Remembering Ben Heggy
Ben Heggy at NW PA Pride 2012 parade.
from Season Crannell
Those of you who saw Erie's Perry 200 Parade or have been to the Millcreek 4th of July parade or the NWPA Pride Alliance's annual Pride Parade the last few years have probably noticed that we had a pretty good sized float rolling down the street behind a big, grey truck. What you may not know is that we had that float because NWPA Pride put out a call for trucks or trailers or pretty much anything that could be decorated and trotted out. The universe answered that call with a message from a man from Seven Springs, PA named Ben Heggy.
As it turns out, Ben had seen our request for help when a friend of a friend passed along our post on Facebook and he contacted us with an offer to come up to Erie and drive a trailer for a parade. Though we had exchanged a few messages to establish the size of the trailer and other practical issues one needs to know when planning out a parade float on a flatbed trailer they've only seen a picture of, I didn't quite know what to expect. The morning of the first build we did together I was greeted with a bald head, a leather jacket and one of the warmest smiles I've ever seen. Ready, eager and willing to help and surprisingly chipper; considering that he had driven up the night before and slept in the back of his pickup truck just to be sure he wouldn't be late and that we'd have plenty of time to decorate without rushing.
Over the course of the next few years and rounds of "set the float up, ride the thing around, tear the float down" the other volunteers and I came to know Ben for his kindness and generousity. He was always ready to help put up the float, and he never lost his patience. No matter how complicated the design was to assemble, even when it didn't go together quite the way I thought it would, or the time I didn't bring enough screws (I'd bought the wrong kind anyway, shopping in haste) and then there was the time one of the wooden supports split when we drilled into it. Ben would just reach into the back of his truck and magically pull out exactly what we needed, and neither he nor his trusty power drill ever seemed to run out of energy.
After the first build, I looked forward to arriving early and sharing a thermos of coffee and a chat with Ben in the early morning pre-parade quiet. He'd sit on the tailgate of his truck and I would sit on the trailer. We'd drink our coffee, eat a little breakfast and go over the plans for the decorations before everyone else arrived and it was time to unload everything and get to work. I learned while we ate and worked together that in addition to taking his truck and trailer to parades as often as his schedule allowed (he said we were his favorites, but given his gracious nature I suspect he told the other groups the same thing); he spent the majority of the time he wasn't taking care of his land choreographing and teaching line dance. He taught several classes throughout the week and went to conventions and competitons year round, often in costume. He made the costumes, too.
At this point in my story, you may have noticed that I've been referring to Ben in the past tense. Sadly, he passed away due to complications from a sudden stroke on May 3rd. It goes without saying that we'll miss his calm, collected presence during parades. I know I'll miss seeing him practice dances during the inevitable downtime that comes after you've set up a parade and before it starts, teaching anyone there who wanted to dance along with him. I'll miss his slow, genuine smiles and his dry wit. I'll miss the bright Hawiian shirts and his quick steady hands. So Ben, wherever you are now I hope they appreciate you as much as we did, the coffee is always fresh and there's plenty of room to dance. Rest in peace, my friend.
