PORT TOWNSEND — A civic group that usually builds amenities for senior citizens so they can stay in their homes has just completed a more youth-oriented project: constructing four workbenches on which schoolchildren can build and repair bicycles.
The benches, which are housed in a garage near the Grant Street Elementary School, are part of a program sponsored by the ReCyclery in Port Townsend, a community bicycle collective at 612 Polk St. that has the goal of increasing bicycle use to 50 percent of all city residents by 2020.
ReCyclery co-owner Chauncey Locklear called on the Boeing Bluebills for help in constructing the benches, which are considered an essential part of the group’s educational program.
Four members of the Bluebills, made up of retired Boeing executives, built the benches from a design developed by Locklear and Bluebill Myron Vogt — who attempted to supervise the effort.
“It was tough doing this because when you get a bunch of guys who used to be managers together on a job, they all want to be the boss,” said Larry Elton, who was part of the team.
Getting involved with the program is a change of pace for the Bluebills, a large organization with 120 members in the North Olympic Peninsula and 30 in Jefferson County.
“Most of our efforts are spent building railings or wheelchair ramps so people can stay in their homes,” said Michael Graham, another team member.“But we have never turned down anyone who has asked for help.”
The four men working on the project — Vogt, Elton, Graham and Ken Winter — spent about 120 hours putting the benches together.
Each workbench has a flat space for putting together bikes and a pegboard for holding the tools along with a lockable space below to store the tools at night.
“It’s a good thing for the kids to take the tools out and put them in their place every day and then have to put them back,” Locklear said. “They learn to put them in the right place and will know right away if one is missing.”
Aside from learning how to use the tools, students also will learn concepts of recycling resources and helping the community, he said.
Fix bikes, donate them
The students take donated bikes that are in bad repair, fix them up and then donate them to youngsters who don’t have bicycles.
“We get the kids to ride these bikes, but by working on them, they become invested,” Locklear said. “Teaching them to use tools and repair bikes empowers them.”
Locklear said helping youngsters understand how bicycles work and depending on them for transportation makes them healthier, both physically and mentally.
“Back in the 1950s, a majority of kids would ride their bikes to school and all around the town,” Locklear said. “Today in Port Townsend, that number has fallen to 11 percent.”
Locklear believes bikes enhance more than health, that they can become part of “a social mover” that involves children in many levels of personal and professional interaction. Once this is accomplished, it’s not a great leap to think that, when the children grow up, they will rely on bikes to get to work, Locklear said.
Locklear said Port Townsend is generally supportive of the bicycle culture. The city provides “great bike trails,” while motorists are generally courteous, he said.
Bringing bicycling concepts into the classroom can “get kids pumped” about riding their bikes at an early age, Locklear said.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
