During my 19 years in Winnipeg I saw Zoohky many different times in many different places. Sometimes he rummaged through dumpsters in back lanes. I would often see him slowing down traffic as he rode happily along Ellice on his old bicycle with the big handlebars and basket on the front. I still wonder if he was really oblivious to the traffic or if this was just his subtle way of reminding us that we could all afford to slow down a bit. One of his friends said “His guardian angels must have been real busy.”
I remember the first time I met Zoohky in the Safeway on Sargent Avenue, while shopping with my young children. He was whispering things only he could distinguish, laughing at jokes only he understood. Long hair, grey beard, hunched stature, big eyes, and old clothes made him even more “different.” Some people plainly chose to avoid him. Others muttered about his appearance. But wounds from adult misunderstandings and childhood abuse never hardened this gentle and humble man.
My kids were young. They weren’t too sure about this old man, and started to hide behind me. Zoohky’s eyes met mine briefly and we both smiled. He seemed quite shy, even self-conscious that the kids were nervous. I turned to the boys hiding behind my legs to let them know Zoohky was okay, that they needn’t be afraid.
Hesitantly, they peeked out at Zoohky. Looking at them, he giggled. Figuring the little kids were playing hide and seek, he joined the game, peeking out at them from behind his hands.
He came to our coffeehouses at the church and loved to stomp his feet to the music. He ate many meals and shared many stories at Ellice Variety. In his 74th year he was still delivering community newspapers – just because he enjoyed it. We loved his zest for life, his poetry, mischievous ways and gentle smiles.
If you were driving through the West End, you might have seen him checking out dumpsters or hauling home what looked like trash. But we learned of his gift for transforming trash to treasures, and then sharing them with others. He fixed televisions, toasters and radios for adults in the area. Many decades of West End kids were recipients of his fixed up toys and bikes. He didn’t ask for any payment. His joy was seeing the smiles of his neighbours, seeing kids ride their bicycles.
Staff at the Safeway joked about his stunts at the store. Like the times he would come to the store with an empty gallon milk jug. He’d fill it with water, label it “vodka,” and then mischievously chug the bottle in front of anyone who cared to watch. Someone at the store once teased him about visiting to share some of the nice pork chops he had purchased. He sheepishly apologized, explaining that this time the pork chops were for a special meal with his cats.
His bicycle excursions were the stuff of legends. There was the time he pedaled up highway 59 out to Grand Beach to be with some West End teens who had gone up for a day of fun. A relative at the funeral commented that the bicycle thing ran in the family. His 85 year old aunt rode her bike well into the onset of Alzheimer’s.
Some of the neighbourhood boys would occasionally skip school just to sit in his yard. Sometimes he told stories. Other times they explored the “junk” in his yard, or admired one of Zoohky’s latest creations. One of those kids, now a firefighter, commented that Zoohky did more to inspire his learning than all his teachers combined.
The innocence of his smile brightened some of our darkest days. The simplicity of his ways inspired respect and wonder at the potential of the world around us.
I’m proud to live in the neighbourhood he called his home. He won’t be forgotten!
Rev. Harry Lehotsky
514 Maryland Street
Winnipeg, Mb R3G 1M5
(204) 775-4929
lehotsky@escape.ca