LONG RIVER BEAUTIFICATION EFFORTS 1963 In the springtime of this year the W.l. agreed That a cleaner, neater community was just what we did need So the Beautification contest was entered in with Zest, And we knew each person living here would try to do their best. Each in the settlement did their part to beautify their place, And worked with willing heart and hand, it really was a race, Each person did their own home place, and did it very well, But church, school, hall and roadside, had a different tale to tell. This was a job that had to be a community affair, So men and women young and old, all had to do their share. From early in the morning, sometimes ere they arose We could hear the whitewash wielders shout "get up be on your toes This is no time for laying back, get up, get out of bed The whitening is not half done yet come on, shake out the lead". It was dragged away in buckets, in milk cans by the load By hand, car, truck, or tractor, anyway it could be towed Each road was marked by whitened posts as far as eye could see Fence, telephone, and light poles as white as they could be. The United Church was painted white, and the signboard made like new The fence that goes around the store received a white coat too The Presbyterian coal shed looked black and uninviting Until it was all brightened up with a nice new coat of whiting. The ground around the school was clipped and cleaned of all debris A Flag and flag pole was put up, to proclaim that we are free. There were also swings erected to give the children joy And add to pleasant memories of every Girl and Boy. The hall was not forgotten and the grass was neatly clipped The window boxes also were with pretty plants equipped. The "WELCOME TO LONG RIVER" sign of brick beside the hall Were whitened as a welcome to visitors large and small. The posts and fence around the hall were straightened up again And whitened by the brushes of the women and the men The picnic table on the grounds invite you in to dine It's not so nice on rainy days but lovely when its fine. The highway signs were all fixed up, and arranged to suit the law This work was all done by ourselves not Matheson or Shaw. Ernest took his can of paint and little paint brush too And painted all the mailbox posts and made them look like new. 47