Ezra Koch Honored

It is not often a garbage collector receives the highest honor his hometown can award, but that is exactly what happened to Ezra Koch in McMinnville.

In a packed hall at Linfield College, where Ezra is a longtime supporter, hundreds of friends and business associates recently toasted this energetic citizen for his advancements in recycling. The company he and his brother Fred founded has recycled more than 100,000 tons of refuse in Yamhill County. They were leaders in their field long before it was politically correct.

Wife Hanni and their five children, who provided musical entertainment at the celebration, heard McMinnville Mayor Ed Gormley extol Ezra’s contributions to the youth of the city, and Linfield College President Vivian Bull conferred Linfield’s first honorary bachelor’s degree on this gentleman who never had the opportunity to go to college.

Reprinted from Gerry Frank’s “Friday Surprise” in The Oregonian, 7 July 2000