The Horseshoe and Woody Hayes, the scarlet and gray. As I’ve said before I’m not much of a sports fan. I don’t know much about the glory days of “The Ohio State University,” but I hear in recent years they have a good team. I wish to tell you of a boyhood friend at Leo, that lived his life in Ohio and was a huge Ohio State fan. The names are correct, in hopes that someone might have had contact with him.
Harry Graber was several years older than I, but we went to the same church, and I knew him as I was growing up. He was a little feisty guy, and I think everyone liked him. He had an older brother Ed and both of them were mechanically inclined, and were always making something strange.
One winter they made a sled with a motor and kind of a paddle wheel to move through the snow. It worked to a certain extent but never proved successful. The kicker was they made it in the barn and had to tear it down to get it out. They both have passed. Ed, years ago in a truck accident, and Harry somewhat recently.
Harry became a cardiologist and practiced at Bellefontaine, Ohio. He spent his entire life at the hospital there, and was for some years administrator. He also taught at Ohio State, and was an avid football fan. He practiced well into his 80’s. He retired at least three times, and was called back by someone needing a doctor.
At one time he gave up his license, and had to go back and study to retrieve it. He believed a doctor should take their time, and spent a half hour with each patient. One of his patients was scheduled for a post-operative consultation. He had actually saved her life. After a half hour he asked the lady, “ls there anything else I can do?” She said, “l need my toe nails trimmed.”
Dr Harry found a toenail clippers and got down on his knees and trimmed her toenails. That was just the kind of guy that Harry was. He said it felt like a Mennonite foot washing. (Mennonites have traditionally washed each other’s feet at communion. This was traditionally part of a love feast on Maudy Thursday.)
I remember a story from Harry’s youth. His dad was a very strict Deacon in the Mennonite Church. Harry was a softball star in high school, in the days before baseball. He was offered a scholarship at Goshen College as a pitcher, but his dad wouldn’t let him go, so that year he worked with his dad in a slaughterhouse.
But during that year Harry dated a girl that was somewhat wild, and his dad did not approve of her. When the college came back next year, his dad was happy to let him go to college. After college he taught several years at an Indian School in Arizona.
I saw him several times in the last few years at Leo. After his wife passed he married a lady from Leo that was in his high school class, and spent a great deal of time in our area. Ohio State, and Ohio, was blessed to have a man the caliber of Dr Harry Graber.
I hear number 6 played number 9 recently. I usually root for the underdog, but I am not necessarily a Notre Dame fan. In a way I envy the Ohio State fans as they are usually on the winning side.
—James Neuhouser
