Document text
Trolley man puts on brakes photo by Bob Pennell Stan the Trolley Man won't be giving his tours of historic Jacksonville this summer, or shuttling concertgoers to the Britt Gardens. He's retiring after 15 years. But it'll still run in Jacksonville By MELISSA MARTIN JACKSONVILLE -- Someone will be missing in this historic town this summer. Stan "The Trolley Man" Morkert is hanging up his cable car hat after 15 years of taking tourists through Jacksonville streets in a red trolley with burnished golf leaf trim. Although Morkert is stepping down, the 10-year-old trolley will still be seen in Jacksonville. Britt Music Festivals will rent it from its owner, Rogue Valley Transportation District, to shuttle people from Jacksonville parking lots to the Britt Gardens. People can catch the trolley beginning at 6 p.m. at the main public parking lots and at the overflow lot at Cascade Christian High School. The trolley will run every 15 minutes from June 11 to Sept. 5, says Arthur Waitt, Britt marketing director. "I'm glad they are keeping the trolley going," Morkert says. "So many people depend on the trolley to get to Britt." Morkert, 63, is giving up his 12-hour summer days so he can spend more time with his family -- his wife, Edie, and daughters Tawny, 22, and Kayla, 16, a junior at Cascade Christian High School in Jacksonville. "I was really dragging my feet on retirement because I've always been know as Stan the Trolley Man," Morkert says. "I'm going to miss the trolley business and the people of Jacksonville." Morkert has driven four different trolleys through the streets of this 139-year-old town, all built by Classic Trolley of Medford. His passengers have ranged from Japanese tour groups to television star Kevin Hagen, who played Doc Baker on "Little House on the Prairie." "I've been able to meet people from all over the world," Morkert says. He was pleasantly surprised when a San Francisco cable car driver rode the Jacksonville trolley, then went back to California and made Morkert an honorary member of the San Francisco Cable Car Association. His hat bears a members-only pin that reads "San Francisco Municipal Railway Cable Car Division." Morkert drove seven tours a day, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., sometimes eating dinner with Jacksonville Inn owner Jerry Evans, and then revving up the engine again at 6 p.m. to shuttle concert-goers to Britt until about 8 p.m. When he wasn't wearing his black trolley uniform, Morkert was teaching fourth-graders at Talent Elementary School. He retired after 27 years in education. He still volunteers at the school and will travel to Salem next week with Wayne Cowley's fourth-grade class. Morkert was born in Missoula, Mont., the state where his brothers, sister and mother still live. After dropping out of high school, Morkert moved to Ashland to attend Southern Oregon College in 1967. He received a teaching degree and later earned a master's degree. "I've had a lot of fun teaching," he says. The history buff spent time in libraries reading about Jacksonville's history to prepare for his talks on the trolley. He also interviewed Jacksonville old-timers, most of whom have since died. "Stan's presentation was so phenomenal," says Terry Gieg, manager of Anna Maria's. "What a wonderful way for people to learn about the history of Jacksonville." And Morkert was good for business, says Gieg, who ran to the door of the wine shop whenever she heard the trolley bell. "I would run like mad and wave. All summer long I did that. I knew this was part of what Stan told his passengers about Jacksonville, how friendly everyone was." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA