Tom Robinson
He’s reaching out to young people
Tom Robinson of Iowa City does not consider himself as anyone special.
“I’ve always been taught to be good to people,” said Robinson, 54. “It’s just how I’ve been.”
His neighbors and former neighbors, especially the children, would disagree. Stephanie Engelhardt, the youngest daughter of a family who used to live near Robinson in the Weber Elementary neighborhood of western Iowa City, said Robinson “is nice, funny and loves kids.”
She described how they could stand around having an hour-long conversation or how he would greet her as she went to school. She also said he regularly gave out treats to her and other neighborhood youth such as ice cream on a hot summer day or candy or cookies at Halloween and Christmas. They also would look at the Christmas lights on Robinson’s home and others in the area.
“Mr. Robinson had the best lights by far,” Engelhardt said. “It is fun to see his lights.”
Robinson, who has no children of his own, said his actions are a way of reaching out to youth.
“I’ve always been known as a kid who likes Christmas,” he said. “It’s kind of a way … you can teach kids by your actions. You can lead by example with kids and it can be ingrained in their memory for life. It’s good to do things for people, regardless of their age.”
He said he bonded with neighborhood children in similar ways before he moved to Iowa City from Burlington nine years ago. It was a series of actions that were remembered.
“The last day I was there, the kids and their parents came over and had a group picture taken,” he said.
Robinson said he gets satisfaction from reaching out to the children.
“You get bonding with the kids,” he said. “I’ve always tried to provide surprises. I just try to put smiles on their faces by rewarding good behavior.”
— Rob Daniel
