This was where “Joe” sat for years, on a ledge under the Lyon Street Bridge.
On bike rides Friday and Saturday, I came across a new memorial on the Dave Clark Path, on a concrete ledge under the Lyon Street Bridge.
For the last couple of years at least, I would often see a man sitting on that ledge when I went by on the bike.
He just sat there, looking at the Willamette River below. Sometimes he would half turn around and we would wave at each other.
Other times he would be lying down, in a sleeping bag, seemingly asleep, his head resting on his pack.
Sometimes someone would be sitting by his side, and they would chat and share a smoke.
Then, this week, there was the memorial. Messages written in chalk. Lighted candles.
The arrangement included a photo of the man. And it named him: “Joseph ‘Joe’ Hughes.”
On Saturday, some people were standing around. I stopped and listened to them talk. The people seemed to have known Joe. I asked a couple of them questions.
I don’t know if the people gathered there had all the facts. But from what I heard, Joe died on Wednesday, at the hospital in Corvallis. He had been found at the bottom of the steep bank below the bridge.
No one standing there on Saturday had seen how he got down there, below the ledge. One woman thought he might have been pushed.
A man said the day before Joe was found, when he was there, a couple of dudes had been hassling Joe, making fun of him and threatening to swipe his pack when he slept.
As I got the story, Joe was in his sixties, was originally from Jefferson and had returned to this area after living all over the place, sleeping under bridges. Alcohol was his problem, his friend told me.
Every time I saw him, Joe seemed like a decent guy, quiet, friendly, no threat to anyone.
There had to be more to this man’s life. I do not know if all of it was as sad as its last few years, under the Lyon Street Bridge. (hh)
The items of his memorial suggest that Joe Hughes was not without friends.
Nice tribute, Hasso, from them and you as well. Thank you for sharing.
I’m sorry to hear this. I saw that man many times when I walked the Dave Clark trial. I would nod and say hello to him. He was not there the last time I walked by. Now I know why. Thank you for this story Hasso.
Thanks for sharing about Joe Hughes. You have a good heart, Hasso. It’s nice that you talked to him now and then.
There are too many “Joes” out there.
I talked to Joe periodically on my runs. I believe he was a veteran and I know he was eagerly awaiting his turn at the top of the housing list, as well as a social security upgrade. He was friendly and really liked my dog. I’m so sorry to see him go and I’m sorry to hear how it may have happened. I noticed more mess on Saturday after he passed. I’m sure some people feared him, but I always felt good knowing he was there (and hoping he could soon be somewhere more sheltered). He set the tone.
Thank you Hasso. You did a good thing when you gave a name to a man that had a name and had a story. Godspeed Joe…
Rest in peace Joe.
This is just so sad.
But for The Grace of God, there go I. That, very well could have been me. Or any one of us.
I talked to him as well and offered to bring him a sleeping pad as insulation from the cold concrete. He declined saying he liked travel light. Joe said his sister bought him the sleeping bag. He also declined using cardboard as insulation as he didn’t want to have trash with him. Truly a decent man. The trail has already changed with more people moving in and bringing more trash to the trail. All of them need more help.
In order to receive help you have to want help. And if they refuse, there’s nothing you can do about it. It’s sad but that’s the way many of them want it.
Very nice man, always said hi to me and my children when we’d ride our bikes past him on the path. RIP to the man I never truly knew, but inside knew was a great person.
Nice job Hasso. The importance of simply and truly seeing someone as a human being worthy of dignity and respect really can’t be understated.
Can’t be overstated, you mean. Right?
I saw him a lot and talked with him many times as I walked by. Very friendly and kind. Sounds like he was hard working from our conversations and waiting for social security to go through. He was a good person and I will miss him. There but for the grace of God go I
Our family hopes that his death is investigated and not considered just one of the risks of being homeless. He lived there for some time without falling so it is unlikely it was an accident. Lawlessness is increasing in Albany and victims are being blamed for it. Stores, other businesses and residents for the lack of securing their property. My kiddos have experienced thugs at the parks. We tell them they would be foolish to expect any concern by law enforcement if they are hurt /or robbed by letting their guard down.
Thank you for writing this article, Hasso. Joe was a decent guy.
I spoke with him a good number of times. He had all sorts of stories having lived all over the US doing a variety of things including being a carpenter. He worked as a cook or coordinator of a camp for hunters somewhere back east. He lived with a friend near area 51 for a time and told me they would watch the UFOs/black project aircraft fly around at night. He also told me of days going up by Green Peter reservoir when he was in high school and thinking they saw sasquatch. He surely had a lot of interesting stories and I enjoyed speaking with him.
As someone above mentioned, he had been working with Social Security trying to get it established so he could get a home and get off of the street. It saddens me that he was never able to achieve that goal. I know he put a decent amount of time and effort into trying to make it happen. I was honestly hoping it would happen last summer/fall so he could get in before the winter. Sadly, he never made it through the bureaucratic hoops to make it happen. It’s too bad our system is so convoluted and difficult to navigate.
Funny enough, he even had a direct connection with me. I had spoken with him on and off for a couple of years prior to finding out a few months ago. One of his close friends growing up in Jefferson moved to Lyons and I played with his friend’s younger brothers when I was a kid. He knew the name of my dad’s business up the canyon. It’s a small world.
Godspeed Joe.
Thank you, Hasso, for honoring Joe with your posted article.
I live in the condos on Water Ave, just up from where Joe slept, I spoke to Joe often and considered him a neighbor and a friend. He often “policed” the trail area insisting that he would insure he kept the riff-raff away. He was kind, happy to share his story of his life, and he loved pets. Any dog that the owners allowed Joe to pet them he would light up. Joe rationed what little money and food he had to share with the wild kitties that live below the bridges. Joe lived a hard life (mostly by choice according to him) and never wanted a handout, he was waiting and hoping for housing the past two years after his uncle had died which left him unhoused. But he always said that he understood mothers and children needed to come first before an old man. Joe was a wonderful neighbor and this untimely death should not have been his fate. The silver lining is knowing that Joe was cared for during the end of his life by the wonderful staff at Corvallis Good Samaritan, that he may have been warm, dry, clean, and fed. Farewell neighbor- you will be missed.
Not wanting a hand out is not wanting help. Joe did not want to be pitied. He was working to get real help not just for food and temporary shelter. Good people like Joe are invisible. People assume that there is help for good people such as Joe. People give and give to nonprofits that only waste money, barely keeping people alive. There will never be homes (rentals or buying) available that people like Joe can afford. Direct help with rent and expenses is the only way for them to keep them from homelessness. They can build all the “affordable housing” they want to make money but the people in true poverty will never live there without the help they deserve as a human being.
Very saddened.
We also knew Joe from our Bike rides on the trail. He was always friendly and said hello. He would tease my husband to keep with me :)
He didn’t deserve cruelty:(
It’s not the same on the trail. RIP Joe ❤️