After Two-story Fall, Son and Father Roofing Duo Touched by Community Support

When Mike Smith tumbled two stories from a ladder while cleaning a gutter in August, his right ear was nearly torn off; he got hairline fractures in two of his vertebrae; his fingers were dislocated and he cut up his forehead.

Needless to say, Smith, 49, isn’t working right now.

But his father, Jim Smith, 75, said he hasn’t been able to get much done either, because everyone stops to ask him how his son is doing.

Mike and Jim Smith said they can’t get over the outpouring of concern from the community since the accident, which has included about 200 cards and a fund to raise money for the younger Smith’s medical bills.

 “When you see it like this, it really means a lot to me,” Mike Smith said. “So many people were so concerned.”

Could Have Been Worse

Mike Smith is self-employed through his own hulling, roofing and gutter cleaning business.

While cleaning a client’s gutter in College Park two weeks ago, Smith’s ladder slipped and he tumbled two stories. On the way down he hit a porch roof before landing on the deck below.

“It was kind of like being inside a pinball machine,” Smith said.

He doesn’t remember much else from the accident. Calls were made and his father arrived there before Smith was transported to the Prince George’s Hospital Center, where he remained for three nights.

“They said I could have easily been paralyzed,” Smith said.

Up and About

But he was on his feet two days after the accident — even if he wasn’t supposed to be.

That evening, Smith was getting antsy. He told his wife and his brother who were there at the hospital to catch him if he fell. He stood up, and he didn’t fall.

The next day, the physical therapist told Smith it was time to get him on his feet.

“Well I said ‘Shoot, I already been walking around,’” Smith said.

Smith is now home with his family in Laurel.

75 and Tough as Nails

Late Tuesday morning, Mike and Jim Smith sat drinking from their Coca Cola cups at the , where they meet most days. The younger Smith said he hoped to be back working Friday or Saturday.

“I don’t think so,” said his father, who lives in Hyattsville.

The Smith family is well known in the College Park, University Park and Hyattsville area for their roofing and gutter cleaning business, formerly known as Jim Smith and Sons. An older Smith brother stepped out of the business because of back and knee problems.

Jim Smith, who has been in business since the 1950s, knows a thing or two about recovering from falls.

About eight years ago, he fell from a ladder while working. He broke every rib in his body and his pelvis. Doctors had to take out his spleen and half his pancreas.

Smith, in his late 60s at the time, was out of the hospital in a month.

“Well I guess you’re not going to let your dad back on that ladder,” people would say to Mike Smith.

“You must not know Dad the way you think you do,” he would respond. 

“He’s from the old school … He’s tougher than nails,” Mike Smith said of his father.

Radiating Goodness

The older Smith calls himself retired, but his clients just won’t let him quit. He still does smaller roofing and gutter jobs.

And his work comes highly recommended.

“We’ve only lived in University Park for four years,” said resident Lise Nau, “but as soon as we came here, and we asked who works on roofs, everyone said Jim Smith and Mike Smith.”

Nau said the father and son have proven to be special people and conscientious workers.

“When goodness radiates from people it comes back to them,” Nau said.

In this case, the goodness is in the form of a fund, the idea for which originated from a University Park list serve discussion, Nau said.

Smith’s wife brings in a bit of income providing daycare services, and Mike Smith does think his insurance will cover most of the medical bills, but he’s unsure how much they’ll add up to.

“You know how it is. You’ll start getting bills from people you never even heard of,” he said.

Still, a fund was not something he ever expected.

“I felt really kind of bad. I didn’t really want them to do that,” he said. “I really do appreciate it.”

How to Donate

Anyone wishing to donate to the fund supporting the Smith family can do so through one of four ways:

• Send a check made payable to “Michael Smith Appreciation Fund,” to Lise Nau, 4319 Clagett Road, University Park.
• Put cash (or check) in an envelope through the mail slot at the above address. For cash, write your email address on the envelope for a receipt to be sent to you.
• Take cash or check to , College Park branch preferably, and deposit into the Michael Smith Appreciation Fund.
• Make direct online transfers. Contact Lise Nau to obtain the routing and account numbers, or if you have questions. She can be reached at lbpianolady@gmail.com.