BUCYRUS – Harold Stinehelfer is the guru of giving.
The 90-year-old Bucyrus resident has been donating blood since he was a senior in high school. On Tuesday he hit the 40-gallon milestone – a total of 320 pints of blood over the years, all to help save the lives of others who desperately needed it.
“The first time I gave I was 17 and my mother had to sign the paper for me. That’s been quite a while ago,” said the 535 W. Warren St. resident before his 1 o’clock appointment. “Who would have thought it was the start of a lifetime of generous giving.”
Stinehelfer has been a fixture at American Red Cross bloodmobiles, whether at the AMVETS Post 27 which hosted Tuesday’s visit, the VFW Post or area churches. He has even made it a point to donate while wintering in Gulf North Point, Fla., to support the Southwest Florida Regional Blood Bank.
“It’s almost an obsession. When you are used to donating, it becomes a habit and you don’t want to stop,” Stinehelfer said matter-of-factly. “That’s why I still donate because babies need blood and people in accidents need blood, and all the times I donated I never had a problem.”
Stinehelfer, who has the universal blood type – O negative – gave his first pint back in 1948 when he was as a senior at Bucyrus High School. He was working at the former Walther’s Hardware at the time, and the owner – a regular blood donor – encouraged him to answer the call, too.
“So, I started donating blood and I guess the bigger reason is I have O negative and it mixes well with any blood type,” Stinehelfer explained. “O negative is in demand. If it’s an emergency, they can just throw in O negative and do it immediately.”
When he began donating more than 70 years ago, Stinehelfer said, blood was collected in glass pint-sized jars instead of plastic bags. He even remembers traveling to the Cleveland Clinic in the middle of the night one time to give blood to a Bucyrus woman having open-heart surgery.
Stinehelfer said he joined about two dozen Bucyrus residents for the trek to Cuyahoga County on that winter night because back then blood was transfused directly from the donor’s arm to the patient. Time was of the essence for critically ill patients and those having emergency procedures.
Stinehelfer is so committed to the voluntary act that he has postponed vacations with his wife, Annabelle, by a day or two so he doesn’t miss a scheduled blood drive before leaving town. And once he donates, he immediately puts his name on the schedule for the next visit because “every 56 days you can donate.”
The father of two, who was a Class A machinist at the Timken Company for 36 years, retired in 1989. He survived prostate cancer in 1992 and a heart attack the following year. But through it all, and through the busiest of times, he still managed to give the gift of life.
“I’m very proud of him for being so dedicated and willing to help other people,” said his daughter, Linda Adams of Bucyrus. “Over the years he’s just felt like he can help anybody. He’s just so special. Just to have a goal to be able to give so much blood and to continue after cancer and a heart attack.”
For his efforts, the Bucyrus native has racked up a Red Cross pin for every gallon he has donated. He has been honored with plaques for his contributions and, of course, the red hat which he proudly wears gleaming with shiny gold gallon pins above the brim.
Some would call him a hero. Stinehelfer says it’s just what he does.
“Some people can do some things and some people can’t. I kinda’ figure this is what I can do,” he said. “There are so many people that need blood. It just helps a lot of people and I can do it.”