William Lenzi and Sonya Lenzi

00:05 My name is Sonya M Lindsay. I'm 43 years old. Today's date is June 28th, 2013. Where in Boise Idaho and I'm interviewing my papa today.

00:19 I'm out William D Lindsey MD age of 72.

00:27 Date today, June 28th, 2013 location Boise, Idaho relationship the partner and the father.

00:39 Thanks for doing this Papa. I asked everyone in the family to give me their questions that they wanted to hear and a kind of stimulates some stories. And of course you grew up in Star which is a small town here in Idaho. And the number one question that everyone wanted me to ask was could you please tell the story about how the Merc almost got robbed way-back-when which time tell me all tell me the the one of the robbers running off the roof.

01:14 When I was approximately 17.

01:19 How is passive by a number of police been going very fast towards Highway going on 40 State Street and ended up in star in the story is that my a woman called my father and said there are men on top of the store and he says, oh, it's just those damn kids again. They're throwing water balloons off on the patrons of the bo pool house and she says, oh no, she says, he's our big guys. So my dad went and looked over the edge of the two-story building and one behold their worst guys in before we did that. He called my grandfather and my uncle

02:08 And

02:11 Then came along with him but little bit behind and lo and behold as he looked over the edge there was

02:20 Cement drilling holes in the roof. It was a flat roof and well and behold.

02:30 My father said what are you guys doing up there? And what and what happened? Next was the man took a shot at my father.

02:40 My father never Carries a Gun my uncle carries 832 long and he shot back a couple of times with this gun is totally ineffective. Really.

02:53 And my grandfather came up the side and he carries 240 automatic 45 and he started shooting and it scared him so bad with a bullet ricocheting off of their equipment and that they ran right off the side of the building. Stopping it to lower themselves down or anything.

03:18 And

03:20 Theory skate park was only a half a block away, but they were totally

03:27 Afraid ran past their car window them any good. Anyway, my mother had already gone out and got the keys out of the car.

03:41 So the cops were on their way to arrest these guys. They were carrying a machine guns.

03:53 Anyway, they searched up and down the cornfields couldn't find anybody but in the car there was the keys to the motel these two guys were staying in.

04:06 So the police just went through Garden City where the motel was and

04:13 Staked it out.

04:15 And they got him about 2 or 3:00 in the morning and they finally made their way back to

04:22 McKenna town is wild and 15 14 miles away and they went up for attempted armed robbery.

04:35 Wow.

04:37 S birthday destroy they did. Did they give you your prison term?

04:44 Yeah, that seems to be one of the favorite stories of all of us kids growing up. Just imagining great grandpa shooting and having these robbers so scared they ran off the roof. Definitely something that you remember who was the most influential person in your life when you were growing up.

05:05 Probably my grandfather you started the family business, which is the starting work until in 1908 and identified with me because I was born in 41 at the start of the one before the start of the war.

05:27 I was raised by my grandparents.

05:37 My mother was

05:42 Falling

05:44 Has he had his restraining in Texas? So my grandparents raised me for the four years at that. So Grammy was with Grandpa. I didn't I didn't know that so she was in Texas and you were left in Star. I didn't know that. Well. That explains a lot. So I personally have one of my favorite memories of your story about driving up to a McCall in the back of the door in the car with grandpa and grandma on the one-lane road to remember the

06:26 Be speeding and the could you tell me that story? That's the reason my grandfather was in a very aggressive businessman and when he drove he drove the same way as you can ducted his business with bigger.

06:43 And my grandmother was absolutely scared to death of the car is my effective. She could just barely Drive herself and it this time I had a Chrysler New Yorker one of the first ones they get into the town after the war and

07:05 It had a very unique.

07:08 Structure of the speedometer that is the faster. You went that night time the speedometer change color from green to sort of an orange car and then yellow and then finally is you're reaching over 60 or so, it turned red and then it started getting redder and redder and redder and she would watch that speedometer like a hot and so all right here driving up from a call was Bill cuz all the all the men in the family are named Bill Bill slow down. You're going to kill us all.

07:57 And after a while my grandfather finally got really pretty upset and he just started going faster and faster and his tires were screeching on the road and every once in awhile, we get a little bit off the road and rocks would kick around and that was the way we went to McCall and despite the fact she did this every damn time. We went to my call Mel slow down. You're going to kill us all but wasn't it a one-lane road at someone called back then or no?

