One of the things I like best about Henry W. Coe State Park is
the remarkable quality of the people who put on a uniform in the
service of that magnificent piece of parkland. Not only the paid
staff, who are exceptionally talented and devoted, but also the
volunteers who put on their uniformed volunteer shirts on weekends,
during their holidays and after long days at their paying jobs to
spend some time working at the park. The jobs are as varied as the
personalities and imaginations of the variety of people who are
attracted to this work. It takes a lot of hands to make this park
the special place that it is.
One of the things I like best about Henry W. Coe State Park is the remarkable quality of the people who put on a uniform in the service of that magnificent piece of parkland. Not only the paid staff, who are exceptionally talented and devoted, but also the volunteers who put on their uniformed volunteer shirts on weekends, during their holidays and after long days at their paying jobs to spend some time working at the park. The jobs are as varied as the personalities and imaginations of the variety of people who are attracted to this work. It takes a lot of hands to make this park the special place that it is.
Many come to work for the park for a year or two during a lull in their life. Some like me are looking for ways to connect with folks of a like-mind. I enjoy spending time working with folks who have a strong sense of their own role in the geography of the landscape. Others are lifers, strongly smitten with the park. These are special folks who work extraordinarily long hours at the park during the year to tend to some park feature or breathe life into a special project or park event.
One “lifer” is a delightful, elfish man with a twinkle in his eye which calls to mind St. Nicholas himself. For the past 20 years, he has led the way in growing a very special event for the park, the Mother’s Day Breakfast. This annual event has become a tradition for local families, so much so that tickets sell out long before the Mother’s Day weekend. When they do go on sale in late March, folks in the know (and now that includes you) drive up to the park to be one of first to get this hot ticket.
Mothers and their families drive up to Coe’s park headquarters on Mother’s Day and ramble about a mile out to a gorgeous spot on the Pine Ridge where a delicious breakfast is served on pretty tables, replete with tablecloths and flowers. With our magnificent wildflower season this year, the ramble may take a bit longer than it usually does as I am certain families will want to linger over the gorgeous wildflowers which line the trail. And, if Mom isn’t inclined to take that walk, a shuttle is available.
I’ve worked this event in a variety of capacities, but can usually be found tending to the coffee pot or washing dishes. Since I’m so far away from my own family and my mother and mother-in-law, back in Canada, this is a way to spend some time with other families who have the good fortune to have their mothers close enough to share this special day. It’s also a chance to spend a day with a large group of volunteers who cheerfully work this event year after year for similar reasons, and to earn funds for the good work done by the Pine Ridge Association, Coe’s fundraising arm.
If you were lucky enough to have tickets this year, I hope you had a chance to meet Lee Sims, who hung up his apron this year after working so hard all of these years to make the Mother’s Day Breakfast the great success that it has become.
If you are hearing about this event for the first time, make a note on the last page of your calendar to consider buying tickets so that your family can join us next year.
Or better yet, mark your calendar for the fall Tarantula Fest, the first weekend in October, so that you can join us then. And if you haven’t done so already this spring, get out to see the wildflowers. They really are spectacular and the show seems to be extended thanks to Mother Nature’s generous late rainfalls this year.
Rosemary Rideout is a Coe Park volunteer
