Workday report
The church looks a bit spiffier now, thanks to 20 volunteers who turned up for Shovel and Rake Gang’s Saturday Work Day on August 27th. Kay Ward, Nancy Muir, and Fumi Brandenburg dead-headed and pruned the east rose garden. Adele Pelletier pulled crabgrass and other weeds from the front flower beds. Ted Pelletier dug out two dead shrubs, and Jim Ruyle weeded the native garden. Bob Fujimoto, with Ethan Gregory’s help, cut down tree starts sprouting in the flower bed in front of the narthex. Dave David weed-whacked at the base of the fences, and he helped Erin Riley remove leaves and debris around the gym. Joanne Rannells served lunch to the volunteers, and Steve Hallock, who initiated the workday, supervised and lent a hand to all the projects.
The biggest effort of the day went to cleaning up the Kinney Garden, which had become overgrown during the pandemic. A recent bid to clean up the space – by a professional landscaping company – topped several thousand dollars! Instead, Kiko Kimura, Sandee Hallock, Michelle DeVaughn, Pat Rieke, Gail Douglas, John Croft, Brian and Julia McAllister, and Donna Leslie pulled, dug, clipped and yanked a mountain of plant material from the little garden. They revealed a pathway, a small statue, and around a corner, two inviting picnic tables. Work remains to be done on the garden, named for Elwyn and June Kinney, two of the founders of the Shovel and Rake Gang. The garden in the work crew’s capable hands went from looking like something out of The Day of the Triffids to an inviting, restful space, worthy of honoring the Kinneys.
Steve Hallock plans future Saturday work days, and invites anyone with time available on Thursday mornings to join the Shovel and Rake Gang. Give him a call at (503) 421-2472.
