There was a time Donna Culver probably should have been considered as a farm marshal for the Farm-City Days celebration.
Alas, Culver’s roots on a farm in rural Woodson County still remain, but she’s been a “city slicker” in Iola for decades.
As such, Culver was designated as the city marshal for this year’s festival.
The designation honors Culver’s countless hours as a volunteer through a number of organizations, work that dwarfs most folks half her age.
Culver, 83, is best known as the face of the Neosho Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross.
She’s usually among the first on the scene of disasters, such as house fires or severe storms, to sort out the victims’ needs, and helps connect them with avenues for help.
Culver also is an American Legion Auxiliary member for more than two decades, including her current term as chapter president; one of the charter members of Allen County Crime Stoppers; volunteers at the Bowlus Fine Arts Center; delivers meals to homebound residents; works on election boards; delivers communion to homebound members of St. John’s Catholic Church and for a time mentored young pupils at Jefferson Elementary School.
And in her spare time, she quilts.
Culver notes her pace has slowed in recent years.
“I’m tickled to let other people do things to make sure everything gets done,” she said.
And she no longer undergoes lengthy Red Cross assignments, when in the past she would travel across the country, once even being dispatched to the Caribbean.
“Now, I pretty much stick close to home,” she said, noting she helped with recovery efforts in the July tornado that ravaged much of Eureka. “That’s about as far as I’ll go now.”
CULVER points to her upbringing for her longevity. She recounts the saying that you can take a child out of the farm, but you can’t take the farm out of child.
“I think it’s the farm gene,” she said. “I’ve always have been interested in seeing how the crops are doing.”
Some of her 10 children and grandchildren still farm.
After attending a one-room schoolhouse near Kalida just east of Yates Center, Culver graduated from Yates Center High in 1950. She moved to Wichita, attended business school and worked for an investment company before marrying J.E. Culver in 1952.
