Lee Nelson passed away last week at the age of 90. He is best known as the founder and proprietor of Bluestem Farm and Ranch which he and his wife started in 1961. Today I share some memories of Mr. Nelson and end with something he is credited with doing that changed Emporia’s future in a very positive way!

          Bluestem may well be Emporia’s number one tourist attraction. It would be hard for me to count the number of friends and business associates I had in Emporia who demanded time to visit Bluestem while in town.

          Rick Tidwell shared this story: He was testifying before a Senate Telecommunications Sub Committee in Washington D. C. and when he introduced himself as being from Emporia, Kansas Senator Conrad Burns from Montana interrupted him to ask “Emporia, Emporia, Kansas – is Bluestem still open?”

          Lee Nelson was a good customer for things like telephones, long distance, and radio advertising. Rick Tidwell and Lee were friends making things easier, but Lee still asked the most penetrating questions of any of our customers.

          Lee was a long time and active member of the Emporia Rotary club. I have to admit I used the opportunity to sit with Lee at our weekly meetings often to lobby for radio advertising.

          Obviously, the rural community was important to Bluestem’s success and the Nelson’s returned the favor with strong support for 4-H and Extension activities. Memorials for Lee are to those groups.

          Longtime Emporian and former Mayor Dale Davis and I were talking just a few weeks ago about Lee Nelson. Dale suggested and I agreed that Lee is an unsung hero in our city for his opposition to the proposal to build a federal prison on the old College of Emporia campus.

          In case you don’t remember the C of E campus had been occupied by the Way College International since the school closed in the seventies. After the death of the Way’s leader, the school lost favor and the campus was about to go on the property tax roles. A federal minimum security prison was proposed and Emporia was giving this idea serious consideration - enough in fact that a city-wide referendum was called for by the city commission.

          While it was never confirmed it was believed that Lee Nelson was the chief supporter of the effort to vote “NO.” The proposal lost by a significant margin.

          Dale and I agreed if Lee was the leader of the opposition he did Emporia great favor.

          Lee Nelson was a good man, good family man, a veteran and good citizen - and in the final analysis a very interesting person.

 Rest in peace old friend, rest in peace.

          I’m Steve Sauder

          Lately, I've been experiencing an event that isn't fun and at times is embarrassing. Recalling names - especially names of sports figures has always been easy for me. But over the past year, I've noticed an increasing inability to call out names.

          My mom and her mom were victims of Alzheimer's Disease so that's always on my mind, but Paula my first wife and a learned student on Alzheimer's told me "if you can figure out a way to discover what it is you can't remember that's not Alzheimer's, it’s CRS - can't remember stuff."

          I have a lot of CRS, but always know where to look so Alzheimer's doesn't concern me yet.

          I suggested to Bobbi my current wife and a Registered Nurse I was experiencing Dementia. She said my situation is more likely Brain Fog, which is also defined as Brain Fatigue. Brain Fog is commonly caused by; lack of sleep, stress, neurological disorders, menopause, diabetes, nutritional deficiencies, and side effects of medicines.

          I am not sure what or why, but I know my recall has slipped and at times it is embarrassing. I try to make notes to cover myself, but that doesn't always work. During Talk Shows on the radio is a bad time for sports guy to forget a home run hitter's name.

          Fortunately, Bobbi is a student of these things and is helping me cope. I'm doing a sleep study in a few days - not my first one, but with the knowledge that poor sleep might be causing my memory lapses here, I come again.

          Next Wednesday, December 6th, Bobbi will be our guest on the On-Air Chat to discuss new medical findings of how bacteria in your gut might be a clue to problems with your immune systems, brain or other far-reaching areas.

          I recently read an article in my Rotary magazine that said there is a strong case for increasing creativity even as we get older. There are two types of human intelligence: fluid intelligence which does degrade over time and crystallized intelligence which is our overall bank of knowledge and only gets larger as we get older.

          Ah ha - if I can stimulate my brain by sleeping and eating better and reducing my stress I might just start getting smarter and more creative!

          Getting older isn't for sissies and evidently, there are ways to cope with aging. Wish me luck!

