In 1975 a gentleman named Duane Salls flew into Cleveland for a job interview. He took a train from the airport into downtown for the interview and what he saw on his ride was a disgusting mess; people were dumping garbage all along the train tracks. He vowed there and then that if he landed the job he would do something about it. Luckily he did get the job and in 1977 he and the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) founded a non-profit called Rapid Recovery. The goal of Rapid Recovery was to clean up the train tracks from the airport to downtown so that future visitors to Cleveland would have a positive first impression of the City and daily riders would have a more pleasant experience. They asked organizations of any kind; for profit, non-profit, garden clubs etc., to adopt 200 feet of trackside and commit to cleaning it up. Rotary Club of Cleveland was one of the first to adopt a site. The Clubs effort was spearheaded by three amazing individuals, all were then in their 40’s or 50’s and all of whom lived in the suburbs. They believed that what was good for the City was good for the entire region and that this could be a way to get involved by doing more than simply writing a check or lobbying for someone else to do the clean-up. Roy “Dutch” Harley, Pete Presson and Stan Adams started and led what would become a 42-year project for the Club. In less than two years the entire trackside was cleaned up and the project was such a success that Rapid Recovery changed its name to Cleanland Ohio and branched out to clean up streets. In 1982 Dutch was named Man of the Year by the non-profit for his personal efforts to help clean Hough Ave. Unfortunately, the change in focus resulted in everyone but Rotary dropping out of the railroad project. One of the key lessons of this story is that non-profit efforts such as this can make a quick and dynamic difference but they are extremely hard to sustain over a long-period of time. But Dutch, Pete and Stan never quit and, in fact, expanded the site to over 500 feet by 1991. If not for these three Rotarians the tracks would not have continued to be groomed by volunteers. Over the ensuing years the project expanded to take over even more sights previously maintained by other organizations. These sights had become overgrown and some had even become illegal dumping sites again. As part of a combination fundraising and clean-up project, the Club conducted a “Scrap Project” that tore out two unused rail lines and a former repair facility between 2009 and 2011. They scrapped over 110 tons of steel by hand and raised over $55,000. In 2012, all of the funds were used to purchase new equipment for the project including a four-wheel drive tractor with multiple attachments. The Club negotiated to purchase most of the equipment from local manufacturer MDT, Inc, owner of Cub Cadet, at dealer cost saving an additional $14,000. The new equipment and the adoption of a plan to convert the site into a multi-use public greenway led to a surge in local volunteers. The site was expanded to cover two miles of trackside. In 2014, over 700 volunteer visits and untold meetings helped secure a partnership between the Club, RTA and Cleveland Metroparks, the county park service. To promote the greenway idea, tours of the site were given by truck or hayrides. Over 5,000 people have taken the tour. The tour became a fun and fact filled event in and of itself. Thanks to these tours the greenway landed a Federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality grant for $2.1 million in 2015. The Red Line Greenway was now a legitimate and transformational project that would connect eight economically and racially diverse neighborhoods on the City’s west side to downtown. The work of thousands of volunteers, led and funded by the Rotary Club of Cleveland, reduced the cost to build the greenway by over $2 million. Metroparks used this fact to secure an $8 million Federal TIGER grant in 2016, half of which went directly to the Red Line Greenway. They also secured a $500,000 Clean Ohio grant in 2018 for a total of nearly $7 million. Construction of the first two miles of the three mile greenway will begin in the summer of 2019. With potential spurs and extensions the Red Line Greenway could become a six mile network of trails serving over 58,000 residents. Over 20,000 of these residents are under age 19 and 52% of them live in poverty. For many this will be their only access to quality green space and a safe passage to all the attractions and jobs in downtown Cleveland. Dutch Harley lived to age 98. Pete Presson lived to age 92. Stan Adams lived to age 97. We like to joke that outdoor volunteer work is good for your longevity so get started now! The foresight, persistence and humbleness of these three great men will be a lasting lesson for everyone lucky enough to know them and hopefully, to anyone who learns their story. Men like this lived and breathed the Rotary motto, service above self!
The Red Line Greenway
In 1975 a gentleman named Duane Salls flew into Cleveland for a job interview. He took a train from the airport into downtown for the interview and what he saw on his ride was a disgusting mess; people were dumping garbage all along the train tracks. He vowed there and then that if he landed the job he would do something about it. Luckily he did get the job and in 1977 he and the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) founded a non-profit called Rapid Recovery. The goal of Rapid Recovery was to clean up the train tracks from the airport to downtown so that future visitors to Cleveland would have a positive first impression of the City and daily riders would have a more pleasant experience. They asked organizations of any kind; for profit, non-profit, garden clubs etc., to adopt 200 feet of trackside and commit to cleaning it up.