Clarence Monette and Frankie Fennell arrived at the Port St. Joe fire station last Monday with a special delivery.
Inside the bed of a pick-up truck, they carried 25 used tricycles and bicycles.
Some looked good as new; others needed a little work. All were destined for makeovers and a spot under the Christmas tree, gifts for underprivileged Gulf County youth.
Monette and Fennell, members of the Raymond A. Driesbach, Sr. Knights of Pythias Lodge No. 77, spent the past year collecting bicycles for the “Bikes for Boys and Girls of Gulf County” program.
Now in its third year, the program is a collaboration between the North Florida Child Development, Inc. and the Gulf Correctional Institute.
Made possible by donations from civic-minded fellows like the Knights of Pythias, the program utilizes inmate labor to restore old bicycles for kids as Christmas gifts.
Monette, the Knights of Pythias grand chancellor, said the enterprise benefits all involved.
“I think it’s a good program for the boys and girls, to give them a bike they may not have gotten for Christmas. It helps the environment, keeps the bikes out of the dump and gives the prisoner something to do with their time and efforts. All in all, I think it’s a really good project,” said Monette.
The program is the latest in a long list of community service projects for the Knights.
Last week, they delivered Thanksgiving food baskets to needy residents and recently embarked on an effort to collect and compile the obituaries of North Port St. Joe’s African-American residents.
Those interested in donating bicycles or helping with the obituary project may contact Monette at 229-8860 or Frankie Fennell at 227-3560.