A 'Real Good' Story
The R.G. and Onnie Bouchum Scholarship
A home at the food bank
In 1998, after R.G. had a stroke and could no longer stay alone at his home in Texas, Dorothy and Lloyd persuaded him to come live with them in Fairbanks. Not able to sit still very long, he was soon volunteering with Foster Grandparents and participating in many activities at the Fairbanks Resource Agency's Senior Center. One of the volunteer jobs he took up with a passion was at the Fairbanks Community Food Bank.
The staff there quickly figured out that R.G. had some very special gifts.
"His job looked like it was just repackaging rice and flour," said Samantha Kirstein, the food bank's executive director. In reality, she says, his job was to share stories about his life and his strong work ethic with young people who were in need of some attitude adjustment.
The courts or the school district sometimes send young first offenders to perform community service in lieu of jail time or detention. One of the places they can put in their hours is at the food bank.
"We connected them with R.G. and he told them great stories," Kirstein said. "It wasn't easy growing up a black man in Texas during the time of segregation, but even with all the challenges he'd met in his life, even though he was wheelchair-bound, he was still working."
"If he couldn't get their attention any other way he'd take off his socks and show them his stump," Kirstein said.
That stump was a harsh reminder of R.G.'s first winter in Fairbanks. Despite urging from Dorothy and Lloyd to come indoors after a big snowfall, he kept shoveling their driveway and ended up with frostbite, which cost him his leg because of circulation problems. But even the amputation didn't keep him from helping out with chores and volunteering at the food bank, Dorothy said.
Because Bouchum couldn't read throughout most of his life, Kirstein notes that all the challenges he faced were compounded.
"He was illiterate not because of his brain power -- he was one of the smartest people we ever had around -- but because he didn't have the opportunity."
"Everything he had to share with us was very worthwhile," Kirstein said.
R.G. was flattered by the scholarship his daughter set up in his and Onnie's name, and he met the scholarship recipient each year until his death in November 2007 at age 90. Although his e-mails have ended, R.G. Bouchum's extraordinary accomplishment at age 77 embodies his philosophy: you're never too old to learn.
LJ Evans is a writer and editor for UAF Marketing and Communications.
UAF alumna featured in this story: Dorothy Jones, '77