Richard Schaefer: Loma Linda's Most Distinguished Historian

Adding to a long list of accomplishments and lifetime accolades, Loma Linda University historian Richard Schaefer was recognized by the Loma Linda Chamber of Commerce and the Loma Linda City News for his distinguished contributions to the city and achievements. Before his mid-20s, Schaefer traveled the world and gained skills not many have the opportunity to learn. At 21, Schaefer recorded Indian languages in Central America, including a Mayan Indian dialect in Guatemala, as an employee of International Educational Recordings in Malibu. He saw a volcano erupting near Antigua, the third capitol city of Guatemala, and he learned to pull teeth at a small mission hospital on the northern coast of Honduras. Adding to his colorful resume is his transition from a Novice to an Extra Class amateur radio operator with the call sign WM6X about 25 years ago. To do that, one of the conditions at the time was to copy 20 words per minute in International Morse Code. It was that Extra Class license then allowed Schaefer to become a volunteer examiner for the Federal Communications Commission's HAM radio tests conducted at Loma Linda University Medical Center. Earning a bachelor's degree in communication from La Sierra College in 1966, Schaefer has spent most of his esteemed career in public relations activities for Loma Linda University Medical Center. For nearly 50 years, he has been employed by what is now known as Loma Linda University Health and, because of the infant heart transplant program and the proton treatment center that made nationwide headlines, he has worked with all of the nation's news magazines, wire services, broadcast networks and even the Voice of America. Schaefer has also conducted tours and patient satisfaction surveys, wrote brochures, feature stories and news releases. He delivered sermons, spoke at service clubs and raised millions of dollars from employees for the three local United Ways. He developed a multi-media program, which he showed at 28 camp meetings across the United States and Canada and at the 1980 General Conference session in Dallas, Texas. Over a period of seven years, Schaefer wrote books, becoming an accomplished author with 12 published works and is putting the finishing touches on six more books. His most popular book, "Legacy: Daring to Care: The Heritage of Loma Linda University Medical Center," was translated into Portuguese and published in Brazil. Now in its sixth edition, it has sold 300,000 copies and became a textbook for the School of Public Health course in Health Administration in Singapore. Schaefer is a guest presenter for six classes at Loma Linda University. Additionally, Schaefer's office began "The Trading Post," a popular Loma Linda weekly advertiser, and he is an established contributing writer with the Loma Linda City News, which publishes weekly snapshots of Loma Linda University's rich and deep heritage in the community, all penned by Schaefer. Currently, he is working on a book on Loma Linda University Health's contribution to the quality of hospital care throughout the People's Republic of China, a subject he will eventually report in his weekly "Heritage Snapshot" in the City News. He has compiled photos taken during two recent trips to China into a PowerPoint presentation he is willing to share in churches and service clubs. For nearly 15 years, Schaefer has worked as the institution's historian. "Sometimes in the quiet of my office in the Del E. Webb Memorial Library, I find myself laughing out loud, and sometimes reaching for a box of tissues," Schaefer said. He says he has concluded that the history of what he calls "a special place on earth" is profound. And it truly is a very special place, as it is home to this truly special man. Schaefer recalled his tribulations along with his triumphs. During a difficult time in his life, Schaefer was awoken from sound sleep and was instantly alert with these words going through his mind: "God will take care of you." Back in public relations, he went to Los Angeles three times in one day when working with the news media Good Morning America, picked up by a limousine at 2 a.m. that morning. Later that day, Schaefer did an interview with Network 9 Australia and later that night he participated in a debate on CNN. Once he was interviewed by a reporter for ABC. Schaefer had been asked the same rephrased question, over and over again. The interviewer looked at Schaefer with a look of both disgust and admiration and said, "You're unflappable." Many know that Schaefer and his brother Bob are twins - but not many know they both had a wife nine months pregnant at the same time. The deacon of the church in Redlands where the brothers attended did not know - he had seen one Schaefer with a beautiful wife, and another Schaefer with a beautiful wife, but the women did not look alike. The deacon profusely apologized for his judgmental thoughts - Richard received a huge button that read, "I'm not Bob!" When he gets a free minute, Schaefer's hobbies include travel, writing, photographing nature, camping, wood turning and wood working. Schaefer has many prestigious awards in his accomplished lifetime, including the President's Citation from the Public Relations Society of America and having the honor in 2012 of being named the Loma Linda Chamber of Commerce's Citizen of the Year; however, the one that means the most to him is the Distinguished University Service Award he received in 2010, recognizing lifetime achievement delivered by Loma Linda University President Dr. Richard Hart himself - and it's one in a long list of recognitions that show how Schaefer is constantly making contributions here in Loma Linda. Continue to read Schaefer's thrilling historical documentation of Loma Linda University every week here in the Loma Linda City News and online at www.lomalindacitynews.com.