Sean McMahon, head coach of the Fremont High School boys cross country team, knows that it takes teamwork and dedication to do the job right.
Patty Manhart, executive director of the Louis E. May Museum, and her team of volunteers also understand these concepts.
That’s why McMahon and his team jumped at the chance to help out the museum when Manhart called.
“Those are the kinds of opportunities that we encourage the guys to get involved in,” McMahon said.
Their mission was to assist in moving more than 2,000 brick pavers from a house that once was home to the Dodge County Historical Society to the May Museum.
The pavers, located just outside of the house in Ronin Park near 17th Street and Somers Avenue, is scheduled to be demolished by the city for future park development.
“Marianne Simmons found out through the parks department that the building was going to be torn down,” Manhart said.
Simmons, a museum board member, and Manhart looked at the pavers and discovered that they were the same as those used in the current garden area at the museum.
“I went to the City Council and asked and they were gracious enough to give them to us,” Manhart said.
The project of removing and transporting the pavers started prior to the assistance from McMahon’s team through the help of other museum volunteers.
“Bob Berg and John Reeves originally said they would help me. Little by little we were inching along,” Manhart said.
That’s when Manhart decided to call in for assistance from McMahon, and last Wednesday his team arrived.
“We had 20 cross country boys including (McMahon) that helped to move the pavers,” Manhart said. “We had gardeners and board members too. It was just amazing.”
Manhart was not the only one excited to have the help.
“To get the cross country team to move them was fantastic. They worked like beavers,” Peterson said.
Manhart noted each seven pound brick had to be individually removed, cleaned, stacked on a trailer, transported to the museum and then moved to the southwest portion of the museum grounds.
“I’m very, very, proud of how excited (the team) was to get the job done,” McMahon said.
Manhart and Peterson understand the importance of hard work from volunteers as well. The two thanked Reeves for handling more than 1,000 bricks on his own.
“John is just so willing to volunteer his time. We just couldn’t have done all of that by ourselves,” Peterson said. “You just can’t have something as nice as the museum without all these volunteers.”
McMahon had his own MVP for the project as well.
“Lindsey Smrcina,” McMahon said of his student manager. “We’ve probably never had better team leader. I think we were all sore the next day from trying to keep up with her.”
Manhart and Peterson understand that it takes teamwork to do things right, noting it also took assistance from museum board members and garden volunteers to finish the job.
McMahon hopes his student athletes learn about teamwork outside of practice as well.
“It’s great for (the team) to get to know each other outside of running. It’s a team bonding experience,” McMahon said, “It’s not just about being fast, it’s about pack running and teamwork.”
In appreciation for the cross country team’s efforts, the museum has donated $15 per volunteer to help the team to help fund their trip to Kenosha, Wis., for a regional race taking place Nov. 26.
In total around 3,500 pavers were transported to the museum grounds.
Ultimately, the bricks will be used to create new pathways and a seating area in the museum’s gardens, said Sandy Peterson, a volunteer for the gardens.
“It will be a place to sit down and have your lunch,” Peterson said, “We want to enhance the space and make it more pleasant to be in.”
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