5 minute read
Gliding with Grace
Galion Neurologist MelanyRaedy Novack spends her free time during the winter months on the slopes at Mansfield's Snow Trails Ski Resort
I was running late for my appointment to meet Dr. Melany Raedy (her maiden and professional name) Novack. I was not headed to her office for a medical consultation but instead to another place she spends time: Snow Trails, the ski resort in Mansfield. It was winter in Ohio, but the roads I was traveling were free from snow. Everything — the sky, the road and the remnants of snow — was a bit gray. I pulled into the parking lot and hopped out, barely looking up as I rushed toward the agreed-upon meeting spot. I skidded to a stop and finally looked around. I was no longer in Ohio — at least judging by my surroundings. It didn’t even look like 2023! I seemed to be in a small village in the Alps in the 1960s. There’s an undeniable charm to Snow Trails resort. From the wood detailing on the Swiss-inspired buildings to the blanket of pure white snow covering the hills, it looks like a scene in a snow globe. When I meet up with Melany, she’s beaming — she loves it here. “I call [Snow Trails] the gem of Mansfield,” she exclaims.
Melany Novack followed in her father’s footsteps. Go to medical school and become a doctor? Check. Move to the Midwest to raise your family? Check. Make skiing the family’s favorite pastime? Check. Make Catholicism the center of your life? Check.
“Almost everyone in Michigan went north to go skiing on the weekends,” Melany explained. Her family was no exception. Her father was from New York, and as skiing boomed in popularity post World War II, he fell in love with the alpine sport. When he settled in Saginaw, Mich., with his wife and children, skiing became a family event. He taught them all to ski. Melany, who was only three years old when her dad taught her to ski for the first time, treasures the memories of her family on the ski slopes together. Beyond their weekend getaways, her dad planned vacations around skiing. “He would take a week off, and we would go to Crystal Mountain, which is near Michigan's northwest coast, for Christmas. It was so beautiful,” Melany recalled.
Melany kept up the skiing habit in college, where she joined a team “for fun, not for racing,” she clarified. After college, her life became hectic. She was in medical school, followed by her residency, each in different parts of the United States. She simply didn’t have time to ski. She did find the time for Steve, who was in his own residency. Melany and Steve both became doctors — neurology is her specialty — and were married. A hospital recruiter brought Melany and Steve to Galion. “She showed us all the best parts of the area. I can’t remember if she showed us Snow Trails, but she definitely showed us St. Joe’s [Parish in Galion],” Melany said. They were convinced. After spending their 20s moving from state to state, they were ready to settle in Ohio. In 1991, they moved to Galion and began working at the local hospital.
It was the ideal place to raise their family. By 1998, the family grew to include children Elizabeth, Stephen, Sarah, Michael, Catherine, Maddy and Hannah, living in a farmhouse. They attended St. Joseph Parish and sent their children to St. Joseph School. It was one of the selling points for the area. “I loved St. Joseph. It was a place you could go in and be a part of,” she explained. Over the years, Steve and Melany have been a part of many parish and school activities. Melany volunteered to teach French at the school in her spare time for years and organized an afterschool place for teens. Steve traveled to Belize on Mission trips with the late Fr. Bob Haas. The church and school became central to the Novacks’ lives.
Snow Trails became another cherished place for the family. With fond memories of her childhood on the slopes, Melany had her children take lessons, too. Steve, a Georgia native, did not learn to ski until adulthood, but he picked it up enthusiastically. Instead of being cooped up in the winters, the Novack family spent the coldest months of the year bundled up in warm gear, gliding down snowy runs, and then warming up in the cozy lodge. “Skiing is such a great family activity,” Melany said. As the children grew, their love of the ski slopes has not waned. Like her father before her, Melany planned vacations where the family could ski. “We took vacations to Michigan when the kids were younger, or now that they’re older, we meet somewhere for a ski vacation,” she shared.
Even with their children now grown, Steve and Melany stay busy. They both still practice medicine, which makes for busy days. In the evenings, they spend time doing some of their favorite activities. In the winter, they might head to Snow Trails after work for a few runs on the snow-covered slopes or to enjoy the lodge’s rustic ambiance and a meal. Fridays are Melany’s favorite, though. Each week, they join a group of friends at a home for a rosary social club. On those evenings, the couples pray the rosary, have lively discussions and enjoy food and drink.
More than half a century since those fatherdaughter ski lessons, it’s evident that Melany learned much more than how to ski from her father.
