Meet the retired Salem dentist strumming folk songs to raise money for parks

It was a sunny Thursday afternoon when Daniel Saucy sat on a collapsible chair on the southeast corner of State and Liberty streets in downtown Salem next to the crosswalks. 

Strumming his guitar, a large sun hat shaded his face. Light breezy clothes and good walking shoes completed his outfit. A smaller hat sat upside down in his open guitar case, which invited cash tips with a sign reading, “All donations go to Salem Parks Foundation.”  

He calls himself a “fair-weather busker” — he won’t come out if it’s too hot or too cold. 

It’s the second summer Saucy has employed his musical talent to raise money for Salem parks.

Mostly, he said people walk by. Only twice have they stopped to listen to his folk music. But on that recent afternoon, he drew an audience of one.

“I’ve been having a bad day, I just need to listen to some music right now,” said a woman who paused to listen to his rendition of “Wagon Wheel.”

Leaned against the crosswalk pole across from Saucy, she sat cross-legged on the ground as he played for a while before going about the rest of her day.

While it’s rare a visitor stops to sit and join Saucy, he says folks have recognized him for his busking.

“After the office workers go by me 20 times or 30 times, they say, ‘Well, there’s that guitar player again, marketing for the Salem Parks Foundation,’” he said. “People don’t understand that we’re the volunteers who are trying to raise money for parks.” 

The foundation is a nonprofit organization separate from the city of Salem that grants money for improvements to city parks. The all-volunteer group spends tens of thousands of dollars per year on projects to add lights, playground equipment and drinking fountains to Salem’s parks.

Saucy serves as the board’s secretary.

He contributes to fundraising efforts and works with neighborhood associations to write grants for additions to Salem’s city parks.

Through his sporadic busking stints each summer, Saucy has raised hundreds of dollars for the Salem Parks Foundation. After starting in August last summer, he raised over $200. This July, he has raised just over $100 and hopes to surpass his record.

“Parks build community,” he said. “You see the same person with a dog walking by, and you might not know their name, but you know they’re part of the neighborhood.” 

Life as a “participator” 

Saucy has always been fond of music, especially the folk music that was popular in the 1960s.

“And then it kind of branched out into The Byrds, ‘Hey Mr. Tambourine Man,’ different ones like that were popular at the time,” he said. “Everything before The Beatles.”

In high school, he spent $40 on a “Joan Baez guitar,” a small parlor-style acoustic similar to the model the folk singer played. The guitar followed him throughout his young adult life, though he never seriously dedicated time to playing it.

Saucy comes from a family of civil “participators,” as he calls it, and has made an effort to get civically involved throughout his life. He was inspired by his parents, a teacher and a farmer, who spent their spare time volunteering at their church, the local Rotary Club and for the hospital board in Forest Grove, where he grew up.

Having a dad who served in World War II, being an Eagle Scout as a boy and learning how to use a keyboard in high school gave him the background for his Army career. He served as a field radio mechanic after he was drafted toward the end of the Vietnam War.

“I dragged that guitar to the army with me, but I didn’t play it,” he said.

After leaving the Army, he sought a professional career in dentistry, inspired by his family dentist.

“It looked like a great job because he was active in the community,” Saucy said. “He was a participator in town, and my parents were participators. And I thought, ‘I’m a participator. Let’s do this.’ It was just a smooth transition — seemed to fit pretty well.”

Now, at 74, he’s retired from a career in dentistry. While many Salemites may have known Dr. Saucy from his dentistry office, now they can catch him on the street.

He finally picked up the guitar intending to seriously learn during Covid, when he had time to take online lessons through Zoom with a teacher who had a good review from his daughter. Now, it’s been about four years of him playing guitar — going on five.

Busking to fundraise for the parks last summer came from a recommendation that the Parks Foundation raise more awareness about the organization.

“I thought maybe I could try this busking thing,” he said. “I could talk to people about the Salem Parks Foundation, and I could work on my guitar.”

His fundraising doesn’t end with busking, either. September will mark the 14th annual “Pinot in the Parks” wine tasting event, which Saucy holds at his home with his wife, Kathleen.

Entry to the event costs $100 per person. That’s donated to an endowment fund established by the Parks Foundation in collaboration with the Oregon Community Foundation to provide a permanent source of revenue for Salem parks.

His fondness for the parks is rooted in their service to the community.

“I think parks are important and they’re free, and something that enhances your property values — it’s a good investment,” he said. “That’s a place to go and commune with nature a little bit and see some squirrels, and we even have an attack owl in one of these areas.”

Saucy’s favorite song to play while he’s busking is “Copperhead Road” by Steve Earle. He rotates between six songs in his current repertoire, but hopes to add two more soon, once he has them memorized.

“The other thing I learned is that I poop out at it after about an hour and a half,” Saucy said. “I don’t think I’m much of a slacker, but I just get tired.”

Contact reporter Mirandah Davis-Powell: [email protected].

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