Tribute to Ed Honton
By Sharon (Workman) Todd
It was a hot August morning in 1974 when Ed again introduced himself to me, and I decided to pay attention. Over time we became good friends, glad to see each other on a ride, and a participant whenever the other led a ride.
We shared an interest in cycle camping, thus, Ed joined my three-day-weekend trip to Coshocton (a trip famous for the round watermelon that Frank Seebode carried 35 of the 36 miles back to camp) and a weekend trip to Myeerah Youth Hostel. Later, I joined his trips to Lake Alma, Scioto Trail, and Georgia. Weekend rides and events such as TOSRV, GEAR, and DALMAC kept us biking together, and we co-led Ohio Lung Assn's Bike Trek for a few years along with Charlie Pace and Dan Ver Ploeg.
Ed spent a large part of 1976 preparing for the first CFC, the Columbus Fall Challenge, in response to cyclists who felt they were finally in shape by fall, but never in shape for TOSRV. CFC truly did provide a challenge; it was a ride unlike any other.
Ed was an engineer, the Asst. Franklin County Engineer, in fact. This was just great news for me, as I had all kinds of questions about how roads were built and a lot of complaints about how they were fixed. He was patient and thorough in his explanations, glad to have someone interested. Unfortunately, his bid to become the County Engineer failed, and he was out of a job. During this period Ed happened to be active in the Ohio Bicycle Advisory Council, a group pulling together facts and statistics on bicycling and preparing to make some recommendations to Governor Rhodes. One recommendation was to create a position of State Bicycle Coordinator, preferably within the Department of Transportation. Governor Rhodes read and agreed with those recommendations, and created the position. Ed was not only available, but had the engineering and bicycling background and the leadership persona to be the person selected for the job.
The data collected by the Advisory Council was made into handouts for the public. We secured Federal funds for bicycle projects, the first project being a tunnel under a highway at Coshocton's Lake Park. The greatest product from his tenure at ODOT, however, was the Ohio Bicycle Route Guide map set. Ed retired after five years at ODOT. In the next year both GOBA and the Ohio to Erie Trail were conceived and made realities. In going though old files at ODOT, I find letters signed by Ed in support of path proposals in the Cuyahoga Valley area, and read covers of environmental reports that say the study costs were covered by the Ohio to Erie Trail Fund. When updating the Map and List of Bikeways there are often new portions of the Ohio to Erie Trail that Ed negotiated for or funded.
Ed also served several years as President of Columbus Council of AYH. Later, the Council tried to withdraw from the National AYH organization, an attempt which would have left the club without funds and without equipment and without TOSRV and other rides that gave us identity and resources to work with. Ed joined another former president, Ron Eisele, and together they negotiated a better outcome, resulting in Columbus Outdoor Pursuits as we know it today.
Ed came to my office the morning of August 14, 2003 to personally tell me that he was sick. He intended to work with his doctors and follow their instructions. His early reports were about his mileage, steadily dropping as his energy ebbed. After awhile I went into denial, not knowing how Ed was and afraid to ask. Occasionally there would be a story about Ed bicycling to a meeting, or continuing to share a meal with his friends. I was asked to speak at the Dutch Kitchen's yearly dinner, that year in Ed's honor. My spiel covered 1974 to 1988, and happily, made him smile more than once. He still looked like Ed, just stiff and drawn.
In July a ceremony was held in Westerville to dedicate the Ohio to Erie Trail plaque. There was a very good turnout. Ed was uncomfortable in the heat and too hoarse to compete with Rt. 3 rush hour traffic noise.
Next thing I knew, his address was changed to Friendship Village. I pulled in, found the right building, and was sent to his room. "Oh, I was hoping you would come!" Ed seemed his old self, confident and ready to go, just at a slower pace. He explained the effect of the leukemia on his system, the unevenness in the quality of blood he received, and the reasons why he was there (Melodee is worn out.). All Ohio to Erie Trail material was being removed from the house, and his mapping responsibilities for CFC, GOBA, TOSRV, etc were being distributed to others. Ed was very interested in the mapping distribution and the quality of the maps being produced. The ones seen so far weren't up to his standards. Friendship Village was initially reluctant to let Ed ride a bike, but put him through a little test and decided it was all right - and even gave the bike its own room at ground level! Ed pointed out the window at the sidewalk that led from the parking lot over to the streets of Upper Arlington. He could pedal to the doctor's, to the library, the store.
My last visit was around the time of CFC. It was clear that Ed was mulling over something in his mind. His legs were swollen to the point he did not consider putting bike shoes on, and a number of days had passed since he'd been on the bike. The blood he'd just gotten did not provide him with any energy. News of his trip to the hospital soon after this was bad news indeed. He died on October 12th, 2005.
Ed always amazed me for his energy, intelligence, and organizational abilities, and the fact that he followed through on his dreams and got things done! We shared an interest in maps, bicycling, cycle-camping, and trips, wanting to share the roads we enjoyed by bike with others. Ed taught me a lot, encouraged my efforts, came on my trips, hired me twice, and remained my friend for 30 years. I miss him lots.