Cedars, February 2019

February 2019 4 COVER STORY Railroad to Ministry Retired professor Charles Clevenger seeks to minister to others through model railroad hobby by Hannah Day D r. Charles Clevenger recently re- tired after 36 years of teaching mu- sic and art at Cedarville University. He was a passionate and dedicated teacher, showing his students that he loved them. Callahan Jones, a former piano student of Clevenger, described him as a persistent teacher. “He definitely is someone who likes to show you, rather than just tell you,” Jones said, “He’ll tell you, but then he’ll show you, and he’ll show you again.” Now that he has retired, Clevenger has undertaken the task of recreating some of the railroads of Scioto County, where he spent his childhood, in his garage in Cedarville. There are many factors that influenced his decision to take up this particular hobby, but at the center they all point back to one thing: love. Clevenger has always enjoyed trains and their models. For years, he has collected the model boxcars and engines. As a young boy, he and his brother even spent their time mowing lawns to earn enoughmoney to build a model train set of their own. Now he is de- signing a whole garage of train tracks, with detailed unseen levels to create the effect of trains coming from different directions. The fond memories of this time with his brother is one of the reasons he chose this hobby. “We slowly built a railroad with money from our grass-cutting business when we were kids, built it ourselves, did the scenery, built the tunnels, had the best time,” Clev- enger said. “Some of it’s probably nostalgia from when I was a kid.” This project has allowed Clevenger to interact and share with many others, some unexpected. He said that he has made a community of about eight friends who trade favors based on their strengths. Clevenger is more skilled in the artwork, while others are more inclined towards the coding and engi- neering side of things. “We’re all going back to our childhood; we’re hanging out and playing together,” Clevenger said. “Some of these are very seri- ous people with doctorates who just want a chance to play.” Clevenger says that he hopes this proj- ect never ends. However, he does plan to have it functioning by next labor day. His desire is to have it running well enough to invite people to come view it around that time. He wants to continue to work on the scenery for years to come.   “In the model railroading hobby, ‘sce- nic’ is also a verb,” explained Clevenger. “I don’t expect the ‘scenicing’ to be done for years. It’s just going to be my play project.” Clevenger believes that everyone needs to have some kind of hobby, like his mod- el train. Everyone needs a release from the stress of the everyday and a way to have fun. He says it is important for people’s mental well-being that they find time to play. This time should be intentional, ensuring that the non-serious, fun element to it remains the primary focus. “I really intend to make sure there is a non-serious aspect of this,” Clevenger said, “and if it ceases to be fun, it becomes a job, and I retired from a perfectly good job here. I don’t want a job.” His ultimate goal is to find a way to use his hobby as a ministry, inviting those who need the Lord to view his work and to open up a path of communication to witness to them. This comes as no surprise to his stu- dents, as this is the way Clevenger has al- ways approached everything in his life. “Even when he was teaching here, he Photos courtesy Chuck Clevenger Dr. Charles Clevenger has been interested in model trains from a very young age. Although the scenic decoration may be never ending, the main structure should be completed by Labor Day.