Gale and Barbara traveled the country for a year after their arrival in Sabina, and at this point it is generally agreed upon that they sold tools from the back seat and trunk of their car, setting up sales territories nationwide that would prove to be valuable in later years.  When the MAC Tool facility was gutted by fire in 1940, Gale was given the responsibility for much of the restoration process.  MAC Tool paid him by allotting him ten percent of the profits made by the company.  Barbara was also instrumental to the development of the company.  She employed six women who made small leather cases for MAC Tools.  

In April of 1947, the stockholders elected Gale as the new President of the MAC Tool Corporation.  Shortly thereafter, company profits soared.  Much credit was given to Gale’s management style and his way with people.  Gale realized that it was the employees who made the company, and he paid them generously.  He was known to have loaned his employees money, often never expecting or being reimbursed.  The Waddell’s hosted numerous weekend parties for employees at their cottage at Lake White where their guests enjoyed boating, fishing, and Barbara’s cooking.  

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Gaylord Waddell died in 1968 and Barbara passed away twelve years later in 1980.  Because they had no children or close relatives, much of their money went to charity.  The charities include Moose Haven, Boys’ Town, Sabina Church of Christ, Sabina Methodist Church, Fayette and Clinton Memorial Hospitals, American Heart Association, Diabetes Foundation, Shriners’ Burn Institute, Leukemia Foundation, Muscular Dystrophy Association, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, East Clinton Board of Education, and the Clinton County Board of Education (now called the Southern Ohio Educational Service Center or SOESC).  

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The story of the Waddell’s is told every spring to a group of graduates from Blanchester, Clinton Massie, and East Clinton, those who are fortunate enough to be recipients of the Gaylord and Barbara Waddell Memorial Scholarship.  The Waddell’s left $600,000 in a trust administered by the SOESC for scholarships to be given each year to deserving students from the Clinton County Local Schools so that they can better afford to continue their education.  The scholarships, first awarded in 1981, have been presented to  

four hundred and twenty-five students to date.  As few as eleven and as many as twenty-two $4,000 scholarships have been awarded each year.  Each scholarship is for $1,000 per year for up to four years.  Over a million dollars has been dispersed through this scholarship since 1981.  

While neither Gale nor Barbara finished grade school, they recognized and strongly valued the importance of education.  They recognized that such a gift could help provide financial support for the education of some of Clinton County’s top students, many of whom would likely return to the community as businessmen and women, teachers, doctors, lawyers, and political leaders.  Over a million dollars, thirty-one years, and four hundred and twenty-five students later, this gift continues to give to a community that they loved.  

The Waddell’s represent a number of people in our community who have established similar trusts.  Hopefully, all of their stories are told and will continue to be told, not just to remind us of those who so generously gave, but more importantly to inspire others with the means to consider following their lead.