ONLY ON NBC5 NEWS: Local man gets Dream Catcher Experience

White City, Ore. — The Rogue Valley Manor’s goal is to enrich the lives of seniors, and today was a perfect example of fulfilling that mission. A few years ago the Rogue Valley Manor launched the Dreamcatcher program, where they would help residents fulfill a life long dream or re-experience a hobby they once loved to do.

The thrill of sitting behind the wheel of a race car is a feeling you probably won’t forget.

“It’s an adrenaline rush,” Andy Jossy of Siskiyou Sports Car Club says.

Bruce Larson knows it well. The longtime owner of Larson’s furniture store in Medford was an avid racing enthusiast, logging a lot of laps, around a lot of race tracks, and accumulating a lot of trophies.

“He had so many, many, many trophies,” Faye Larson says, “and most of them were first place, or occasionally second.”

Now battling Alzheimer’s, it’s been decades since Larson was back on a racetrack, that is, until today.

With a Siskiyou Sports Car Club member in the driver’s seat, and Larson alongside, the 80-year old is getting a chance to re-experience the sport he loved for so long. The opportunity is made possible by the Rogue Valley Manor’s dream catcher program, which provides residents with a life experience they likely wouldn’t be able to participate in on their own.

“We have taken a lady to the coast to put her feet in the ocean,” Melissa Preston says, “and we helped a lady sew a pair of pants.”

When they learned of Larson’s passion for racing, they knew this was a dream they could catch.

“It’s really about the individual and what they enjoy and what they still enjoy and doing what we can do to make that happen,” Preston adds.

And though the illness has robbed Larson of many memories, the joy visible on his face, and in his laughter, is proof the thrill of sitting behind the wheel of a race car, is a feeling that can never be taken away.

Larson used to drive a Fiat Zagato which cost him about $5,100 at the time, that same car now goes for $74,000.