MP's Glenwood Tolson was 'Mr. Community Action'

Editor?s note: The following story first appeared in the Mt. Pleasant News on May 9, 2012, when Mt. Pleasant?s Glenwood Tolson was honored for his 47 years of service on the Community Action of Southeast Iowa Board of Directors. Tolson, who served many years as president of the board and also was National Community Action Volunteer of the Year, died Monday at the age of 99. Tolson had lived in his home until just recently when he moved to Arbor Court.

By BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

It was Glenwood Tolson?s day Tuesday at the center named after him.

But if you know Tolson, he would rather have stayed away from the limelight.

As part of National Community Action Month, Community Action of Southeast Iowa honored Tolson of Mt. Pleasant for his 47 years of membership on the board.

Tolson, 96, humbly said he wish he could serve longer. ?I guess I can?t live this down,? he chuckled. ?I have enjoyed every minute of it and if I was well, I would do it again.?

Sharon Ford, Community Action of Southeast Iowa, praised Tolson for his service, noting he was National Community Action Volunteer of the Year (1997). ?He is a great man, we call him Mr. Community Action,? Ford began. ?When anyone needed anything, Glenwood was there to help them. The children loved to have Glenwood come in. He was always here to help us at the center. His greatest asset is his love for God and his fellow man.?

Tolson, who spearheaded the effort to acquire the building on West Washington Street for the center was in Kansas City, Mo., at a meeting when he received news that the new building would bear his name. ?One of the employees sent a fax and said they would like to name the building after me,? he recounted.

His involvement in community action began rather innocently. ?Back in 1965, a group of ladies in Burlington sent a letter to each of the churches in Mt. Pleasant, asking for representatives to meet at the Rural Electric Association Building in Mt. Pleasant. The purpose of the meeting was to start a community action agency in Mt. Pleasant.?

He soon was elected vice president of Community Action of Southeast Iowa and when the president retired, Tolson stepped up to the plate and headed the agency board for 38 years.

Henry County Supervisor Marc Lindeen said Tolson has been a mentor to him. ?Who do I want to emulate? It?s him,? Lindeen said, pointing to Tolson. ?I have a great friend in him and have learned plenty from him.

A native of Clarence, Mo., Tolson settled in Mt. Pleasant in 1936 and later graduated from Iowa Wesleyan College with a two-year teaching certificate.

He said a job offer drew the family to Iowa. He had worked for a farmer near Kansas City, and the farmer purchased land around New London. ?He wrote to my parents and said he would hire my dad for $1 a day to work on the farm. My mother wrote back and asked if a college was nearby. She was told there was and she said, ?we?re coming.??

During his time in Mt. Pleasant, he has handled a number of different jobs, including mail carrier, bank custodian, owned his own business, construction and was a chauffeur. ?You name it, I did it,? he smiles. ?I have done a little bit of everything.?

The national award made him proud, he said, but also nervous. ?I had to speak to 3,000 people and fortunately, there was a light shining in my eyes so I couldn?t see any of them.?

As president of the agency, Tolson said his philosophy was to do his best. ?If you are the president, you have to do your best.?

In addition to his national award, Tolson was Mt. Pleasant Citizen of the Year in 1981 and a Paul Harris Fellow in the Rotary Club.

He has four children ? Rebecca, Caroline, Jaqui and Gerald.

?This is one of the greatest milestones in my life,? Tolson said at Tuesday?s reception. ?Who thought that kid coming out of a town of 1,400 could do so many things in life??