The tag-along bicycle that David Kaplan ordered online wasn’t what he hoped. The more he looked at it, the more he knew it needed serious work before it could keep his son safe, upright and rolling along.
“I kind of had the idea, but I didn’t have the expertise,” Kaplan said. So like thousands of other Ohio families over the past 50 years, he turned to Carl Mulberry.
“Carl just embraced the whole project,” Kaplan said. “Together, we converted this to a tag-along bike that had a wheelchair seat. When you got to the place you wanted to go, you could unfasten it, and it was kind of like his wheelchair. Carl had the pieces and the parts and the knowledge to make the dream come true.”
That deep well of dedication and know-how will be missed when Mulberry, longtime owner of the former Columbus Medical Equipment (now National Seating & Mobility), retires at the end of the year, said parent Amanda Lynch.
She’s inviting former and current customers to a gathering on December 2 to celebrate and thank Mulberry for all he has done for people with disabilities. Her 23-year-old daughter is one of his biggest fans.
“Isis is deaf-blind. She doesn’t sense things the way other people do,” Lynch said. “But I realized one day when Carl was working on her chair that Isis was looking at him, doing her quiet-alert thing. She was just cooing. I thought, ‘Oh my gosh—they’re connecting.’”
Mulberry, one of the nation’s first technicians to gain professional certification for adaptive seating, was a pioneer in working with space-grade foam and plywood. He’s happiest when he’s able to craft a custom seat that allows a child to sit comfortably.
“I love my clients,” Mulberry said. “The hugs I get from moms when kids feel better…just to feel better and not have pain in their bones and skin. This has been a wonderful business.”
At 76, he finally is ready to sleep a little more and spend more time with grandchildren. He’s grateful for the memories, including those of the bike he modified for the Kaplans more than 15 years ago. “Those were the kinds of things I loved doing,” Mulberry said. “A project where I had to come up with an idea to make it possible, and make it better.”
The retirement party for Carl Mulberry is set for 3 to 6 p.m. December 2 at the Northwood-High Building, 2231 N. High St. Click here or scan the QR code for details and to RSVP. Can’t make it but want to share thoughts about Carl? Click here
