DUNLAP — Concord Township native Arden Stickel grew up farming with his father and grandfather, completed alternative service after graduating from high school and returned to work in Elkhart, spending 32 years with Miles Laboratories.

“I love the country life,” Stickel said, at the dining table of his River Manor home last week.

He said he first drove his father’s F-20 Farmall tractor, as well as later models, an H, an M, a 450 and 500 — all by International Farmall.

Stickel explained he graduated from Concord in 1954 and completed alternative service in Texas before serving a second year as a milk tester in Maryland.

When he returned to Elkhart County, he worked for a time with Taylor Products, then joined Miles Laboratories, where he worked in various divisions for 32 years before retiring in 1997. He then worked for 10 years giving out samples at the Meijer store in Dunlap.

Stickel also worked for three years at the Come & Dine Restaurant, Wakarusa, at special events, where his son ran the small train for owner Delton Schrock.

“Delton was a nicest guy to work for,” Stickel said.

Miles collection

But during his long career with Miles, Stickel collected products, displays and signs from the company and has created his own museum and about 50 scrapbooks of Miles advertising and memorabilia.

“I like the old advertisements,” he said, and he buys old Life magazines and others just for the Miles product ads that he finds. Then he frames the pages with the advertisements on them.

Stickel has many packages of Alka Seltzer that were made over the years in Elkhart, plus has used the labels and graphics to decorate trucks, model train cars and even airplanes with the labels.

In 1974, Stickel made 200 Conestoga wagons decorated with the Alka Seltzer label for the company. He was paid $3 each for them.  

Stickel’s collection has filled the basement of his ranch home. He said he is at the point where he would like for someone else to take over the collection and build a Miles museum. He said he wishes someone could find the space to spread the collection out and allow others to enjoy it.

“I’d sell it and downsize,” he said. He also has an extensive collection of 7-Up products, also displayed in the basement.

Stickel admits he also has a collection of model farm tractors, which he shows at the Labor Day show at the fairgrounds. He said he wants to downsize that collection, too, selling the larger ones and keeping the 1/64 scale models.  

Stickel was struck by the recent death of Dick Beals, who was the voice actor who made many Alka Seltzer commercials. Beals died May 29 at the age of 85. He said he met Beals twice, including when the actor visited Elkhart for the 60th anniversary of the product. He has a photo of Beals with the Miles fast pitch softball team.

Beals was only about 4 foot, 6 inches tall — a foot shorter than Stickel, he explained.

“He was the voice of so many commercials,” he said of Beals. “He made  more than 100 commercials, including the 1976 ‘plop, plop, fizz, fizz’ series.”

Enjoying sports

Stickel was active in sports in high school.

“I love basketball,” he said. And he played softball on the Miles team.

“I enjoy basketball,” he said. “I enjoy sports more now than in high school. Elsa shoots baskets, too.”

“You can still shoot” in your 70s, he said. The couple has their own basketball court behind their home and both enjoy shooting baskets.

Also found in their yard are about 20 windmills — several of which Stickel made himself.

Stickel was instrumental in starting the “senior free throw” contest at the county fair at the barn in the Farmstead. “One year we had 39 people show up,” he said. He has also been involved in a “shoot for food’ promotion and has walked in recent Relay for Life cancer fundraiser events.

One year ago Stickel missed the fair and many summer events as he was recuperating from a bout with cancer.

“I went through chemo last fall,” he said and he is in remission.

“God has blessed me,” he said.

Stickel has a son, Kim, 53, and daughter, Sonia, 51. They also have two grandchildren.

He married his wife, Elsa, in 1993, after finding her in Illinois through a Christian pen pal organization.

 Because of the responsibility of working on the farms, he said, he did not take the time to join 4-H when he was a youngster. But Stickel and Elsa enjoy the Elkhart County fair now.

Stickel said they plan to attend the 2012 4-H fair after missing it last year. The couple enjoys the food at the fair.

“The food is the best,” he said. “I enjoy lamb burgers with barbecue sauce. The fair is one of the best in the country.”