Memory of dedicated walker to be honored

MARIA STEIN - Though he was blind for most of his life, Gilbert Rutschilling perceived the lay of the land and the flora and fauna that inhabit it with extraordinary precision.

Simply by listening, a sense he was compelled to hone to compensate for his lack of sight, Gilbert could name a bird by the sound of its song, know when it was safe to cross the road and determine a person's surname by the way he or she talked.

"He could hear a mouse run through a ditch. He could hear a leaf blow across the parking lot from inside the house," said his nephew Ben Huelskamp, who lived with his uncle for 21 years. "His brain could focus on his hearing, not that his hearing was any better than yours or mine."

For instance, one night when the electricity went out in the middle of the night at his chicken house, Rutschilling had to run outside to fetch the tractor to run the generator.

He found it in the middle of a field via echolocation - smacking two rocks together and listening to hear where the sound reflected back, signaling the location of the tractor. He then drove it back to the chicken house.

"(He) stops it. Shuts it off. Hits two rocks together so he can hear the sound bounce off the building and that's how he got the tractor to the chicken house so he could hook up his generator to save his chickens," Huelskamp said.

He also played a mean game of euchre at the Korner Kafe, ran an egg operation, managed a snack shop in a Cincinnati high-rise building, where he single-handedly thwarted an attempted robbery, and possessed a vast knowledge of the Cincinnati Reds, never missing a game on the radio.

"He never let his disability affect him whatsoever. He always had a smile on his face," Huelskamp said. "He was always happy. He accepted things as they were."

Rutschilling was perhaps best known for walking the streets of Maria Stein - and well beyond. The dedicated saunterer would travel up to 5 miles on each of his constitutionals.

"He would walk anywhere from the county line up to 716," Huelskamp said. "If it was too windy he didn't walk because he couldn't hear the cars. But otherwise, he walked whenever he could."

Sometimes Rutschilling would be gone for hours.

People "would stop and talk to him. Sometimes he said he worked his mouth more than he worked his legs, so many people stopped to talk to him," Huelskamp recalled.

The man loved to walk as a way to enjoy the world around him. He was also fond of sitting still in a woods, squirrels gathering around to eat the peanuts he had tossed about.

"He could tell me who had the best cornfield or who had the best wheat field because he'd go out there and he'd feel the (crops)," Huelskamp said.   

His sharpened sense of hearing, combined with a striking intelligence, a farmer's grit and a kind heart, allowed Rutschilling to enjoy a rich, fulfilling life, one that sadly came to an end after a heart attack at the age of 91 on May 10.  

Since Rutschilling died during the COVID-19 pandemic when churches were closed, his family couldn't hold a funeral. He also had donated his body to science so a viewing was out of the question as well.

Looking to honor the memory of an incredible man known by many in the community, Huelskamp arranged for a memorial Mass at 9 a.m. Saturday at St. John The Baptist Church, Maria Stein.  

Huelskamp realizes that many will be unable to attend because of social-distancing requirements.

"We can't all fit into the church so across from the church I'm going to have tent set up with pictures of Gil, stories of Gil, Gilbert memorabilia," he said.

The tent will be kept open throughout the afternoon. Huelskamp also asks that people walk the sidewalks of Maria Stein for 15 minutes on Saturday in his uncle's memory.

"In memory of Gil, who walked the streets of Maria Stein, take 15 minutes to walk the sidewalks of Maria Stein," he said.