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Photo by Mike Maple - Robert Watson clears out overgrowth and debris from the old CSX railway to make way for the Shelby Farms Greenline on Saturday. Hundreds of workers teamed up with the Shelby Farms Park Conservancy to conduct a major cleanup of the area.
By Linda A. Moore - The Commercial Appeal -
Sunday, June 13, 2010 -
It is said you get your reward for good deeds in heaven.
Gary Shelly got his on Saturday as one of more than 300 volunteers who toiled along the seven-mile Shelby Farms Greenline from Tillman to Shelby Farms, removing brush and debris.
"This is the find of the day," said Shelly, showing off a small barbecue grill found in an area of High Point Terrace not far from his home. "It's my reward for working."
The work, cleaning up the former CSX railway, is in preparation for the greenline's opening later this summer.
Initially, about 250 people signed up for the cleanup and another 50 showed up on the spot, said Matt Farr, education and outreach coordinator for the Shelby Farms Park Conservancy.
"It's huge," Farr said. "I think it's a good indication of the support the greenline will enjoy."
There will be other volunteer opportunities before the greenline officially opens in late August and the grand-opening event on Oct. 9, Farr said.
While the greenline, a multipurpose trail, is being seen as a boon for walkers, runners and cyclists, it also presents a safer alternative for homeowners than an overgrown rail corridor, said Jen Andrews, communications manager with Shelby Farms Park Conservancy.
To make sure of that, the Memphis Police Department and the Shelby County Sheriff's Office have made commitments to monitor activities there.
"I'd much rather have an active trail running through my neighborhood than an abandoned rail line," Andrews said.
Most of what the volunteers collected was trash, but the barbecue grill wasn't the only unusual find, Farr said. There was a yard gnome and a concrete Santa Claus.
Volunteers came from all segments of the community and included High Point Terrace residents, members of the Sierra Club, Memphis University School Civic Service Club, corporate volunteers and the group Clean Memphis, a partner in the event.
"I'm just doing community work," said Cordova real estate agent Mindy Creech.
She brought her boyfriend, Shannon Fowler, to volunteer with her.
"Eventually the connected greenline is supposed to run from one side of town to the other," Fowler said. "If folks don't do anything it won't happen."
High Point Terrace resident Maggie Lee just wants to hurry up and get it all done.
"I think it's wonderful," Lee said, whose home on Swan Ridge backs up to the greenline. "I'm looking forward to just using it for exercise. I can't wait until we get it clean and beautiful."
