DAYTON, Ohio – Germantown donor Richard Hummel is glad to talk about his connection to Hummel figurines, the beloved Bavarian collectibles. But he’ll mention first that “Hummel” is the German word for bumblebee.

At age 82 Richard has dedicated decades to hovering around his Germantown farm and buzzing into Dayton to donate at Community Blood Center.  But nothing prepared him for the sudden sting of going from blood donor to blood recipient.

“It made a believer out of me!” said Richard. “I never dreamed I would ever need blood because I’m healthy. I have CMT, a form of muscular dystrophy, but that’s neurological.  But this colon thing, I’ll tell you that’s scary.”

Richard started having some bleeding in November. It cleared up after a couple of days, but then started again.

“I realized I was starting to feel light-headed, so I called a neighbor and they were here in five minutes,” he said. “It was the quickest trip to Kettering Medical Center. Right away they started me on transfusions, and I ended up needing four pints.”

Richard said it was a close call with internal bleeding. “It can be fatal,” he said. “You can bleed to death just through the colon.”

He received that lifesaving blood transfusion on Nov. 19, 2019, just 10 days after his last blood donation. “They kidded me, saying you’re probably getting your own blood back because I’m O-neg.”

Richard currently has 127 lifetime donations. He is deferred from donating for one year from his blood transfusion, but he looks forward to donating again in November. “It made a believer out of me,” he said.  “At my age you never know.”

Richard reached his milestone 100^th lifetime donation with a double red cell donation Dec. 17, 2014. Six years later, his reflections about the milestone have new meaning.

RICHARD HUMMEL’S 100^TH DONATION

As a lifetime collector of the famous Hummel figurines, he knows how a simple gift can grow in value.  “I wanted to reach 100 before the end of the year,” he said.  “But I didn’t stop to think about it… I guess it really is special.”

Richard lives alone on his Germantown farm, has never married and has no regrets.  He cared for his mother – also a Hummel collector – until she passed away in 2000.  “We have probably 130 (figurines),” he said. “I gave mom most of them.”  He was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2003 and must wear ankle braces to steady his walk.  He remains stubbornly independent, and with an O-negative blood type – the “universal donor” – he feels an obligation to help others.

“I started in the ‘50’s,” he said of his journey to 100 donations. “Somebody in the Farmersville area needed blood and I donated.”  He continued donating during his 15 years as a welder with NCR. He went to work for Frigidaire in 1972, beginning his long career with General Motors.  “Chevy came in July of 1982 and we built the first S-10 pickup truck.”  He’s proud to say he was still working for GM when the one millionth S-10 rolled off the assembly line, a vehicle now on display at Carillon Park.

“I worked for GM and I always would donate at work,” he said.  “You got a little bit of a rest at work, and you got paid for it!”

He doesn’t trace any lineage to the Hummel name, but the history of the classic figurines interests him even more than his role in helping build the Chevy brand.

“My grandmother and grandfather came from Germany and they were from an area near Bern, Switzerland sort of ‘next door’ to where the Hummels came from.”

The original Hummel drawings are the work of Bavarian nun Berta Hummel. She assumed the name of Sister Maria Innocentia in 1931 when she joined a Franciscan convent in southern Germany. 

She reluctantly agreed to allow an art house to publish post cards of her paintings, which were later discovered by the porcelain company owner Franz Goebel.  Though the Nazis seized half of the income from the figurines, sales proceeds continued to fund Sister Maria’s convent.

“I met her brother in Eaton at the annual International Hummel festival,” said Richard.  The event was sponsored for years by Robert Miller who was considered an expert on Hummels and owned an extensive collection of more than 4,000 pieces.

Richard laments that Miller was forced to sell his collection, and over the years the value of the classic figurines has fallen.  But a constant for him has been the opportunity to help save lives through blood donations. “I’ve been blessed with good health, a good job, and a blood type that helps a lot of people,” he said.  “As long as I’m healthy, I’ll keep donating.”