Sat, Jul 04 2009
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Published December 30, 2007 10:17 pm - Merle Dodge put two wheels under many of the poorest kids and adults in Ashtabula. Riding for Merle Fund-raiser will help pay funeral expenses for the man who put Ashtabula kids on wheels By CARL E. FEATHER - Lifestyle Editor - cfeather@starbeacon.com Star Beacon Merle Dodge put two wheels under many of the poorest kids and adults in Ashtabula.
Dodge, who died Dec. 14 at the age of 59, was head mechanic and coordinator of the Cycle for Kids bike shop. Located in a garage behind the Ashtabula Dream Center, the shop turns out an average of 350 refurbished bicycles every year. The bicycles are donated to any child or adult who needs the most basic of transportation but can’t afford to buy one. The Rev. Duane Ball, pastor of Harvest International Church and Dream Center founder, says Dodge was a dedicated volunteer who worked with the bicycle program from its earliest days. Dodge obtained bicycles from police and sheriff departments, bike shops and donors, then fixed them up and donated them to any person who needed one. “We have a lot of homeless people on bicycles because of Merle,” Ball says. Shonet Dodge, his widow, says the bicycle ministry gave meaning to her husband’s final, difficult years. “The bike ministry, children riding, fixing their bikes, that’s all he talked about,” Shonet says. Ball says Merle also served as a mechanic for the Dream Center’s annual bicycling events. He rode along in a support vehicle and was always ready to repair a chain or flat tire. “He was always there helping out,” Ball says. A native of Ashtabula, Merle Dodge worked at the mushroom farm and several other area businesses before disabilities prevented him from working. His wife says Merle adopted the bicycle ministry about five years ago. He treated it as a part-time job, working there five days a week spring through fall. “It was just something to give him something to do,” Shonet says. “He loved doing it.” His last year to work in the ministry was 2006. In March 2007 breathing and mobility issues forced Dodge into a nursing home. He came home last summer and visited the ministry a couple of times before his disabilities left him bedridden. He died Dec. 14. Merle and Shonet have four adult children – Calvin, Skip, Nelson and Tracy Eastlick – 11 grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. He had provided bicycles for many of his grandchildren. But the family couldn’t afford an obituary in the newspaper, let alone pay for the funeral expenses. At the funeral Dec. 19, Ball suggested the Dream Center’s Annual Chili Ride be in memory of Merle Dodge. Proceeds from the ride will go toward his funeral expenses. “I feel grateful, really grateful that they would think of him,” Shonet says. 
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