MORGANTOWN – Who are these MoFos, and why are they dragging around a giant fire hydrant?
Good questions, both.
MoFos is short for … ahem … Morgantown Forward.
More accurately, it’s the cheeky name members of the group have bestowed upon themselves.
For the past two years or so, a rapidly growing collection of motivated and community-minded volunteers have focused their talents, resources and, most importantly, time toward a single goal – making Morgantown a better place to live – one bag of trash, one painted bridge support, one brush-clearing session at a time.
“We come from a lot of different backgrounds. We have very different skill sets, but we’ve come to the realization that we can’t just rely on the city and the county and that state to do everything for us,” Adelheid Schaupp said. “Instead of bitching about the state of things over our Friday night beers, we decided to do something about it.”
The cleanup club has focused its efforts on the Deckers Creek Trail between the Monongahela River and the future site of a pedestrian bridge in lower Greenmont.
You may be aware of some of their work.
In June, a celebration was held upon completion of the Deckers Creek Mushroom Trail, a pop-up installation that repurposed satellite dishes into the titular toadstools. Lesser known is an effort that saw members literally rappelling below the South High Street Bridge to address a 100-plus-foot cascade of garbage that had accumulated over time.
Since its creation, the collection of a dozen or so volunteers has grown, regularly drawing 40 to 50 community members to organized clean-ups and beautification projects, most of which are held in conjunction with organizations like Friends of Deckers Creek, Main Street Morgantown, Scouting America and various city departments, among others.
“Over the past couple years, we have invested a lot of time and energy into what we call our community’s untapped potential. Most towns could only dream of having a river beside their city, or a creek and trail meandering through the heart of their downtown. We have both,” Lisa Giuliani said. “This section of our rail trail is now a jewel, and we could not be happier with the visual results as a volunteer organization.”
But there’s plenty of work left to do.
Enter the fire hydrant.
Earlier this week, Giuliani and Schaupp appeared before the Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners with the eight-foot K9 tinkle-target in tow.
The visual aid was a size accurate stand-in for the polyresin sculpture Morgantown Forward plans to place adjacent to BOPARC’s trailside Stanley’s Spot Dog Park.
The 1.5-acre park is named for the beloved dalmatian of primary benefactor George Laishley, part of the Morgantown Dog Owners Group (MDOG) that got BOPARC to agree to the land’s use as a pooch playpen in 2003.
It was definitely the first dog park in Morgantown. It’s been called the first city-owned dog park in West Virginia.
It’s located along the Deckers Creek Trail between the Walnut and Pleasant street bridges, and, frankly, it needs some love.
Right in a MoFo’s wheelhouse.
“Just look at this spot,” Schaupp said, gesturing to a photo on the display in Morgantown City Hall’s meeting chamber. “It’s just waiting for something spectacular.”
In addition to ordering the theme-appropriate sculpture, the group has commissioned artists Bryn and Max Perrott to paint a mural to serve as its backdrop.The West Virginia Division of Highways has granted permission to freshen up the nearby bridge pillars.
The group is asking for BOPARC’s permission to build a trail encircling the park area. It’s also requesting the commission’s involvement through the installation and upkeep of new amenities that could be part of the makeover. Suggestions included a new picnic table, new signage and wayfinding markers, an interactive play course for four-legged patrons, and, potentially, a cleared and mulched access to Deckers Creek.
Morgantown Mayor and BOPARC President Danielle Trumble, herself an OG MoFo, said revitalizing the dog park is another step toward reclaiming an asset the community gradually became conditioned to avoid.
“It doesn’t need to be that way. I don’t think it’s a secret that this particular section of trail between Greenmont and downtown has been one of those areas that the community has said is left to its own devices, or left to someone’s devices. We’re just trying to make it so a wider range of folks feel comfortable spending time there,” she said.
“When 40 or 50 people come and participate in a service project, they feel ownership. They feel invested. They make sure that the park is taken care of in the future. If they see someone doing something wrong, trust me, I hear about it. So, I think that I would like to see us work with the volunteer group. Hopefully, that’s something we can work out.”
Morgantown Forward will host a disco-themed fundraiser for the already purchased sculpture and wider Stanley’s Spot project on Feb. 27 at 123 Pleasant Street.
For more information about Morgantown Forward, check out the group’s Facebook page.
