WCDC Director Knows No Limits

When Grandma told 6-year-old Carmen not to play on the wraparound porch, the youngster didn't pay her any mind and ended up in a scuffle with her 9-year-old uncle.

Carmen ended up sailing off the 3-foot-high porch and broke her left arm. Hours later an Ossian doctor was finally found to reset the bone. With a dentist assisting, they pinched off an artery in the elbow.

This was during World War II. X-ray machines were few and far between. Gangrene set in, advancing as far as her left ear lobe.

Over the next 18 months a series of amputations took place leaving the young girl with a stump ending just below the elbow.

"The first thing my grandmother did when I got home was have me do the dishes. It was either that or a swat on the ..." she said from her Warsaw Community Development Corp. office in the Kosciusko County/Warsaw Chamber of Commerce building. "If she hadn't, I might have felt sorry for myself."

Carmen's mother died when Carmen was 3 months old and her father was serving in the Pacific. She easily could have felt sorry for herself for one reason or another. However, she was living with her grandmother, who didn't allow the girl to sit still too long.

WCDC executive director since November, when Max Silveus retired, Carmen Lock, 65, hasn't had much time for self-pity. The determination she exhibited as a 6-year-old is still evident.

When she gave birth to the first of her children, both she and her husband, Milford, were outraged when a doctor suggested a nurse come in to help her and the baby.

The Locks came to Warsaw from Fort Wayne in 1970. They figured this was a better place to raise their kids, and all five graduated from the Warsaw high school.

Eventually the couple purchased and renovated the old train depot off Buffalo Street, calling the street level shop Warsaw Depot Gifts and Ceramics and living on the second floor for two years.

Two years ago the couple built a home in Melody Acres.

"I'm a street-walker," Lock said mischievously. What she means is she spends a lot of time walking to visit business owners.

Part of her job is to combat community deterioration by promoting stability, growth and development of business in the Warsaw commercial district. For the last few years WCDC has promoted festivals and charitable and educational activities as part of that goal.

Lock expects everyone to participate - that's why she's on the streets.

Finding herself in a job she never imagined she would have, Lock hit the job running - organizing the annual Hometown Holiday event, which brought in more than 400 canned goods. The day starts with Breakfast with Santa, includes a Toys for Tots drive and offers carriage rides. It is designed as a draw to the downtown business district.

"I'm a beggar," she said innocently. What she means is she's not shy when it comes to asking for help or donations.

She raised the money for 41 light pole wreaths in downtown Warsaw.

With holiday planning in full swing, she made sure the ornamental rooftop lights were in good repair or replaced with rope lighting.

As owner of a ceramics shop, Lock traveled to and exhibited at more than 20 craft shows a year.

Now she's on the other side of the table. Her experiences as a craft vendor have come in handy. As a WCDC board member, she organized City of Lakes Festival vendors for the last two years.

"We're all going to work together," she said of the festival - June 21 through 23 this year - which brings such diverse groups as the parks department, a church, a restaurant, the YMCA and service clubs together as well as a group of pilots who serve breakfast and lunch and offer plane rides at the Warsaw Municipal Airport.

All it takes is a little coordination.

Between now and June there are a couple of other things to accomplish. The downtown merchants' Valentine drawing, featuring dinner for two and other prizes, is just around the corner. The Taste of Warsaw is set for May.

In her spare time she attends the Warsaw City Council meetings and other meetings open to the public held in Warsaw.

She looks forward to the HyettPalma report on the downtown district on Monday.

"I'm nosy," she said. What she means is she's ready to grab the expert's findings and begin the work to enhance the downtown area - singlehandedly, if necessary.