COMMUNITY HELPERS

Many community members have already become familiarized with Beautification Days, the yearly event aimed at keeping Thompson Falls clean as well as helping neighbors with sprucing up around their homes they are unable to do themselves. This year, the event has been canceled due to the concerns of COVID-19 and Governor Bullock's shelter-in-place order. The 18th annual Beautification Days was scheduled for April 16-18.

"The decision to cancel the event was not made lightly," said Kathy Conlin with Sanders County. "But this was the right decision to make moving forward."

Residents are still encouraged to help keep Thompson Falls clean. Instead of a group effort, the city is turning to an individual challenge. ""There's still garbage that can be picked up, and neighbors to help," said Kathy Conlin with the Beautification Days committee. "Thompson Falls Rural Fire, Pardee Excavating and the Montana Department of Transportation will still be doing a sweep and wash on Main Street. Groups of two can go out and do what they can to beautify the neighborhood.

"If you have a neighbor who is elderly or disabled, volunteer to help them with their yard work. If you find yourself with time on your hands, this is the perfect opportunity to help pick up litter along the city streets and Highway 200," Conlin stated.

What many may not know, is how this altruistic endeavor came about, and the faces who help move this project in the right direction.

While there are many people who have contributed to the founding and success of Beautification Days, many believe two women in particular need recognition for their many years of volunteering and diligence. The two "fledgling founders" who have remained adamant in their dedication to the success of this event are now celebrating 18 years with the project, which launched back in 2002. To keep Beautification Days a prominent event in the community, Rita Lundgren and Linda Rocheleau have been there since the beginning. The vision they saw in a simple need for a garbage can outside the local library turned into a much bigger need for the town.

As the duo met with the city council and found help from locals and businesses along the way, they found themselves aiming higher than just replacing and adding garbage cans around Main Street. They wanted to do more. An idea was set forth with the objective to find what else needed to be cleaned up around town.

Wild Goose Landing was first. "The bathrooms and grounds needed to be worked on. Wild Goose Landing was our first little project," Lundgren said. From there, their project expanded into beautifying the entire town.

The idea to help locals who were unable to spruce up their yards themselves came shortly after the early beginnings of Beautification Days. "Lots of people who live in Thompson Falls would love to do things to their properties, but couldn't because they were elderly or disabled," Lundgren explained. That's when the group had the idea to hold an event where they would try to get people to come together and help. Lundgren recounted, "so that's what we did. We went to the county to get help with advertising costs. The county was, and is, just a pivotal part in the Beautification Days. They still help with funding, staff and resources."

All their hard work paid off. "It was just a wonderful success to help all these elderly folks. The look in their eyes, they were just so grateful for the help to get their homes spruced up," Lundgren exclaimed. As the success of the operation grew from the first year, many more projects were added. Tree pruning done by Blackfoot Communications has been an integral part of Beautification Days. "They just really get the job done," Lundgren said.

The biggest project headed up by the Beautification Days Committee was the building of the Thompson Falls playground. "A group of us branched off so we could get the Thompson Falls playground built. We were able to get it built without any federal funding. All the funds were donated from the town," Lundgren said.

Appliance Repair joined the effort to remove freon, as well as old refrigerators and freezers. Rose Garden Park was next on the agenda, followed by the need to spruce up the community center and the dog park. The Sanders County transfer site has aided in the removal of old tires and unwanted items. Clean-up of the Mule Pasture and Powerhouse Loop trail systems gained a lot of support from the community, and this particular extension has become a fundamental element that helps complete the Beautification Days.

The Thumbs Up Award has been another opportunity that allows the community to get involved. "It's a very fun way to acknowledge and appreciate the work people do," Lundgren said of the award that came around about two years after Beautification Days started.

Both Lundgren and Rocheleau have always worked toward getting the younger members of the community involved in the clean-up. From involving the elementary school kids with the poster competition that provides the backdrop for the Beautification Day flyers around town to getting the students from the surrounding alternative schools to come volunteer their time. Lundgren explained, "it's just nice to get the children involved. It helps them start to realize what they do with their trash, helps and impacts the town and the community. It makes a difference."

"It's just wonderful for the kids to have ownership of something they have helped with, and the residents are always just so grateful," Rocheleau mentioned.

"It's a collaborative event where the community comes together and works together," Lundgren said. Rocheleau added on, "It's a labor of love."

What helps this duo continue in their efforts to keep the Beautification Days going is simple. "This is our home. We are a community that cares about each other." Lundgren explained, "If it's possible, we want to make Thompson Falls even prettier."

It seems that Lundgren's passion, along with cleaning up the town, is to lend a helping hand and give support to the people who live here. "We want to be able to give assistance to the city residents. What can we do to make their homes even more beautiful? That's what communities do, right?" Rocheleau shares the same values when it comes to keeping Beautification Days going. "This is my home. Thompson Falls is my home. The town is my neighborhood. It's a beautiful, beautiful area."

As far as for the future of Beautification Days, both Lundgren and Rocheleau would like to see the project flourish, and maybe even expand into other communities in the county. "I am very optimistic that every year we come forward, there will be less and less trash we have to clean up, which will allow us to make care of more people around town," Rocheleau said.

Lundgren is confident in the community and their willingness and ability to help. "It's been incredible to see people get excited about what they can do for the community. One person may not be able to do much, but when you get three or four people together, it just mushrooms from there. It's exciting, it really is."