Heroes from Home: Chuck Arbuckle takes lemons and makes lemonade

By FRED KRONER
fred@mahometnews.com

This is one of a continuing series the Mahomet Daily will publish periodically about the ordinary men and women — or families — from the community who have done or accomplished extraordinary things in their lifetime. We encourage readers to submit nominations for other deserving individuals who warrant consideration. We are delighted to tell the stories of these persons who have contributed so much, often without the recognition they were due.

Chuck Arbuckle is one person with multiple dimensions.

He is a father, a farmer, a friend.

He is vigilant, virtuous and a volunteer.

He is respectful, a realist and a role model.

He is a neighbor, a networker and a navigator.

Sometimes, who he is depends on who you are.

There’s a long list of those whom Arbuckle has impacted and influenced in the past and a growing list of ones who will be impacted in the future.

He wasn’t one to stand back and let others be involved in the causes of importance, whether it was his work on the Champaign County Board, with the Mahomet Area Youth Club, Boy Scouts, Eagle Scouts, the Mount Vernon United Methodist Church or – more recently – those afflicted with Parkinson’s Disease.

“He has always had a strong value of service and giving back to the community,” his daughter, Kristen, said.

Arbuckle’s reputation is approaching legendary status.

“After his Parkinson’s diagnosis (in 1999), he found a support group when he and my mom (Susan) were wintering in Florida,” Kristen Arbuckle said. “He saw the need for a group like it in central Illinois, and started one himself.

“In our family, we would joke with him saying, you’ve helped kids, adults and retirees with Parkinson’s. You’re helping everybody. You need to leave some people for the rest of us to help.”

He didn’t even have to know someone to step forward.

Lifelong friend Richard Rayburn recalled an incident within the past decade at their church, Mount Vernon United Methodist.

“When they were just beginning to have trouble with violent actions in public places such as churches, we had an intruder in the middle of church service,” Rayburn recalled. “He was not well-dressed, was unknown to us, walked down the aisle and sat facing the congregation.

“I believe he made some statements, but I don’t recall what he said. It was a tense moment. Chuck Arbuckle got out of his pew, went to the front and sat down beside him.

“The two of them were facing the audience. Chuck began to talk with him, put his arm around him and said, ‘Why don’t we go downstairs and visit?’

“This was not a violent activity. We don’t know if it might have descended into that if it had not been handled properly. To Chuck’s credit, it was resolved.”

Since his youth, Arbuckle was more of a man of action rather than a man of words.

Childhood friend Andy Busch recalls when Arbuckle was a candidate for a student council position in junior high school.

“He ran one year for class representative,” Busch related. “He walked up to the podium for his campaign speech, looked a little flustered – maybe thinking he should have prepared a speech – and said, ‘If I am elected, I will make sure there are clocks in every room. Thank you.’

“Shortest speech I think I ever heard, but because there were not clocks in every classroom, it was a hot item. All the students who did not have a watch were frustrated not knowing how many minutes were left in class, especially during a test. He may not have had any competition for the position, but he was elected.”

Unfortunately, Busch added, Arbuckle was unable to fulfill his campaign promise.

“He did not succeed in getting clocks in all the rooms, however,” Busch said.

Arbuckle is a 1967 Mahomet-Seymour graduate who was raised northeast of town, on County Road 2300 North.

He operated his family’s approximate 400-acre farm, and also did custom farming, until he retired in 2005.

“My dad has always been a big inspiration in my life,” Kristen Arbuckle said. “I even named my son (Eamon Charles, now 3 years old) after my dad.”

Arbuckle’s son, John, remembers the farmstead as a place where others would gather and learn.

“When I was little, ag classes from the UI came out to see a diverse multi-generational family farm,” John Arbuckle said. “Dad would talk about stewardship and the ability to touch the land.”

Rayburn said in the case of Chuck Arbuckle, the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.

“Chuck’s family was known for their work ethic when large jobs were shared by farm neighbors,” Rayburn said. “Arbuckles were always the first to come and the last to leave. 

“Chuck learned this work ethic by example and that trait served him well in his lifetime of activities. He collected friends or maybe more accurately stated, he attracted friends.

“He gave time, treasure and effort not just to ideas which others thought were important, but when he saw a need, he started new programs.”

Unlike those who have known Arbuckle for decades, Charlie Rohn only met him six years ago.

“Both of us had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease and headed to different parts of Florida for the winter,” Rohn said. “We still had not met, yet both of us found wonderful programs for people with Parkinson’s while there.

“We both returned to the Champaign area wondering why those programs didn’t exist here. Chuck followed his life pattern of helping people by sharing this question with his Methodist pastors. When they shared the idea through a Methodist network, it hit me just right at the right time.

“Chuck and I met with the pastors at the Savoy United Methodist Church to make lemonade out of lemons.  Chuck was determined to make this program a success and it has been an amazing success from the very start, providing exercise, information and socialization to an amazing number of people.

“Chuck’s dream made it happen.”

The Parkinson’s Support Group of Champaign County meets at 10 a.m. on Mondays at the Savoy United Methodist Church. Arbuckle and Rohn are two of about a half-dozen individuals who were instrumental in getting the support group formed.

The existence of her father’s can-do attitude has been clear to Kristen Arbuckle for years.

“We would always go camping and hiking when I was little, and I remember being on one particularly long hike, in bad weather, and complaining about it,” she said, “and I remember him responding by saying something along the lines of, ‘well you’re here, you can’t change that now, so you may as well enjoy yourself.’

“And that’s a lesson I learned from him, and have carried through life, to make the best of the situation.”

