ASHLAND – Major Steve Bechtol, pilot with the Ohio Air National Guard 179th Airlift Wing, left in February for a 10-week deployment to the Middle East. This was his first months-long assignment overseas in five years, and he wanted to do something special for his wife of 21 years during his absence.
Julianna Hritz, owner of Vines Bakery, helped Steve Bechtol devise a plan to give baked goods and letters to his wife while he was away. He prepaid for weekly scones and coffee and left a stack of letters to be handed out on each visit.
“He had (the letters) all dated for each week that he would be gone, and there was even one that he put a stamp on because she was going out of town for spring break with their kids,” Hritz said. “He told me what day to mail it to make sure it was there at the right time. . . He put a ton of thought behind it.”
The Bechtols have four children, ages 10, 11, 14 and 15. Their dad made sure to leave special treats for them, too.
“He did a couple other fun things for the kids, like paying for a couple boxes of cookies and stuff on random dates for her to take home,” Hritz said.
After Leah Bechtol dropped her husband off on the day of his deployment, she took their older two children to school. The younger two were schooling remotely that day, so she took them to Vines for a treat before going home.
On that first visit, the Bechtol family learned about Steve’s secret plan, and Leah received her first letter.
“Juliana was so sweet, and she’s like, ‘I have a card for you,’” Leah Bechtol said. “Then he explained it in the card, and I cried all over.”
Hritz remembers crying as she watched Leah Bechtol open the card with her kids. Inside, there were instructions to go downtown to Fig and Oak for another surprise: gourmet popcorn and a specialty blend of coffee for a family movie night.
In each letter that followed, Steve Bechtol sent his family on adventures to different local shops. Each merchant was prepared with a weekly surprise for them, including flowers, candy and other gifts.
“I just felt like I had such a community of support from our downtown, and from Julianna at Vines,” Leah Bechtol said. “She is so welcoming and so loving and I just felt like everybody was so excited for us and so supportive of us.”
“We’re big shop local people,” she continued. “I loved that he put this together to send me downtown every week. That was really fun.”
The stack of letters came to an end last week, when Steve Bechtol returned home safely to his family. Vines Bakery shared a photo of the couple on social media when they came in together for the first time since his deployment ended, writing, “This is why Vines was built. For moments like this.”
“The fact that I was able to hand her a piece of her husband every week was just really special,” Hritz said. “It was very incredible to be a part of. They’re just the sweetest couple.”
Knox Community Hospital proudly supports the vibrant pulse of our community by sponsoring the Life & Culture section on Knox Pages, celebrating the stories and experiences that make our region unique.