Hundreds turn out to support Oldham

Jimmy Oldham has been a part of the PCM wrestling program for more than 40 years. From his time as a Monroe Wildcat wrestler to coaching the Mustangs, including his son Ryan, Oldham has become a staple for the wrestling program.

Sunday, hundreds of people came out to show support for Oldham as he continue to battle cancer at a soup supper at the Monroe American Legion. Current wrestlers, Mustang alumni, former teammates, members of the wrestling family, friends and community members filled the room for three hours straight all to help out Oldham.

“Jimmy is a huge part of the wrestling community and we know that he is going to have medical expenses at the beginning of the year as he is undergoing treatments and we wanted to be able to help out,” wrestling mom and organizer Renae Tool said. “The wrestling programs decided to have a soup supper and give them the donations.”

Oldham is a fixture in the wrestling program having made the state tournament twice, placing fourth once while in high school and serving as a coach ever since. His signature hat and enthusiastic encouragement has been a part of hundreds of wrestlers experience as he roamed the mats.

To help show what Oldham means to the program and all of those who have passed through the wrestling room in those 42 years, a fundraiser was suggested to help with medical costs. Tool said she reached out to members of the wrestling family to help make the meal and the response was overwhelming. People started volunteering to make soup, desserts and work the supper, all for Oldham.

With close to a dozen soups laid out and tables full of dessert plates, the crew was ready when the doors opened. The amount of people who showed up to support Oldham challenged the amount food prepared, but that isn’t very surprising to those who know him.

“I would say that we had at least 500 people so far. It is a fabulous turn out,” Tool said half way through the event. “Our church family, our community, the wrestling community, everybody has just jumped in and helped out.”

The wrestlers on the team this year took on the roll of servers as well as taking shifts in the kitchen washing dishes.

“Jimmy is a old family friend and coach of ours. He is just a family friend to basically everyone in this town,” freshman wrestler Donovan Nickelson said. “Anything to help him out with what he is going through.”

Not everyone could get so many people out of their homes on a cold winter day, but the love for Oldham was felt as soon as you walked through the door. From future wrestlers to those who watched Oldham wrestle, it was obvious how much he means to wrestling at PCM.

“It’s just overwhelming support,” Tool said.

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com