Hollis Shostrom summits at Pisgah

Presenter: During public comment Tuesday, praise for Lane County Parks from John Helmer and Hollis Shostrom. 

John Helmer: My name is John Helmer. I’m here with my friend and compatriot and collaborator Hollis Shostrom, who will also have comments after me.

We have the happy task of being here to celebrate Lane County Parks. They do great work all over. But most particularly, I’m here to celebrate access to the top of Mount Pisgah.

This is really the culmination of two and a half years of work that began when we got the idea of having track chairs, these electric track chairs out at the Mount Pisgah Arboretum. 

And one of the things that we immediately found that was unexpected was you put somebody, you get them started in a track chair, and what they say is, ‘I want to go up there. I want to go to the upper reaches of Mount Pisgah. I want to go to the top.’

It was not something I had thought of, but there are people in this community who’ve been here all their lives, maybe decades.  They’ve always heard it’s a great place to go. Everybody goes there. ‘But it’s not for me,’ is what they had to kind of conclude.

Well, it is now.

The main problem most recently was the very top section was a very rocky trail with bedrock sticking out. So Hollis and I started an effort to ask that that get fixed.

And long story short, we found just the most super responsive collaborators in Brett Henry and Steve Rayfuse with Lane County Parks, who were just immediately welcoming and can-do attitude to think about how to fix this.

They found some funding, hired Oregon Woods and this summer, track chairs can now more regularly get to the top of Mount Pisgah for the first time, really, ever. 

So that’s a fantastic thing. I wanted to use this occasion, too, to say this is a small step in what is a really impressive, broad community that is dedicated to accessible outdoor recreation.

In my submitted written comments, I listed more than a dozen organizations that I have worked with, and I’m sure I’ve left some off. And I don’t have the time to read them off, I wish I did. I will mention, since I’m talking to the county, that it includes Lane County’s equity program, which has been a great collaborator.

And although I want to stop and smell the roses and celebrate, of course, I have to add that we’re not done. (No way!) Yeah, no way! There is much more equipment needed in this rich county with all these wonderful resources that we have more adaptive recreation equipment, more trail work to be done.

And I guess I’ll give a plug also for bus service to Howard Buford Recreation Area someday.

So with that, I’ll just again state my celebration of Lane County Parks. And next up to speak is Hollis Shostrom. You may have heard from him before. Hollis has cerebral palsy and he can speak for himself, but it takes time, and so he’s asked me to read his comments.

So I have comments from Hollis. Still okay to read those? (Oh yeah.) And so I’m going to read Hollis’s comments. He has not submitted them in writing, but if you would like that, he’s certainly willing to do that.

So now I need a different hat. I’m speaking for Hollis.

Hollis Shostrom: Good morning, commissioners. My name is Hollis Shostrom, and it is a pleasure to be able to speak before you today. I have been living in Eugene since 1999 and had always wanted to hike at Mount Pisgah. I’m an avid outdoorsman. 

While my mobility needs may differ from others, I have never allowed that to deter me from being as active outdoors as I can be.

Where I have found the greatest barriers are almost always around accessibility. This was my initial experience with wanting to hike Mount Pisgah. There was no way to operate a wheelchair on the trails, which meant that I was never able to experience the Arboretum or Howard Buford Recreation Area.

A couple of years ago, John Helmer received a recommendation about all-terrain accessible wheelchairs called David’s Chair and started the mission to bring track chairs to Mount Pisgah. Now, Mount Pisgah owns two track chairs, free for public use.

I met John at the Willamette Confluence and was the first person to sign up for the use of track chairs on the trails of Mount Pisgah. However, upon using the track chair for the first time, my initial excitement bubble was a bit deflated after learning that even with the use of an all-terrain tractor, I was still unable to reach the summit.

This started my mind going and I called Oregon Woods to talk to them about what could be done to make it possible to reach the summit.

This was not exactly the start of my journey working alongside John. It happened in a very organic and roundabout way.

As a member of the Wednesday Wheelers (which are the shirts we’re supporting today), I was invited to be photographed by Kenji Shimizu with Shimizu Photography, who was working on a project to highlight the diversity and uniqueness of the residents of our community.

This led me to working with John after being photographed using track chairs. Our shared passion to make this recreation area more accessible to all our community members led me to assist with trail surveying and recommendations on how to improve trails to make them more user-friendly, regardless of a person’s mobility limitations.

I cannot describe how meaningful this experience has been to me and many others who are now finally all able to reach the summit of Mount Pisgah.

For the many more able-bodied individuals who have never had to think about not being able to experience the beauty of nature around us, having that constant access often makes some people forget what a privilege it is to be able to experience it at all.

It is not an experience I take lightly, and it is one I am proud to say that I have accomplished now, with the improved trails and the use of an all-terrain track chair.

Without the many volunteers’ hours put into this project, continued advocacy for more accessible outdoor spaces and the donorship of those who believe in this mission, this would not be possible today.

Thank you all for prioritizing your attention on making Lane County a more accessible community for all its members. Thank you for your time and take care. 

Presenter: Hollis Shostrom summits at Mount Pisgah. Covering councils and commissions, neighborhoods and nonprofits, preparedness and public comment, you’re listening to Whole Community News.