THE BICYCLE MAN continued THE BICYCLE MAN continued THE BICYCLE MAN con't. p. 32 THE BICYCLE MAN con't. next column Earl Wright & Gregg Allbrooks. THE BICYCLE MAN con't. next column THE BICYCLE MAN con't from p. 2 We enter his dock at the warehouse off of Highway #5. The magnitude of what lay before left me speechless, yet one could write volumes as each of these bikes will soon represent a life who will receive a gift on Christmas morning. Hundreds of bikes fill the space; there are tiny bikes for sweet, little beginners, mountain bikes for the daring off roaders, cruisers for the teenagers heading to the downtown courts, and bikes available for those needing transportation to jobs. From ages 2 to 92, no one is ever turned away as Mr. Earl gives a bike to anyone in need. As for Mr. Earl’s first bike? A handmade, pieced together gem assembled from parts gathered at the landfill. And the color? “RUST!” We both laugh as Mr. Earl describes his first bike that he and his brother Larry made. Their trips back and forth down the dirts roads from the farmland they share-cropped with their family to the landfill built his first wheels. Working towards a goal was just the way Earl rolled as he began working in the fields as a six year old boy picking tobacco. Born in Raeford, his great grandparents and grandmother raised him along with lots of siblings. His grandmother had eight children, four boys four girls. Life wasn’t all work and no play as favorite childhood memories include, “Family and Christmas! We didn’t have nothing, but we had each other! The gift of family sharing a meal all together was the best present ever.” The love of family, food, and Christmas continue to drive Earl. As we make our way through the maze of bicycles, we settle in for a visit. He offers me the cushioned office chair as he settles on the hard wooden table to tell his story, the story of a life who beat the odds, of one who walked out of the tobacco fields and into greatness. The family moved to Moore, Carthage area, when Earl was seven years old, and his family grew into an entire community. The passing years found him attending Union Pines where he excelled at football and enjoyed school. Mr. Earl smiles, “I loved learning about everything!” At 60 years old, Mr. Earl born November 7, 1956, stands as tall and strong as in the days of playing Friday night football under the lights. Upon high school graduation, Mr. Earl worked two jobs to provide for his growing family of five children. From eighteen years at the Purdue chicken plant in Robbins and fifteen years at Theo’s Restaurant in Pinehurst, his work continued onto cleaning houses. The year was 1996, when a homeowner wanted Mr. Earl to throw out all of their children’s left-over toys. Rather than throw them away, Mr. Earl asked if he could have the toys. “Sure!” So he took them home and cleaned them up. Earl remembers, “On Christmas day, my grandchildren and I noticed that the kids in the Projects didn’t have nothing, so we loaded up the toys, picked up some candy, and gave the kids some gifts.” From that first Christmas morning in 1996, the magic began with a gift from one local to the hearts of the children. The following year, Mr. Earl started collecting bikes. His first 75 bicycles gathered that first year now reach 1,500 annually, 21 years later. Mr. Earl’s goal is to give away 20,000 bicycles over 25 years. He smiles, “I’ve got three more years to go.” Gregg Allbrooks, Mr. Earl’s nephew and right hand man, has been unloading bikes as we speak. However Mr. Earl’s soul mate who helps further the vision of Project Santa remains Mrs. Sharon Thompson. Mr. Earl credits Mrs. Sharon as the one who really makes it happen. “I bust up my knuckles every day, but she’s on the phone 24/7. She’s the organizer; I’m the workhorse.” Earl slows, “She should be the highlight of the whole thing—it’s not about me!” Earl shifts his focus onto the vision, “We give away anything we can—toys, clothes, shoes, furniture. If we can get it, then we give it.” However the passion of Project Santa remains bicycles. Every year out of their own pocket, Sharon and Earl buy around 100 bicycles; truly they live their dream. Sharon remembers back to that first Christmas of giving away 75 bikes. “We had bikes all over the yard; they had to make me a little path to be able to get to my house. As Christmas neared, I was like, ‘How are we going to move all these bikes to Bo’s?’ It was Christmas Eve day, and I called Mr. Bill Smith to ask if we could use one of his trucks to carry the bikes. I will never forget this conversation. He said, ‘Sharon, I can’t let you have one of my trucks, but when you get off of work, there will be a truck sitting in your yard.’ Sure enough when I got home from work that Christmas Eve night, the box truck was here just as he said. Mr. Bill Smith and his son were back on Christmas morning at 5:30 to help Mr. Earl load the truck, and they stayed until all of the bikes were gone. His generosity helped us get to where we are today, and I will never take it away from him. That first year, we ran out of bikes, but from that day on, everything has been smooth sailing.” As for the name Project Santa, Sharon tells, “One evening as we sat pondering a name I told Earl, ‘You started giving away toys with your grandkids in the Projects, so that is what we are going to call you, ‘Project Santa!’ Project Santa is like the Easter Bunny who comes on Easter morning; Project Santa comes on Christmas morning because it’s all about the kids and Christmas. When you look at that baby waiting for his bike, it’s just like a blossom that blooms.” Now providing two annual events, Earl informs, “We do Southern Pines on Christmas Day and Robbins on New Year’s Day. Last Christmas when someone stole around 85 bikes that were going to Robbins, it was devastating! I almost quit, but I had promised my kids that I would keep going for three more years.” His kids and the good people of Moore County encouraged him to keep going. In fact, when the bicycles were stolen, over 150 brand new bicycles were donated thanks to local news outlets covering the story. The locals are in Mr. Earl’s words, “Fantastic! They’ve always got my back; I’ve been doing this a long time, they’ve never let me down!” Earl continues, “The people of Moore County are off the charts! Including people from all over America! One day I was sitting in the yard when someone came driving in from Atlanta, Georgia. The man said, ‘I heard about you all the way down in Georgia. I don’t have much, and I wish I could do more, but I brought you a brand new bicycle and $50.’ Mr. Earl responded, ‘You did more than enough!’” Needing to be at work the next day, the visitor turned around and drove all the way home, over 5 and a half hours away. As Mr. Earl inspires locals and beyond, I wonder, “Who inspires you?” Earl exclaims, “My kids! My kids. You should come out on Christmas Day. It’s unreal! They’re all my kids. These is my kids. They’ve been my kids for 21 years. That’s the way I look at it. I can’t save them all, but I might be able to save some. Just think about it. If out of 100, I can save 10; I saved 10. They might look at me and say, ‘If he who come from nothing can do this, then I can do the same thing!’” “When you were little, did someone give you an unforgettable present?” I ask.“No, ma’am. No, ma’am. When I was little, we were dirt poor sharecroppers, but we had our family, so I didn’t feel poor. We was tight and lived in the same little neighborhood. On Christmas and Thanksgiving, all the family came over. I miss them days. We had plenty to eat; we had each other; that’s all we needed. Presents don’t mean nothing compared to seeing aunts and uncles, cousins, grandma, grandpa.” Mr. Earl collects bikes all year long to culminate into many happy smiles on Christmas morning. Working hard to make it happen, Mr. Earl only takes off one week to go fishing at the beach. Fixing up bicycles and fishing pretty much consume his days after his work of offering landscaping and other handy man jobs. Earl tells, “I’ll fish anytime. Dead of winter. I don’t care. I can’t eat seafood because I’m allergic, but I’ll go fishing every day of my life. I just love to see that pole bend! If the pole bends, then you’ve got me.” So what does he do with the fish? Mr. Earl doesn’t miss a beat, “I give them away! I give them to the old folks who can’t get out! I’ll ride through the Projects and give the fish to whoever wants it.” Mr. Earl tells, “Since I’m Project Santa, a lot of people let me fish in their ponds, because they know I’ll respect their property.” The warehouse is filling up as the donated bikes join new bikes. Observing the collections of bike parts, Earl confirms, “There’s always something on a bicycle you can save. A seat, Sharon Thompson & Earl Wright. p.30 The Pinehurst Gazette, Inc. No. 127
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