08:42 So, how did your family travel to Mexico and about how many times a year did you go there and why?

08:52 Starting my grandfather never took a vacation.

08:57 Hand

08:59 When you turn 65 he took his first vacation.

09:03 And he decided he would go to.

09:08 Mexico with his brother

09:11 And he had three of them Uncle Charles and

09:18 He got down there and he only could last 3 days without doing something.

09:24 And you ended up buying the franchise for Dairy Queen in for Mexico.

09:31 And

09:34 Presented the two boys with another piece of work to do is the manager of these Dairy Queens.

09:43 Hey, let me tell you it was a lot of work a lot of work.

09:50 So how many times did you did you go down with them and did they drive or fly and it was not very real MK even like car with even the cars would sputter. So when that would happen.

10:10 I didn't.

10:13 Interested and I understand

10:17 That's pretty interesting McCall is one of my favorite memories being up there. And I know it was it something that you've passed down to all of us. What's your favorite childhood memory of being in McCall or if you have more than one?

10:34 I love the whole story about the ladder that came out of the ceiling of the old cabin.

10:41 The cabin my grandfather and his close friend who owned Idaho laundry remodel the cabins about the same time and the cabin was so small you had to pull the last of the stairs out of the ceiling every counterbalance with the iron wakes up in the ceiling and had a rope when you pull on the rope and the stairs would come down and you would walk up the stairs and that's was it and you go upstairs and sleep and let me tell you there were bats up there and my grandmother was for you to bits.

11:25 And but didn't bother my grandfather didn't bother me cuz they really could fly around their kind of nifty. Actually. I was going to say

11:38 When you were 12 and working in the star Merc, what was that? Like?

11:45 And I decided at age 12 I'd like to work in the store.

11:51 Otherwise I'd be working at home.

11:55 And

11:58 I will approach my grandfather to get a job and he says well, how much do you want and it is one of the first mistakes I've made in my life. I said I'll take a dollar a day.

12:12 It is all I don't know and led me on and finally gives in and gives you work for a dollar a day and I was stocking shelves and doing all of that for a dollar a day. And in the first year. I went out to cut meat and break down meat and then the next year.

12:33 I approached him. I said I think I should have a raise how much you want son always called me son.

12:43 And I said

12:45 $2 a day thinking I'd be rejected so much money and he said okay $2 a day.

12:56 And my relationship and that's stories. I don't think I ever made more than a doll and reporter an hour.

13:05 Wow.

13:06 Really made you think so. When did you decide that you wanted to go to medicine or to be a doctor? When did when did that come about?

13:19 My cousin

13:23 Buz McGrath

13:25 Marion is this real name?

13:30 Became a doctor.

13:33 And music cousin. He was related through the

13:45 My grandmother

13:48 Who's

13:50 Husband died in the great flu epidemic of 1918 and my grandfather didn't put

14:01 Her son

14:04 Do medical school and

14:09 What every other expenses there were and then he resided in Weezer?

14:15 Okay.

14:18 A very well there.

14:20 Does use the only doctor in town? So did that make you want to be a doctor? That's and I knew.

14:31 I didn't get along with my uncle and I knew I didn't want to.

14:37 Being a store with my uncle.

14:42 That would have been a that would have been it.

14:47 So as you went to College of Idaho, then University of Washington for your medical and then you headed back East with Mom and toe.

14:59 Headed to Cambridge. So what's one of your favorite memories of being in Cambridge with Mom and medical school besides the fact you probably didn't see her very much.

15:12 I am your dang too, and I didn't see her very much.

15:19 I was very lucky. I got into Harvard for all my graduate work and

15:26 Is it work my tail off?

15:30 One of the closest one of the worst stories is the fact that when you were born

15:36 He would not let me go to the

15:41 Delivery is matter fact, she had a driver so to the delivery. And as a matter of fact you had to drive yourself home. I wouldn't it wouldn't let us would have shouted.

15:54 That was well was and you weren't paid for your residency back then either we are was or were you okay? It's okay because the doctors in the sixties went on strike and demanded to have some kind of living expenses cuz

16:16 He used to be that the doctors would not get any money, but they got fed, and that was it and if you wanted to have a family.

