Dr. Charles F. Damico
Dr. Charles F. Damico (left) delivers equipment to Frankie Beeney at Mary Lanning Healthcare.
Dr. Charles F. Damico retired after 35 years of active service at Mary Lanning Memorial Hospital, January 2008. Dr. Damico contacted the Foundation to help him make a gift to the hospital that included the following medical equipment:
- Centrifuge Equipment
- Light Source and Cord
- Urinalysis Machine
- ACMI Flexible Cystoscope with Aluminum Case
- Rigid Cystoscope and Sheath with Aluminum Case including a Cystourethroscope short bridge and Iglesias Working Element with Non Continuous Flow Resectoscope
- PVI 3000 Dedicated Bladder Ultrasound with Storage Bag and Charger
“We are so excited to receive this hi-tech equipment,” said Frankie Beeney, Director of Surgical Services at Mary Lanning Healthcare.
Richard Spady and the "Kool-Ade" Cadillac
Dick Spady remembers the day in 1978 that his cousin, Nancy (Perkins) O’Neil, called to see if he was interested in items from the estate of her famous parents and founders of Kool-Aid, Edwin and Kitty Perkins. Dick said he would like to bring back to Hastings any Kool-Aid memorabilia that was located in the home. Dick’s mother, Alberta (younger sister of Edwin) had a sizable Kool-Aid collection which she gave to Dick when she passed away. Dick hoped to add to that collection.
Edwin and Kitty Perkins had ordered a 1963 Fleetwood Hardtop Cadillac in 1961 before Edwin passed away later that year. Kitty kept the car until she died in 1977, when their only daughter, Nancy, inherited their home and personal property.
Nancy agreed that Hastings was the true birthplace of the internationally known soft-drink mix and the rightful location for the Perkins’ Kool-Aid collection.
Dick and his wife, Norma, travelled to the Perkins’ home in Chicago and found additional artifacts, publications and historical data. Nancy then asked if they were interested in buying the 1963 Cadillac. They acquired it, loaded it up with Kool-Aid artifacts and drove it back to Hastings.
The Hastings Museum welcomed the materials and featured the Kool-Aid collection in a small display. Years later, the Spady family donated more materials for the much larger Kool-Aid display located in the lower level of the Museum.
Since 1978, Dick has restored the car, reserving it mostly for the annual Kool-Aid Days events. He even purchased license plates that read “Kool-Ade,” the original spelling of the drink when it was invented and produced in Hastings.
In the summer of 2011, Dick and Norma gifted the Kool-Ade Cadillac to the Mary Lanning Healthcare Foundation to sell, hopefully to a local buyer who would appreciate this classic car and its historic link to Hastings. Terry Klatt was the lucky winner of the Kool-Ade Cadillac, with proceeds to be added to the Perkins-Spady Landscaping Fund at the Mary Lanning Healthcare Foundation. Terry is a car collector and race team owner, known for his award-winning cars, many of which are on display in the Klatt Motor Garage and Sports Museum at Motorsport Park Hastings (MPH).
“I am glad the Kool-Ade Cadillac has a new home here in Hastings,” said Dick. “Terry and his wife, Susie, are long-time friends of Mary Lanning Healthcare Foundation, and I know Terry will take good care of the Cadillac. I will watch for the Kool-Ade Cadillac in future Kool-Aid Days events.”
While all gifts are planned gifts, charitable gifts to Mary Lanning Healthcare Foundation come in many forms. Regardless of whether your gift is appreciated stock, land, property or cash, you have the peace of mind knowing your gift will help advance healthcare for your friends and neighbors here in Central Nebraska.
Dr. Susan C. Loeffel
Dr. Susan C. Loeffel was the lucky winner of a “stellar” silent auction item at the 2003 Stars Come Out celebration.
The Material Girls, a group of quilting friends, designed and created the quilt expressly for this event. Dr. Loeffel and several of the quilters smile next to the quilt that hangs in the corridor at the Morrison Cancer Center.