BOZEMAN -- Long lines of workers swung pickaxes to remove the stubble that grew from cement-hard soil.
Some complained of too much heat, wondering how they ended up riding a bus destined for hard labor. Others joked about cooler times (like two hours earlier) and laughingly suggested ways to make their afternoon easier.
"I would take off my shirt, but it would be too distracting," Alex Anderson of Dodson told Justin Bras of Hot Springs.
Anderson and Bras were among 95 Montana 4-H members who helped clear a trail near Bozeman's East Gallatin Recreation Area during the 51st Annual 4-H State Youth Congress. Designed to promote volunteerism and develop leadership skills, the community service project was one of several performed around Bozeman on July 11. 4-H Congress was held July 9 through 12 at Montana State University-Bozeman.
"My boyfriend worked a whole summer on this trail and unfortunately, it grew in again," Sonja Nehring told the 4-H'ers who worked on the mile-long East Gallatin Trail. Nehring is a seasonal worker for the Bozeman City Parks Department and was helping supervise the work.
Looking like a chain gang working its way through a field of waist-high weeds, the line of teenagers shoveled rocks and tore through roots and hardened sod. The six-foot-wide trail was mowed for their benefit, but they still had to take it down to the dirt.
"I thought I was going to come out here and pick up trash. I was wondering what they were doing with those picks," said Anderson, a member of the appropriately-named North Bench Trail Blazers.
"They told me to get on this bus, and here I am," said JoAnn Storlie of Rosebud County and the Shining Shamrocks.
The trail along the East Gallatin River was a project of the Montana Conservation Corps two years ago, Nehring said. Anything the 4-H members could do to rejuvenate it would be appreciated, she said.
"Whatever they get done is more than enough," she commented. "That's for sure."
The 4-H'ers cleared far more than the 200 feet Nehring had hoped for. Later, sitting in the shade of a school bus or leaning on their shovels, a few talked about why they joined 4-H and why they attended the 4-H Congress.
"It's just a fun group to be in, and you get a lot done," said Bras, a newly-elected Leaders Council Representative. "You feel good about yourself and what you do."
"I have just always liked to be involved in stuff in leadership," said Matt Colbert who organized the work teams and belongs to the MSU Collegiate 4-H Club. "4-H is part of the leadership clubs I have been in."
Ryan Scammon of St. Ignatius said he attended the 4-H Congress to give a speech on the deadly Ebola virus. As he rested from his trail work and sat on the steps of the bus, he explained a few of his findings to the bus driver.
The trail project was one of almost a dozen community service projects that 500 Montana 4-H'ers performed around Bozeman and Gallatin Gateway. Some 4-H members washed hangers that had been smoke-damaged in a fire at the Salvation Army Thrift Store. Others helped with grounds maintenance at Bozeman Deaconness Hospital. Approximately 30 led the "Nike Challenge" at the Boys and Girls Club of Southwest Montana.
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