Nain man lends a helping hand
Simon Kohlmeister fixes up old bikes and passes them on to local children
For Simon Kohlmeister of Nain, seeing a child running or walking beside a bike-riding buddy brings back memories of his childhood.
Kohlmeister grew up in poverty in Hopedale, often longing for things other children had.
“I remember, as a child, standing by a kid with a bag of chips waiting for them to drop a few crumbs on the ground,” he said.
“You’d get down and pick it up and taste it. Just to get a taste back then was great.”
While there was no money to buy things like chips and bars and bikes, Kohlmeister and his brother found a way to make sure they, too, could enjoy the elation that comes with hopping on a two-wheeler. The pair would head to the local landfill and scrounge for old bikes and bike parts.
Their scavenger hunts proved that the saying “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” is indeed true.
“We had a bike for years. The rubber on the tires wore down, but we were happy with it,” Kohlmeister recalled. “We had something that we could pass the time with.”
As Nain’s conservation officer, Kohlmeister makes frequent trips to the local landfill in Nain.
“One of my jobs is to make sure the community is safe from black bears. So, I go down to the landfill quite often,” he said.
During those trips, Kohlmeister never misses an opportunity to pluck from the landfill some of the items that caught his interest as a child.
“If I come across a bike that someone threw out, I put it aside and go back after work and pick it up,” he said.
For several years now Kohlmeister has been fixing up discarded bikes in the evenings and during time off work. In addition to finding bikes from the landfill, people in the community are now donating bikes to him that their children have outgrown.
Once repaired, Kohlmeister gives the bikes to children in the community whose family may not have the means to buy their child a bike.
Kohlmeister’s daughter Simone Kohlmeister posts on social media asking for suggestions for the name of a child who may like to have a bike. The names are put into a cap and the family draws for the recipient.
“Some bikes I put together are like the coat of many colours; all different colours,” Simon said.
However, that matters not to the child who goes from walking to bike-riding.
While he has never forgotten how it felt growing up in poverty, Kohlmeister also remembers the important lessons he was taught as a child: make use of what you have and share what you have.
“And treat people the way you want to be treated. And love one another. That makes (your community) happier and safer,” he said.
Kohlmeister has passed those life lessons on to his own children. Simone said her father has taught her about the importance of showing kindness towards others.
“And to always help others if they need it,” she said.
As he works on the old bikes, Kohlmeister knows his reward for his efforts isn’t far off. And that reward is what keeps this humble man doing what he does -— one bike at a time.
“One of the greatest things to see is a child’s smile when they take that bike for a ride. That’s more satisfying than a million bucks, than winning the lottery,” he said.