STEUBENVILLE - The Zirilles can still remember opening their front door and their home to Richard and Dagmar Celeste in 1984.
"Governor Celeste and his wife would travel to different communities in the state for his Capital For A Day program. The organizers were looking for a family to host the governor and his wife during their June 6 and 7 visit to Steubenville. Our neighbor was Mike Jaworsky who was with the Steubenville Chamber of Commerce at the time. He asked us to consider putting our name in to be considered as hosts. First my wife said no but I thought it would be a nice idea," recalled Pat Zirille.
According to Steve Gelety, a city resident and an official in the Celeste administration in the 1980s, the former governor wanted to take his state cabinet out of Columbus every month.
"Local officials would arrange for the governor and his wife and his cabinet members to stay with local families. If someone wanted to stay in a motel they had to pay for it themselves. There was no cost to the state. Dick Celeste wanted to stay in touch with regular people throughout the state so he could listen to their issues and ideas, Gelety declared.
"There were several families being considered to host the Celestes for the night but we were told a few days later we had been picked. I thought the most interesting part was the preparation. This was a program the governor was doing all over the state but we had never imagined we would have him and his wife as our guests," continued Pat.
"First we went through a background check. Then a couple of state troopers came and checked our home and the neighborhood and our neighbors. When the Celestes were coming to our home the state troopers blocked off both ends of South Bend Boulevard so no traffic could go through, he said.
"We actually met Gov. Celeste and his wife earlier in the evening at a reception at the Jefferson Technical College library. We left early to make sure everything was ready and then there was a kock at the door and there stood the governor and his wife," said Pat.
"I was a little nervous to have the governor of Ohio and his wife in our home. But they both came in and made themselves at home. I remember the governor loved the homemade cookies I had. They were just snickerdoodles I always made but he loved them and called them, 'wicked'," remarked Cathy Zirille.
"They were very down to earth people. There were no awkward silences. It was really like having neighbors stop in for a visit. He had a beer and wanted to watch a particular television show on the tv. Our son played a song for them on the piano and then Dagmar Celeste played 'Beautiful Ohio' on the piano. Our son was quite taken with the state troopers who were parked out front so they gave him a quick tour of the vehicle. And then he stood at the bedroom door asking the Celestes all kinds of questions including what type of toothpaste they used," laughed Cathy.
"They stayed in the master bedroom, Pat slept in our son's room and I slept in our daughter's room. But to be honest we really didn't sleep very much that night. I remember my mother made coffee that evening but she wasn't used to my coffee maker and it came out kind of weak. Governor Celeste tried to be polite but I noticed he didn't care for it. The next morning I made the coffee and he made a comment about real coffee," Cathy remarked.
"My mother had also brought fresh roses from her yard. I made a light dinner of quiche, some fresh fruit, the cookies and rolls. The next morning they had a light breakfast and then they were off to a number of events as part of the Capital For A Day," she remembered.
"Would we do it again? Yes probably. We were nervous about the visit but once they were here and we were talking it was nice," she added.
The Capital For A Day in Steubenville event included breakfast at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, a tour of the Jeffco Sheltered Workshop, a labor luncheon at the Holiday Inn and a tour of the Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Steubenville plant.
The governor and local officials also visited the construction site of the Veterans Memorial bridge, rededication ceremonies at the Steubenville Marina and a health care meeting at the Ohio Valley Hospital.
"We received Christmas cards from the Celestes for several years after their visit. They also invited us to the state fair in Columbus and once we were invited to a barbecue at the governor's mansion with the host families from other communities," Pat said.
"I was working at the Osso's store on Fourth Street at the time and after the visit everyone would come in and want to talk about everything," said Pat.
"My friends and neighbors always commented on how clean and neat we kept our house. They would say we were ready for a visit by the Pope or the president. Well we ended up with a visit by the governor of Ohio," stated Cathy.
