GENEROSITY ENDURES BUT DOESN'T GET OLD

After a lifetime of quiet generosity to the small farm town his family helped settle in the 1830s, Tom Coffey keeps on giving.

His latest contribution, however, was not so quiet. He celebrated his 90th birthday Sunday by throwing his own party, drawing a crowd of nearly 200 people.He even helped provide the entertainment, coaxing "She'll Be Coming Around The Mountain" from his 50-year-old accordion. He's no amateur; he and his late brother Jesse had a band and played what they called "crabgrass" music, their version of bluegrass.

Well-wishers lined up to shake Coffey's hand and deliver birthday cards, balloons and flowers. He even got a teddy bear.

The Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts helped sing "Happy Birthday." Neighbors brought some of their home cooking to fill the smorgasbord.

The party was just Coffey's latest offering to Vienna, population 611.

"They gave me a surprise party a few years ago and I don't like surprises," Coffey explained earlier. "So I decided to take over and make it a party for the whole town."

Coffey rented the American Legion hall, bought an 18-pound ham and hired three bluegrass bands to play at the party.

His money built the Legion hall and a senior citizens center. He purchased a $25,000 tract and donated it for the town's industrial park. The lifelong bachelor has financially supported the Maries County Fair and the county historical society, and he contributed the first $20,000 for a new fire station.

Coffey equipped the county jail with new surveillance cameras. He set up three scholarships at the public high school, then bought a classroom computer for the Catholic school. Through the years, he has sponsored community baseball, football and bowling teams.

"You have to keep something going in a little town. If you don't, people will move on," Coffey said.

Coffey disclosed some time ago that he's giving a gift that should endure long after he's gone: a trust fund of $300,000 to $400,000 to pay for community projects in this town about 120 miles west of St. Louis.

"It will all be worthy stuff. It's a present for my town instead of giving it to my relations, since I don't have any close ones," Coffey said. His nearest relatives are elderly female second cousins who live far away and are financially set, he said.