- Gene Weber
PCA Hosts First Accessible Trail Tour
Residents from Park Place Senior Living and others who use a wheelchair, walker, or simply cannot walk the trail were invited to our Accessible Trail Tour. On June 21st and 22nd, a few PCA volunteers took these special guests for rides on the David Canny Rountree Branch Trail. It was hot, but pleasant for about 20 folks to see our trail by golf cart or John Deere Gator.
Angie Pierce, RN, Administrator of Park Place, shared, “We are appreciative of the PCA members who organized this event and drove our residents on this tour. It was a wonderful opportunity for them to enjoy the trail, gardens, and trail art.”
Richard and Sharon Carns said it was a very informative trip. Another guest, Lila, said, “I’ve always known of the trail, but I had never seen it.” Richard Weber and Jeff Weber were also grateful for the trail ride.
PCA volunteer drivers included Ron Weier, Mike Hahn, Tom Loeffelholz, Spider Fromader, Bob Gates, Mark Schell, Dianne Jentz and Gene Weber.
Dianne Jentz noted: “This was a wonderful event! Hats off and a huge thank you to everyone that planned, organized, and played any part in the event. Visiting with and seeing the smiles on the faces of those on the tour was personally satisfying and rewarding for me and it was clearly enjoyed and greatly appreciated by those we hosted. It was simply awesome!”
“I think we should do it again,” Mike Hahn stated. “My riders enjoyed it; and we talked the whole way. One rider was talking about the ice that used to be cut down by the pond where Dunkin’ Donuts is now. I enjoyed the one-on-one.”
Mark Schell said, “I think the PCA should do this event again. I had a great deal of fun and the three people I took on the tour seemed to enjoy it as well. Each tour was unique. One rider marveled at the lighting, and one enjoyed the trees and plant identification. Each of them enjoyed the stories about the Bill Mitchell sculptures.”
PCA organizers included Gene Weber (chair), Ron Weier, Tom Loeffelhoz, Tammie Engleke, and Don Francis.
Jeff Weber, who in past years had fabricated all PCA’s artistic bike racks, proactively reached out requesting to join the tour as he can no longer walk the trail due to mobility issues. He was pleased by the trail ride and seeing the bike racks put to good use.
Ron Weier, Thrivent Financial and Popcorn Kernel provided snacks for our guest riders and drivers. Park Place furnished water and staff support.
“It was great to see both guest riders and host PCA drivers thoroughly enjoying this outing,” noted Gene Weber. “Special thanks to Tom Loeffelholz and Ron Weier for coming up with the idea last winter and to Angie Pierce for adjusting to the last-minute changes and helping make this an enjoyable event for all.”
PCA wishes to thank the 25 Platteville Golf & Country Club members who offered their own golf carts for this activity. It was a wonderful response. Unfortunately, due to insurance reasons, we had to respectfully decline the use of non-PCA vehicles. However, since the event went so well, we plan to do this trail tour again in the near future.