Volunteers Simon Barber, Mary Lapole and Jaylah Hamilton painted the gate at the Hancock Visitor Center during the Canal Pride cleanup day.
by PATRICIA KEYS
Volunteers for the C&O Canal Trust gathered for their 11th Annual Event on a sunny and pleasant Saturday morning on April 28 to enhance the Hancock Visitor’s Center as well as the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park at Little Tonoloway area near the heart of Hancock. Nearly 30 people showed up for the canal work day.
Becky Curtis, Director of Programs and Partnerships for the Trust, advised that they have over 1,500 volunteers per year to assist with various “canal pride” preservation projects.
Josh Whitman, the Canal Trust’s Program and Volunteer Coordinator, said he was happy to be involved in Saturday’s project and see so many helpers that make a difference.
The consensus from those who were working on painting picnic tables or scraping old paint off of a Carriage House and applying a coat of fresh paint were happy to see the fruits of their labor materialize before their eyes. Volunteers came from as far away as Bethesda and as nearby as Hancock and Berkeley Springs.
Kyleigh and Makensie worked with their Dad, Hancock Town Councilman Tim Boyer, Hancock City Manager David Smith (top of the hill) and Park Ranger Joshua Nolen on April 28 during the canal cleanup.
