Band of Fillmore volunteers hard at work again

As Alan Jones (on tractor) and Mike Goodpaster work together to drill a posthole, Merideth Trusty gets the mortised post ready to set in the ground. Part of a crew of volunteers responsible for a number of projects in Fillmore, this team was back in action recently building fences along the Vandalia Trail through the town.

FILLMORE -- As anyone who's attended more than one Fillmore Town Council meeting can attest, council president Alan Jones keeps himself busy.

He also keeps his friends busy, for that matter.

When the streets need patched each spring, Jones spearheads the effort by renting the paving machine and purchasing the asphalt mix from the county highway department.

Then the 80-year-old Jones rounds up a group of fellow volunteers who spend a few days fixing the streets for their cash-strapped, little town.

When the town needed a new shed for salt storage built last fall, Jones again volunteered himself and fellow citizens to do the work.

In each case, the town purchased the materials, but the labor was free.

It's no surprise, then that the same crew of retirees have recently been volunteering their time to help with projects along the stretch of the Vandalia Trail through Fillmore.

The trail, part of the People Pathways system that runs along the old Pennsylvania Railroad right-of-way, goes through the center of town, east to west.

In order to define and beautify the area, People Pathways coordinator Joy Marley hoped to build a trail shelter and a series of split-rail fences through town.

To get the job done, Joy and husband Bill Marley partnered with the same crew of Jones, Merideth Trusty, Lee Stewart, John Glaze and Mike Goodpaster.

"We call it passing it on," Joy Marley said. "We have these guys building the shelter and then we have the Fillmore Elementary kids using the shelter."

Observing the crew work on the recent fence project was a study in efficiency.

In a matter of minutes, a hole is drilled, the dirt cleared away, a post set and hole refilled. Once another post is set, the rails are inserted in between.

Taking an ever so brief break from their work, volunteers (from left) Alan Jones, Merideth Trusty, Lee Stewart (front), John Glaze, Joy Marley, Mike Goodpaster and Bill Marley display one of the sections of split-rail fence they recently constructed along the Vandalia Trail in Fillmore.

As part of the crew puts the finishing touches on one set of rails, it's off to the next set for Jones and his 1951 Ford tractor -- a machine that is likely the youngest member of this team.

Few words are needed or spoken. Each man knows his task and performs it. The words that are used are often in jest.

Jones is affectionately known as "The Mayor."

When an auger manufactured in 1941 broke recently, someone opined, "They just don't build things like they used to."

All of this in support of a community and a worthwhile program like People Pathways.

Completion of the trail through Fillmore means that just over a mile remains to be built between Greencastle and Coatesville.

Joy Marley said this section, between county roads 750 and 875 East, are especially challenging as it was used mainly as a dumping ground for many years.

Constructing a split-rail fence along the Vandalia Trail in Fillmore, Lee Stewart (right) clears the last of the loose dirt out of a posthole as fellow volunteer John Glaze prepares for the next step in the process. Part of a group of five retirees who often volunteer their time in Fillmore, the men recently spent several days building fences beside the trail.

Once the trail is open, People Pathways plans a Pedal the Pathways event for Saturday, Sept. 21. More details will be available when the event approaches.

Marley also wished to remind the public that People Pathways is supported entirely by non-tax dollars. Private grants and donations have made the system of trails what it is.

In this case, the lumber was donated by Pike Lumber Company, and the rails split at the Putnamville Correctional Facility before the on-site volunteers took over.

"We depend on people's contributions," Marley said.