Reaching out is a Big Event, Longwood University students make connections
Published 4:55 am Thursday, April 7, 2016
- Danny Marsh explains the use of a mattock to Courtney Dannahey.
Ask Farmville resident Danny Marsh if Longwood’s Big Event improves community connections, and he will answer with an unequivocal “yes.”
“The students have sure helped me a lot,” Marsh said.
Marsh, who suffered a stroke 10 years ago, is confined to a wheelchair.
“It’s been 10 years ago I built this pond,” Marsh said of the prominent feature in his front yard. “Taking care of it isn’t that bad, but I can’t get out and do it myself anymore — wish I could.”
Danny Marsh enjoys visiting with Emma Canfield and Gracie Piekarski as they pull weeds around his pond.
Longwood University’s Big Event, now in its eighth year, is a community service project that sends students into the community to do yard work, paint and pick up trash. The mission of the event is to promote interaction between students and members of the community.
For the past three years Marsh has welcomed Longwood students taking part in the university’s Big Event.
“I look forward to having them,” he said. “They do a great job — and I think they learn a few things, too.”
This year students learned about a mattock.
A fishpond is the main feature of Danny Marsh’s yard. “I built it 10 years ago — just before I had my stroke,” Marsh said.
“They didn’t know what a mattock was,” Marsh said. “That’s one of the first things I learned when I was a kid — which tools are which.”
Marsh obviously enjoys the students’ company.
“I worked construction, highway and bridge work,” Marsh said. “I worked all over the state — out of state, too. The students are from all over, too — I enjoy talking to them.”
Marsh watched as two Longwood girls pulled weeds from around the pond.
John Gager, 88, left, and Longwood student Michael Campion confer on weed-eating techniques.
Obviously unfamiliar with current campus fashion, Marsh asked one of them, “Do you know you have holes in your jeans?”
The girls shared his observation with a smile.
Marsh’s 88-year-old father-in-law, John Gager, was also on hand Saturday. Wielding a weedeater, Gager worked alongside the students.
“They’re out of this world,” Gager said of his Longwood helpers.
Cari Campbell, left, and Gracie Piekarski enjoy a break from the classroom with a day of yardwork.
The students completed all their assigned tasks, Marsh noted, and didn’t mind getting dirty. Next year Marsh plans to hook up his grill and cook hot dogs for his student helpers.
“Before they left they all came and thanked me for letting them come here and work,” Marsh said.
Memories of Longwood’s once-a-year event obviously linger with Marsh. A day of yard work with a handful of college students might seem a small thing to some, but to Danny Marsh it is truly a Big Event.
