By: VOICE-TRIBUNE & Matt Coleman
Photos provided by Matt Johnson & Matt Coleman
Matt Coleman has come a long way from his first job as a paperboy for VOICE-TRIBUNE to now being the President of Discount Equity Services, Inc., and he’s had a lot of exciting adventures along the way. Join VOICE-TRIBUNE as we catch up with Matt, and he shares some of his memories and experiences.
Reflections on Growing Up in the 70’s
“Mom just sent this picture to me, we were the very first inhabitants of Beckley Woods. Pretty sure this photo was from 1979. Lake Forest was still nothing more than our trails. Beckley Woods was still being built. We all had BMX bikes, this one belonged to my little brother. It was bought at Thornberry’s in Saint Matthews, a Schwinn with the spoked wheels- the tough wheels had come out the next year. This is how we rode. Bikes, mini bikes, dirt bikes, skateboards, and stuff we just built. I even took our riding mower, with the garden trailer attachment for our gear, and cut a trail through Lake Forest and my own camping spot. We also had death-defying jumps, crazy dangerous ramps, and we wiped out---hard. Often coming home bleeding profusely with skinned-up hands. I could ride this bicycle backward around the block.
My very first job was delivering the Voice-Tribune paper in Beckley Woods. There was a heavily wooded area with a clear water creek. It was only about 5 feet deep but I could sit there in the shade, and listen to the creek flow over the rocks and fill this area with water. It was my first exposure to meditation, I just didn’t know what to call it.
We built stuff to ride. I made a sled with a 2x8, a 2x4, a bolt, and three sets of trucks/wheels from skateboard parts called the “Hoozie II”. Crazy times indeed. Think about this, at 14 years of age, I would say I was going camping, and just leave. No communication. For two days my parents had no idea if I were alive or not. Every day I would wake up, eat breakfast, open the door, hop on my bike, and see what life had in store. We would simply go outside and find our own entertainment. Did we get into some mischief and trouble at times? Sure, but nothing too bad. My mom had a bell she would ring from the front porch that meant dinner time. As soon as the street lights came on, it was time to go home. I miss these days and almost feel sorry for those who didn’t grow up in the 70s. It was painfully and dangerously awesome.”
A Passion for Sailing
“My father exposed me to boating at an early age. He was the kind of man who enjoyed teaching his son how to tie lines, drive the boat, and even dock the boat. By the time I was 10, I could turn on the blowers, fire up two Chrysler 318s, untie the boat, and drive the boat out of Limestone Marina. This was the Rope Yarn II and she was a 32ft Marinette. I could race a minibike by 10. Learned to drive a stick shift car at 13. By the age of 15, I could shoot an ILS approach and land a Cessna. By 16, I soloed an ultralight aircraft. My father served as an intelligence officer in the Navy, his father was Navy as was his father. I was way too young to join him, so instead of joining the Boy Scouts, I found myself to be a member of the Sea Explorers aka Sea Scouts. We had a boat that was next to the Belle of Louisville called the Zachary Taylor. My teenage years were spent riding dirt bikes, water skiing, boating, and sailing.
I followed my family tradition and joined the Navy when I was 18. Then joined the USCG Auxiliary after graduating from the University of Kentucky. I went on active duty in the US Navy, I was to become a Navy Combat Stevedore, part of the Amphib assault battalion. We had to run every day, do calisthenics, train at the gun range, etc. We were doing an exercise in the Philippines, heading to the beach on an ACU Assault Craft Unit, and It became obvious to me that no matter what rate you were, we were all hitting that beach on the same boat. Then I saw that one of the guys had much cooler guns than the rest, it was then that I decided to become a Gunners Mate Guns (GMG). My unit was awesome!
We went all over the world and did some cool things. During Operation DeepFreeze, we got to live 3 months in large tents at McMurdo Station Antarctica. My time in the USCG Aux was well spent. I saved a few lives, inspected a lot of boats, assisted in federal disaster operations learned, and taught many forms of water rescue techniques and advanced towing. I have some fun rescue stories, some are very comical, and some are serious.
These days being a Pleasure Boater on the Ohio River is Great fun. I’m a member of a local boat club called Harrods Creek Boat Owners Association (HCBOA). I’ve been their safety officer since 1997. We have a lot of fun parties on the river, the best one is our annual Poker Run. It is a non-timed event and we make it so that nobody has to cross the sailing line, that is the prescribed line on the river charts that the barges are supposed to follow. You can check us out online at www.HCBOA.com.
The Poker Run starts around noon and everyone who buys a hand gets a t-shirt and a book with a map and various clues as to where the 5 dealer boats will be located. The event is a lot of fun and the winners can win a decent sized amount. We are a charitable club and we give funds to many local and national charities. The idea is to figure out where the dealer boats will be located and go to each one for a card. Then we all meet up at a local beach and or an island and have a big cookout, announce winners, and sometimes we even have a band. Our club maintains 12 Mile Island. We have a stage, tables, chairs, a fire pit, and even a riding mower up on top. We also built two metal sets of stairs to get up to the top of the island. Go to our website and come have some water fun with us!
We also have a Dingey run every summer. We usually meet up for breakfast on Harrods Creek, then the fun starts. Tons of smaller boats go at it in a massive squirt gun war. We have this battle throughout Harrods Creek and then onto the river. We usually end up at a destiny location for one final throw-down followed by a large cookout and music. If you are looking for safe summertime fun on the river, HCBOA is a good way to go. We even have a formal Christmas party every year. My passion for boating and river life continues to grow, I make myself available to help new boaters learn the ropes and to help experienced boaters become better captains.”