Community comes together to take two elderly men fishing

Two Idaho natives got to continue their love of fishing today…80 years after they first began.

“Oh, it’s heaven,” Richard Adams, Fairwinds Retirement Community resident, said. “There’s no place better.”

Residents of the Fairwinds Retirement Community got a little field trip today. After a picnic along the Snake River, 97-year-old Don Morgan and 89-year-old Richard Adams got to practice their love of fishing. Which they explained in very simple terms.

“Have you ever caught a fish?” Morgan said. “Well, that’s what you like about it.”

The men spent the day not only fishing, but also reminiscing.

“The best looking cheerleader there was, was his girlfriend,” Adams said about Morgan. “And finally he married her. But I always thought, wow, that guy really knew how to operate.”

The outing was put together by Debbie Glass of One Source Home Health after seeing how much these guys loved fishing. Through donations from companies such as West Bank Anglers, Idaho Fishing Outfitters and Kast Extreme Fishing Gear, she hoped to give them an opportunity to get back on the water.

“I think that their memories kinda help me realize how important it would be to give them an opportunity to do what they love one more time,” Glass said. “In an environment that is conducive to their needs.”

Glass’s idea was successful, giving the men an afternoon they will never forget.

“I’ve known about this place here, I’m sure, for 70 years anyway,” Adams said. “And I really feel like I’m almost back in heaven. To be here and look at it on a beautiful day like this.”

Glass hopes to make this an annual event. No word on how many fish the men caught.