Father-son love to shovel veterans’ driveways

by Dennis Dalman

news@thenewsleaders.com

Tim Held, 48, endured years of setbacks, lousy luck, injuries, pains and an insidious infection that cost him his right leg. His family suffered right along with him, but they learned things could be worse and that giving back has curative powers for the soul.

“There’s always somebody worse off,” Held said. “I’ve always felt I’ve got to give back. We’ve got to help each other out.”

And that is why Held and his 11-year-old son, Thomas, love to snowblow and hand-shovel driveways as members of the Plowing Vets program. The Helds do the work for free, and they clear snow off of 10 to 12 home driveways of military personnel away on deployments, of disabled veterans back home, of first responders and of police officers or deputies during their busy duty hours.

This is the second year of the Helds’ snow-removal tasks. There are about a dozen members of the Plowing Vets program. Last year, they plowed out or hand-shoveled 57 driveways in central Minnesota, as far west as Albany.

How does a man with only one leg shovel snow?

“Well, it’s not easy,” said Held, laughing. “But I love doing it. I’m a bit scared about slipping, but I do wear spiked shoes. My son loves to shovel even more than I do. When it starts snowing and he’s in school, he just can’t wait to get home so we can go shoveling.”

Last year, their first for the program, Held admits he was “just shot” by the end of winter.

“And then Thomas said to me, ‘Oh, Dad, quit acting like such a wimp.’ And that kind of turned me around,” he said, laughing.

The Helds learned firsthand how much their voluntary efforts mean to people. One story especially stays with them. Last winter, they noticed the driveway of Sartell resident Rollie Weis was not shoveled. Weis is a much-honored World War II veteran, whose brother Phillip, was killed in that war during the Battle of the Bulge. Tim Held, who grew up next to the Weis family, has always considered Weis a hero.

So that cold day, he and his son began snowblowing the Weis driveway. Weis walked out of his house, said hello to the Helds and asked them, “What the heck’s going on?”

When Tim Held told Weis why they were doing it and about the Plowing Vets program, Weis’s eyes glimmered with tears.

“Those tears in his eyes told the whole story,” Held said. “And that moment really made an impact on Thomas. He thinks of it a lot.”

Plowing Vets

The Plowing Vets program was started a few years ago when veteran Nate Chapman, who lives near Royalton, would be deployed overseas during his 14 years with the military. A neighbor of his, Tim Meeland, a Stearns County sheriff’s deputy, would shovel Chapman’s driveway as a favor when Chapman was on a deployment. Then, one winter, Chapman was not deployed, and he decided to start plowing disabled veterans’ driveways – veterans he either knew personally or ones he’d heard about.

Thus, one good deed led to another, and more volunteers became involved. Held joined the group after talking with Meeland. Having been a Reserve officer for Sartell for 10 years, Held knew firsthand of the at-home needs of officers who worked night shifts and of injured or retired firefighters or emergency-medical technicians. Many of them can use a helping hand now and then, Held said. The first driveway the Helds cleaned off was that of Nate Johnson, a Paynesville police officer who lives in Sartell. Johnson himself then decided to join Plowing Vets.

Plowing Vets members spend their own money to do their work, but donations, such as gas cards, really help a lot. Some people also donate equipment. A business in St. Joseph, Power House, donated a snowblower and also donated labor to fix ailing machines.

“They’re awesome,” Held said. “They’ve been so good to us.”

Just this year, a veteran donated a snowblower, and it’s the one the Helds now use. Another donation, an enclosed trailer for hauling the snowblower, came from Sartell Police Deputy Chief Dale Struffert, who has long been one of Held’s best friends. The good deeds spawned by the Plowing Vets program seem to have a magical power of multiplying.

Traumas

Tim Held and his wife, Leah, who is a dispatcher for the Stearns County Sheriff’s Department, have three children: Thomas, 11; Ryan, 9; Sophie, 8.

A couple years ago, the family went to a water park in the Twin Cities area. While there, Held stepped on a piece of glass, resulting in a tiny cut on his right big toe. Later, back home, a vicious infection began that became worse with every passing day. After many doctor and hospital visits, nothing seemed to knock out the infection and then a potentially deadly sepsis set in. One day, Held woke up in the hospital and heard the doctor tell him, “I’m sorry, but we’re going to have to take the leg.”

They amputated his right leg just below the knee. But even that did not stop the persistent infection. The ruthless germ kept morphing into a different form. One summer, Held had to undergo 22 surgeries during which doctors had to scrape infected areas from the leg bone.

“It got to the point where I’d arrive at the hospital and receptionists would automatically ask if I’m there for another surgery,” Held recalled.

The injury, the uncertainties, emotional and financial worries were very hard on the family. It was a time when “bad” just kept getting “worse.” It was also a time right after Held had filed for a seat on the Sartell City Council and because he was so laid up all the time, he could not campaign as he’d hoped. Mike Chisum and Ryan Fitzthum were elected that year.

After the amputation, Held would keep falling, often forgetting his right leg was not there anymore. He even fell on the wooden ramp friends had built for him.

One day, he decided to surprise his kids by standing unaided on the ramp when they got off the school bus. When they saw him, the kids started screaming and cheering as they ran up to give him hugs.

“Daddy’s standing, Daddy’s standing,” they all yelled happily.

It took Held about a year to get fully used to his prosthetic device (artificial leg).

The leg trauma wasn’t the only setback for Held. While working for the Sartell Parks Department years ago, he fell on his head on the outdoor ice rink at Bernick’s Arena. He was replacing a sheet of plexiglass when the below-zero wind hit it, knocking Held over. He passed out and woke up in an ambulance. The closed-head brain injury left him with a permanent disability.

“It’s a bit better now, but I will have life-long effects like headaches, ringing in my ears and cognitive difficulties like trouble with balance sometimes.”

Held said it often seemed that without his bad luck he would have no “luck at all.”

What helped him and the family through the long struggles were supportive friends like Struffert and the congregation at Celebration Lutheran Church.

“They embraced us every chance they got with every arm they had,” he said. “We are so blessed to be part of that church.”

The Helds have seen and experienced countless times the power of good people doing good deeds, and that is one big reason Tim and Thomas Held love to shovel driveways.

Join/Donate

For more about Plowing Vets and how to make an  appointment or donate, visit its website at: www.plowingvetsmn.com.