Joy Road Adopt-A-Road-Pick-Up April 17, 2010

Those in attendance were from left to right in the picture, 1st. Row: Ron and Aggie Little, Don Shannon, Rich Whipple, Bob Lamoureux, and Jan Humphrey. 2nd Row: Bill Hayes, Rick Ciaramitaro, Ron King, Judy (hiding behind Don) and Jerry Thomason, Bob Humphrey. 3rd Row: Bob Hallmark, Bill Juchartz, Mark Grzesiek (hiding behind Judy), and Doug Fox.

It was a cold and cloudy morning on April 17, but the weather didn't deter the commitment of sixteen "Gung-Ho" volunteers to assemble and "spit shine" the 2-1/2 mile stretch on Joy Road. VVA 528 has had the honor of adopting this stretch for Wayne County since April of 1997. Probably the hardest assignment that morning was moving Bob Lamoureux's car so I could place my camera on top of the roof to take a picture with all of us in it, under the Wayne County Adopt-A-Road sign with our chapter's name on it. While setting up the camera, there was quite a bit of whining and harassment aimed at me, and I was a heartbeat away of having them all go down to the "front lean and rest position" for ten minutes! It took us about one hour and ten minutes to complete our task, and then we regrouped at the Canton Coney Island for some excellent chow and camaraderie. No one was assigned to the "pots and pans" for KP duty, like I was assigned to at Ft. Gordon for being a few hours AWOL, brought back to my company's headquarters by the MPs, because of consuming too much King Arthur IV Scotch Whiskey while visiting Augusta one weekend evening.

Our next pick-up will most likely be on Saturday, July 24. This date is scheduled by Wayne County. Those of you who belong to a VFW post, please let your post officers know that you did this community service, which benefits your post!

Thanks for all who participated, and for your faithfulness to "get 'er done!"

(Sgt.) Rich Whipple
HHC/2/503d. Infantry 173d.
Airborne Brigade 1968-69

Joy Road Pick-Up August 15, 2009

On Saturday morning, August 15, Chapter 528 completed its 33rd Joy Road Pick-up, on a beautiful morning. This was our second stab at cleaning up Joy Road after a rain out on July 25.

The attendance was good, and we consolidated the Wayne County provided orange trash bags, and ended up only using six bags! The road looked like it had been picked up a few weeks before which allows us to complete the 2-1/2 mile stretch in a little over an hour. As you view the picture of our troops, you will see eleven of us bad boys assembled under the Wayne County Adopt-A-Road sign on the eastbound side of Joy, just east of Canton Center Road. After a rousing speech, Sergeant Whipple had the troops all pumped up to police Joy Road. You can see the look on our faces, that we meant business. Joy Road didnÕt stand a chance against these troops! They were frothing at the mouth to get at that road.

Those in attendance from left to right in the picture were: Wade "Rottweiler" Rothoff, Sergeant Whip, Forrest "all world" Manley, Marcel "Kawasaki bike man" Loosbrock, Bob "Sky Pilot" Humphrey, Ron "Emporer" King, Mike "donÕt bicker" Dicker, Bill "Alfalfa" Hayes, Jim "Diggin' Retirement" Hodgson, Don "Reunion Man" Dignan, and taking the picture, Karen "Foxy Grandma" Whipple. A hearty breakfast awaited us at the Canton Coney Island. Anyone who has participated in the road crew will agree that there are way too many cigarette butts on the road side. For you that smoke, we would all encourage you to not throw your cigarettes out on the roadside, let alone dumping your ashtray as well. Thank you!!

Rich Whipple (Sgt.)
HHC/2/503d Infantry
173d Airborne Brigade
May 1968 Ð May 1969

May 2, 2009

Adopt-A-Road Pick-up on May 2: We had a beautiful morning as eighteen of us gathered for the first Road Pick-up for 2009. The eighteen tied the all time attendance record set back in September of 2005. It sure makes things easy, and the job is done in no time when we have those kind of numbers. Those in attendance were (photo): Judy & Jerry "Commander in Chief" Thomason, Aggie & Ron "Looks like we got ourselves a convoy" Little, Jan & Bob "Sky Pilot" Humphrey, our newly elected secretary Ron King, Dale Luebke, fresh back from his trip to Minnesota, Bill "Point of Order" Hayes, Dennis "Sportsman Raffle" Bielski, Forrest "All World" Manley, Bob "Card Man" Hallmark, Gary "Ouch" Boucher, our lovely associates Susie Wagner and Norma Demerly, Mark "Arizona" Grzesiek (Longest Distance Award), Karen "Foxie Grandma" Whipple (she took the picture), and myself. Many thanks to the road crew team that certainly made it happen, and did so very quickly! After the pick-up, a great time was had at the Canton Coney Island (our local Chow Hall), where much coffee, calories, and camaraderie was absorbed and inhaled! This was approximately our 33rd pick-up, which began in April of 1997. The next scheduled Joy Road pick-up is Saturday, July 25.

Rich Whipple
HHC/2/503d Infantry
173d. Airborne Brigade
1968-69