Whether it was a camping trip, a canoe trip, a backpacking trip or working on the farm, John Arbuckle said, “I never took it for granted.”

There is a change he has witnessed over the years.

“I would not say my appreciation has increased, but my perspective has now that I am a full-time farmer and a father,” John Arbuckle said.

Chuck Arbuckle hasn’t let the Parkinson’s define him.

“I met Chuck two years ago when I began as the pastor at Mount Vernon,” Naomi Roberts said. “Chuck has a very quick wit and a good sense of humor.  He comes out with one-liners that make me laugh. He has a wonderful smile.

“Chuck is also a very devoted follower of Jesus. Over the years, he has been a steadfast worker for the Mount Vernon UMC. I have heard many stories about the hard and faithful work Chuck has done for the church. It is a pleasure to have him as part of our church family.”

Arbuckle’s devotion to church activities is a fond memory held by his classmate Russ Taylor.

“In high school, we played football side by side and greatly enjoyed it,” Taylor said. “Also, we both went to Campus Life/Youth for Christ and decided together to commit our lives to following Jesus Christ.”

Even during her childhood, Kristen Arbuckle marveled at the many areas where her father displayed competency.

“My memories include how he was such a jack of all trades,” she said. “When I was little, I remember seeing him checking pages and pages of financial ledgers for the farm, and of him saying how a farmer has to actually be good at many professions: accountant, businessman, mechanic, carpenter, biologist, meteorologist and so on.

“And, he is good at all those things.”

John Arbuckle said his entrance into farming was a natural progression.

“Once you’ve tasted the sweet nectar, it’s hard to do something else,” he said. “I enjoy being my own boss. I enjoy raising livestock and seeing the circle of life.”

He took note of the example his father set and implements many of the same practices in his own life.

“I learned about attention to detail and record-keeping,” John Arbuckle said. “He’d come in from working and sit at the computer and fill in records.

“Record-keeping is one of the chores you do. It’s no different than feeding the pigs.”

Chuck Arbuckle earned a bachelor’s degree from Illinois State University in 1971.

Busch noticed a change when they got together after college.

“It was hard to get used to ‘Chuck’ (rather than Charles) when I came back from the Army and his name had modernized through college,” Busch said.

Even when he wasn’t farming, Arbuckle enjoyed the outdoors. That was a carryover from his youth.

“Chuck and I enjoyed the outdoors as kids and spent a lot of time hunting with Rod Hickle and later Russ Taylor, pheasants and rabbits,” Busch said. “Chuck followed the lead of his uncle (Red Phillippe) and spent a lot of time fishing, mostly in the creek that flowed through their farm.

“He caught some pretty fair-sized catfish and other creek stuff. Uncle Red told him the bigger the hook, the bigger the fish, and I guess Chuck used the advice.”

During Arbuckle’s time on the County Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals – in the 1980s and 1990s – he was at his best in situations where some colleagues agreed with him and others did not.

“His work on the county board in improving Champaign County governance is legendary,” Rayburn said. “He cultivated friends on both sides of the aisle and helped to achieve consensus and not controversy.

“Even those opposed to his ideas could see that his compromise was the best course for the County as a whole. The level of accomplishments through understanding others’ views has not been achieved since he retired from the board.

“He was chosen by his neighbors and peers many times to positions of community leadership.”

Busch believes Arbuckle ultimately didn’t get the respect that he deserved.

“As adults, we were both involved in politics in different arenas, and I considered his work on the county board to be excellent,” Busch said. “I think he should have been elected chairman, but he got screwed in the political gamesmanship that infects too many levels of government.”

In addition to his serious side, Arbuckle was a master at creating light-hearted moments.

“One thing I remember about my dad is him making me laugh as I was growing up,” Kristen Arbuckle said. “He has a very silly and teasing sense of humor.

“Like when I was little, and he would come home from the farm with a rip in the shin of his pants, and when asked about it, say a shark attacked him. Or when he was driving me (his youngest child) to college for the first time, and to tease me, he was singing ‘ding dong the kids are gone!’ to the tune of the Wizard of Oz song.”

In recent years, Chris Graham became acquainted with his neighbor.

“Chuck has farmed around my house for years, but I have not gotten to know him until recently,” Graham said. “Although he is soft-spoken, our conversations are genuinely enjoyable. We talk about kids, grandkids, gardening and bees.

“I have discovered a wonderful dry sense of humor and a very sincere and gentle gentleman.”

Arbuckle and his wife, Susan, raised two children. Each of them also has two children.

John (and his wife Holly) own and operate a free-range hog farm in Maine.

Kristen also lives near the East Coast and works as a budget analyst. Her husband, Tom, is a communications director.

Kristen Arbuckle still sees signs of her father’s caring nature.

“Recently I got a work-related certificate, and he called to ask what size it was, so he could buy a frame for it,” Kristen Arbuckle said. “He has always been really supportive of me.

“I remember many years ago, singing along to a country song, where the lyrics say, ‘And when the day is done, my momma’s still my biggest fan’ and he said, ‘and you know your dad is too.’

“And he still is. I’ve always appreciated his support for me.”

Chuck and Susan Arbuckle have lived in the same house since they were married in 1970.

“He helped remodel this house and put three additions on it,” said Susan Arbuckle, who believes some of her husband’s traits are less obvious than others.

“He believes in Christian stewardship of the land, planting trees, family values, God, and ice cream every day,” she said.

For years, Busch said, Chuck Arbuckle has had his priorities straight.

“Chuck is a good guy, a Christian man and an asset to any community where he is involved,” Busch said.