Volume 17, Number 1, Fall 2006

Horse Club Focuses on Community Service

Gwin Simpson, vice president Durangos 4-H Horse Club

The Durangos 4-H Horse Club is an active part of Iosco County through their involvement in various events in the community. Not only have they participated in local horse shows and club related activities, they made Iosco County a more beautiful place by cleaning up the local highway roads, a national forest trail and the fairgrounds. They also managed to add beauty and joy by Christmas caroling and decorating cookies at a local nursing home.

Since the club reestablished itself in 2003, completed membership and community service projects have grown. Twice each year, the club does road clean up. The club members have found themselves picking up a variety of junk that has included old bottles, paper, plastic, household furnishings, old tires and even signs. The clean up is hard work and time consuming, but the club feels great pride that their efforts result in a cleaner community.

The National Forest Trail Clean- up is also held two times each year. The club adopted a portion of the Huron National Forest that encompasses the Michigan Shore to Shore horse trail. The clean up of the trail is not easy, and members must be careful because of the roots, sand, biting ants and flies. The club members remove brush from the path, cut back the tree branches that would be dangerous to riders on the trail, and attempt to remove roots that stick out of the ground so that a horse will not get injured.

When the club works the fair, they pick up the garbage that is on the grounds and help to make the fairgrounds an inviting place for all who visit it. The club has also given the fair board a monetary donation to help with improvements of the fairgrounds. The county fair is an important part of summer activities for 4-H club members. These youth take pride in helping improve the beauty of the fairgrounds and making the grounds safer for all who visit the fair.

The club has also Christmas caroled for homebound individuals in the local area. This was a collaborative effort with the volunteers of the local hospital. One gentleman that was visited started to cry because he was so touched. The club members enjoy what they do to make a difference to their club, their community and overall to their country, and they hope to continue to make their community a better place to live.