'Pull a Reichle,' but keep it secret

Hal Reichle's anonymous good deeds live on through SSSSH.
By MATT BIXENSTINE
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
WINDHAM -- The sound of Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" floods the radio at Sparkle Market, and Shasta Hall has no choice but to agree with the lyrics as she fills her cart with groceries.
Hall had intended to spend $20 buying soup and flavored ices in preparation for her daughter's tonsillectomy. She was greeted at the market's door with a $100 shopping spree.
Shopper Suz Viebranz, likewise, found no need for her wallet when she went through the market's checkout line minutes earlier.
"I was totally shocked. People just don't do good things like this," she said. "I was waiting for someone to say, 'April Fools.'"
Sure enough, the do-gooder who picked up the tabs, sporting a satisfied grin, was nowhere to be found when it came time for an explanation. Neither act of generosity, though, was a joke -- but rather in commemoration of an unfulfilled legacy.
Background
Hal Reichle, a greater Cleveland native who spent parts of his childhood in Youngstown and Warren, served in the armed forces as a chief warrant officer. He died at age 27 in a crash while piloting a helicopter during the Gulf War in 1991, leaving the mysteries behind his unconventional selflessness to slowly unravel.
While attending Hiram College, Reichle had performed anonymous good deeds for complete strangers as a form of thrill and entertainment.
"It's a pretty hard thing to describe Hal," said Roger Cram, an administrator at Hiram College who was a friend of Reichle's. "He was very enthused, excited about life. He wanted to spread goodness, and it was a magical thing."
Last March, Cram created the Secret Society of Serendipitous Service to Hal (SSSSH) to continue his friend's random acts of kindness, also known as, "pulling Reichles."
Its members shovel driveways, over-tip waiters or waitresses, paint houses, wash cars and buy groceries, all in Reichle's name. Each recipient receives a card explaining Reichle's life work and untimely death.
"It's hard to imagine how many people are doing this [pulling Reichles] across the country," Cram said. "It could be six or it could be 6,000 -- we'd never know."
Cram said he thinks the actual participation likely is closer to the latter number. Cram recently received a letter concerning the first internationally done deed. The letter, though its sender is unidentified, described a "Reichle" done in Italy.
Cram now hopes to have this fall's entire freshman class at Hiram College, more than 200 students, embrace the program as Hiram student Eric Buckman has.
Scholarship
Buckman is the latest recipient of the Hal Reichle Memorial Scholarship, worth $6,400. The scholarship is awarded based on citizenship and volunteerism. Buckman, the ninth recipient, had not heard of Reichle before he received the scholarship but now helps honor the 1986 Hiram graduate.
"Expect to be surprised -- there's so many things you can do," said Buckman, referring to recipients of good deeds. "One idea we haven't done yet is to have Hiram cops pull people over and give them a monetary award for being a good driver."
Cram, one of the first to catch on, met Reichle while working as a loan officer at Hiram College and later found his old trash cans had been mysteriously replaced with new ones. His fondest memories of his late friend involve witnessing Reichle leaving the scene of an anonymous deed, grinning like an "impish elf."
Carrying on tradition
Cram has been carrying on Reichle's tradition for 10 years, but notes that not all acts of kindness, whether elaborate or spontaneous, go as planned. Some suspicious recipients have had a "too good to be true" reaction or even chased SSSSH members in an attempt to learn who they are.
But on this particular day in Windham, the "Reichles" have gone with only minor complications. Since morning when Cram told his co-worker he and his band of do-gooders were off to "attack the community," at least four individuals have had their day brightened and SSSSH has quietly spread word of Reichle's legacy.
"It was a really nice thing to do," Viebranz said. "It makes you want to run right out and do something nice for someone else."
mbixenstine@vindy.com