Every summer for the last decade, a dedicated crew of volunteers has been hard-at-work cutting and maintaining grass in the open, tree-lined community space of the Roseway Parkway along Northeast 72nd St.
They’re known as the Roseway Cutting Crew and they share a riding lawn mower provided by a neighbor who lives nearby.
“Call it a labor of love, if you will,” said crew member Bob Price, who has lived along the greenway for over 40 years and is active in the Roseway Neighborhood Association. Other members are Ken Garrard, Scott Everist, Jerry Hunt and Nick Harrington.
Everist is the one with the riding lawn mower and he makes it available for crew members.
“We try to get it cut over several days as a team,” said Price. “When we see the mower parked in Scott’s driveway, that will let someone know it's available to keep mowing.”
When Garrard is making his rounds, he pays extra attention to the young parkway trees.
“He's been doing this all year and has mulched all of the young trees and pulled a lot of foxtail grass. He also mows and uses the string trimmer,” said Cathrine Clark, who supports the work as a member of the Roseway Neighborhood Association.
Mowing the greenway takes more than seven hours and costs about $40 in gas per mow. The crew relies on donations to maintain the mower, purchase gas, get new blades and cover related expenses. They’re currently reaching out to the neighbors to provide donations to keep the effort going.
“We are out there cutting every few weeks … we might spend over $500 a season,” Price said.
The mowing season runs from May to September, so the group is winding down for the season.
The city provides mowing services during the year as well, especially during the spring months when the grass is extra-long.
The parkway was established in the 1920s as the Roseway neighborhood expanded from farmland into a residential area. The area was designed as a “peaceful, community space,” and it has remained so to this day.
— By Fawn Morosky, Star News contributor
