99 y/o Lew Harned marked off a big bucket list item thanks to the Adventure Park's Accessible Zipline Program. PC: Fox 11 Online
SUAMICO, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — For many, flying down a 1,000-foot-long zipline is a big ask. Including for Lewis Harned.
“Well, with my eyes shut I think I can do it,” says the 99-year-old World War II veteran with a laugh.
Lewis, ‘Lew’ for short, is facing his fears in the name of adventure.
It all started on his 99th birthday last summer.
“My daughter said ‘dad, we’ve got to do something different,’ so we decided – she decided – that we would do 100 items I’ve never done before ending up on my birthday which is in August.”
A bucket list.
And just earlier this month, Lew managed to reach the 100th item on that list.
“We didn’t think we’d ever do it,” he says. “It so happened that everything sort of fell in, and we finished it a week ago.”
But with more than a month until his birthday, there was no stopping him.
So, bucketlist item 104? Ziplining.
“This is just another one on the list, we’ll see how it goes,” he says.
But crossing off the bucket list item wouldn’t have been possible without the NEW Zoo and Adventure Park accessible zip lining program.
This year is the first time since 2019 they’ve been able to provide the program again.
“Participants walk up that 50-foot fire tower and then get hooked onto the line and zip down,” says Nathaniel Wagner, the Adventure Park Supervisor. “Not all participants are able to do that. So our accessible ziplining offers them an opportunity to do that. We hoist them up via rope system, pull them up that 50 feet, put them on the cable, and then they zip down just like any other participant would.”
Lew has done a little bit of everything; cuddling newborn babies, indoor skydiving, serving as an honorary bailiff in Kenosha County court, volunteering at the International Crane Foundation, and many, many more.
But Lew’s bucket list isn’t just about doing fun things.
As a now-disabled veteran, he hopes his bucket list journey can be an inspiration to others.
“A lot of the veterans that lose a leg or lose an arm or have mental problems, they think they’re done, that there’s nothing else left for them,” he says. “And I’m showing them there are things that can be done.”
“There’s so many things handicapped veterans can do that people don’t know about, and that’s one of the things I’m trying to tell people about,” Lew adds. “The things I’ve done like waterski in the Mississippi, snow ski in Alpine Village, salmon fishing in Lake Michigan, these are things I never thought I’d do again and I found out I can, and this is something that I want to show to other handicapped veterans. Hey there are lots of things you can do out there that are really exciting, this is one of them.’
After being hoisted 50 feet into the air and connected to the zipline; the moment of truth.
Lew was asked what he was thinking on his way down.
“Hey, I had my eyes open the whole way! A lot better than I thought, not as scary!”
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