The effort of cleaning up someone else’s overgrown weeds, shrubs and trees on a commercial property became an unusual quest for The Garden Club of Mineral County. Meeting together on Saturday morning, May 9 the volunteers came prepared, wearing heavy duty garden gloves, hauling their own rakes, shovels, garden cutters, brooms, trowels and a powered chainsaw. The club saw this as a necessary project with Armed Forces guests coming into town this week. This old motel structure is across from the Veteran’s Park and directly facing the McDonald’s – both key locations as you enter Main Street.
The Garden Club volunteers worked alongside some high school students that took advantage of helping out with a small reward. The Lions Club offered a $50 educational certificate for every high school student that would donate their time and efforts toward helping the town’s blight. This project would give them credit toward attending a Great Basin local college course, made possible by school counselor John Gavin.
Hawthorne Utilities providing a roll-off container for debris, the crew began filling it with downed foliage, excess dirt, garbage, structural breakage such as broken glass, bricks and blown off roofing pieces. In speaking directly to the owner of the property, who resides in Henderson, he stated that he knew the Garden Club had volunteered to take on this project. He asked about the fountain being fixed, at which it was explained that the actual pump and electrical needs would have to be looked at before it would be able to run again.
The offer to email him the before pictures was accepted. The owner stated an interest in selling the property, and seemed encouraged to attend the Armed Forces event. He expressed an appreciation that the Garden Club had chosen his property as their project.
