|
Easton dedicates trolley to Westside man
As the blue, box shaped trolley pulled away from the curb and rolled down the crowded sidewalks at Easton Shopping Center, children often times pointed with excitement and yelled, “It’s the trolley man, Mr. Trolley Man is here!” Robert Porter, aka “Mr. Trolley Man,” who was said to have brought laughter and enjoyment to hundreds of shoppers, passed away Aug. 5. Beau Arnafon, general manager at Easton, said they will honor his memory with a plaque permanently mounted onto the trolley with his name, photo and a dedication inscribed. “I said, oh my God, so when I go up there I can see my Bob,” Sharon, Porter’s wife said. Arnafon said the plaque would feature a photo of Porter sitting in the trolley. The frame will be near the brochures and donation box - all donations from August and September will be donated to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. “We think it’s the appropriate thing to do,” Arnafon said. “We’ll miss him.” Robert and Sharon resided in Prairie Township after spending 26 years on Eureka Avenue in Columbus. Porter helmed the trolley for nearly two years, including major holidays and parades like St. Patrick’s Day and Race for the Cure. According to Sharon, children always loved her husband, even before he became “Mr. Trolley Man.” During their years on Eureka Avenue, Porter received daily visits from the neighborhood kids who would holler his name, asking questions and seeking him out to repair their bikes. “He worked with kids like you wouldn’t believe,” Sharon said. On Aug. 9, Easton brought Porter’s trolley to his showing at Schoedinger’s Funeral Home as a gesture of respect to the man whose kind nature made everybody’s day a little brighter.
|