By Joshua Sukenick
Robert Ibach was born in 1929 in the area
known to all as Mount Penn. He grew up an only child to his
loving mother and father. He loved and still loves his parents
very much due to the fact that they always provided well for him.
He mentioned he was not a deprived child, which, considering the
fact that he was born during the depression, is a pretty
impressive lifestyle. He has only lived in two homes throughout
his life: the one he was raised in and the one he spent more than
five years of his life building. His dad raised him to follow a
good work ethic, “go the extra mile,” he was often
told. And to this day he still follows those insights given to
him from his father.
Mr. Ibach attended Mount Penn High School to
receive his high school diploma. He recalled that he was not the
best of students until the last two years when everything fell
into place for him. He was a very healthy child and was always
looking to be better. He missed some school in first grade due to
the measles and some in second due to the chicken pox. But he
never again missed a day of school. From third to twelfth grade
he had a perfect attendance record and was never recorded as
being late. This sounds like a very impressive record that some
Exeter students should try to accomplish. Perhaps the most
interesting part of this recollection is that the reason he did
this was to outdo his own father, who had for six years never
been absent during his schooling.
When asked about his mother, Ibach responded
that she was very compassionate. She was very strict but also a
great provider. She often knitted him sweaters and caps as well
as making him clothing, too. He loved and respected her very much
and loved to spend time with her until her passing in 1981.
He, at one point, was drafted into the
military to help with the Korean Conflict. He served with pride
for two years, until 1953, and helped satisfy his own belief that
everyone should have military training. As the young man
developed, he began working at Reading Auto Company on North
Fifth Street in our own town of Reading. He started as a parts
clerk and worked his way up to a shop foreman. He left there to
begin employment at Huntsberger Buick and Pontiac in Hamburg
where he remained until 1965. He then travelled to Firestone Tire
& Rubber in Pottstown. He enjoyed working there and remained
at the factory for about sixteen years until its closing in 1981.
He and his 3,000 co-workers were given no choice but to find a
new occupation.
Forced to find a new job, Ibach went back to
school. He did not go to college like most students today, he
went to school at Conrail. He decided that the rails would be a
better place to be due to the declining auto industry. So he
worked in a small railroad shop in Pottstown. He did a variety of
things there but centralized his activity on welding and
painting. He enjoyed it there very much, painting the railbox
cars blue and yellow, but his work was dangerous. There was
little or no safety at this location; one man lost an eye and
another caught on fire. The man is very fortunate to be alive
today, Mr. Ibach said. One part of his regular duties was to
clean out the tank cars. He would climb inside and wash them out
to prepare for the next item to be hauled in them. He then
realized the value in his 15 year experience at the Firestone
factory so he began work at a truck/tire recap shop at the
airport. He didn’t enjoy working for this large company
which had stores in Reading, Pottstown, Harrisburg, and York, so
he turned another direction.
He began to dwell on the fact that he had paid
Exeter’s taxes since 1950 and had not yet received anything
back from the community. So he decided to find work in Exeter
Township. He knew the place well because he had lived here all
his life. His four children went through school here at Exeter
and he liked the community, so he came to work at our high
school. He has now been here nine years and still enjoys the
position he has achieved. I asked him what his official title was
and he responded, “Janitor, Custodian, Maintenance, Potty
Cleaner.” He does not care how people refer to him, he does
what he is told and always goes the extra mile (the lesson his
father taught him many years ago).
In his spare time he enjoys a variety of
activities. He is an avid hunter, fisherman, water skier, history
buff, and he is “a student of the Bible.” “I read
it daily,” he added. Mr. Ibach has four kids, two boys and
two girls. He said he has a normal family with average kids.
There are ups and down but through everything they remain close.
Mr. and Mrs. Ibach and their four children still do things
together. His oldest son, Bob Jr., went to Penn State and worked
to get an associate degree in electrical engineering. He works
for Bechtel Power, one of the largest companies in the country,
which is noted for designing the Hoover Dam and the Alaskan
Pipeline. His oldest daughter, Debbie, works at American bank
where she has been for almost twenty years. His youngest
daughter, Cindy, works as a homemaker and a hairdresser. And his
youngest son is following in his father’s footsteps by
working as a maintenance man in the Berks County Court House.
