By Jennifer Walsh, Public Affairs Office, USACE Baltimore District

In the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy clacked her ruby heels together three times and said there’s no place like home to get back to Kansas. If Gary and Sharon Goodreau want to get back home they jump in their motorhome, clack their work boots together and say there’s no place like Tioga-Hammond.

Close to their hometown of Wellsboro, Pa., Tioga-Hammond/Cowanesque Lakes project provides the perfect volunteer spot for the Goodreaus. They enjoy the recreational activities offered such as Saturday night ranger programs and watching wildlife, but they also enjoy a few months close to home.

“My mom is nearby and it’s a chance to be close to home and prepare for our mission work,” said Gary.

While the Goodreaus spend May through August volunteering at Tioga-Hammond Lakes, they spend the rest of the year on wheels doing mission work around the country. According to Gary, a couple from their church turned them on to RV-ing one night during dinner.

“Sharon and I thought almost simultaneously that is what we should be doing,” said Gary.

The couple already has their next year on the road planned with stops in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas before returning to Tioga-Hammond Lakes next spring.

“We’ve traveled a lot and stayed in all types of parks but we always come back here,” said Sharon. “It’s the cream of the crop.”

As part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers volunteer program, Gary and Sharon each commit 16 hours a week to doing volunteer work around the park. To provide more flexibility with volunteer schedules, the Tioga-Hammond Lakes staff allows the volunteers to choose which days and what times they would like to complete their duties.

“We have so much fun we usually work more,” said Sharon. “I think all of the volunteers probably work more.”

Each year, thousands of volunteer hours are generated by community service students, camping volunteers and volunteer organizations in the area. However, many of the service hours are completed by 11 couples, such as the Goodreaus, that spend the season volunteering in exchange for a campsite at Tioga-Hammond Lakes. All of the volunteers are assigned different duty locations and the Goodreaus are tackling the area around the dam.

“We go around and eyeball things,” said Sharon. “We make them look presentable.”

Some of their tasks include painting Corps signs, weeding, planting flowers and trimming shrubs. While the couple approaches each task wholeheartedly, Sharon admits to playing favorites.

“The flowers are the best,” said Sharon. “I love gardening.”

Instead of purchasing new flowers for planting, the Goodreaus use a more economically-friendly method.

“We go to the overgrown areas of the park and dig up some of the plants there,” said Gary. “Then we drive them over to our area and replant them.”

Wearing matching volunteer shirts, the couple spends this Friday morning cutting down branches and trimming trees. Working as a team, Gary uses shears to cut the branches so Sharon can pick them up and load them into the John Deere Gator nearby.

“The Corps is very good about providing tools,” said Gary

The Corps also provides the volunteers with a campsite complete with full hook-ups, a clothesline, picnic table and a fire ring. The staff recently added additional volunteer campsites, making a total of 11, because of the success the program has had in recent years.

“They assist in getting things accomplished we can’t get done,” said Dina Dreisbach, park ranger at Tioga-Hammond/Cowanesque Lakes project.

The Goodreaus are assigned to the dam area, but there are other volunteer assignments within the park. Some volunteers focus on cleaning fire rings, some maintain the volleyball courts and baseball field and others maintain the many hiking trails in the area.

The Corps offers long-term volunteer opportunities that last six or seven months as well as short-term opportunities lasting closer to two months. The volunteer program, which was started in the 1990s, continues to thrive in the peaceful environment of north central Pennsylvania.

“We have had great success with the volunteers this year,” said Dreisbach. “So many people come back because they like helping out.”

The program also offers opportunities for volunteers to attend safety meetings, watch training videos and spend quality time with park rangers and maintenance staff to learn the right way to do their jobs. Volunteers also turn into some of the best teachers.

“Another couple took us under their wing when we first started out,” said Gary. “We would work with them once a week.”

The camaraderie between volunteers extends beyond the work they do at the site.

“Tonight three of the couples are getting together to go to a fish fry,” said Gary. “They’re a lot of fun to be around.”

The Goodreaus also have fun observing the abundance of wildlife in the area.

“We’ve traveled all over the United States, but we’ve seen more wildlife here in the past few months than we have before,” said Sharon.

According to Sharon, there have been bears walking around the campground and some of the volunteers have even seen an albino chipmunk. However, one of her favorite activities is watching the ospreys.

“I like to take a break and watch the ospreys,” said Sharon. “They hover around the water and then they dive in and grab a fish.”

Their enthusiasm for the outdoors and wildlife are not the only things that motivate the couple to volunteer.

“I was never able to serve in the Armed Services because of health reasons,” said Gary. “This is one way for me to give back to my country.”

The Goodreaus said the workamping lifestyle is not for everyone, but for them it is a perfect fit.

“It gives us a purpose to get up in the morning,” said Sharon. “We get to see the fruit of our labor.”

Gary could not agree more.

“If all you want to do is travel, that’s another story,” said Gary. “But this is a tremendous way to enjoy each other, the outdoors and what America has to offer. There is no better way to see this country.”

People interested in volunteering at Corps lakes across the country can visit the Volunteer Clearinghouse Web site at www.corpslakes.us/volunteer or call (800) 865-8337.