Volunteers turn out to spruce up Roebling Park
SAXONBURG Young and old came together Saturday along with Rotary Club members, Saxonburg Council members and volunteers to begin spring cleaning Roebling Park.
Students from HIS Kids Christian School, 650 Saxonburg Road, joined the effort spurred on by classmates Andi and Will Bauer, who put up posters at the school publicizing the effort.
And Shirley Winkler, 93, of Saxonburg, said she was the oldest volunteer and turned out for her second year of sprucing up the park.
Winkler was driving a John Deere 4-by-4 towing a trailer carrying trash cans at least to start.
“I was driving the truck. I got a little nervous with the trailer in back. We were picking up barrels,” she said.
Jody Vettori, secretary for borough council and a Rotary member, said club members were joined in the effort by the young HIS Kids volunteers.
“Andi and Will put up posters in their school asking for students to come with a parent or guardian and to bring rakes,” Vettori said. “We’re raking and picking up trash, leaves and sticks.”
Karen Antoszyk, chairwoman of the 40-member Saxonburg Rotary Club, said, “HIS Kids school has brought a lot of kids to help.”
Vettori said the park cleaning crew got advice from Phil Wain of Wain Landscaping who was donating plants and manpower to replace the overgrown shamrock holly and rhododendrons around the park’s gazebo with pyramidal boxwood and hydrangeas.
The borough field crew delivered a load of mulch for volunteers to spread throughout the park.
Vettori said the Saxonburg Rotary Club was happy to lend a hand in the park’s sprucing up.
“The borough does it every year. We saw it last year and thought we should help get it presentable,” she said.
The work didn’t go off without a hitch. Dave Johnston, a Saxonburg Council and Rotary Club member, said, “I live next to the museum. I brought my tractor and wagon, but now I’ve got a flat on the tractor.”
Things went smoother for Brian Antoszyk, a Rotary member and borough resident who brought his truck and trailer to collect gathered leaves and other debris and haul it away.
Other borough council members taking part in the sprucing up included Ray Koegler, Mia Mazza-Petruzzi, Aaron Piper and Borough Manager Mary Papik. Mayor Bill Gillespie brought a riding leaf blower for the effort.
Businesses in town such as the Hotel Saxonburg, Main Street Bake Shop and Novotny’s Pizza donated coffee and snacks to the workforce. Council member Sherry Weinzierl donated water.
Christan Baker, a sixth-grade teacher at HIS Kids, turned out to help dressed in a bunny suit. She was going to go with a group of Girl Scouts later Saturday to Magnolia Place in Saxonburg to help with an Easter Egg hunt and bingo game.
But the costume proved to be a bonus on a chilly Saturday morning spent raking leaves.
“It’s very warm,” said Baker.
“This is such a great turnout,” said Vettori. “Everybody is working together, the local goverment, the business owners, the Rotary Club, the kids, the families in town. There are just so many people in town working together. And everybody is having fun.
“It’s a good kickoff to the season. It’s going to be great spring and summer, we hope,” she said.
