John E. Gould

he Moyers were kept busy with the farm; however, when Ron was six the family took a big trip to Sarasota, Florida to attend the Rigley Bros. Circus. To keep him occupied during the trip, his parents bought him a toy car with doors and a trunk that opened. He was so proud of the toy that at the circus he showed it to a monkey in a cage who instantly snatched it. In the excitement, the monkey dropped the car and when Ron bent down to retrieve his toy, the monkey grabbed him by the hair and tried to pull him into the cage. Ron remembers how badly it hurt and that they had to have help to free him from the monkey’s vicious grip!

The social life of the Moyers’ mostly rotated around the extended family and church community where there was a large group of other young people. Ron recalls that most Sundays they either had guests over for lunch or were invited to someone’s home. Another big part of their social life was the weekly literary meetings that helped the young people develop their spiritual giftings. The friendships that were made in the close-knit community have a special bond that have lasted a lifetime.

When Ron was about twelve years old, he accepted Christ at evangelistic meetings held by Brother Andrew Jantzy. He remembers the fiery evangelist preaching in such a way that made his heart race with conviction. He wasn’t sure which was worse, raising his hand during the alter call or having to go forward afterwards and to face him! But this was an important step in his life and he had no doubt that Jesus was now the pilot of his life.

Ron attended the Warwick River Church School through the 7th grade. One of his special memories of the church school was recess time when they played softball, prisoners’ base and dodge ball. On Fridays the students would walk across the road to the church where they had a chapel service. After attending Warwick River Jr. High and Warwick High School, he went to Eastern Mennonite High School in Harrisonburg for his senior year. With a grin, Ron recalls that it was a time of missed social opportunities because he was so homesick and shy! He did make the Touring Chorus, which he really enjoyed.

After graduating in 1964, he returned home and worked one year with his dad on the dairy before going to Allentown State Hospital in PA for his IW service. There he lived in a 3rd floor room in the home of a widow lady as he helped to oversee and work with the mental patients in the dairy at the hospital. In the summer of 1967 when his two years of service were over, he moved to Powhatan and lived with Milton and Bunny as they began to build the dairy facilities in anticipation of moving the farm up from Newport News.

It was winter before he finally heeded the advice of a mutual friend and got up his nerve to go on a blind date with Rosalie, who was in nurses’ training at Riverside Hospital in Newport News. Ron says, "I almost made a mistake and asked the wrong girl. The person I thought was Rosalie was her friend! I really enjoyed Rosalie’s company and found her easy to talk to. We dated for 1 year and 7 months before getting married."

Rosalie was born August 31, 1948 to Alvin and Reba Heatwole in Waynesboro, Virginia, the foothills of the Shenandoah Valley. She says, "I was daddy’s boy as there were four girls in our family. We had a variety of different farming ventures including poultry layers, turkeys, rabbits, sheep and farm vacationers." "Farm vacationers" were city people who came to the farm for one to two weeks to experience farm life. For the Heatwoles it meant work. From April to September the entire family moved out of the main part of the house into one bedroom so their guests could have the four bedrooms, a bath and porch. The Heatwoles would eat breakfast together as a family before pampering to the whims of their guests. Rosalie says, "We ate on china, baked bread, washed clothes, fixed fresh vegetables from our huge garden, and baby-sat the children as our guests vacationed at nearby sights or followed dad on the farm. We also had a shuffleboard, badminton and fireplace in our back yard that we really enjoyed.

Rosalie’s roots were very different from Ron’s. She says, "My parents were very community and mission originated. They were part of a team of four or five couples appointed to begin an outreach church at Greenmonte. We drove around and picked up people to take them to church. Dad was in charge of the music and he loved it."

When Rosalie was nine, Brother Andrew Jantzy held evangelistic meetings at Greenmonte. She went forward during the invitation to receive Christ as her personal Savior. Her parents were part of the original three couples who had the vision and started the Virginia Mennonite Relief Sale held on the Wenger farm.

Christian education was also important for the Heatwoles and Rosalie attended Augusta Mennonite School for grades 1-7. She attended Woodrow Wilson High School one year before going to EMHS for her high school years. There she became a part of a clique of five girls who became really close and their friendships have continued. After high school she went to Newport News to Riverside Hospital for her nursing degree. It was there that she met a young man with a brand-new blue Dodge Coronet Car from Powhatan!

For the first years of their married life, Ron dairyed with his brothers on the farm in Powhatan. Rosalie worked as a nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital until their home was blessed with the birth of their first child, Sidney, on October 14, 1971. A little over three years later Karen was born on December 10, 1974. The Moyers were restless and wanted a farm of their own. After an extensive search for a farm they could afford, they decided to move to Frazee, Minnesota. Rosalie says, "In April of 1975, we left tulips blooming in Powhatan and went to 10 inches of snow." Ron says, "It was a good time for us as a family as we were able to form our own identity. The church family welcomed us with open arms and treated us well. We got involved in the church for who we were." They were like a breath of fresh air to the small struggling fellowship and Ron was very quickly installed as Elder.

On August 11, 1978 little Deborah was born, completing their family of three children. But the Moyers were feeling very unsettled. It had been a huge decision and a step in faith to leave the security of family and move to Minnesota. Then, they learned to love their church and friends in Minnesota. When Ron developed health problems due to the cold weather it became clear it was time to move to a warmer climate. In June of 1979, they made another step in faith to move back to the Powhatan area. A song that became very precious to them was "Jesus Savior, Pilot Me." In the song, life is compared to a sea and they could very well identify with that symbolism.

Even though Ron had come to "scout out" several promising leads on farms, they sold the farm and cows and moved without having any definite answers. They settled into what they thought was "temporary" on the Moyer tenant farm in Amelia. The first year was difficult, as they had no income except for some pick-up jobs that Ron was able to do. Finally they started fixing up the Amelia farm and began milking 30 cows. In April of 1982, the long awaited call finally came and Lloyd Williams said he was ready to sell. After much painting, cleaning and fixing up the house and dairy, the farm was ready to move into.

In the past several years Ron has sold the dairy cows. He says he hasn’t "retired", just "refocused" his energies. They do have more freedom to enjoy their married children and two grandsons. Rosalie is working part-time in home nursing. Sewing is her hobby and she is a member of the American Sewing Guild a National Organization for Seamstresses. Rosalie says, "Ron loves the water so much that his hobby is wishing he was on the water!" He also enjoys woodworking.

Ron and Rosalie have had a tremendous impact on our fellowship here in Powhatan. Rosalie has served as Girls’ Club leader, bulletin editor (in fact she started the bulletin in the days of the old stencil graph machine), Women’s Outreach president and Sunday school teacher. Ron has served as Treasurer, Boys’ Club Leader, Elder, Sunday School Superintendent and teacher.

Ron says a verse that has been very special to him has been Proverbs 3:6 "In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths." Hanging on the wall in their kitchen is a ship's wheel. Sometime Ron wants to add the words "Jesus Savior, pilot me" as a testimony and reminder of the leading of God in their lives.