Life of Freddie

Famed Magnolia resident was inspiration to those who knew him best

JOE INSCORE

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Freddie was born to Hershel and Jean Thomason on March 31, 1948, his mother's birthday. Jean knew he would be special, but Freddie turned out to be more than special. He was born without arms or legs and the doctors didn't really know what to do with him. After he was placed on a table, he announced to the world with a deep breath and a cry that he would be staying around a while. And that he did, becoming an inspiration to his younger brother, Bob, and many others, both locally and around the world as his story was told through the media of that time. Television was still in its infancy.

Due to Freddie's unique case, Mrs. Claude Rosenbaum, a former nurse and community activist, persuaded the newly-formed Magnolia chapter of the Kiwanis Club to take up his cause. An article in Look Magazine plus a visit to the famed Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in West Orange, N.J., gave Freddie the attention and help he needed. Money poured in from Magnolia and around the nation and world to help Freddie pay for his visits to the Kessler Institute. When Dr. Henry Kessler saw Freddie for the first time, he told Hershel and Jean, "I don't know if we can do anything for him, but it would be a shame if we didn't try."

The Center later fitted Freddie with stumpy wooden legs that hitched onto his body with a leather harness that bent at the hips to allow him to sit down. News magazines such as Time and Newsweek had articles on Freddie, and Look continued to mark Freddie's progress as he aged.

When it became time for Freddie to start school, they really didn't have a place for him, his brother Bob recalled. Public schools were not prepared to deal with disabled children. Freddie might not have been able to go to school at all had it not been for his younger brother, Bob, who was three years his junior. When Bob started school three years later, a decision was made to allow Freddie to go to school along with him. Bob became Freddie's arms and legs, helping him get around at school. Other students soon took up Freddie's cause, doing everything from helping to feed him lunch to pushing him to and from his classrooms. One of the things Bob remembered was the way other children accepted Freddie without looking at his disabilities, especially the children at First Baptist Church, where Freddie grew up.

Bob said in a recent interview that he never thought much about Freddie being different. "I grew up with him, so everything just seemed normal to me." Freddie thoroughly enjoyed school, Bob said, and loved pulling practical jokes on his mom.

"I recall one occasion when Freddie rolled off the bed, then rolled under it before mom saw him. She couldn't find him anywhere, and was about to go into a panic when she heard his laughter from under the bed," Bob said. Freddie also put Bob up to shaking a coke bottle just to see what would happen when it was opened. "Coke exploded everywhere," Bob laughed.

One thing Bob remembered about Freddie was his thirst. "He drank water and tea all the time, and was constantly wanting something to drink," Bob recalled. "He had a hard time regulating his body temperature and was always hot-natured. My mother told me he didn't like cover even when he was a baby. I think it had to do with him not having any arms or legs, and not being able to dissipate the heat generated by his body".

Freddie loved listening to music and could be found on many occasions sitting on the porch beside a stack of records. He also loved watching other kids, and when the Thomasons had company, he wanted to be a part of everything that went on. As he got older, his dad, Hershel, occasionally with the help of his friend David Pyle, would make some of the things that made Freddie's life easier. For instance, they made Freddie a motorized wheelchair, something that gave Freddie freedom of movement. His dad taught him how to make phone calls and later converted a golf cart for his use.

Dr. Robert Walz at Southern Arkansas University, Southern State College at that time, took up Freddie's cause, helping him get a degree in history. Walz was Freddie's mentor, challenged him in his studies and was instrumental in his educational success. All Freddie's tests had to be given orally for obvious reasons. Freddie would later work at Magnolia Abilities Unlimited.

"Freddie could easily have been mad at the world or down all the time," Bob said, "but he showed the world that a person could lead a worthwhile, enjoyable life even when they didn't have the same abilities as everyone else. He had a great attitude."

The story of Freddie could have ended with his passing on July 14, 1985, but his mother wanted to write a book sharing their experiences. She always felt that others could learn from Freddie, and also wanted to help people with disabilities realize that their lives were worthwhile, and that they could accomplish almost anything if they really wanted it and worked hard, Bob said. She hoped that Freddie would be an inspiration to another generation of people after they read his story. She began the writing project, gathering magazine and newspaper articles, photographs, letters, and the notes she had written about Freddie. She finished a number of pages in the book before she had to stop writing due to failing health.

For some reason she kept the project a secret from her son, Bob, and didn't want him to see what would be in the book until it was a finished. But due to her being unable to finish, she finally asked her son if he would undertake the task of completing Freddie's story. "I would dearly love to finish the book, get it published, and be able to present my mother with a hard-bound copy of her book", Bob stated. "I know how happy that would make her. And Freddie."

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