By HANNA MORDOH
WISH-TV | wishtv.com
This Fourth of July you’re likely to see plenty of red, white and blue, but if you’re in Fishers look out for ‘Stan the Trash Man’ and his star-spangled golf cart.
For more than half a century, every day, 75-year-old Stan Schenher sets out with a cigar in one hand and a trash grabber in the other to hit the pavement to pick up garbage.
“There’s a lady at church that calls me ‘Stan, Stan the garbage man’ haha!” explained Schenher. He’s got the title and plenty of garbage puns.
“Business is always picking up … I love talking trash.”
Along with some trash jokes.
“It’s a slow day in Fishers when you’re covering me.”
He’s well known now in Fishers since he has been picking up trash in the community for a long time. He’s been volunteering for 55 years, and started out in college while on runs in northern Indiana. He’s been a trash man of sorts since he was 20 years old.
“Well, I used to be the trash runner, then I was the trash walker, now I’m the trash rider and my next stage is trash crawler,” Schenher said.
Plenty of laughs and two hip replacements later, this retired UPS employee and grandfather of nine has adjusted to using his American flag-themed golf cart to get around.
“I can pick up a lot more and cover a wider area with my golf cart,” Schenher explained. “Well to me it’s fun. It’s good exercise, community service. But I just do it because I enjoy doing it.”
It’s his retirement gig and it’s official. He has volunteered and adopted eight roads in the city of Fishers to keep clean all year long:
- Brooks School from 116th Street to Fall Creek
- Fall Creek to 96th Street
- Carrol Road
- Two stretches of 116th Street
- 106th Street and Hoosier Road
- Geist Road
- Olio Road
- Adopt a road to clean here
Schenher holds a special permit that allows him to drive his golf cart on city sidewalks in order to carry out his duty. (Photo provided by Stan Schenher)
He covers a lot of ground and has found all sorts of “trash” over the years.
“I always find I find bill folds, I find phones, I find laptops computers.”
Schenher enjoys the hunt of returning lost items. He also enjoys the exercise and along with riding he ends up walking a lot of miles every week.
“I try to get in 20 a week,” Schenher said. “I think my wife is glad I am out of the house – during the day haha.”
Through all seasons and whatever the weather, Schenher tries to pick up trash for two to three hours a day. Sometimes his grown kids or grandkids come along.
“Helping the grandkids and seeing them and picking up trash,” Schenher said. “So it’s kind of what I do.”
While there are a lot of golf carts around Geist Reservoir in Fishers, most people are not allowed to drive a golf cart around on public sidewalks and roads. Schenher has city approval to do this work on his golf cart.
“They passed the ordinance for me which I thought was really kind,” Schenher said as he showed off his credentials and permit.
He says police stopped him years ago, then a city council member helped get him the go-ahead to drive his cart while cleaning up.
“The city of Fishers has given me a golf cart permit; if you have a license, insurance and turn signals – and you are operating on your adopted stretch – you can legally drive the golf cart. I believe I am the only one who has that permit.”
Now he’s a street staple as he makes his way to the Brooks School Road Fire Department dumpster. He says he honestly doesn’t know how much trash he has tossed over the years.
“You know, people have asked me that,” Schenher said. “I honestly don’t know … Sometimes, like today, it might be five pounds and sometimes 100 pounds.”
The math is too messy to calculate at this point. But the reason? It is not messy at all. In fact, the message is as clear as the streets he cleans.
“Make the world a little bit better, a little neater,” Schenher said. “If all of us do a little nobody has to do a lot.”
Stan is proof that even when dealing with trash, you can find treasure.
“I have really good job security, trash doesn’t seem to be going away – ha.”
As for Schenher’s American flag golf cart, he says he bought it because it fit his needs best, but he also likes to support veterans and the freedom we all have to do what’s right.
He now encourages everyone to bag your trash and if you have time adopt a road to keep clean. You can learn more about volunteering here.
This story was originally published by WISH-TV at wishtv.com/news/local-news/fishers-man-cleans-streets-golf-cart.