MIKE VAN AHN
Written by Nancy Seybert, former co-editor of the Spirit of Osceola magazine.
Instead of cutting hair one day, local barber and eight-year veteran on the city council, Mike Van Ahn, shared what he's learned from experience that inspires him to balance his personal and family life with service to the community.
Reversing today's trend, Mike grew up in Lake City, Iowa and then moved to the farm in his teen years. "There are many lessons to be learned from the country," Mike said. "Living out in the relaxed atmosphere of the farm is a lot different compared to the faster pace in town. On the farm, one of the first things I learned as I dealt with pets, livestock and plants is to appreciate life and the beginning of life. That's how a farmer attempts to make a living. In the city you may experience that to a degree but not as much, because your survival doesn't depend on it."
The concepts Mike learned in his youth help him today. "My dad always made time to take me fishing when I was young. Sometimes we went pretty early in the morning. I was a typical kid, reeling in the line to check my bait or casting the line out and getting it caught in the bushes. Dad commented several times, 'Mike, you are never going to catch any fish if your line is not in the water.' At the time, like any kid, I just kind of smirked and kept doing what I was doing, but the older I got, the more I thought about how true that is in many other facets of life."
Mike's parents were in the restaurant business until he was twelve. "At that point, Dad became a meat cutter in one of the local grocery stores. My mother operated a small restaurant for a few years. Later Dad became the postmaster, and Mother ran the state liquor store. They remained in these jobs until they retired.
"I graduated from high school in Lake City and went to the University of Northern Iowa for two years until I went into the service. I volunteered rather than be drafted. I was 70 in the lottery; I graduated from high school in 1970, and there were 70 in my graduating class. When they drew number 59, I volunteered because the military told me I'd get a choice of what I did in the service. However, when the army found out I'd worked for a veterinarian all through high school, they made me a veterinary technician."
When Mike got out of the service, he and his wife, LaDonna, opened a restaurant and operated it for two years. They quickly found out they didn't want to spend their lives flipping burgers, so LaDonna went back to finish college at Simpson in Indianola. The couple ended up moving to Osceola when she got her first teaching job in the local junior high school. With his wry humor and a twinkle in his eye, he added, "She teaches English, everybody's favorite."
Until LaDonna graduated, Mike worked at Criswell's Feed Store in Indianola. Then after starting as a welder at Seed and Grain, he became vice president. Wanting to be closer to home so that he'd have more time with his family, Mike worked at a couple of Osceola companies until he decided to go to barber college, and he's been cutting hair ever since.
"The barber story that sticks in my mind the most is when a father and two uncles brought a little red-headed fellow in for his first haircut. They had to coax him for 20 minutes before he'd get in the chair and 30 minutes more to cut his hair. All four of us had a hold of part of the young man's anatomy trying to hold him in place, yelling and screaming- the whole nine yards. When I finally got done, my hands were shaking. His dad's and uncles' vocabulary had increased considerably throughout the process. We all let go at the same time. The young man jumped down out of the chair, took three steps, then turned around and smiled at us. It was the darndest thing I've ever seen. He never whimpered a bit after he got out of the chair."
Mike is a family man. He and LaDonna have three children. The oldest, Landi, is married to Ted Quinlin, a great young man she met at Northwest Missouri State College. They now live in Raytown, Missouri. The older son, Jaydee, graduated from Simpson College where he played football. He works for Enterprise Car Rental in Phoenix, Arizona. The younger son, Scott, is a junior at Clarke Community High School.
Along with raising a family of three children, Mike has been an active volunteer in the community. He has helped with the Celebrity Pheasant Hunt, established a youth fishing tournament in the summers, and coached the Osceola Little League football team.
Mike inspired and motivated the boys from a positive point of view and treated them with respect. "As a coach, I showed them what I expected of them, then I worked with them to build the skills to do that. From that point on, they knew what the standard was. When they didn't live up to their ability, we sat down and had a visit. It was not that they didn't know how. They were just not following through. I explained that if one or two people let down, they let down the whole team. Then I reminded them the other guys were counting on them to do their job just as they were counting on their teammates. I helped them realize that this applies not only on the football field, but also to the rest of their lives. I have found the best way to work with young people is to instill in them that, even as children, they are responsible for their own actions and they need to take responsibility for what they do."
Mike is not serious all the time. His dad and uncles were practical jokers, and when things get too monotonous, Mike doesn't mind a harmless prank pulled on him and might pull one himself once in awhile.
Whether Mike is trimming hair or trimming the city budget, he puts his heart and mind into doing his best. "All of us experience hard times," he said. "Other than the loss of a member of the family, the other difficult times that come along can be resolved by preparing financially to meet whatever might come up. It might be an unexpected dentist bill or a major house fire. Whether it is saving money or using your time wisely, the bottom line is to be prepared. Then things are not nearly as difficult."
In his run for mayor, Mike said, "Fairness in dealing with people and personal integrity are important to me. If I say that I am going to do something, I am going to do it. There are a lot of people out there with good intentions, and for some reason things go awry. I make it a point to be sure I can do any mission that I'm going to undertake before I say I will do it. If I'm not sure, I'll tell you that. If I say I'm going to do something, you can count on it that it will be done.
"Since I've been involved in city government, I see a lot of folks who are quiet and don't say much about a particular project the city is considering and discussing. However, the minute the last nail is in, a lot of folks come out of the woodwork with better ideas. It could have been done differently if they'd spoken up in the planning stage. It is called 'Monday morning quarterbacking.' The people in city government want the community to be involved. We want to hear people's solutions. From that and our own research, we can come up with the best solution.
"Many people take things for granted. To them things seem to be running smoothly. People need to be involved in order to know what might happen that will benefit them five years from now. Then they can have some input in the planning stage. They might have better ideas than the planners themselves, but they can't do that sitting at home."
Mike believes in planning for the future and staying on top of situations that affect the community. "Three years ago I told a local reporter, 'If the electric companies go out of business, we are going to be in a world of hurt.' This year there was a blackout in the eastern United States and Canada. I am very concerned that we prepare our infrastructure so that it will be there for us now and in the future. Along with the solution comes the task of finding the funding to do it.
"I am an avid fisherman. For years and years I only went fishing when I had time. I found after several years that I never went fishing very much. I love to fish and like being outdoors in the quiet where I can hear my own thoughts and think things through.
"The older I get, the more I realize how important it is to take time for myself. That's often when I have insights that enable me to come up with the best solutions. I go back to the statement, 'You are not going to catch any fish unless you have your line in the water.' When people have constructive ideas, they need to let the council know before the project is started. It is easy to criticize after the project is underway or completed. It's the easiest profession in the world.
"City government has to keep the community in mind. A councilman's job is to solve the city's problems in a way that benefits the community. If the council does something for one that they cannot do for all, the situation will come back to haunt the city. When people come to the council meetings with problems, the council would welcome their presenting one or more solutions along with their concerns. They are more apt to be satisfied. We can't forget the human element.
"Accomplishing anything worthwhile takes planning, organization, and follow-through. I really like it when a plan comes together. There are a lot of different directions a person can take on any problem, but to actually sit down and eliminate those that have the most luggage, then streamline the plan to reach that goal...I could do that all day. When that finally works, it is a great feeling."
Return to main page for Recipes for Living 2003 by Fern Underwood
Last Revised November 4, 2012