In February 1984, the Tradewinds paused from city council reports and bankruptcy hearings to recognize a man who had never asked to be recognized — and never would.
You probably would have seen him on a Saturday morning. On his bicycle, moving slowly along the parks, or out on the roadside between the entry gate and the Fast Fare. Picking things up. Not because anyone asked him to. Not because it was his job. Because he detested the sight of litter, and because he cared about the place he lived.
His name was Bill Zumstein. He worked at the Census Bureau in Charlotte. And by 1984, he had become, in the words of the Tega Cay Tradewinds, one of the city’s most familiar figures.
The February 1984 issue of the Tradewinds carried a short piece about him under the heading “A Comment.” It was written in the quiet, direct voice of newsletter editor Shirley “Sam” McDonald, who had been watching the community she loved for years and knew exactly who deserved to be seen.
“Now and then along ‘this road’, you come upon an individual who gives more than his share to society. One who goes unselfishly about his own life in an effort to improve the quality of life for his fellow-man, with no thought of personal gain. Tega Cay is lucky to have such a man — a man like Bill Zumstein. You have seen him on his self-appointed rounds, usually on his bicycle, cleaning up the throw-aways of unthinking people. An employee of the Census Bureau in Charlotte, Bill has become a familiar figure on any street in Tega Cay. He does regular Saturday rounds at the parks, and you have even seen him on the roadside between the gate and the Fast Fare.”
Shirley “Sam” McDonald, The Tega Cay Tradewinds, February 1984
Sam went on to note something about Bill’s own explanation for what he did. When people asked, he would say the benefit was the exercise. Just the exercise. A practical answer from a practical man.
Sam wasn’t buying it.
“He declares his benefit from cleaning it up is the exercise — but the benefit to this community far out-weighs any gains of his own. Those of us who are rushing too quickly through life to take the time, or who perhaps are not that distraught over the unsightly mess, owe Bill Zumstein a big debt of thanks. Thanks, because he makes this a nicer and prettier place to live, but even more than that because he CARES. So we thank you, Bill, for caring enough and for giving in this way to all of us. You are one of Tega Cay’s greatest treasures.”
Shirley “Sam” McDonald, The Tega Cay Tradewinds, February 1984
What Made This Moment Matter
The February 1984 Tradewinds was a busy issue. The 27 Trust tax credit battle had just reached its conclusion: the city council voted 3 to 2 to sign the contract that would transfer the roads, parks, beaches, and athletic facilities to Tega Cay. Councilman John Dyer left the meeting immediately after casting the deciding yes vote and submitted his resignation. New ordinances on gun laws and waste pickup had just passed. The city was buying its first building at 7000 Tega Cay Drive. There was plenty of news.
And then, tucked near the back of the issue, Sam stopped to write about a man on a bicycle.
That choice was deliberate. Tega Cay in 1984 was twenty-two months old. The city had been built on big civic fights: the incorporation vote, the 27 Trust battle, the push for a police department. Those stories mattered. But communities are also made of something quieter: the people who simply take care of the place, every week, without being asked, without a committee or a vote or a resolution.
Bill Zumstein was that person. Sam McDonald made sure the community knew it.
The Spirit of the Good Life
Tega Cay’s motto, “The Good Life,” had been chosen just six months earlier, in the summer of 1983. June Birch submitted the winning entry in a community contest. The pine tree logo followed. But mottos and logos are only as meaningful as the people who live them out.
Bill Zumstein never competed for a motto contest. He didn’t need to. Every Saturday morning on that bicycle, he was already living the answer to the question of what “The Good Life” actually required of a person.
It required caring. Not about recognition. Not about credit. Just about the place, and the people who shared it with you.
Mr. William (Bill) Clarence Zumstein, was 86, when he passed away on Friday, November 14, 2014,
Sources: The Tega Cay Tradewinds, February 1984 (TW 84-2), original print edition, Tega Cay History Archive. “A Comment” by Shirley “Sam” McDonald, page 6.
TAGS: Bill Zumstein, Sam McDonald, Tradewinds, Tega Cay history, 1984, community service, litter, The Good Life, Census Bureau, Tega Cay residents, early Tega Cay
Did you ever see Bill Zumstein on his Saturday rounds? Do you know his family, or have a photo of him out on his bicycle? This is exactly the kind of story that deserves to be more than a paragraph in a forty-year-old newsletter. Share what you remember in the Tega Cay History Facebook Group or reach out through our Contact page.
TegaCayHistory.com | Preserving the Good Life for Future Generations
Discover more from Tega Cay Historical Society
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
