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Gridiron Club builds ramp at Kuempel family home

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Front from left are Noah Sadewasser, Bill Leonhart, Rod Schmelzer, Joseph Bebber; back row, Chad Harbaugh, Steve White, and Jeff White, who helped build the ramp. Other helpers not pictured are Paul Kregel, Bob Sweers, Kohle Helle, Darryl Keehner, Oakley Harbaugh, Phil Wille, Pat Jones, Don Schmelzer, John Finch, Jace Moore, Eric Craft, Riley Meyer, Eric Ihde, Braydn Harbaugh, Josef VonHandorf, and Ben Andregg. (Press photo by Molly Moser)

By Molly Moser

Tim Kuempel grew up playing football for the Guttenberg Pirates. He moved away and raised two sons, who also played football in a small school. When he returned to Guttenberg, Kuempel helped start Clayton Ridge’s Gridiron Club – and now, the Gridiron Club is helping him.

Early this year, Kuempel slipped on the ice while walking his dog in Guttenberg. He suffered a severe spinal cord injury and spent the next several months in hospitals and rehab facilities. Meanwhile, his family considered how they could make life easier for him when he was able to return home.

“The club voted to help Tim because of the example he has been in volunteering and helping to make our school and community better,” said Chad Harbaugh, Clayton Ridge’s head football coach. “Tim has been a great servant leader and we want to let him know that even though he did things without recognition in mind, we now have a chance to repay his good deeds.” 

Kuempel approached Harbaugh after returning to Guttenberg approximately eight years ago, and explained the details of the booster group where his sons Matt and Brian attended high school. Kuempel helped lead the group, made up of community members, relatives of players past and present and anyone who wanted to be involved with supporting the football program as well as athletics in general. 

“I wanted it to help build the program through fundraising to get new equipment for the team, to help them be more successful,” said Kuempel. “It was also an opportunity for the community to get a better understanding of the football program by bringing them together with the coaching staff to give them an insight into the strategies and planning involved in weekly games and the season as a whole.”

“I think the football emphasis came from the large number of students involved as well as the increased financial resources necessary to make sure that students are provided a safe environment at a time when public schools are facing budget challenges,” Harbaugh explained. “Tim has a love for football and a strong commitment to kids, recognition of the value of sports in molding young people, and a willingness to get involved and make his community and school better. He quite literally was the driving force behind getting our local Gridiron Club off the ground.”

The members of the Gridiron Club decided to donate their time, skills, and the tools necessary to build a ramp so that Kuempel could enter his home via wheelchair. In June, they completed the ramp with help from Noah Sadewasser, Bill Leonhart, Rod Schmelzer, Joseph Bebber, Chad Harbaugh, Steve White, Jeff White, Paul Kregel, Bob Sweers, Kohle Helle, Darryl Keehner, Oakley Harbaugh, Phil Wille, Pat Jones, Don Schmelzer, John Finch, and high school football players Jace Moore, Eric Craft, Riley Meyer, Eric Ihde, Braydn Harbaugh, Josef VonHandorf, and Ben Andregg.

“All of the labor was provided by members of the Clayton Ridge Gridiron Club, members of the Clayton Ridge football team, and Chad and Kari Harbaugh’s sons. Materials were partially paid for by donations from the Gridiron Club and Meuser Lumber Company. Lunch was provided by Bob and Pat Jones for the volunteers while they were working on the ramp. ” Kuempel told The Press. “We are so very grateful for all of this.”

The ramp will be an essential part of Tim’s return to his Guttenberg home to live and continue rehabilitating from his injury. It will help him stay mobile through the use of his motorized wheelchair, and has also been helpful to his wife, Kathy, who suffered from an ankle injury not long after Tim’s accident.

“We are also working on putting in a vertical platform lift so I will be able to access the basement for the use of shower facilities, home therapy equipment, and in case of severe weather and/or fire,” said Kuempel. “Insurance does not cover many of the essential things people need when up against a catastrophic injury, such as handicap accessible vehicles, ramps, lifts, and most therapy equipment. Most policies have limitations on the amount of time a person is allowed to stay at rehab facilities, and even decide what Home Health Care services are covered.”

“The time and money the club has put into the ramp is more than we ever expected and we appreciate all they have done to make this necessary project possible,” said Kuempel. 

To help with Kuempel’s recovery, visit www.gofundme.com/helptimrecover. Contributions may also be sent to the family at PO Box 729, Guttenberg, IA 52052.

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