Plenty of volunteer jobs for canal/trails activities
Comet staff report

A call-out for new and present volunteers for canal and trail activities is set for Tuesday, April 3, at the Canal Interpretive Center in Delphi.

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. but volunteers are invited to come earlier if they would like to review some of the recent plans for trailside interactive enhancements. The planner for this project is Len Mysliwiec, who conceived the Interpretive Center exhibits and galleries four years ago.

Volunteers help with Canal Park activities, build and maintain trails, plant flowers, work on restorations, and are canal and trail hosts and ambassadors. They work and also have a lot of fun.

Recruits are needed to become "canal boat captains" for the weekend jaunts on the pontoon boat. Rides have been offered to the public for the past two years. Today's pontoon captains may advance to boat captains when the replica canal boat is completed in 2009.

Included in the trail building efforts is one shorter trail loop behind Dairy Queen/Pizza Hut. It involves re-erecting an old iron bridge over the canal this summer. Another longer trail involves a picturesque area east of Delphi where an old pioneer road scribed the landscape on the historic Bowen Farm.

Education coordinator Susan Feller, a retired teacher, will be at the meeting gathering input and soliciting more volunteers for the expected onslaught of school tours. She needs persons who like to work with children. The Interpretive Center in Canal Park has become a popular place to bring children, especially fourth graders studying Indiana history.

On a regular basis, the Canal Association needs singles or couples to help greet the public during Interpretive Center public hours. At a minimum, the facility is open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Sundays from 1-4 p.m. and on other special days when the Case House is open, too. There are three three-hour shifts on each weekend.

Those interested in volunteering for any of these activities are encouraged to attend this orientation meeting.