A place of joy
Posted September 19, 2011
As recounted in the history "Miracle of the 70's" by Arlene Lashier, this group of people personally touched by a desire to improve the lives of people with disabilities came together in the late 1960s with the passion to do something about it.
Bill Otterman worked as a physical therapist in Mason City and knew first-hand the plight of families who had children with developmental disabilities.
"Many parents used to come to me and say, 'What's going to happen to my child when I'm gone?' And I had no answers," Bill recalled. The only options then were county homes, state institutions, and nursing homes.
He remembers a woman with cerebral palsy who said, "What we really need is a place to live, not just exist."
While recovering from surgery in 1964, Bill had a vision he believes came from Jesus Christ about a place where these individuals could have a meaningful life of their own.
Around the same time, Murley Severtson, a pastor at a Lutheran church in Illinois, visited the Bethel Institute in Germany, a facility designed for people in need, including those with disabilities. He was impressed by the family feeling of caring for each other in community.
After his trip, Murley received a call to become pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Clear Lake, Iowa. The family moved to Clear Lake in 1966.
In the meantime, two families in Clear Lake struggled personally with their concerns for family members with disabilities. Rae Bieber, a young dentist, and Bob Replogle, now a surgeon in Chicago, had been good friends since school years. Rae and Connie Bieber’s son Mark and Bob’s brother Ralph both were in need of support and something meaningful in their lives.
Somehow all these acquaintances started sharing their hopes and dreams for a better life for people with mental retardation and other disabilities.
On Aug. 9, 1966, this small group, meeting at the home of Dr. Rae and Connie Bieber in Clear Lake, reached a decision to create an active home-like facility for physically and mentally handicapped adults.
Bill Otterman recalls, "I always liked to say that Bob Replogle kicked our butts to get going. Or like Murley used to say, the car was loaded and gassed up, but he turned on the ignition to get it going."
On Nov. 21, 1966, Handicap Village was incorporated as a private, non-profit, charitable organization. The Rev. Murley Severtson was the first President of the Board. In 1969, the Village purchased 80 acres of land in Clear Lake, Iowa, with the help of donations from the community. Donald A. Boyer was hired as the first Executive Director in November of that year, with backing from the Sage Foundation in Michigan to cover his salary for two years.
Since then, several additions have taken place at the center. The Village also has expanded to many locations and levels of service. Most of the growth has taken place away from Clear Lake, so we now serve individuals in some 30 communities around the northern part of Iowa. Only about one-fifth of the more than 600 people we support today live on the original campus.
The name changed from "Handicap Village" to "Opportunity Village" in 1994, to better reflect the Village mission.
Connie Bieber said, "It doesn't seem like it's been 40 years! I think it's really fabulous that it has grown to what it is today. It's quite different than I visualized, but that's not to say it isn’t better."
Mark Bieber lived at home for years and attended the Village during weekdays. Now he lives in one of the cottages. Connie said, "I don’t want to say I'm proud of what we did, because that sounds too self-serving. I still feel like it was orchestrated by God."
"As far as I'm concerned, this has been the biggest dream of my life, and I never dreamed it would get this huge," Bill Otterman said.
"It was such a delight to see the joy in people who had never had anything to look forward to in a day. Now they had a real life. It was wonderful to see the happiness. It was brand new then, so it kind of hit harder when it all was new."
Like many of the founders, Bill's faith sustained his dedication and makes him humble. "Above all, my wish is that people would realize the Village is Christ-centered, because we believe it was God-inspired."