There is nothing like growing up in a small town (or two).

I always knew the Tama-Toledo community did a lot to help my family growing up. I recall community blood drives to try to help pay back some of the large quantity of blood products used by my two brothers’ treatments for hemophilia.

My brother David was in the STC Class of 1971. His classmates, his teachers, and the school as a whole made accommodations to allow Dave to participate in classes from home.

There was a dedicated phone line run from the school to our house and a toaster-sized intercom unit on each end.

Those sharing high school classes with Dave would carry the intercom to the next class. Others would lift his wheelchair up or down steps or help him up or down stairs if he was using crutches at the time.

Following David through school, I think every teacher made the statement to me that “Your brother was so smart” which translated to me as “why aren’t you?”.

Dave received tons of support from all the teachers and school staff. My other brother got lots of support as well. I remember Mrs. Childers visited our home to give him a test for French class.

When Dave was injured at ISU in late 1972, he spent around 8 months in the U of I hospital and had around 7 surgeries. The support he received from hometown friends was amazing. It became clear he would need to stay close to the University Hospital in Iowa City, trading his Aeronautical Engineering classes for Mechanical Engineering at Iowa and thereby depriving us all of those flying cars we would have certainly had by now.

Dave was scheduled for surgery the morning after the April 1973 snowstorm stopped and it was critical.

The city of Toledo brought an end loader just to get us out of our own driveway to get on the highway. We somehow got there in time for the surgery. The community was always so good to our family.

In recent years I have discovered even more help from the community and Dave’s friends.

I did not realize the Waterloo Courier newspaper had a special section allowing small town newspaper editors to make comments. Toledo Chronicle editor Bill Christensen placed information in 1973 suggesting people contact legislators asking them to pass federal legislation to help Hemophiliacs pay for medical treatments.

The Tama-Toledo community once again supported our family, through the initiative of Bill Christensen.

When Dave had to change to the U of I, a Tama-Toledo hometown hero volunteered to be his college roommate. Of course I knew who Dave’s roommate was and that he was an outstanding person.

What I recently discovered was that this good, good person took Dave to the hospital every morning at 3:30 a.m. for an infusion of the blood component that raised the level of clotting. Every morning for an entire semester! After the infusion they would then go to the campus food service for breakfast, becoming very well known to the food service employees as regular early birds.

I could never repay Dave’s roommate for his support and protection of my brother.

While at Iowa, David met his first wife. She was and is a kind and gentle soul who took on the role of caretaker and endured some very stressful times with the utmost grace.

They had two sons who both turned out to be smart, strong and independent young men.

It has been 50 years since brother Dave graduated, and close to 19 years now since he passed away.

I will never be able to repay the kindness shown to my brothers by the good people of Tama-Toledo. But I can say thank you.

Duff Coleman

Monticello, Iowa