News From Terre Haute, Indiana

Local & Bistate

Discussion

Welcome to our online comments feature. We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean. We reserve the right to remove comments that are obscene, racist or abusive and statements that are false or unverifiable as well as posts that are attacking other users. Repeat offenders will be blocked. You may flag objectionable comments for review by a moderator.
comments powered by Disqus
July 13, 2012

MARK BENNETT: Friends to remember Garfield Tower fire victim

Mark Bennett The Tribune-Star

TERRE HAUTE — Ideally, a first-time visitor to Terre Haute will spot the activities at the corner of Seventh and Poplar around dusk Saturday night and wander over, just to satisfy curiosity.

A traveler pulls a Chevy Malibu into the parking lot of Cackleberries Restaurant, climbs out and begins this conversation with one of the local folks participating …

Newcomer: So, what’s all this?

Hautean: A candlelight vigil in memory of Fred Poore.

Newcomer: Who was Fred Poore? Was he famous? Heroic?

Hautean: Fred was one of the friendliest people you’d ever want to meet. He shook everyone’s hand. He remembered everyone’s name. Your walk of life didn’t matter; Fred simply enjoyed making new friends and greeting old ones, every day. A kind and gentle soul. Some of his friends described him as autistic. He was self-sufficient, worked and got around on his own.

Newcomer: What happened to him?

Hautean: It’s heartbreaking. Fred died May 21 from his injuries in a fire a few days earlier at the apartment complex where he lived, Garfield Towers. He was just 61 years old, and much younger at heart.

Newcomer: Why is this going on here? Was this spot special?

Hautean: Yes and no. Fred loved coming to this restaurant; he rode the city buses here every day. He smiled when he came in the door, but always first said “Hi” to the kitchen crew before sharing handshakes and hellos with the managers and waitresses. He’d always order a Diet Coke, and occasionally a piece of pie, and enjoyed kidding around with the staff. There’s a portrait of him, given by his family, hanging on the wall in the restaurant now.

But Fred became a familiar face in lots of local spots, like McDonald’s where he worked, and The Coffee Grounds, his church, and other locales. Any place turned special when Fred walked in.

Newcomer: Sounds like a great guy. It’s cool that your people in your town are paying tribute to someone with those qualities.

Hautean: It would’ve been hard not to like Fred. It should be even harder for Terre Haute to forget him.

Newcomer: Thanks to you and this vigil, I won’t forget Fred, and I’d never even met the man. Lord knows, the world could use a few more smiles and sincere handshakes.

Whether that particular scenario unfolds or not, the vigil in Fred Poore’s memory — scheduled for 9:15 p.m. Saturday in the Cackleberries Restaurant parking lot — represents Terre Haute’s best side. It shows a city willing to remember someone who never scored a touchdown, or won an election, or made a million bucks. All Fred did was make people smile.

Anyone is invited to attend the vigil, said Cackleberries waitress and co-organizer Dawn McCalister, and that fits Fred’s legacy. He excluded no one from his kind-heartedness.

McCalister — a 39-year-old mother, West Terre Haute resident and Dresser native — had a simple reason for planning the vigil.

“I just felt like the Lord put it on my heart,” she said. “I hope [Fred’s] looking down at us and sees how many lives he touched, because he did.”



Mark Bennett can be reached at (812) 231-4377 or mark.bennett@tribstar.com.

 

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Local & Bistate
Latest News
Community Calendar
Loading…
Events by eviesays.com
TribStar.com Poll
AP Video
Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools Raw: Germany Protestors Picket Barbie House China, Others Want What's Under the Arctic Ice Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor Raw: 6 Die in Russian Ship Fire Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool Raw: Suicide Bomber Kills 2 Americans, 13 Others $1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest One Million Evacuated As Cyclone Hits Bangladesh Raw: Pope Frees Doves From Cage Raw: Texas Gov. Flies Over Tornado Damage NTSB Begins Investigation Into Conn. Train Crash Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids Probe Begins After Conn. Commuter Trains Crash Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction
NDN Video
Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country Coffee Stop Leads To Arrest Of YouTube Sensation Wanted For Murder Bearded Dragon Reunited With Owner Marine Reunited with Warzone Companion Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool Beyonce Is Pregnant! SF baseball player overpaid $500,000 RETURNS money -- and team says KEEP IT $1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest Dad returns from Afghanistan, surprises family during Rays' first pitch See Jennifer Lopez's New $10m Hamptons Mansion Woman tricked into taking abortion pill Emma Watson Goes Pantless IRS scandal: Republicans seek to tie Obama to agency's woes Play of the Day: Flipping to Safety Pregnant Kim Kardashian Squeezes Her Swollen Feet Into Stilettos Top Videos of the Week: Angry Taco Bell Guy, Glacier Moves on House, Dog Hates Baths Cindy Crawford Stuns At Cannes Raw: Marines Come to Obama's Aid in the Rain CUTE: Monkey shares lollipop with dog, then HITS pooch on head with it Miranda Kerr Looks Sexy in a Bikini Photo Shoot
Parade
Magazine
Click HERE to read all your Parade favorites including Hollywood Wire, Celebrity interviews and photo galleries, Food recipes and cooking tips, Games and lots more.
  • -

     

    March 12, 2010

activity
Real Estate News