16:28 Her did have a family you couldn't afford it right now.

16:32 Very interesting. So me being born and you not being there. Remember Mom telling me I was tucked into a bassinet on the back seat and driven away, which that's just how it was so

16:50 I guess I can ask you more. How did you go into hand surgery as a specific medical field? How did you find out?

17:05 To work on

17:07 Here's the kids. I used to repair radios and small small delicate radio specially off Hoffman radios. Ellicott. Companioni came out for

17:23 Short while and then

17:26 Radio went in to find electronics for space. Okay, and

17:36 I worked on them.

17:38 On that

17:41 Pair figure King

17:44 I don't know exactly why I want into hands except for the fact that I had sort of a choice in my mind between Ophthalmology.

17:56 And

17:58 Orthopedics to fard divested

18:03 And

18:06 Is Epsom

18:08 Everything work out quite nice.

18:13 Is Stylin on the hand surgery?

18:19 IT training was very good at Harvard and is

18:26 Manufacturer at that time probably the best in the world. So where did you meet Doctor nail buff nail buff have been a a big part of our life growing up and I know they've been extremely good friends.

18:42 Of yours

18:44 It never was my tutor are for hand surgery. Now. This is I had to have four years of Orthopedics then one year of rigor.

18:59 Preparing you for having surgery and then I had to two years fellowship at that point. I had a nail buff as a tutor.

19:12 And

19:15 I just really like that.

19:19 It was a gentleman very smart, very brilliant.

19:25 And well established in.

19:30 Well, I'm still went up your best friends and our friendship.

19:36 And I consider them both my aunt and uncle.

19:40 And when some reason we just hit it off good with pump me about business.

19:49 Items and

19:54 Because

19:56 I was praying then running the store running Dairy Queens that type of stuff and he'll wait and see and they asked me I opinion and

20:10 One of the things he asked me if I was the

20:16 Organized crime when does it take over his building, but he had to take

20:26 They all I had to do was a corporation of lunch of doctors all of which couldn't hardly Park pee in a bucket and business-wise. And so

20:39 We finally came down to the point of what he wanted for the

20:45 Relationship

20:47 And

20:50 I advised him not to do it which turned out to be a real blessing and cuz they really took the other doctors in Rockton Sanctuary here in 1976. You were the first hand doctor in Idaho very first one so we came back.

21:18 What was what was the first call you went out on do you remember that?

21:24 Wasn't it a

21:26 Was that a person or was it?

21:30 700 already to lead you into that answer but yet again one of my favorite stories growing up my mother calls with an emergency that the girl next door had got into the barbed wire and cutter flying call up.

21:50 So I had to come down and clean her up and Stitch her up, which was nearly impossible and real laughter part was getting her Shackled enough to so I can Stitcher.

22:07 Net worth of Rihanna

22:11 The first pitches you put in anyone in Idaho has a horse. So as you look back on your hand surgery cases two of them actually stick out in my mind as to the most important that you really help people and I'd love for you to tell me more about that Barbara Buchanan and Kenny Goodall. So I'd love to hear about those stories again.

22:43 Kenny Goodall was a professional drag racer and

22:52 Get this car over at 203 miles an hour, but he reached outside the cage. They're very safe in these metal cages and he reached out and grabbed a hold of the over railing and his hand is it flipped upside down his hand was ground up between the asphalt and the middle bar and it was really bad.

23:26 And he had swollen so much.

23:30 At my partner who is taking care of the

23:36 Bu Orthopedic all that night

23:40 I tried to fix him and he could not and one was so swollen that the owner nerve was becoming terribly stretched and nerves die when they have stretch.

23:59 Her pressure and

24:03 So there's no way I can make the owner nerve better?

24:09 I tried to free the nerve up. So I opened up the entire arm and shorten the bone. Both bones of forearm has two bones and put plates on each other. Why is it comes apart when you reach out to grab something and put weights and screws on it? And he did very well and actually went back.

24:37 Don't worry, I mean working. Yes, he did that night. He invited us when he was here at firebird and we have some great pictures of when we were little and I just remember his love for you and telling all of us little kids how much you saved him and just how amazing you were for him and how much that meant to him. And those pictures were those are great photos all of us little kids. I mean, I probably was no more than 10 or 12 at that time getting around the coolest race cars ever. I mean, these were amazing. So tell me about Barbara

25:18 Barbara Buchanan, yes was a bicyclist for the Olympics and was doing very well and long behold the photo that was running the race. I let his niece.

