Celebrating Dad - Fr. Carl Langenderfer, OFM
Fintan Langenderfer
My Dad was a Cincinnati Public Schools teacher, and had off in the summer, so my brothers and I used to spend our summers building a house with our Dad, usually in Springdale. We built a home each summer from the time I was about 6 years old until I left for the seminary at age 18.
We would start in the Spring, as soon as the weather broke, building the basement foundation with concrete blocks, and continue with the wood joists and subfloor, adding the inside partitions after the bricklayers built the outside walls, then we added the rafters and roof, including laying the shingles.
When I was 16 and able to drive, my Dad bought a Red Ford half-ton pickup truck, and he would send me to the Sutherland Lumber Company in Woodlawn with a signed blank check and a list of the lumber we needed. I would then pick out the lumber, pay with the check, and return with the lumber. The trust he had in me inspired me to be trustworthy and responsible, willing to do whatever he asked me to do as best I could.
The Langenderfer family: parents Fintan and Florence, sons Max, Bob, and Carl
I also worked for Servall Electric Company for 3 summers during this time, and learned how to wire houses. When I had completed my Sophomore year at Roger Bacon, I spent that summer wiring the house we were building in Springdale, having planned all the circuits and having purchased all the materials at a local electric supply house with my Dad's blessing. My work passed the electrical inspection on the second try, and that house is still standing today.
From my Dad I learned the values of hard work, persistence, commitment, and the joy of seeing the fruits of my labors. My Dad emphasized doing the job right the first time: "Things done by halves are never done right." To this day I enjoy working with my hands, doing electrical and carpentry work, and enjoying the visible results.
Fr. Carl Langenderfer, OFM, today
Fr. Carl is the guardian of the St. Anthony Shrine in Cincinnati, Ohio
Posted in: Missions, News, Prayer, Saint Anthony, Saint Francis
