Sometimes the quietest folks have the most to say, and surprise you with their artistry. This is certainly true of singer/songwriter Mark Haines.

The 75-year-old retired North Fayette Valley West Union Elementary School custodian followed in the footsteps of his father, Jim.

“I just kind of drifted into the job,” Mark said. “As a youth, I always went with my dad, cleaning the school, bank, and medical clinic. I had a lot of quiet time where I could reflect on life and the people around me.”

Like many men graduating in the late 1960s and early 1970s during the Vietnam War, there was always the possibility of being drafted into the military.

“They told me I should go to college, so I enrolled at the University of Northern Iowa,” Mark recalled.

After a disappointing year there, the West Union native transferred to Upper Iowa University, where he studied philosophy and religion.

“Before my senior year I dropped out and shortly after that began working as a custodian,” Mark said.

At that time, he had started to write songs with his friend Kevin Conner, who joined Doug Koempel in the band, Memory Brothers.

Doug and Kevin regularly played a Haines collaboration, “Train Track Penny”, which can be heard on their first album “Time and Distance.”

As a young man in his twenties, Mark and two friends, Joe Knight and Kermit Solheim, decided to spend a day on the Turkey River tubing, which after heavy rains proved to be more dangerous than expected.

This experience became the basis for a ballad, “The River is High and Fast” which appears in Doug Koempel’s weekly online newsletter arranged and was recorded by Koempel with Mark singing and demonstrating his harmonica playing skills.

Another one of his songs, “Mr. Gray”, was inspired by his grandfather’s friend, Mr. Gray, who helped his grandfather build a porch. Kevin Conner recorded the song at Koempel’s recording studio.

“I give credit to Doug Koempel’s music production and arranging skills, and who performs production miracles to my songs,” Mark added.

Unlike many songwriters, Mark doesn’t read music or use the piano for writing songs. Instead, he uses his harmonica and guitar to create melodies for folk songs and ballads; many of which are influenced by traditional American and British Isles folk music.

The song, “That’s the Way It Goes,” channels the late singer/songwriter John Prine in a folksy, relatable ditty. The recording demonstrates Mark’s vocal and harmonica talents.

Sometimes he wakes up in the morning with a lyric in his head, and other times a melody might come to him while he’s out walking.

“I try to walk about an hour a day,” Mark said. “It gives me time to clear my mind. West Union’s Recreation Center is so peaceful and a great place to walk.

“When I write a song, I think, ‘This might be the last one I write’,” he continued to explain. “You can’t just sit down every day and write another song. I need a definite idea or theme to get a song going and in the process the song might take a direction I hadn’t seen. That’s the way it goes.”

While Mark may well be soft-spoken, listeners can discover added joy hearing his songful reflections in a Doug Koempel YouTube video or weekly newsletter.