25:38 Join, the race for the pace was so tense. And so she actually cause a horrendous wreck Barbara broke both elbows and quite a bit of other stuff. That was and had a Norma's head wound and went into a coma for a number of months when you're in a coma people have a tendency to make

26:07 Extra bone ectopic bone with card and her elbows became Frozen so

26:17 And the fellow that was taking care of her but not management.

26:23 And he needed to cut the phone off and Leo go.

26:27 Cuz it girl was her Frozen and I took her to the operating room and took the

26:36 Extra bone off and

26:41 She did extremely well, but she still had her brain injury and she race.

26:50 I don't know what you call it.

26:53 Special Olympics has very well in there. And now she works at a grocery store. I think we should do Master Special Olympics. I know that she would do really well.

27:14 As one of the founders of Idaho Botanical Garden, what would you like your legacy to be out there?

27:24 What is Caesar are you saying?

27:28 Okay, so if I could really see that that gift to the state of, Idaho.

27:37 From

27:39 Myself and my grandmother who was a wonderful gardener.

27:46 Absolutely.

27:50 So when?

27:52 Grandma was killed. She was killed by someone that hitter.

28:00 Dude, feel that that just that hole in your heart was never filled.

28:05 I know that that was a great loss.

28:09 For the whole family

28:11 She was a pure diamo and she was getting up at 5 in the morning to go. Irrigate turn the water cuz he's a open irrigated acres is that so she went to to turn the water in for quote the old people and she was 76 and she was standing on the side of the road and this woman was coming through town the estimate around 70 miles an hour.

28:46 And

28:48 Long behold, she caught the flash of my grandmother on the side of the road. She jammed on the brakes and

29:00 Slid across the road hitting my grandmother and

29:07 Causing havoc in my grandmother ended up with a head injury, which may not have been a bad deal. But what she did have was she had blood thinner and has a medicine on board and

29:23 What singer has she found a big brain caught in which slow across one side of her brain?

29:32 Talk to the accident. How long did she live?

29:37 I think it was five days.

29:41 Well, it's a great loss in our family.

29:47 So that's one part of the family. How do you feel about a Ben Alex and and your grandkids?

29:54 Ben Alex and Ann

29:59 What what do you what do you want them to remember about? You most of all.

30:09 I would like them to think of me as

30:15 A fun-loving grandpa somebody who loves and they're really I think they I think they will I always I want you to get healthy you've been dealing with a lot of health issues that passed passed little bit of time. Probably about two to three years. It's been it's been hard and I know but I want you to get focus on getting well so that you'll be able to be there because you need to teach an how to play chess can we can't just teach the boys you have to say already know. I've already told him. I have you've already taught the boys. We've got one little girl that needs to be taught as well. And that's I think personally wanted that my favorite things that you've ever taught me was how to play chess and the Mexican chess board that you brought back from Mexico for me as one of my favorites.

31:14 How do you how do you want to see the the next bit of your your life? Cuz I know you that you're going to live a bunch more. So what do you want to do with the whole family? Is there a trip you want to go on or is there just something that you're really looking forward to doing?

31:35 Grandpa

31:38 Bought a cabin in 1917 about the same time as that they didn't Tyler the laundry man. How about his hand?

31:53 We are remodeled. I truly loved him a call and it was like to spend a preschool amount of time up there while I think we're headed up there coming up for the 4th. I do know that that is one of the things that I am. I appreciate the most growing up. Although there was a time I think Kendra Nicole were sent down on the bus because they were having the best time but it is one of the best legacies you've given all of us kids and it's great that we have brother-in-law my brother-in-law's that love it as much as all of us. Do you do have it when fortunately the taxes are getting very sizable they are.

32:41 So what what are your thoughts on what we did today was this fun? Did you know that's good pop. I know you your eyes were rolling when I brought you in and you looked at this and went home no and I do make you do things that are a little bit out of the box, but that's as the oldest it worked out. It worked out. Great. Thank you Papa. I love you so much. I hope you know that you Tucson. All right.