Date: Fri 14-Nov-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: CURT

Quick Words:

edink-Hawley-School-playground

Full Text:

Ed Ink: Hawley's Foul-Weather Friends

Volunteering can be fun, especially when it means getting together with

friends to do something different on a nice day. But what about when a cold,

hard rain whipped by a chilly November wind finds its way down the back of

your neck and turns the ground beneath your feet into oozing mud? Well then,

volunteering is not always fun.

The 30 or so parent volunteers who stood in the driving rain looking upon the

pile of playground parts behind Hawley School early Saturday morning most

definitely had nicer things to do with their weekend, but they all knew deep

down that there was nothing better to do. Their work would not let up for the

rest of the weekend, and neither would the horrid weather. It was a test of

endurance, and by Monday, when the hardiest of the workers were still on the

job and the last pieces of the new playground were falling into place, it was

clear that the volunteers had prevailed over the forces of nature. Hawley had

a colorful, new playground.

We often sing the praises of volunteers in this space, but the efforts of this

hardy band of Hawley volunteers were truly inspiring and deserve special

recognition. From now on, no one will ever call them fair-weather friends.