A hug and a smile

[Guest guest]

A hug and a smile

Max Neidlinger has perfected the art of saying thanks.

By IDA CHIPMAN

Tribune Correspondent

PLYMOUTH — All summer long, Max Neidlinger made sure

customers at the Plymouth Farmer’s Market got a bonus.

With every bag of popcorn he sold at his sister’s

vegetable stand, Max offered a big smile and a hug.

For Max, age 54, every day is a bonus.

When he was 4 months old, doctors told his parents,

Phyllis and Ralph Neidlinger, that their son had Down syndrome and should be

institutionalized.

“He will never walk, talk or feed himself,” they said.

His folks refused.

“He is our child and we will love him and take care of

him,” they said.

The little boy did learn to walk and talk and even taught

himself how to swim.

Max was 8 years old before he had a place to go to

school.

His mom drove him to Monterey, and he rode a bus to

Winamac to a class in the basement of a one-room schoolhouse.

He later went to Fairview School and then to a special ed

class at West High, until he was 16 years old.

“He went to several schools before Marshall-Starke was

started,” Max’s sister, Jan Hurford said.

In fact, her parents and Jan’s mother-in-law, Mildred

Hurford, were among the founders of the Marshall-Starke Development Center.

Max worked there for 16 years. He also worked for six

years on conversion vans for the handicapped at Federal Mogul in Leiters Ford.

“We were amazed at how well he did his job,” Janice said.

“He ran three-stage machines.”

Max was known for his “nimble fingers,” a talent that has

come in handy of late.

When the company closed down in 1989, Max was one of the

last to be let go. He kept the morale up of the other workers.

He worked for a time at Viking Paper in Plymouth, but a

birth deformity in his right hip worsened and required a total hip replacement

in 2005.

Max faithfully did his therapy every day, walking on the

treadmill, working in the yard and swimming in the above-ground swimming pool

he bought with his own money from savings from his job.

For many years, he has worked at Sunny Acres on Queen

Road, making boxes and packing produce at the family’s business.

A deer hunter, Max goes with his brother and nephews. He

always gets a deer.

“But I let somebody else do the dressing,” he said,

grimacing.

A huge IU fan, Max can’t read, but he knows when all of

the Big Red games are played. Fashion conscious, he wears his white IU sweater

for home games and his red for away contests.

He also dresses appropriately for the Bears and Colts.

“He has to be busy,” Jan said. “He couldn’t just sit

there and watch TV all day.”

So when a friend gave him a hand-knitted scarf, he

decided to try to master the craft himself.

His nimble fingers came into play. He made some for gifts

and he sold 20 at the Pumpkin Fall Festival at Hensler’s Tree Nursery in

Hamlet.

, manager of the gift barn for 14 years,

said it is great to have Max’s handmade things in stock.

“We want more things that are not made in China,” she

said, “and we have added local items, such as apple butter, maple syrup and

quilted purses.”

It takes a couple of days to knit the 56-inch-long

scarves. Made of machine washable acrylic wool, fringed and hand blocked by his

mother, Max’s scarves are in Plymouth, Oregon-, Knox and Glenn school

colors.

Others are of Chicago Bear black and orange and

Indianapolis Colt blue.

There are also striped scarves and heather-colored

scarves.

All are on sale in the Christmas Barn at the Hensler Tree

Nursery for $6.95 apiece.

Sometimes, Max is at the booth at Hensler’s. When he is,

customers get a bonus.

A smile, a hug and a Merry Christmas greeting.

A hug and a smile

Max Neidlinger has perfected the art of saying thanks.

By IDA CHIPMAN

Tribune Correspondent

PLYMOUTH — All summer long, Max Neidlinger made sure

customers at the Plymouth Farmer’s Market got a bonus.

With every bag of popcorn he sold at his sister’s

vegetable stand, Max offered a big smile and a hug.

For Max, age 54, every day is a bonus.

When he was 4 months old, doctors told his parents,

Phyllis and Ralph Neidlinger, that their son had Down syndrome and should be

institutionalized.

“He will never walk, talk or feed himself,” they said.

His folks refused.

“He is our child and we will love him and take care of

him,” they said.

The little boy did learn to walk and talk and even taught

himself how to swim.

Max was 8 years old before he had a place to go to

school.

His mom drove him to Monterey, and he rode a bus to

Winamac to a class in the basement of a one-room schoolhouse.

He later went to Fairview School and then to a special ed

class at West High, until he was 16 years old.

“He went to several schools before Marshall-Starke was

started,” Max’s sister, Jan Hurford said.

In fact, her parents and Jan’s mother-in-law, Mildred

Hurford, were among the founders of the Marshall-Starke Development Center.

Max worked there for 16 years. He also worked for six

years on conversion vans for the handicapped at Federal Mogul in Leiters Ford.

“We were amazed at how well he did his job,” Janice said.

“He ran three-stage machines.”

Max was known for his “nimble fingers,” a talent that has

come in handy of late.

When the company closed down in 1989, Max was one of the

last to be let go. He kept the morale up of the other workers.

He worked for a time at Viking Paper in Plymouth, but a

birth deformity in his right hip worsened and required a total hip replacement

in 2005.

Max faithfully did his therapy every day, walking on the

treadmill, working in the yard and swimming in the above-ground swimming pool

he bought with his own money from savings from his job.

For many years, he has worked at Sunny Acres on Queen

Road, making boxes and packing produce at the family’s business.

A deer hunter, Max goes with his brother and nephews. He

always gets a deer.

“But I let somebody else do the dressing,” he said,

grimacing.

A huge IU fan, Max can’t read, but he knows when all of

the Big Red games are played. Fashion conscious, he wears his white IU sweater

for home games and his red for away contests.

He also dresses appropriately for the Bears and Colts.

“He has to be busy,” Jan said. “He couldn’t just sit

there and watch TV all day.”

So when a friend gave him a hand-knitted scarf, he

decided to try to master the craft himself.

His nimble fingers came into play. He made some for gifts

and he sold 20 at the Pumpkin Fall Festival at Hensler’s Tree Nursery in

Hamlet.

, manager of the gift barn for 14 years,

said it is great to have Max’s handmade things in stock.

“We want more things that are not made in China,” she

said, “and we have added local items, such as apple butter, maple syrup and

quilted purses.”

It takes a couple of days to knit the 56-inch-long

scarves. Made of machine washable acrylic wool, fringed and hand blocked by his

mother, Max’s scarves are in Plymouth, Oregon-, Knox and Glenn school

colors.

Others are of Chicago Bear black and orange and

Indianapolis Colt blue.

There are also striped scarves and heather-colored

scarves.

All are on sale in the Christmas Barn at the Hensler Tree

Nursery for $6.95 apiece.

Sometimes, Max is at the booth at Hensler’s. When he is,

customers get a bonus.

A smile, a hug and a Merry Christmas greeting.

http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081124/NEWS04/811240075