‘It was a gathering place,’ Lincoln man heartbroken after porch swing is stolen

To some, it may be just a porch swing. But to 80-year-old Roger and his east Lincoln neighborhood, it's part of their community.

The Wellington Greens neighborhood is a quiet and friendly place, which is why some people live there for decades. That’s also why it was so shocking to some neighbors when a simple community staple was stolen.

One of those neighbors is 80-year-old Roger VanDeventer. He’s lived in his home there, near 70th and South streets, for upwards of 20 years.

“He’s the type of person if he’s driving along and sees a car in trouble he wants to stop right away and see if he can help the person. He’s generous,” says Lois Dalton, a neighbor of Roger.

For a majority of his time in his home on the corner of the block, Roger has had a porch swing hanging from his tree.

“Sunday when my dog and I walked out the back door, I walked to the front door to get my paper and I realized somebody had taken my swing after 15 years,” Roger says.

To Roger and Lois, as well as many neighbors in the area, the swing was more than just an object. It was part of their community.

“It’s just kind of a meeting place. And then when it gets to be a hot day he’ll be out there with a beer and maybe somebody will stop by with a beer too. It’s just a nice core of that particular neighborhood,” Dalton says.

“It was very much of a heartbreaker. It was because it was just an ideal roosting place,” Roger tells Channel 8 Eyewitness News reporter Marlo Lundak.

Roger says he understands there are bigger issues to be dealt with, but he and his neighbors feel violated nonetheless.

“Out of all the things a person could do, that seems to be minuscule,” Roger says. “But yet it’s so important to all the people that live here.”

The swing that was taken was also brand new, the old one seeing years of wear and tear.

“He gave it a couple of coats of varnish and it was looking just great and he’d had it looking the way he’d want it for about two weeks with the varnish on it so when this skunk took it, they got a really nice swing,” Dalton says.

“They disappointed a lot of the people that were used to the benefits of it. I would do anything to get it back.”

As of Tuesday afternoon, a neighbor was kind enough to give roger their porch swing for the time being.

But Roger says that he’s willing to forgive and forget the whole situation if whoever took it, brings it back.