          I’m Steve Sauder

          Sunday marked the 50 years since  South African Dr. Christiaan Barnard successfully replaced a man's heart with one from a lady.         

That operation took 8 hours with 19 medical professionals involved. The news spread quickly around the world as the heart started successfully beating.

          Unfortunately, Louis Washkansky fell ill. and Dr. Barnard’s logical assumption that his patients’ body was rejecting the new organ was incorrect so administering drugs to shut down the 53-year-old grocer's immune system to fight the rejection proved fatal and he died after 18 days with a case of pneumonia. 

          Since 1967 we've progressed in an amazing way in medical transplants according to TIME magazine!

          Today in the United States around 30,000 patients receive vital organ transplants each year with about 116,000 on the waiting lists. Twenty people die each day waiting.

          All types of transplantable organs are in short supply. Close to half of American’s are registered as organ donors, but unfortunately, only a fraction of the organs can be used.

          From the good news area, more than half the heart transplant recipients now live over 13 years with that number increasing on a regular basis.

          Also, animal organs and artificial hearts are coming into play making the possibility of eliminating waitlists realistic.

          Pig hearts offer the best potential because doctors have been able to edit pig DNA to improve these animals' health.

          Here are the annual numbers performed and the number still on waitlists.

• Kidney transplants 19,858 with nearly 98,000 waiting.
• Livers 7,841 with 14,127 on the lists.
• Hearts 3,209 transplanted with just over 4 thousand waiting.
• Lungs replaced 2,345 with 1,412 on the waiting list.

“The single best decision of my life”—that’s what living donors said. “When I donated to my friend John, it’s not because I was feeling reckless or that I was uninformed about possible risks. Instead, I felt as if I were being given a shot at making a real difference—perhaps save a life. I’d never had that chance before. Unless you’re a doctor, policeman, fireman, or lifeguard, few people do”.

    Amazing!

Also, over half transplants today come from living donors!

          I'm Steve Sauder and there's something to think about!

          Yesterday it was my pleasure to be a guest speaker at the annual meeting of the J. F. Smith Company. That's the outfit that advised Emporia State on our recently successful “Now and Forever” campaign where we raised over $58 million.

          My talk was titled "Giving from the Prospective of a Donor."

          While Bobbi and I were "donors” in the campaign my talk in Alabama wasn't all about us, but more accurately about my dad and mom as “role model donors."

          I shared how my dad was denied the opportunity to attend college at Emporia State because his family was losing its' farm and he was needed as the oldest son to stay home and help. I shared how years later after working his tail off to succeed he honored his wife and my mom by making the lead gift for the Sauder Alumni Center.

          Mom held a Teaching Certificate from KSTC but wasn't with us at the dedication of the Alumni Center. She had moved to the Presbyterian Manor suffering from Alzheimer's disease. She passed in 03 after 13 years at the Manor.

          Dad asked me to help him with his remarks at the dedication. My question was "what are you feeling?

          His response: "I feel lucky to be able to do this!"

Dad told the Sauder Alumni Center Dedication crowd "Like baseball player Lou Gehrig he felt like he was the luckiest man alive."

          Pretty cool! A man denied a chance to attend this school and a man whose life was being turned upside down by Alzheimer's Disease felt “lucky.”

          It's an example many remember and mention to me often.

          My dad learned about the joy of giving and shared that with us.

          It was my great honor to share his story yesterday just like I do annually with the kids who are Earl Sauder Athletic Scholars at ESU at their yearly luncheon.

          My hope now is that this story might inspire you to be a donor too. During the Christmas season, we have many opportunities to give and feel lucky.

          Some opportunities like our KVOE Mitten Tree are finished for this year, but many others still exist. Like the “Beyond the Banners” book as a gift for a veteran. The United Way Drive is ongoing of course and the Salvation Army's Red Kettles are everywhere. If you look you can find someone in need.

          Twice in the past month, someone has paid for my breakfast while in line at McDonald's! That’s a small gesture but makes a big point when done by a stranger.

          My dad's most famous line was undoubtedly "Don't give until it hurts, give until it feels good!

          It's the Christmas season folks and a great time to feel good and lucky in one effort!

          Happy giving!

          I’m Steve Sauder.