Marriage: November 21, 1934

"Dad was the local "One-room-school-house" school bus driver in Walker Township in rush County, Indiana about 1912? When the snow was on the roads, He would harness up the farm work horses, hitch them to a large log-cabin log, ( flat on two sides ) and drag it around the neighboring farms, collecting all the children to take to school. He worked on the farm till he was 14. He worked for an Uncle drilling water wells at 14. He owned a blacksmith business in Blue Ridge. He owned and ran a "Line Shaft" machine shop in Blue Ridge. He owned and operated a gasoline filling station in Blue Ridge. He owned and operated a Slaughter House in BR. (and fed hungry neighbors for free during the Depression ). He built from scratch his first well drilling machine. He owned and operated a Thrashing machine and a Minneapolis Moline steam engine to power it. Dad would pull the huge Thrashing Machine around from farm to farm working for local Shelby & Rush County farmers.
He and 2 brothers ran a well drilling business for many years after WW2. He LOVED to garden. He only had a 6th grade education, but never stopped learning all his life. He built radios from scratch, wiring them with bailing wire! He, truely was the Greatest Generation ! When I was 5, I wanted a Teddy Bear. Dad would give me the pennies from his pocket, if I had done my chores. When I had saved up 500 pennies, we went to town and bought my bear. I carried it almost to the North Pole in my Nuclear Submarine for him. I still have it !!!" quoted by Dave Gahimer.

Logansport Pharos-Tribune
Logansport, Indiana
Friday Evening, February 14, 1958

COUPLE BADLY BURNED
GREENSBURG (UP) - Virgil Gahimer, 58, and his wife, Girtha, 46, were burned seriously Thursday in an explosion and fire in a work shop on their farm. Authorities said Gahimer threw gasoline in a stove, thinking it was kerosene.

Shelbyville News
Friday, February 14, 1958

Virgil Gahimer Dies, Wife Hurt In Blast, Fire-Stove Explodes At Home in Decatur County; Rites Here. A former Blue Ridge man, Virgil Gahimer, 57, is dead and his wife, Girtha (Boyer) Gahimer, is in the Greensburg Memorial Hospital with first and second degree burns on her face, arms and feet, as a result of an explosion and fire which occurred at their home near Millhousen in Decatur county Thursday afternoon. The explosion occurred in a workshop near the couple’s home when Mr. Gahimer threw kerosene in a stove to kindle a fire. He received third degree burns over a major portion of his body. His death occurred at the Greensburg hospital at 4:25. Mrs. Gahimer was burned as she attempted to aid her husband. A native of Walker township, Rush county, Mr. Gahimer had spent the greater part of his life in the Blue Ridge community, moving to the present home three years ago. He was a farmer and well driller. He was born November 21, 1900, the son of George and Addie (Rader) Gahimer. His marriage to Mrs. Gahimer took place November 21, 1934, and surviving with her are four children, Mrs. Rose Debaun of Waldron; George Robert Gahimer, Millhousen; Arthur B. Gahimer, serving with the Navy at Long Beach, Calif., and David Gahimer at home. Also surviving are five grandchildren, seven sisters and five brothers. The latter are: Mrs. Mary Mullen, Mrs. Inez Goolsby, Dorothy Gahimer, Mrs. Thelma Fox, Mrs. Isabel Smith, Howard, Basil and Leonidas Gahimer, all of Blue Ridge; Mrs. Gladys Cass of Fountaintown, Mrs. Jean Oliver, Anderson; Chester Gahimer, Connersville R.R. 1, and Daniel of Waldron. Mr. Gahimer was a member of the Homer Christian Church. His funeral will be held Sunday at 2:00 p.m. at the Carmony Funeral Home in this city, with Rev. O.J. McMullen of Milroy and Rev. W.B. Jenkins of Columbus officiating. Interment will be in the Blue Ridge cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Saturday.