The couple’s friendly attitude, excellent public relation skills and willingness to lend a hand provide a safer, more user friendly facility year round at River Road Park. If you visit River Road Park and meet them, I am certain you will agree their willingness to help is what allows us to be one of the best Corps projects in the nation.

Thank you, Earnests, for what you do. Your volunteering efforts are essential in allowing us to achieve our day to day operations. (Clearwater Corps news release.)

To ensure a developed campsite will be available upon your arrival, call the National Recreation Reservation Service at 1-877-444-6777 or visit the website at www.recreation.gov and make your reservations in advance. Other general lake and agency information is on the Internet at www.swl.usace.army.mil/parks.

Volunteers are essential in helping the Corps of Engineers achieve our missions. Each year volunteers step forward and give of their time and talents.

This year alone dozens of volunteers, including local scout groups and individuals alike have provided nearly 400 hours of volunteer service at Clearwater Lake, totaling a savings of nearly $12,000 in services ranging from trail maintenance to public safety to visitor assistance.

This week we would like to highlight one particular volunteer, Ms. Marty Torlina, for her “Stories in the Park” program.

Ms. Marty Torlina has just wrapped up her fourth season at Clearwater Lake. With nearly 30 years of teaching experience and a true love for little children Ms. Torlina is able to bring stories to life right before your eyes and capture the attention of young and old alike.

During Ms. Torlina’s “Stories in the Park” programs, Clearwater park rangers have taken advantage of a captured audience and shared with them the importance of water safety and always being safe when around the water.

As camping season draws to an end for another year, the Corps thanks Ms. Torlina for her time and talents that make a difference in the lives of others. Her unselfish service is greatly appreciated.

As mentioned earlier volunteers are invaluable to our mission. If you or someone you know is interested in volunteering, please contact the Clearwater Project Office at 573-223-7777.

“Both the single crib log cabin and mill structure with Pelton wheel have experienced decay and need maintenance and
stabilization,” said Ken Hicks, a Forest Service spokesman. Doug Stephens, Mountain Heritage Association, will supervise the Passport in Time project, along with Bruce Gibson, project leader.

Falling Spring is 15 feet above the base of a rock bluff, and flows between 40,000 and 187,000 gallons per day. The land was purchased in 1853 by the Brown family. Water from the spring was conveyed by a short flume to the overshot waterwheel on the mill. Two mills have been constructed here: the first in the 1870s with a wooden waterwheel, and second, a 16 x 20 foot structure with a one bushel capacity grain hopper and metal wheel was built by J. W. Brown sometime between 1927 and 1929. The mill was also used to generate electric for storage batteries before the arrival of REA electric. Water from the spring was used to water stock. According to an interview with Mr. Walter Brown, the cabin was the first built on the site, and the site occasionally flooded from nearby Hurricane Creek.

According to Stephens, the scheduled work includes lifting the structure and replacing the milled lumber sills with logs to match the historic sill logs; removing graffiti; replacing floor planking with milled lumber to match historic planks; tightening loose roof steel; stabilizing the building with a new, dry laid foundation; repairing mill structure siding; cleaning up and trimming vegetation around cabin, and creating defensible space.

“Volunteers play an important part in maintaining Mark Twain National Forest historic sites,” said Mark Twain National Forest Supervisor David Whittekiend. “We appreciate their contribution to stabilize and maintain important parts of Missouri’s history like Falling Spring.”
(USFS news release and Traveler information on the spring and mill.)

Falling Spring Mill is a late 19th Century, early 20th century Ozark homestead just northwest of the Irish Wilderness, the largest wilderness area in southern Missouri. The homestead is situated within a developed recreation area on Mark Twain National Forest, and consists of a pen log building, constructed around1860, and a wood frame mill constructed in 1927.

Passport in Time (PIT) volunteers will work with Forest Service staff to stabilize the log building and perform maintenance on the mill. During stabilization of the log building, volunteers and staff plan to remove graffiti, replace sill logs and the front porch with hand hewn logs and boards, repair the deteriorated foundation, and create defensible space to protect the structures from wildfires.

Maintenance at the mill will include the replacement of missing wood siding.

The site is located between the Current River, an Ozark National Scenic Riverway and Eleven Point National Wild and Scenic River. The area is beautiful, and offers excellent opportunities for river recreation.

Volunteers will have access to a furnished Mark Twain National Forest bunk house at Winona Ranger Station, available at no charge. The bunk house includes all amenities including water and electric hookup; camping for self-contained travel trailers also available.

Fees will be waived for tent or RV camping at nearby Greer campground, which has water and vault toilets.

Winona is a full-service community with motels and a complete range of other amenities. Volunteers are responsible for personal camping equipment, meals, and travel to and from project site each day.

Visit the Passport In Time website for more information and to download and submit an application. http://www.passportintime.com. Application deadline is February 14.

For more information about Mark Twain National Forest, visit http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/marktwain

Mark Twain National Forest continues to restore Missouri’s natural communities and maintains a healthy, working forest.

Afterwards, participants are invited to a free barbecue at the Pulltite picnic shelter starting at 3:30 PM. A variety of gifts will be distributed to those participating in the clean-ups. Please bring a side dish if you will be joining us for supper. Free camping will be provided for those volunteering in the clean-up. Please contact us prior to volunteering if you are interested in camping.

For more information contact Bill O’Donnell from the National Park Service at 573-858-3297, ext 23 or Pat Haviland of the Scenic Rivers Stream Team
Association at 417-932-4363. No registration is necessary.