No one wants to be anywhere near the ER over the holidays. And yet, you might change your mind after hearing what Bob Allen has to say about it.
He and his wife, Barb, loved Colorado from the moment they drove through Fort Collins 28 years ago. Though they enjoyed shopping on Pearl Street in Boulder and driving up to see the leaves change color in Estes Park, one of their favorite things to do was volunteer at Poudre Valley Hospital. Bob spent much of that time in the ER.
It’s been 10 years since Barb passed, and Bob still volunteers in the ER. He talks to patients (chatting is one of his talents) and does lots of little tasks that make him feel wanted and appreciated in the fast-paced environment. He knows he’s making a difference, even at 85.
The two were considered the homecoming king and queen of the hospital, and now Bob believes it’s up to him to help keep spirits high. That’s especially true on Christmas Day, when he brings the staff freshly baked Special K bars.
The ER staff receives lots of treats on Christmas Day, and other first responders, such as firefighters, also appreciate donations from people like Bob.
“Around the holiday season, the Greeley Fire Department will have a number of citizens who drop off treats,” says Fire Chief Brian Kuznik. “We certainly appreciate them all.”
But for Bob, the Special K bars aren’t just a donation. They’re a part of his and Barb’s legacy.
The staff at Poudre Valley Hospital.
A life-changing walk
Bob met Barb at DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind. They were living in fraternity and sorority houses at the time, and they were walking home from a Greek meeting of some sort. Bob noticed that Barb was walking alone. His intentions were good: He just wanted to get her home safely. But the two hit it off.
“We had some things in common,” he says. “She was such a beautiful person in all aspects. She invited me to a dance that next week, and that was it. I’ve been very fortunate in my life, I’ll tell ya.”
The two were married in August 1963, and they had three children: Linda, Sue and David. When David was touring colleges, he asked Bob to take him to see Colorado State University. So, Bob drove him to Fort Collins, and while he waited for David at the college, he looked around, awestruck.
“Wow,” Bob says in recollection. “They have mountains here. Those are really cool.”
David decided to attend CSU, and Barb and Bob joined him in Fort Collins.
Giving back
Barb discovered Special K bars back in the ’70s when she saw the recipe on the back of a Special K box (cereal boxes, back then, were the Pinterest of today). She loved to cook and decided to make the bars. They were a hit.
“She was such a fantastic cook,” Bob says.
Bob worked for Allstate Insurance, and Barb was a teacher. Bob took the bars into the office for his birthday, and they were welcomed everywhere, especially later, when he joined Barb as a volunteer at Poudre Valley Hospital. She’d been a volunteer there for 10 years.
“She kept telling me, ‘Hey, Bob, I think you’d really like this,’” he says. “She was wrong. I love volunteering at the hospital.”
Bob remains grateful for the time he and Barb spent together. They made great memories in the mountains before Barb’s many health problems, including chronic asthma, caught up to her.
“You’d never know she had so many problems by looking at her,” Bob says. “She always looked great.”
Barb’s Special K recipe in her handwriting.
Continuing the legacy
There was no question in Bob’s mind that he would keep volunteering at Poudre Valley Hospital after Barb’s death, but it was hard at times. Sometimes he would walk from the ER to the other side of the hospital, where she did most of her work, before remembering that she was no longer there.
When Barb died, Linda found the Special K bar recipe and made them for Bob until he learned how to make them himself. He’s not a cook, he says, but he got through it. He now thinks they’re nearly as good.
Bob hasn’t been into the ER lately. He needs rotator cuff surgery on both shoulders.
“I thought that kind of stuff was only for athletes,” Bob says and laughs, but he acknowledges that it’s a part of aging.
He’ll be back at it this Christmas, when he’ll add Barb’s bars to the table of treats and donations from other volunteers and donors.
“You do see a lot of things that make you thankful for the good things you’ve had,” he says, “but the people who work there are so down to Earth. Everyone says thank you. We’re all in this together.”