SHAWANO, WI- A well known member of the Shawano Community has a new ride, thanks to an area men’s softball team and the generous community.
Dave Stoehr was presented with a new bicycle after more than $800 dollars was collected in one day through donations.
The idea came from Bryce Szymanski who has spent multiple occasions fixing Stoehr’s bike which he says has really become beyond repair.
“The one he has been riding doesn’t perform,” Szymanski said. “It does not shift gears, the breaks are bad, so it is time for him to have a quality mode of transportation.”
Stoehr uses a bike as his sole method of transportation. The 55-year-old recently moved into an apartment on his own and gets around the community by bike. A while back however, Stoehr was accidently struck by a vehicle while riding, and his bike was damaged. The person who struck him paid for a new bike, but with lots of use, that bike has not been holding well, forcing Szymanski to spend hours reparing it.
“I am sick of fixing his bike.” Szymanski joked. “I am not even a mechanic, I just want to help.”
Rather than putting more hours into the bike, Szymanski decided he needed a better bike, but needed to come up with a way to get it. He says many people know Dave based on his desire to be out an about in the community, and when he put the request out there, the response to the cause was beyond his expectation.
“It took maybe three hours to raise about $750 dollars. “It came to a total of $850 dollars in a blink of an eye and it came down to lots of support from multiple people in the community.”
Dave was brought to Martzke Park on Thursday to cheer on Lakeview Revival Men’s Softball team, and was surprised with his new transportation that was brought out before the game.
Dave asked Szymanski what he was supposed to do with his old bike. “That is going to the curb bud,” Szymaski said with a smile. “New breaks, tires and all, it does not matter, this is your bike now.”
You can see a live video of the bike presentation at the WTCH Facebook Page.
Comments