Leonard Clearwater
Leonard has been a resident of Garden Way
Retirement for two years now. Besides bringing along his charming ways, he has
also brought along his newspaper collecting. For as long as I can remember
Leonard was always collecting newspapers I had to ask one day “Why?” He would
reply, “I collect them for the schools.”
Later we would all find out what an amazing effort has been made to help
the earth and the children. Leonard has been part of the Cascade Barbershop
Quartet since 1966, over 45 years now. One of the gentlemen from the group came
up with the idea to recycle newspapers. With this idea in play they also
decided to use the money they received from recycling to help fund the Cascade
Barbershop Quartet and to help out with the music programs in Lane County
schools.
Residents
and most staff know what Friday’s mean, collection day. Friday is the day
Leonard’s friends Margaret and Jim help out collecting the newspapers
throughout Garden Way community. Besides newspapers they will also collect junk
mail, magazines and cans. You see them walking the halls, with the baskets over
filling of newspapers and such. Residents have also been collecting all of
their newspapers and random junk mail for Leonard. They either will deliver to
Leonard’s apartment or have it ready for Leonard to pick up on Friday’s. In
fact he has been collecting so much extra from everyone that Margaret and he
started collecting on a daily basis sometimes twice in one day.
They
realized that over a seven year period they had collected over 39,000 dollars! That
money was divided up between the Barbershop quartet and the schools in Lane
County. There are 114 public schools in the Lane County which equals out to
being 44,603 children. When you think of that it’s amazing to know the Cascade
Barbershop Quartet gentlemen have helped all of these children. Besides them
helping out the children with funds for music programs and putting on concerts
to help encourage children to participate in music they help keep the paper out
of the landfills, this paper includes phone books, newspapers, junk mail and
random scrap paper. Leonard said, “It gives me a wonderful accomplishment
feeling to know how much I am helping out, I help the music programs in our
local school, keep the paper out of landfills and help with keep more trees
alive.”
The
Cascade Barbershop Quartet has started a remarkable program that they intend to
keep doing. We could all do a part and
help Leonard with the schools, keeping the landfills cleared of extra paper
debris and help keeping more trees planted in the ground and not in a mill.