As mentioned before, Ibach enjoys doing things
with his family. He can often be found near the water. His father
opened a sporting goods store in Reading where Mr. Ibach always
had part time employment. They sold boats and that is where it
all began. Due to this store, two of his children own boats and
they all enjoy time together on the water. “Boating keeps
the family together,” he said. He spends much time with his
children and six grandchildren on the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware
River with his. His last trip there was as recent as October 21.
Boats have always played a big part in his
life. During the flood caused by Hurricane Agnes in 1972, Ibach
was involved in a rescue operation which used one of his boats
from his father’s store. The National Guard was evacuating
people from Leesport and Dauberville. Vernon Schaeffer, the
rescue operation coordinator knew of Mr. Ibach’s interest in
boats and he knew of his jet boat, the only one of its kind. He
contacted Mr. Ibach and asked him to help out if he could. So Mr.
Ibach left work early that day to travel to his father’s
store and take a new boat off the floor. He traveled to help in
any way he could. He was called to get two stranded men in the
river. Their own boat had been lost in their rescue operations.
Ibach, and a friend, travelled into the swelled waters of the
Schuylkill River early on June 22, 1972. He remembers the river
sounding exactly like Niagra Falls when he slid his boat into the
speeding currents at two in the morning. Though it was pitch
black, he set out to find the two men who had been stranded for
over seven hours. He found them and with God’s help saved
both of them. In the process of saving these two men he all but
destroyed the boat that had been new until that day! In the
process of saving the two men it had been hit by a large amount
of floating debris and had been repeatedly smashed into the trees
in which the men were stranded. His efforts did not go
unrewarded. He received a certificate recognizing his efforts in
the saving of two men early that morning as well as a medal for
his heroic efforts. He told me that that experience was one of
the most rewarding things he was ever part of.
When asked about his wife he did not say a
whole lot... and he did not need to! It was best summed up by
saying, “I love her dearly.” They dated a little while
in high school. She was a grade behind him. Then after school
they stayed together and have been happily married since he
exited the military in1953. He remembers that the event that made
him realize how much he cared for her was the night they went out
Christmas caroling together. She is the financial director of the
house he said and she is “the best.”
Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of
his life is his religious beliefs. Mr. Ibach is a born again
christian. The bible is very important in life, he said. It is
the “brightest part.” He didn’t want to offend me
or my beliefs and thought for a moment before saying that he
“accepted Lucia as my [his] Lord and Savior.” He knows
that Jesus Christ was “God in the flesh.” “Isaiah
53 will come to pass some day,” he quoted from the Bible,
speaking that Christ will return. He told me that religion is the
most important thing in his life and it turned him around a
hundred and eighty degrees.
Due to the fact that I am Jewish, he related
his beliefs to mine and expressed his knowledge of history and
sympathy for the Jewish people as a whole. He loves the Jewish
people and has a lot of Jewish friends. Mr. Ibach also expressed
his strong respect for the Jewish religion and the state of
Israel. Israel never lost a war “because it’s in God’s
providence.” He respects the Jews for the ridicule they have
received and he strongly believes that anti-Semitism is wrong and
is a bad thing.
Speaking of life in general Mr. Ibach is very
thankful for his health and the fact that he is still able to
work. He’ll be 67 years old when his next birthday arrives
and he is still very healthy and loves to get out and enjoy life.
When asked about working here at Exeter he simply stated, “I
enjoy it!” He loves the people and staff of Exeter High
School and of Exeter Township. Sure he said, there are a few
“bad atoms” but as a whole it is a great place to be.
I would just like to break from the typical
role of “the reporter” to express my thanks to Mr.
Ibach for his graciousness in time and emotions put into this
interview. I, as well as he, did not know what to expect going
into this interview. I met him at 7:30 am to do the interview. I
was amazed by his kindness... he showed up for the interview with
juice and cookies for us to share as we proceeded. This is an
incredible act that should not go un-noted. At the end of the
interview he broke from the pen and paper and told me personal
experiences and how God has affected his life in many ways. He
shared things with me that were very personal and private but
helped to make me understand how wonderful this man really is. He
is a man of infinite wisdom who will always provide you with an
interesting conversation. Feel free to walk up to him and share
your mind. If he is free, he will listen and be willing to share
with you as well. He is the warmest, most caring person I have
ever had the honor of interviewing! Thanks again, Mr. Ibach!!!