story, which he loves to tell.
His first-ever run for office was in high school. He ran for 4-H president. “A friend asked me if I voted for myself. I voted for the other guy. I was trying to be nice,” he laughs. Traxler lost by one vote. From that election, he learned an interesting lesson: Always vote for yourself.
In another close election, Traxler tied his opponent, but lost on a flip of the coin toss.
“I called the wrong flip,” he laughs, referring to his first run as chair of the Hardin County Democrats.
That was only the start of his county political activities. He later ran again and won.
While deeply involved in county politics, Traxler has devoted much of his political career to Ada.
“I ran for village council in 1989. I went door-to-door seeking support,” he recalls. He won and served one two-year term. “Then I ran for mayor. The incumbent mayor was defeated in the primary. I ran against another former village council members and won,” he said.
While in his mayoral term, the village passed a .17 percent increase in its income tax. The tax paid for renovation to the Ada swimming pool.
Because of his interest in politics, Traxler has made a point to see or meet as many presidents and presidential candidates as he can. He has interesting stories about each occasion.
In 1996 Clinton’s campaign train stopped in nearby Arlington. Traxler was there. In fact, if you look closely enough to the Time magazine photos of that visit, you’ll see him in the crowd.
Don Traxler is a veteran of county political campaigns large and small. His political look-back period spans one-half a century. The first presidential election he remembers was as a young school boy in 1948. In the days before television, he went to bed on election night thinking that Harry Truman lost the presidential election to Thomas Dewey.
That’s one of more interesting Don Traxler political story. There are many, many others like it.
Just ask him.
