Bananas for breakfast

Meet the Banana Man and Mrs. Banana Man.

For the past three or four years, Bernard and Lucy Goble have been making sure Havermale High School students get something to eat before a busy day of learning.

They visit grocery stores and buy 160 pounds of bananas for Bernard, 81, to drop off at the school once or twice a month.

The idea was hatched by Lucy, 80, who said the couple does a series of charitable activities.

Bernard has volunteered as an assistant cook in a soup kitchen, and they help their grandsons buy books for college.

Bananas seemed like a natural choice for the couple, who said they started out delivering apples to Havermale. Bernard said that after a little research, he found that bananas are cheaper per individual serving and pack a nutritional punch to get the students going.

“It’s a healthy food,” he said.

The couple picked Havermale because it was close to where they live, and it’s a smaller school.

“A lot (of students) go to school without a thing to eat,” Bernard said.

Giving to the students has its rewards. The students routinely make thank-you cards for the man they call the “Banana Man.”

One time, a student wrote to Bernard, saying he was so tired one morning after coming to school without breakfast, but his banana gave him the energy he needed to make it to lunch.

The students have been known to write letters to the Gobles, make banners on the computer and make banana cutouts from construction paper.

Some of the teachers have decided that writing the “Banana Man” makes a good school project.

Jeannie Strong, office manager of the school, said the cards and letters choke up Bernard every time he gets one.

“They come looking for him on the days he doesn’t come,” Strong said. “They just think it’s great that he comes.”

Strong said the school serves breakfast daily, but the students really like bananas.

The students help Bernard haul the cases of bananas into the school when he drives up at about 8 a.m. Strong said that by 10 a.m., the bananas usually are gone.

Lucy grew up in Spokane and did office work for the U.S. Government. Bernie was raised in Southern Idaho and moved to Spokane in 1948. He worked as a manager at Star Machinery.

The couple, who were married in 1949, have one daughter and two grandsons.

Bernard still is an active man. He squeezed in 60 rounds of golf last summer and works out three times a week.

He also enjoys cooking and shares his baked goods.

“My cinnamon rolls are in high demand with my friends,” he said.

Bernard said that grocery clerks often wonder what he does with all those bananas, but they are very accommodating to him. He especially looks for bananas on sale.

Bernard says he hopes to do this for the students for at least another 10 years. The students certainly would appreciate it.

“It’s just such a neat thing that he does,” Strong said. “He’s a very special and dear person.”