GL_012518

14 | January 25, 2018 | The glenview lantern news
glenviewlantern.com
Volunteers clean up forest preserve on MLK Day
Jeremy Turley
Freelance Reporter
On Feb. 4, 1968, Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. delivered
his famed Drum
Major Instinct sermon from
the pulpit of Ebenezer Baptist
Church in Atlanta. The
sermon is remembered by
history as the one in which
King predicted his death
and envisioned his own funeral
service.
“If any of you are around
when I have to meet my
day, I don’t want a long funeral.
And if you get somebody
to deliver the eulogy,
tell them not to talk too
long. And every now and
then, I wonder what I want
them to say,” King said.
“I’d like somebody to mention
that day that Martin
Luther King Jr. tried to give
his life serving others.”
Two months later, King
was shot on the balcony of
room 306 at the Lorraine
Motel in Memphis. He
died later that night.
Now nearly half a century
removed from his
assassination, the country
continues to honor King’s
legacy by trying to remember
him how he wanted to
be remembered. Every
year on King’s birthday,
millions of Americans
congregate at food banks,
homeless shelters and
community centers to perform
acts of service for
others.
More than 40 volunteers
in Glenview tried to
do their part by ridding a
section of the Blue Star
Memorial Woods of invasive
species on Martin Luther
King Jr. Day, Jan. 15.
Armed with pruners and
bow saws, the volunteers
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Nora Baker navigates Blue Star Memorial Woods on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan.
15, in search of invasive plants. Photos by Jeremy Turley/22nd Century Media
Mary Fran Cashman enjoys a treat.
descended upon the forest
preserve to cut down and
burn buckthorn.
Glenview resident Buffy
Sallee lives just a few minutes
away from the forest
preserve and frequently
walks on the adjacent trail.
She thought bringing her
kids along on the volunteering
trip would teach
them to contribute to the
betterment of their surroundings.
“I think on any day, [doing
community service] is
good. It’s something that I
didn’t grow up doing with
my family, but that I’m
trying to do with my kids,”
Sallee said. “This trail is
the one we go on as a family.
This is them getting to
actually be a part of making
what we use.”
Over the last 200 years,
European buckthorn
has invaded woodlands
throughout the country and
prevented native tree species
from flourishing.
John Balaban has volunteered
with the North
Branch Restoration Project
for nearly 35 years.
Over that time, he has
expelled buckthorn from
hundreds of acres of forest
along the Chicago River.
While Balaban would
have been out in the woods
irrespective of the holiday,
he said he’s heartened by
the other volunteers’ eagerness
to heed King’s
message and serve the
community.
“I think [service] is the
legacy of Martin Luther
King,” Balaban said. “It’s
more than just thinking
good thoughts or whatever,
but it’s actually going
out and doing something
to make the world a better
place.”
Meghan Cashman said
she subscribed to that way
of thinking and decided
to use her day off to participate
in the national Day
of Service. Along with
her husband, David, and
their two young daughters,
Cashman spent several
hours working in the forest
preserve.
Cashman said she was
inspired by then-President
Barack Obama’s call to
service on King’s birthday
in previous years and
always wanted to volunteer.
Now that her youngest
daughter, Sarah, 5, is
old enough to participate,
Cashman saw the perfect
opportunity to make the
day a family affair.
“We felt compelled to
come out and do something,”
Cashman said.
“[Martin Luther King Jr.]
did his part, and we’re going
to do our part, too.”
Event organizer Annette
Anderson, of Friends of
the Chicago River, echoed
Cashman’s sentiment, saying
that King’s message is
so powerful, even 50 years
after his death, because it
promotes community involvement
as an agent of
change in society.
“Martin Luther King
Day observance, for me,
is just showing that everybody
can help and that
all hands make a difference,”
Anderson said. “His
movement wouldn’t have
happened without everyday
people. That’s how
change happens.”