Last week, an alert reader emailed me about the Jeff Shoup Nature Path.
Two days ago “06880” ran a short story about the disrepair of the path near the Riverwalk and Levitt Pavilion, by the Saugatuck River.
Within minutes, John Karrel volunteered to organize a clean-up. Prill Boyle and Clark Ruff soon signed up to help.
Prill Boyle and Clark Ruff, at the Jeff Shoup Nature Path. (Photo by John Karrel)
This afternoon they brought shovels, rakes and themselves. Within an hour and a half, they’d worked magic — not only on the path, but nearby surroundings too.
“It’s not ready for a House & Garden shoot,” John says. “But it’ll do, at least until the Levitt rebuilding efforts begin in a few weeks.”
He’s way too modest. He, Prill and Clark — none of whom knew each other before today — worked fast.
They worked hard and well.
Most importantly, they worked for Jeff Shoup — and for Westport.
Good for them! God bless them.
Thank you John, Prill and Clark – all of Westport should be proud to have you as neighbors. We appreciate your hard work!
Wow! John Karrel is an amazing person! Shout out to all the other wonderful volunteers…but I would like to note that John worked his tail off ALL DAY on Sunday for the SLOBs Service Sunday project clearing and landscaping for a Homes for Hope property. And today, another project that makes a difference to all of us lucky enough to call ourselves 06880ers! Thanks, John.
That’s great news! Thanks to John, Prill, and Clark for making our town a better place. I’d like to add that John was my son Jackson’s baseball coach for a few seasons, and really made a difference in his adolescent life…many thanks for that too!
Very moved and happy about this story.
John Karrel has always been the one to step up to the plate. Westport and the world could use a few hundred John Karrels!
Yes, big kudos to John for organizing this. Bobbi, you’re right that we could use a few hundred John Karrels. And kudos to Clark, who doesn’t even live in Westport. (He lives in Monroe.) As for me, I had a great time. The weather was perfect, John brought everything we needed to do the job, and Clark and I, who had never met before, discovered we had many mutual friends from the past–the Cartys, the Albertsons, the Katzenburgers, the Rumleys. You get the idea. All in all, I’m so glad that for once I said “yes” instead of “I’d love to, but I’m too busy.”
Thanks also from me and all of us at Homes with Hope to John, Prill, Clark and all the S.L.O.B.s for doing SO MUCH to keep this a beautiful community – physically and spiritually. The young folks who work with the S.L.O.B.s, and who read 06880, will hopefully carry with them the power of community involvement, and understand that it takes people like the Karrels to keep every community a great place to live !
A wonderful story … caring people working in memory of a great guy.
Thanks so much -I know this means a lot to Westporters and former Westporters. Jeff was a wonderful person and deserves a wonderful site.
Sue, please use your real name when commenting in the future. New “06880” policy — thanks.