Roy's Hole...Filling In a Legacy

Many years ago, when the track was just a thought running through a few countrified minds, one particular man took a particular dislike to a particular spot along the drainage for the pond. The man was named Roy Richardson, but everyone just called him Roy. He was a hard working man, traveling the length of the McKenzie valley with his dump truck and excavator... logging, hauling and of course filling in holes.

Roy's Hole

So when the community started banding together to build a track, Roy was an obvious choice to pull into the project. He was wise beyond his years and had many a notion that everyone agreed with, except one. He was adamant that the pit between the road and the shot put be filled in. It would clean it up. It would make maintenance easier. It would just make sense. What's the hold up?

Fill for Roy's Hole courtesy of Brink Land Improvement

For whatever reason it was never filled in but rather became notoriously known as Roy's Hole. The hole remained long after the track was built. It remained while runners from all over the state, country and even around the world ran on the track. The hole filled with water every winter and dried up every summer for over 20 years, long past the time when Roy could grumble, unless his son heard him from Heaven.

Cliff Richardson above Roy's Hole

Well, if Roy couldn't get that hole filled while he was here on Earth, he sure as heck was going to get it done in his afterlife. His son, Cliff, one of our mightiest board members, has managed to secure not only the fill for his dad's namesake, but also fill for the entire area around the track facility. While that's a great story, it's a story that will wait. This is a tribute to the tenacity of the men named Richardson and the honoring of a dad's wishes by his son. There's better late than never, but in this case it's just better. Thanks to prayers, connections, teamwork and love, the legacy of Roy's Hole will be filled once and for all.

Thank you Cliff Richardson and Brink Land Improvement for donating so much time and energy to our community track. Without volunteers and donations this track wouldn't run.