Remembering the Old Goat
Earlier this year we, as individuals and as a club, lost a valued friend and club member. John Joy, who often referred to himself as the Old Goat but rode like a young ram, has passed. Many of us celebrated his life and honored his memory back in February during a full day of activities designed by friends and family to help us grieve. Portland Bicycling Club provided flowers at the memorial as a gesture of our collective care and concern. ✎
At that time, the executive board briefly discussed through email the idea that we, the club members, would endeavor to find a way to do more to memorialize John. No consensus was reached; the participation in the discussion was limited, but overall, we thought it would be both appropriate and beneficial for our individual members to create a fund and use it to create a permanent memorial to honor our friend.
One idea was the notion of a plaque at the trailhead of the CZ Trail out in the Scappoose area. John came to us through mountain biking. He worked as a volunteer on trails and lived in Scappoose. Doug Myers made a call and found that a bench could be placed for about $1,000 to $1,500.
A plaque or a bench in that location is one idea. It has merit to be sure. However, this is where I think we are:
- Member discussion. What does our membership think they would like to see happen? The objective is to have individuals donate to the fund to create the chosen memorial. The entity of PBC is not paying. This is for us, as John’s friends and riding companions, to develop and see to fruition.
- Formulate a plan. What? Where? How? Who?
The focus is our club members and what they need and want to process their grief and what they see as a fitting tribute.
John’s daughter, Kristal, is also planning a similar form of remembrance. She is pursuing a memorial bench with Portland Parks – ideally at a park where John spent time waiting for a ride to start! She has learned that processing applications for the 15 annual benches starts January 2 of each year, and 2022’s window is long closed. She will try again on January 2, 2023. A new bench is currently priced at $7,500, and Chris Brannon raised $834 through various means of fundraising previously.
I will bring this up at the club meeting and look forward to your thoughts. If you are unable to attend the meeting, please share your ideas and concerns with me at [email protected] or any other board member.
Ann Morrow, Vice President