Peace Corp alumni to reunite

By CHARITY SMITH

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Ironwood Township —The United States Peace Corps is 59-years-old this week and Peace Corps Volunteers around the world are celebrating its founding. Here in Ironwood Township, Virginia Kretschmar — who volunteered with the Peace Corps from 1987 to 1989 — has organized a dinner for the last six years as a reunion of local volunteers.

This year’s dinner will be held on Saturday at 6 p.m. at the Elk & Hound. Anyone interested in learning more about the Peace Corps is also welcome to attend.

During the dinner, the former volunteers swap stories, share photos and other souvenirs from their time in the Peace Corps over a hearty meal. It’s an opportunity for the returned Peace Corps volunteers put the third goal of the Peace Corps into action, according to returned Peace Corp volunteer Patti Jahn, of Ironwood.

“By talking about our experiences overseas we promote our third goal; to promote the conversation of our experiences over there,” Jahn said.

“It is really interesting, being in the Peace Corps,” Kretschmar said. “You live for two years among different people.”

Kretschmar, a retired special education teacher, spent her time in the Peace Corps locating and educating children with Down syndrome in paraguay.

“I had to locate children with Down syndrome because it is common practice to hide children there that have Down syndrome,” said Kretschmar, who won an award from the Peace Corps for her work locating the children.

At least some reflect on their time in the corps as allowing them a chance to explore parts of the world they would have never been exposed to.

“It was a positive experience, in that it allowed me to see another part of the world that I never would have thought to go to as a vacation,” said Jahn. “It was a great experience. I got to see a lot of things that I probably never would have got to see.”