Community recalls his selfless service
The community of Hampton lost an icon last week with the passing of Roger Bamesberger.
Known by anyone who called Hampton home in the past 77 years, Bameberger left a legacy as someone who got things done, all with a selfless goal of serving, improving and hopefully growing his beloved hometown of Hampton.
“He was a leader,” recalled Dane Schafer, a local business owner and former village board chairman. “Roger was never one to complain about something not getting done. He would just go do it and I always admired that. He was just a doer and he wasn’t afraid to use his own resources and his own assets to get done what he thought needed to get done for the community. I just think that was really neat.”
Bamesberger served for years on the village board, offering his input later on to a younger generation of leaders.
“He was absolutely a sounding board on pretty much any of the larger decisions,” Schafer said. “He would never tell us as a board what to do, but he would always give us pointers as to what to look into and maybe remind us of what had been done in the past. We always kind of joked that if he showed up to a meeting he had something to tell us. He just wasn’t one to sit back and criticize and not take his own action to help get it done.”
Gene Joseph also worked closely with Bamesberger over the years, partnering with the community’s elder statesman on a number of business ventures and projects.
“He definitely was a pillar in the community,” Joseph summarized. “I appreciate the fact that he bought up properties and he fixed them up nice, turned them into something better than they were. He also did a lot of things that went unnoticed, like moving snow in the winter on Main Street and stuff like that. He just did a lot and I used to joke with him that he was the Ken Wortman of Hampton. He did a lot for this community.”
Both Schafer and Joseph mentioned the annual TDLC Cruise Night as a prime example of Bamesberger’s do-it-yourself mentality.
“We started out with nothing and he really built that thing up,” Joseph said of the annual August event which draws hundreds of people to town for a free barbecue, car show and conversation.
“That’s just another example of him being willing to use his own assets, his own hobbies and his own life skills to bring people to town,” Schafer added. “You know a lot of different people and businesses had offered to help him with that but he said he had it handled. He was definitely a leader in that aspect and he is going to be very, very missed.”
Bamesberger was easy to find on Cruise Night, walking the streets visiting with old friends and introducing himself to people he didn’t know.
“I just like to get people to town,” he told the News-Register during last year’s 20th annual event. “I’ve said this many times that maybe someday we may be able to get somebody to stay here in Hampton, but there are no guarantees. More than anything it’s more about appreciation and having a chance to see people.”
Bamesberger made his living as a welder, taking over a business his father Merle started 40 years before he took the helm. He worked six days a week and always said he loved working with and serving the local ag community, in fact earning recognition in 2020 from the York-Hamilton County Cattlemen. Bamesberger said at that time that 80 percent of his business was ag related, though he also had many commercial clients and made it a point to find time to help teach and tutor Hampton students whenever possible.
Bamesberger was a friend to Hampton Public Schools, according to Supt. Holly Herzberg, who noted his impact over the years.
“Roger committed himself to anything that he believed would help the community of Hampton prosper,” Herzberg said. “He understood a strong bond between the community and school was one of the necessary things to continue to grow Hampton.
“Roger would take time out of his daily routine to come to school and assist students and staff with welding techniques,” she continued. “He also helped the school find different resources to expand our welding booths and equipment. Roger wanted to ensure our students were exposed to opportunities that would help guide their future choices after high school.”
Herzberg noted that she and other members of the staff were more than willing to help serve meals at Bamesberger’s annual car show, recalling that he provided purple shirts for all as a little extra incentive.
“The Hampton Public School staff always looked forward to helping Roger with his annual car cruise show in August,” she said. “Last year he blessed us with new purple shirts to wear while we served the meal for him. We will continue to wear these shirts with PRIDE to honor all that Roger did for the Hampton Hawk family. He will be greatly missed!”