Rolph Family Experiences Small Town Camaraderie When Plans Go Awry
Posted on July 7, 2008 by Ransom County Gazette
By Janet Hansen
The 70th anniversary celebration for Eddie and Clara Rolph, formerly of Alice and now of Lisbon, which was headlined in the last week’s feature article, did not go off quite as expected. But, thanks to the helpfulness of the Lisbon community, it turned out great!.
The Rolph, children (Roger Rolph of California, Judy Knutson of Milnor, Larry Rolph of Alice, and Donnen Fraase of Lisbon) began planning for the big event a year ago. “When Roger was home last summer, we started talking about the fact that mom and dad would be celebrating their 70th anniversary this June28th and we should hold a big open house on that day.” Explained Judy, “I started mailing invitations to friends and relatives around Christmas time.”
On Friday, the final plans had been made, guests invited, decorations purchased, and food prepared. The family was planning to decorate Parkside Lutheran Homes, where their parents live, for the party to be held there on Saturday. At around 8a.m. they received a phone call, which not only put a damper on their plans, but also rattled their nerves a great deal.
The caller, a member of the Parkside staff, was calling to inform the Rolph children that their mother has a fever and had been experiencing severe chest pains. She was being transported to Lisbon Area Health Services.
The decorating , along with all other plans for the open house were put on hold as family rushed to the hospital to be with their mother. Things did not look good. Clara was very ill. Dr. Oscar Fernandez was on call. After checking Clara over thoroughly, he told the family that she would have to remain in the hospital. “Things were king of touch and go throughout much of the day, and we began to give up on having the open house,” said Doneen.
By the afternoon, Clara was starting to improve. Some of the family members told Dr. Fernandez about the plans for the anniversary. Would it be possible for her to join them at Parkside for the open house the next afternoon?
The doctor indicated that, although Clara’s health was improving, he did not believe she was up to leaving the hospital and returning to Parkside for the party. Since Clara could not go to the party, he suggested, why not bring the party to Clara? He believed that, with a little help from the hospital staff and some cooperation from Parkside, the open house could be moved to the hospital. The staff agreed.
The next days open house was not the only problem the family was facing. They has a lot of friends and relatives arriving. The plans were suppose to include an evening picnic in Doneen’s backyard. However, the rainy, windy conditions were making those plan impossible to carry out. Where could they go? Where could they find a building large enough to accommodate that many people on such a short notice?
A call to the Eagles brought instant luck. The Eagles building was not booked for the evening and they would, under the circumstances, be willing to bend the rules and allow the family to bring in their own food, which had, of course, already been prepared.
“It is so amazing how the entire community rallied around us and helped in whatever way they could,” said Doneen. “We had relatives from a lot of different places, and most of them said that this would never happened where they live.”
By Saturday morning Clara looked much better and the family agreed to take the hospital up on their offer. The hospital staff rounded up some tables and chairs and brought them to the lobby and told the family to decorate it however they wished. “The dietary department, social services, the whole nursing staff, and the spiritual care coordinator – basically the entre hospital staff was one hundred percent behind us.” Stated Judy and Doneen. “Deb Carnahan, a nurse at the hospital, spent her day off helping to get things organized.”
Decoration were quickly taken down at the Eagles and hauled to the hospital, where they were put up once again.
Clara had a special new outfit, color-coordinated with Eddie’s baby blue shirt, to wear for the anniversary open house, but with her feeling as poorly as she was, the family decided to just help her put the jacket of the dress over her hospital gown and call it good. However, when Clara’s health had improved so much by Saturday morning that they decided to go with the whole outfit.
“We had a special family get together at 10:30a.m.” explained Judy. “It was at that time that their wedding took place, exactly 70 years before. We brought Mom’s wedding dress and veil, which were going to display during the open house, and showed it to Mom. She said she couldn’t remember the dress, but thought it was beautiful.”
The family explained that the off-white satin gown had cost Clara $9.98, which was probably considered a fortune back in the thirties.
In addition to Clara’s wedding dress and veil, the couple’s original cake top was also on display, along with the cake tops and some napkins from their 50th and 60th anniversaries.
“We brought Dad from Parkside into Mom’s room on Saturday afternoon,” said Judy. “Mom and Dad held hands all afternoon and posed for pictures with various family members.” There were very few dry eyes as people left the hospital room. Several members of the hospital staff remarked that they had even shed some tears.
“Parkside graciously directed traffic and sent all who came for the open house down to the hospital,” Judy added.
Despite the fact that the hospital lobby was hot, everyone stayed all afternoon, waiting for a chance to congratulate Eddie and Clara on their special day. The hospital room couldn’t accommodate too many people, so the guests were allowed to go down in groups of five or six at a time.
Over 100 guests came to offer their congratulations to the couple. Friends and relatives from California, Arizona, Colorado, Minnesota, Wyoming, Washington state, and of course, many from North Dakota spent time sharing their memories from the past. One main topic of conversation was how they could not believe that the hospital had allowed them to hold the open house right in the lobby of the hospital.
A few people came through to visit other people in the hospital. Most admired the decorations and no one seemed to consider the large group gathered in the lobby as an annoyance or inconvenience. An ambulance came to the hospital during the festivities, but the emergency room personnel handled it without anyone in the lobby even noticing what was going on.
Clara got through the whole affair without any ill side effects. She was able to return to Parkside early last week. “Dad says he doesn’t know if they’ll make it to their 75th anniversary,” said Judy. “But we think it is something they should set their sights on. That would be a great celebration.”
There is one thing on which the family agrees. If they plan for Eddie and Clara’s 75th anniversary, they certainly hope that they don’t have to celebrate it in a hospital again. But, if such a scenario should occur, they know that Lisbon Area Health Services is a hospital that would help them handle it. They will long remember the kindness and help shown by the staff.”
“We are so grateful for the good care they gave our mother,” said Judy. The family adds that they are also extremely grateful for the cooperation of the staff of the hospital, Parkside Home, and the Eagles Club, as well as the entire Lisbon Community for making their special weekend turn out better than they had ever dreamed.
