by Brent Hovey

Reporter

Aurora -- George Hettinger is a man of many titles.

During his 58 years of living in Aurora, Hettinger has been mayor, Councilman, Marine, principal, superintendent, student teaching adviser, bus driver, fireman, paramedic, missionary and historian.

Now, another title can be added -- grand marshal of Aurora's July 4 parade. He was selected in May after a recommendation from Mayor Lynn McGill and the parks and recreation department.

"Of course, this means something special to me," Hettinger said. "It's just to be recognized for being around for so long if nothing else."

Hettinger has served in some office in Aurora for almost 40 years, including two stints as mayor and as a Councilman off and on from 1960 to 2007.

In 1955, he was elected to his first public office -- clerk treasurer of Aurora when it was a village. He was re-elected two years later and served until 1959.

His Council terms were broken up by serving as mayor in 1962 and 1963 and 1970 and 1971.

He took a break from the political scene for 10 years while he guided Warrensville Heights schools as superintendent.

Hettinger served as a Marine in both World War II and the Korean War. He said he joined the armed forces after advice from his dad.

Hettinger told the Advocate in October 2007 he "was not a good citizen" in high school and that's when his dad strongly suggested the military.

He joined the Marines shortly after Pearl Harbor was bombed in 1941.

In that October interview, Hettinger told the story of how he came to Aurora.

IT WAS 1950 and Hettinger and his wife, Arlen, just graduated from Kent State University, and both were looking for teaching jobs.

They approached their biology professor -- Arthur Harrick -- for advice on what job to accept.

"We asked him, 'where would you suggest we go?'" Hettinger recalled. "'We have offers from Suffield, Edinburg and Aurora?'

"I thought Harrick was going to die laughing. He said, 'if you go anywhere other than Aurora you're a damn fool.' He was right, so we came to Aurora."

Hettinger is a walking history book of Aurora. That's why when about his memories of many past July 4 celebrations he dove into a small history lesson.

"It started out as motiviation from and was carried out by the Church in Aurora," he said. "It [the parade] was smaller then. I think it went from the church to the cemetery. It wasn't much. It's grown larger and evolved into a steady recreation department affair."

Hettinger is looking forward to riding in the parade. He said it will be fun to see all the people who come out to celebrate.

"You always see a lot of people who were here over the years," he said. "Some have been here a long time, some a very long time and others have come and gone, but come back for this.

"I'm very proud to be recognized and thought of as worthy of this honor."

The parade will step off at 11 a.m., with most units assembling at Barrington Town Square and baseball-softball teams at Craddock School. Lineup begins at 10.

E-mail:

bhovey@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3115