Cousin Eddie helps warm up neighborhood
A stolen hat, swiped off a sculpture built from motorcycle parts and named Eddie, has prompted an outpouring of Christmas spirit in a central Oklahoma City neighborhood.
Someone purloined the chapeau in early December from the front yard of Jan Shelton near NW 27 and Pennsylvania Avenue.
Shelton, a 67-year-old resident of the Shepherd Historic District who helps shuttle tractor trailers for a living, uses spare parts to build sculptures, tables and
other pieces of furniture and art.
When someone stole Eddie’s hat, which rested on a skull made out of a motorcycle headlight, Shelton logged onto a neighborhood forum and offered
a 50-cent reward for the cap’s safe return.
He jokingly upped the reward to a dollar if the thief’s head was returned with the hat.
“It was red and black check with big dog ears on it,” Shelton said. “The whole idea about that was from Cousin Eddie in ‘National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.’
While I was out there putting it together, people said ‘Merry Christmas.’ People were stopping and taking pictures. I really get a kick out of it.”
With a Harley-Davidson gas tank for a torso and motorcycle shocks for limbs, Eddie is a neighborhood staple. Residents often use the sculpture as a landmark
when giving directions to the neighborhood.
Shelton rotates Eddie’s garb. For Halloween, Shelton dressed Eddie in a vampire costume.
When Shelton posted the reward for Eddie’s hat, neighbors suggested that whoever stole it was probably cold, as winter weather settled in the Sooner State. A discussion followed over
how to clothe the needy and donate to the homeless.
Soon after, someone delivered three bags full of scarves, gloves and hats to Shelton’s house.
Shelton has been clothing Eddie with the new threads. They’ve been swiped every night. With a heart of metal, Eddie has become a Good Samaritan, handing out clothes to
those who need them.
Shelton said he will continue to put the new clothes on Eddie through Christmas, or until the cold snap ends, so whoever needs them can take them. Then maybe he will donate the remaining clothes to needy people he sees on his work routes.
“It’s fun,” he said. “I get a kick out of it.”