I am so sad about the death of Ken Vetrovec. I never had the chance to meet him face to face but I talked to him several times on the phone and we eMailed back and forth about Old Route 66. I was suppose to meet him in Springfield, Illinois on June 22 but he was running a little behind and called for me to meet him on June 23 at the Cozy Dog and go get breakfast. June 23 was my birthday and because of things planned for that day I couldn't get away, I now wish I could have been there and met the man with the Red Indian. My thoughts and prayers go out to his wife Janet and sons, David, Brian and Paul. He spoke highly and lovingly of his family. He completed his dream of riding his Red Indian Motorcycle across Old Route 66. The accident was on his way home. I wrote this poem just for him.
"Ken and his Red Indian"
On your Red Indian you found the End of the Trail
you met with the challenge of Old Route 66
and conquered the road all the way to Santa Monica Pier
never once expecting the end was near
You finished the ride as happy as could be
knowing now the mystery of Old Route 66
headed home to share your tails from the trip
not knowing around the corner you were going to make one little slip
The trip ended for you in the twinkle of an eye
but you had had your fix, you conquered old Route 66
Now you stand at haven's gate for one final ride
Heavenly Route 66 with a Golden Indian by your side
I ask that each of you riders not let this moment pale
for sure one of these days we will all meet The end of our Trail
And when we do meet on the final ride in the sky my friend
Take a moment and say hi to the man on the Golden Indian
Rodger L. Fox
Ken Vetrovec, former chairman of the Racine County Board, was
killed Monday in a motorcycle accident near Ely, Nevada.
Vetrovec
was on vacation, riding his red 2000 Indian Chief across country on historic
Route 66. His trip started on June 22, and he reached the endpoint of Route 66
in Santa Monica, CA, on Sunday.
On Monday, he headed toward home on US 395, the East Sierra Scenic Highway,
having logged 3,500 miles.
His final blog post Monday morning is
here. The pictures, left, are from the blog,
Motorcycle Riding Route 66, which he created to chronicle his trip. As he
wrote at the start, "If you share my love of Route 66, I hope that our paths
will cross. If not on the road, then on this blog."
The Nevada Highway Patrol said the accident took place on US 6, about 37 miles
east of Ely; Vetrovec's motorcycle drifted off the highway on a curve and struck
a steel mile marker. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Trooper Jim Stewart
recovered Vetrovec's camera from the crash site and said he apparently was
taking pictures because the last image on his camera showed the curve where he
crashed. He was wearing a helmet.
Vetrovec,
59, of Caledonia, was executive director of the Gateway Technical College
Foundation. He served six terms on the County Board, representing the 15th
District. He lost a bid for re-election in 2006.
He joined Rotary in 1979, was a member of Rotary West, and was planning to
volunteer at the Great Midwest Dragon Boat Festival this weekend. Vetrovec, an
Eagle Scout, was a 2007 recipient of the Cliff Dochterman Award given to a
Rotarian for distinguished and dedicated service to Scouting.
He leaves his wife, Janet, and sons, David, Brian and Paul.
Bryan Albrecht, Gateway Technical College president, said today, “Our thoughts
and prayers are with Ken's family as he has led an inspirational journey in
life. The Gateway community is deeply saddened by his loss and honors Ken for
his compassionate service to others.
“Ken was dedicated to Gateway, our students and the Foundation. He will be
missed, but his efforts to continually build the Foundation and its resources
for the benefit of our students and community will be his legacy.”