Wednesday was not just another day in Austin.

Thursday, July 13, 2000

Wednesday was not just another day in Austin. It was Grunge Wednesday.

All during July, Grunge Wednesdays are being observed in Austin.

Not at all about a certain brand of rock music, the Grunge Wednesdays are about hard work and, believe it or not, fun.

Now two years old, the summertime events bring together an ecumenical group of youths in grades six, seven and eight, plus their friends.

This week, youths from St. Olaf Lutheran Church, Our Savior’s Lutheran Church and the Austin Catholic Religion Education group participated.

With adult supervision, the youths went to Queen of Angels Catholic Church to help clean-up after flood waters rolled over the curbside of Oakland Avenue East and lapped into lower levels of the church.

Alice Duffy-Meyer, ACRE’s coordinator, accompanied the Catholic youths from St. Edward, St. Augustine and Queen of Angels Catholic Churches.

"It’s a great opportunity for the kids from all three Catholic churches in Austin to come together with other youths to work and socialize together," Duffy-Meyer said.

Between 35 and 43 youths were involved Wednesday and the target of their attention – after helping out at Queen of Angels Catholic Church – was an area along the eastbound entrance ramp to Interstate 90 at the Fourth Street NW interchange.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation and Spruce Up Austin Inc. originated a major landscaping project at the site a few years ago.

This week, the youths and their adult supervisors returned to perform maintenance work, trimming bushes, pulling weeds, removing trash and otherwise improving the area.

So massive was the project, the youths will have to return next week to rake mulch around plants to ensure their healthy growth.

Chris Mathiason, coordinator of youth activities at St. Olaf Lutheran Church in Austin, said the Grunge Wednesday events were reaping personal benefits for the middle school-aged youths participating.

"It’s only two years old, but judging by the number of youths we have this time around, its become popular. The youths want to be a part of it," Mathiason said.

The Rev. Dan Kahl, associate pastor at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Austin, supervised youths from the west Austin church.

According to Kahl, the Grunge Wednesday events have included such diverse activities as helping the Channel I emergency food bank at Rochester as well as more hands on – i.e., grungy projects – such as Wednesday’s landscaping maintenance along the freeway.

Because it is strictly voluntary, Kahl said the number of youths participating from all churches speaks for itself.

"We ask for volunteers from the congregation and we get them as you can see," said Kahl pointing to boys and girls wading into tall bushes and deep grass in the freeway ditch.

"The idea is to get kids working and put their faith in action," he said. "There’s a work activity followed by a play activity. We work hard and we play hard."

Jacob Dalager, a seventh-grader from St. Olaf Lutheran Church, raked weeds, small limbs and other brush into a large pile with the help of his friend, Jeff Eng, also a seventh-grader, who goes to Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Austin.

Nearby was, perhaps, the best evidence of how the Grunge Wednesday events are bringing youths together in Austin.

Matt Machacek, 13-year-old son of Steve and Margaret Machacek, rural Dexter, was working with Andy Hull, also 13 and the son of Michael and Jolene Hull, Austin.

Matt Machacek had brought along a summertime house guest: Aidan McMahon, 12.

The son of Norene and James McMahon has returned for a second summer of peace, harmony and lots of fun under the auspices of the Children of Northern Ireland exchange program.

Thus, Grunge Wednesday this week in Austin took on an international favor and showed, best of all, that youths can faithfully work and play hard together.