Cleaning up the Spirit Trail is a thing of joy when weather conditions align with the mood of Clark Lake volunteers. That means little or no rain, no gale force winds, or volcanic eruptions. Given the heavy thunderstorms in the forecast for this evening, and more rain ahead tomorrow, Saturday, April 1st, the Cleanup moves to Saturday, April 15. No word yet on whether Clark Lake’s volcano is angry.
Some very recent history. The ice storm turned the County Park into what looked like a warzone.
If you’ve been by the County Park (east end), you probably noticed the good news. As promised, County crews have hauled away downed trees and limbs. It’s a great start to returning the smile to the face of the Park.
For the annual cleanup, here’s what happens. Meet Dan Omo at the County Park at the east end on Saturday, April 15, at 9 am. He will have surveyed the Trail and can point you to where help is most needed. Bring yourself, friends, and tools like rakes, shovels, plastic bags. To reach Dan in advance, call or text him at 937-0424 or email at domodan@gmail.com. Below, check out the video from a previous year.
Clark Lakers point to the 7.3 mile Trail as one of the community’s crowning achievements. Before its inception, it would have been difficult to circumnavigate the lake on land without cutting through yards or taking chances on Jefferson Road. The Spirit Trail links neighborhoods, friends and families. And now that trip can be made on foot or bike. In 1996 Tom Collins said, “If common cause is needed as a focal point around which to rally, let us build a Path.” Clark Lake took on two big projects simultaneously — building the Trail, and saving the Graziani house by moving it over the water to the County Park. What an awesome heritage!
