Vendor back at fruit stand, on the mend

The good news is that Larry Schreck’s Wenatchee fruit stand between Frederick and Empire on Argonne Road in Millwood has been in business this summer. The better news is that Schreck has been there to man it.

For years Schreck has been bringing in produce from Wenatchee, where he’s a resident and longtime teacher, for sale on the family property.

Along with succulent fruit, the West Valley High School graduate from a highly respected Valley family provides his captivating smile and sunny disposition for free.

This summer the fruit stand has become a reminder of the fragility of life and how nothing can be taken for granted. Schreck sat in a wheelchair last month, sorting fruit and greeting longtime patrons excited to see him.

That he’s been able to do so is nothing short of a miracle. Like a jigsaw puzzle lacquered for permanence, his body has been mending following a horrific accident April.

While visiting his dying mother Mabel, Schreck was struck by a motorist during walk on a sidewalk in the 5200 block of North Argonne Lane.

“The officer said I hit my head and broke out the windshield,” said Schreck, a 1961 WV grad, All-City football and basketball player, and baseball standout who also played baseball at Washington State University.

It was estimated that he was carried 100 feet on the car before the driver apparently hit the brakes and he slid off, “150 feet from my mom’s apartment.”

Luckily there were no head injuries other than cuts and scrapes, or internal injuries, but both arms, from shoulder to elbow suffered multiple breaks that needed to be pinned together. Schreck suffered a compound fracture of his left leg which was repaired, including the insertion of a titanium rod.

And that, he says, is the good leg. His right leg didn’t break but required reconstructive surgery after tearing ligaments and tendons — “anything that could be torn,” Larry said.

Four months later his legs and the bones in his left arm are healing just fine, Schreck’s doctor told him, although the right leg is the most delicate and coming along slower.

It is his right arm that is causing the most problem. The bones are healing more slowly and the muscle has become like bone. Larry said that he has ordered an electric stimulus machine to promote healing and to dissolve the calcification in his biceps.

But, true to his nature as those who know him will attest, Schreck remains upbeat.

“I can walk with a cane now,” he said. “I’m doing a lot better, and I have a good wife (Sherry) to take care of me.”

He will ease his way back into teaching by beginning part time this fall. And, salesman that he is, Schreck offered that friends and family will be operating the stand this weekend.

“I have some really good peaches, nectarines, tomatoes and pears,” he said.