Church honors official for volunteerism

Paul Olson was honored by Stroman and St. Luke’s Lutheran Church for helping others.

TREDYFFRIN » Paul Olson has spent much of his adult life helping others.

Growing up in Dawson, a small village in western Minnesota, during the Great Depression in a “low-income family,” Olson, 86, learned the value of work and also the importance of helping those in need.

“I’ve worked since I was 12,” he said. “I made 15 cents an hour.”

Olson worked in a drug store where he swept floors, stocked shelves and washed windows.

A graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College, where he played football and basketball and earned a degree in business administration, Olson also served in the Army at the time of the Korean War but did not see combat.

“I’ve been blessed with an education,” he said.

Olson likes to call himself a “peddler.” He had a career in sales and marketing for Cargill and then Penn Central Transportation Co.

But at “86 years young,” he is not retired. Olson now manages some businesses owned by his family, including some farms in Minnesota that grow corn and soybeans.

“America is a marvelous country,” he said.

His dad sold poultry feed and his grandfather was also “a peddler,” he said.

“I like to tell them I’m a peddler,” said Olson. “Nothing happens until a sale is made.”

After moving to Tredyffrin with his wife, Andrea, in 1969, Olson began volunteering his services. When the couple’s three children were young, Olson was president of the Devon-Strafford Little League for five years and coached the Strafford Eagles youth football program, now the Conestoga Generals, for seven years.

A Republican, Olson was first elected as a Tredyffrin supervisor in 1976 and has served 42 years, losing only one election.

“I’ve been door-to-door [campaigning] many times over the years,” he said.

He’s been chairman of the board of supervisors six times and vice chairman seven times, according to township records.

He touted his record as a fiscal conservative in keeping township taxes low.

“I have a lot of good friends who are Democrats,” he said. “Tredyffrin is a wonderful township of 30,000 people.”

The population has grown quite a bit over the years he’s lived there.

“Parents are interested in good schools and safe neighborhoods,” he said. Along with “police protection and fire protection. And Tredyffrin offers a lot of things. It goes back to 1707, and there’s a lot of history.”

“There are good people wherever you go,” he said.

Kevin Stroman, who grew up in Mt. Pleasant section of the township, said Olson has been a supporter of Main Line Mentoring (formerly Kids First Now), which he runs, and the Carr School/Mt. Pleasant Chapel since 1994.

“The Carr school was in dire need of refurbishing, so I went before the township supervisors to try to get support, and to my surprise, a young man I played basketball with at Teegarden [township league] was sitting on the board,” said Stroman. “After being ‘put off’ for many months, Paul pulled me aside and told me, ‘Kevin, just keep coming.’

“Soon after that, they gave approval and helped formulate a board of trustees to oversee the project, many of whom Paul asked to be on the board. He has

been my friend and supporter ever since. No matter what came up in my life, the needs of the Carr school or Kids First Now, Paul and Andrea have been there for me. He was instrumental in the Carr school reopening in 2002, and he also was a part of getting the park named after Mazie B. Hall, who was my mentor growing up. When board members unfortunately passed away, Paul was right there to help find people to fill in.”

Whenever an issue occurred in the Mt. Pleasant community, Olson “was right there showing his concern, desire and dedication to finding a solution,” said Stroman.

Olson proudly displayed his watch with a Red Cross logo that the organization gave him.

“I think I’m the No. 1 donor for the American Red Cross in the Penn/Jersey region,” said Olson, who has given 662 donations of blood and platelets and still gives blood.

He began giving blood after a close friend, who had been receiving transfusions, died.

“I hope to give 700 donations before the Lord takes me home,” said Olson. “I look forward to the donations.”

Olson is “one of the highest donors,” said Alana Mauger, a spokeswoman for the Red Cross. “It’s donors like Paul that make our mission possible. … We’re grateful he’s a regular blood donor. We hope that he’s an inspiration to others.”

“Between you and me, I believe physical activity helps you,” said Olson. “Physical activity is good for you. I’ve been physically active my whole life. I walk even though it’s hot. I’m not a doctor, of course, but I’ve been involved in physical activities my whole life.”

The Olsons have been active members of St. Luke Lutheran Church in Devon since they moved to Tredyffrin.

Olson is also on the board of directors of Surrey Services for Seniors, which he called “a wonderful organization that helps elderly people.”

He was also co-chair of the capital campaign for Tredyffrin Township’s main library in Strafford, raising over $4.8 million in a private-public partnership. He is the BOS liaison to the library board of trustees.

The Olsons have seven grandchildren. Their two sons, Michael and David, live in California, and their daughter, Kristin, is a Paoli resident.

Stroman and St. Luke’s Lutheran Church were set to recognize Olson for his contributions to the community on Sept. 8 at the church.

Tredyffrin Supervisor Paul Olson is pictured with his wife, Andrea Olson. Submitted photo