Sonoma senior driven to pick up litter

In a town littered with do-gooders, Ken Samuelson is top of the heap|

Finally, a name to fit the face. Ken Samuelson, that is.

Don’t know him, you say? Of course you do. He’s the Sonoma senior who is oft-seen on his scooter picking up litter in the neighborhoods around Broadway and Leveroni.

A resident at nearby Sonoma Senior Living (formerly known as Vintage Sonoma) for the past two years, Samuelson’s benevolent gesture is two-fold.

First: he dislikes litter.

And second: he has a desire to do something other than “sit around doing nothing but growing older” each day.

“I don’t pick up litter for praise or recognition,” said Samuelson, taking a cue from the Leave No Trace rule from his days of backpacking and skiing in the Sierras. “I just pick up what I see when I’m out and about town.”

Typically, Samuelson, 96, spends the mornings at Sonoma Senior Living doing an exercise regimen he’s practiced since the 1950s. After breakfast and a nap, he hops onto his scooter for errands that vary from shopping at local stores, going to the bank or drugstore and finally, a stop at Peet’s for his afternoon mocha. “Every time I go out, I’m prepared to pick up the litter I find. Sometimes I find so much, it’s actually difficult to load onto the scooter.”

Big cardboard is cut down to size and put into his garbage bag. Pieces of pipe or metal – Samuelson drops those off at a local smog shop for recycling. Once, finding a couple of tires, Samuelson paid an Eighth Street East tire shop to pick them up and dispose of them properly. “It looks better without those abandoned tires leaning against a fence,” he said.

A strong work and personal ethic such as Samuelson’s comes from a life dedicated to service. Born in 1920 in the small farming community of Northfield, Wisconsin, Samuelson’s father owned and ran the local butcher shop and café. Living through the Depression, the family saw their small town devastated so that only the general store, a gas station, a feed mill and the two-room school house survived. Upon graduation, Samuelson enlisted in the Air Force and was assigned to Hamilton Air Force Base, where he met his first wife, a Mill Valley native. Radio operator’s school followed and soon, Samuelson was accepted as an Aviation Cadet. Graduating as a pilot, Samuelson was assigned to the 453rd Bomb Group flying B-24s (a four engine bomber and all-around World War II work horse).

“I flew the B-24 on 30 missions over Europe between January and August of 1944,” said Samuelson. “After the war, when pilots were a dime a dozen, I became an insurance agent.” Choosing San Rafael as his home base – born of a desire to please his wife as well as leave the chilly Wisconsin winters behind – Samuelson’s career spanned 60-odd years, including owning his own insurance agency. When retirement beckoned, Samuelson sold the business to his stepson who, in turn, relocated the agency to Petaluma. With nearby relatives that also include a daughter in San Francisco, Samuelson is fortunate to have people who visit him on a frequent basis and are supportive of his getting out and about. For their part, the folks at Sonoma Senior Living are 100 percent supportive of Samuelson’s litter forays.

“We frequently get calls from people who are concerned when they see a senior citizen scootering along Broadway. We assure them that Ken is safe and just doing his civic duty,” says Colleen Kabeary, executive director at Sonoma Senior Living.

Undaunted by weather and whizzing traffic, Samuelson is gamely equipped for most Sonoma conditions with a windbreaker, an umbrella and poncho as well as a cap, gloves and scarf. He was, however, admittedly fooled by the depth of the water following the Dec. 15 flash flood on Broadway. Stalling his scooter on the sidewalk at Broadway and Newcomb streets, Samuelson was assisted by a school crossing guard who helped him get back to high ground. “I waited a bit and the scooter started, so back to (Sonoma Senior Living) I went. No mocha that day,” lamented Samuelson.

A true Samaritan, when Samuelson finds coins folded into a dollar bill (kid-style), he turns it in to the nearest school. Similarly, found cutlery gets returned to the closest restaurant. “If I find clothing or something useful, I have it washed and cleaned and I turn it over to Goodwill so someone else can make use of it,” said Samuelson. His most vexing find? Foam packing pieces used to ship fragile items. “They break apart and are very hard to capture and put into a garbage bag.”

When asked what he liked best about his trips around town Samuelson responded that, “Sonoma is tops at providing pathways, bike paths and lanes, creek side picnic tables, little parks and playgrounds for kids of all ages. It is a wonderful community that I am happy to serve.”

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.