Et cetera : Hibbs do not let handicaps deter them from enjoying wildlife

Once a year or more, someone offers Mike Hibbs a deal in case he decides to sell his land in rural Vinton He always says no. Hibbs bought the place to keep it in its natural condition, as well as for he and his wife, Carolyn to enjoy. He even lets a few other people use the place for camping, fishing and mushroom hunting. Hibbs property has much of what other places along the Cedar River offer: Remote land where there are few signs of civilization, wildlife, peace and quiet, just to name a few. Also, he has one of the biggest cottonwood trees around. Drew Mason, who used to farm the property near the tree, calls it “the biggest cottonwood tree in captivity.” Mason measured its circumference at more than 30 feet. There is no official record of the largest cottonwood tree, but this one could be considered one of the biggest. Hibbs, like many owners of natural areas, enjoys going to the property as often as possible. He fishes, pilots his pontoon boat and does what he can to protect the area. His success at all of those ventures is particularly notable since Hibbs is a quadriplegic. Hibbs, a member of the Viking Hall of Fame at Vinton-Shellsburg High School, set records in track that lasted for several years. But in October of 1958, Hibbs was injured in a football game. He dove to tackle a runner during a contest in Vinton. He never walked again. But with the limited mobility in his arms, Hibbs can drive his especially-equipped van to his property, roll his electric wheelchair onto his boat. He can even fish for the species he has had stocked in the pond. Carolyn Hibbs fought vision problems most of her life and is now totally blind. Mike helps her to see; Carolyn helps Mike get to places in his wheelchair. Together they go just about every place any other couple can go. The Hibbs also share their property by allowing others to visit it. But Mike said the land is enjoyed best in very small groups, or one family at a time. Hall of Fame Induction Mike Hibbs joined the V-S Hall of Fame in 1995. Below is the biography read during the ceremony at that time: Mr. Hibbs graduated in 1960. During high school he participated in football, basketball, baseball and track. He loved sports and worked hard at improving the skills needed to excel in each of them. He was part of a class that demonstrated real team effort and whose athletic abilities led them to successful seasons each year.

Mr. Hibbs played guard in basketball, ran both the low and high hurdles, was part of a relay team and did the high jump in track. He also played 1st base in baseball and played halfback and defensive back on the football field. As a sophomore, Mr. Hibbs set many records while on the track team. He set a WaMaC conference record of 16.8 seconds in the 120 high hurdles, which held until 1974. At the conference meet that year he received four first place ribbons.

The football season of 1958 ended with a 6-1-1 record giving Vinton second place in the conference. His teammates went on to claim the title the following season. While on the basketball team his freshman team had a winning season while his sophomore year they went undefeated.

On October 24th, 1958 Mr. Hibbs suffered a spinal chord injury during a football game against Monticello, which brought an abrupt end to his athletic accomplishments. He then applied the same dedication and work ethic he had used in sports to his recovery, his education and his profession. Mr. Hibbs received his bachelor and master’s degree in math from the University of Illinois. He returned to Vinton to teach math at the Iowa Braille School for 25 years and finished his career by teaching math at Tilford Middle School for one year.

Mr. Hibbs has always enjoyed following local, college and professional sports. Mr. Hibbs believes that participating in high school sports helped to lay a firm foundation for the rest of his life.

About the Cottonwood Tree Mark Pingenot, a Vinton native and Trees Forever field specialist, shared his observations about the cottonwood tree: Mike’s cottonwood probably isn’t as old as you might think, but it is pretty sizeable. Size in cottonwood doesn’t necessarily signify an old age as well as other species like oak and walnut. I believe that the Champion Tree list that is here on the DNR’s website is out of date as I know that I helped measure some new Champions for a couple of species last summer in Cedar Rapids, but I’m thinking they just don’t have the new version complete or posted.

http://www.iowadnr.gov/forestry/pdf/Bigtree.pdf Cottonwood generally grow like gangbusters and put on a lot of wood when times are good and can easily deceive people with their size. A lot of people would say an 80 year old cottonwood is a couple hundred years old just based on size – and if it were an oak that may be true but not of cottonwood. Based on my experience and not having seen the tree in question here up close and in person in the last 10 years, I’d say that it is between 125-175 years old – and likely not much older. There is another cottonwood in town in about this same age class. If memory serves it’s in the neighborhood of the RR tracks and W 6th Street. When I was at Luther, home of another large cottonwood, the Biology Dept had a large increment borer (a tool that allows you to take a wood sample from the tree in order to count its rings) and a 38’ circumference cottonwood was only 190 or so, therefore almost 200 by now.