Heber Hardman 93, sits next to his wife Shirley 91 in the Logan home on Thursday March 2, 2023.
LOGAN – Thanks to an alert neighbor, 93-old Heber Hardman is able to spend more time with his 91-year-old wife Shirley after falling in a back yard snowdrift. Hardman, who lives on the westside of Logan, was out in the backyard of his home shoveling snow after the big snowstorm on Tuesday, Feb. 21. He was trying to keep the snow away from his downstairs steps so it wouldn’t melt and run into the basement.
As he was moving the heavy snow he stumbled and fell into the deep snow and couldn’t get up. He could only lay there. He tried to get up, but nothing was working.
A quick thinking and concerned neighbor is probably the only thing that kept him from perishing
Shirley, his wife, has lost her sight and is hard of hearing and wasn’t sure where Heber was or what he was doing. Their neighbor and caretaker Natalie Wilcox was on the lookout for Heber and when he hadn’t surfaced for a while she got a little worried. Something wasn’t right.
“It was the end of the workday and our household helper Natalie had just gone home for the day” Shirley said. “She was aware he had been out shoveling and she wondered if he had come in to get warm.”
Natalie felt prompted to call Shirley and asked if she had seen her husband. Shirley said she couldn’t get him to answer her. So, Natalie beelined it over to the Hardmans’ home and went through the house and tried to get him to answer her call.
“Out the backdoor Natalie went, only to find him face down shivering and soaking wet from head to toe,” Shirley said. “He was too weak to move and it was too icy for his feet to gain traction. He was unable to turn over and stand up.”
Shirley wasn’t sure how long he had been out there. Heber estimated he had been face down in the snow for 15 to 20 minutes.
Between Natalie and Heber they finally got him up and in to the house, they found some warm dry clothing for him then warmed him up with hot chocolate and cookies.
“Thank goodness for caring neighbors who act on their instincts when prompted,” Shirley said. “I think the good Lord had a hand in his rescue.”
Natalie said Heber is a tough old farmer and there are not many things that he can’t do at his age.
“A couple of years ago I saw him hop over a fence,” she said. “He gets around pretty good for his age.”
He was working on his Mendon farm up until three years ago.
Heber and Shirley have been married for 67 years and in their current house in Logan for 50 years. The couple have four children and all of them live close. They also have grandchildren that live across the street.
“That could have been bad,” Heber said. “I’m grateful for a good and caring neighbor who watches out for us.”
Meredith Harris, a physical therapist and spokesperson for the American Physical Therapy Association, recommends checking in on aging loved ones at least twice a day if they’re home alone during winter weather.
She also encourages them to stay in touch by phone or email friends or family during the worst of the weather and always carry a cell phone or an emergency response call device. It is also important to let someone know when they leave and return.