IT'S A SMALL WORLD FOR A 14-YEAR-OLD NEARLY 7 FEET TALL

WHEN YOU ARE SIX FEET ELEVEN, weigh 275 pounds and are only 14 years old, you must act your size, not your age. That's the harsh lesson David Spangler of Mancos, Colo., is learning. Because he looks like a mature man, people expect him to act like one. Any time he behaves like the teen-age kid he is, his huge bulk makes him a king-sized target for criticism. Life is full of problems, but Dave is trying to solve them like the man he only appears to be.
   Dave is a freshman at Mancos High School, and this is his first year of football. As a substitute lineman, he hasn't played a lot, but he is an eager member of the squad. He turns out regularly for practice, memorizes the plays and observes all the training rules. Privately, Dave will admit that basketball is more to his liking.
   Whether he is working out as a substitute center (above), getting dressed with a buddy's help (below), or lining up with the football team at a rally the night before a big game (right), Dave has found that the team spirit of football gives him the chance to be the equal of his schoolmates.
   Dave has survived the teenagers' code of conformity. Ordinarily, kids would call him "Stretch" or "Tiny" to mark him as being different. But they have given him no nickname. The fact that, to every one in town, he is just Dave is a sign of the acceptance he has won from adults as well as from his peers.
   Except for his size, Dave is the same as other teenagers. He is always hungry, but he tries to stay on a diet to keep his weight down. In school, he is in the upper third of his class. On Sundays, he attends the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His parents are not Mormons; Dave made the choice himself.
   Physically and mentally, Dave Spangler is normal. That is the verdict of doctors at the Colorado General Hospital in Denver, where he goes regularly for checkups. X-ray examinations of his bones tell them he will stop growing soon, perhaps in two years.
Dave has always been big. At birth, he was thin, but long, and weighed 11 pounds 8 ounces. At 11 months, he began walking and weighed over 40 pounds. When he started kindergarten at the age of five, he stood five feet tall, only an inch or so shorter than his teacher. He was six feet tall and wearing men's suits when he was nine years old. Today, Dave's clothes are a costly problem. His size-17½ EEE or EEEE shoes must be made to order: his suits also are tailor-made, to allow for a 40-inch chest and a size-40 waist.

UPDATE on August 28, 2008

An email was received from David's nephew, Rich Crayne. Here in full is that email and others.

I recently ran across a page on your site that had a short blog about my uncle David Spangler. My mother who was around eleven years old at the time was there as well. I filled her in on your article remembering that I had seen it when I was younger, the original copy of the Look magazine that you posted. She would like to know more about your time with David or if you have any other pictures of David that you would be willing to share. Unfortunately, I never had the chance to meet him as he died well before I was born. Thank you for any response.

Then I received that same day this from David's sister, Loretta Hartwick.

I am David Spangler's sister.  I well remember the day the Boy Scouts of America came to Mancos Co.  To see the pictures of my brother on the web brought back so many memories.  David died in December, 1962, of Leukemia.  My brother was in the Boy Scouts and often spoke of the night he stayed at the camp.  I remember the article in Look Magazine and have the original copy.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the kind words written on the web regarding my brother.  I miss him still, after all these years.

Sincerely,
Loretta Hartwick

Later I received another email from Rich Crayne.

Thank you for your response and regards.  David passed away two years after your encounter.  He was diagnosed with leukemia when he was 15, and passed away the next year.  He and my mother were very close as the were the only two children my grandmother had.  She was very excited to see your page and would be very interested in what the boy scouts may recall.  Again thank you so much.

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Dear Loretta,

I can't count how many times in my life I have smiled when thinking of those really few hours we spent with David. He left a lasting memory as a really special young man. Friends are the most important part of your life and I treasure my memory of David.

I am so glad you found us and especially the page on David, thanks to your son. I now live in Colorado and have passed through Mancos a few times since I have moved here. My memories of David are not so much about his height, but about the sweetness of his character. He was enthusiastic and so innocently young. I remember how infectious his spirit was. We all wanted to be his friend. I do remember him leaving us to go find out if he could spend the night with us. Then the excitement we had when he did join us. It was sad he could not continue with us and I am so sure he felt the same. I remember getting back to Indiana and telling my other friends about him and when that article appeared I remember beaming that I knew him and showed all my friends.

It is so sad to know that he didn't live a long life, because I am sure he would have gladdened the hearts of so many more people. I now believe he must have had a hand in getting this connection between you and us. Thank you so much for writing and I hope you hear from others.

Warmest regards,
Richard Stamats

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Hello,

Thank you again for the kind words regarding David. I agree with you, he was special in heart and soul. He had a tender place in his being that I would have loved to grow up with. I believe he had a hand in this as well. I’ve wanted to talk with him for several months now regarding our mother. She is 92 and in a nursing home. I have many times, recently, called upon David in spirit for support for her, wishing he was here to help see her and myself through this. I honestly feel he has answered me this way. I have never seen the pictures you sent me. Perhaps, this is his way of reaching out to mom and me.

Please thank everyone who was with David in Mancos for making it special for him. I can tell by his pictures, he was having a ball!

Please feel free to contact me, or anyone else from your group as well. I would welcome the memories. He left to soon for me to share many memories, I was 12 when he died. I do know if I was being picked on, all I had to do, was tell them my brother’s name was David. They would say so, and I would say, so.. David Spangler, and that would be the end of that! David is buried at the Hi Jolly Cemetery in Quartzsite Az. The cemetery is a National Monument now.

Sincerely,
Loretta Hartwick

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Chino Hills, CA

I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the touching story about my uncle. My mother has so few pictures, let alone memories of her brother and this was quite a nice surprise for her. We have often thought of him and what it would be like to have him in our lives now. You have touched our family more than words can say and you have given my mother a very special gift. We now have another part of his life to remember. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Catherine Benson(Crayne)