Story, photos by Roger Allen
Seventh in a series
In 1991 the Montezuma Lions Club launched and successfully completed one of its largest undertakings, in cost and in physical effort. The club pledged $4,000 and launched a $25,000 fund drive to build a bicycle and walking path from the west side of town to the country club and beyond to the entrance to Diamond Lake Park.
The motivation for this major project came from concerns expressed at Lions club meetings about the safety of young people who walk or ride bicycles on or beside the highway to the country club to swim in the summer. The growing interest in walking and bicycle riding for
recreation and physical fitness convinced the planners that the project should be extended beyond the country club, to the Diamond Lake entrance.
The path that was built was 6,088 ft. in length, along County Highway F57, commonly known as the Diamond Trail. The path installed was four-feet-wide reinforced concrete, separated from the highway by an 18-inch wide strip of gravel.
The Poweshiek County Engineer assisted the Lions in planning the project, and county equipment was used to grade the pathway to prepare it for the paving and gravel installation.
The paving labor – requiring many man-hours – was done by Lions members and other community volunteers. Throughout the month of August 1991, several Lions worked on the project on a steady basis during the day, with others joining in to help in evening hours. The project chairman was Lions Club President Bruce Roorda, who donated many hours of labor and supervision.
The community responded well to the request for cash donations, and sufficient funds were raised to pay for the project. On the fundraising committee were Edwin Bryan, George Salnave, Roger Watson, Loel Ferguson and Carroll Smith.
The trail was considered a worthwhile, big improvement in safety and served its purpose for more than a decade. In 2004 the county re-made and widened Diamond Trail and incorporated paved shoulders that took the place of what the Lions had built. A no longer used short, narrowsection still exists near the city water plant.
The Lions club was an early improver of the Bonham Trail in south Montezuma. That included the first clean-up and rock surfacing of the trail. The Lions also installed benches mid-way down the trail.