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Louis and Sharon Daniels, Carthage, used to drive to Webb City to walk their dogs on a safe, natural walking trail.
Judy Moore, Carthage, and her friend, Carol Totten, rural Joplin, belong to a group that helps people control their weight and they were on the lookout for a good place to walk.
All four of these people attended a picnic, sponsored by the Joplin Trails Coalition, to celebrate the dedication of signs marking the Ruby Jack Trailhead on Old Highway 66 immediately west of the Oak Street intersection.
"I've walked the trail a couple of times," said Louis Daniels at Saturday's picnic. "I walked out two and a half miles and had to walk back two and a half miles. It's a nice trail; it's shady, and cool. It's kind of lonely too, you hear a car on the road every once in a while, but other that it's quiet and peaceful."
The Joplin Trails Coalition has been working since it acquired the old Burlington-Northern Railroad bed in 2004 to prepare a more-than 17-mile waling trail from Carthage to the Kansas state line.
Perry Johnson, president, and Braden Horst, secretary, were among the officials with the Joplin Trails Coalition present at the picnic. Also present were Carthage Mayor Jim Woestman, State Rep.-Elect Tom Flanigan, Carthage Council member John Studebaker, and more than three dozen others.
Horst said a few area residents have discovered the trail since the installation of the signs marking the trailhead last week.
"There were three cars here this morning before we set up for the picnic," Horst said. "That meant there were people here using the trail and that's what we want. The trailhead was hard to see without the signs, but now it'll be better."
The group used the picnic to sign up new members and promote their annual Maple Leaf Bike Ride, slated for Saturday, Oct. 11.
Johnson said volunteers, working during workdays on weekends, have graded and leveled the trail from Carthage to approximately County Road 200 just east of Oronogo.
Johnson said the group planned to add compaction rock and run a roller along the first section, then move west and start improving the next section through Oronogo.
He said the trail was open all the way to the state line, but it was pretty rough west of Oronogo.
Moore, from Carthage, said she hadn't been on the trail as of Saturday, but she was here to investigate it.
"I've lived in several big cities and I've always looked for the walking trails in those places," Moore said. "I'm excited about it. It will be a great place to get out in nature and take in the birds and the air. Walking a trail is a relaxing way to stay in shape too."
Louis and Sharon Daniels, Carthage, used to drive to Webb City to walk their dogs on a safe, natural walking trail.
Judy Moore, Carthage, and her friend, Carol Totten, rural Joplin, belong to a group that helps people control their weight and they were on the lookout for a good place to walk.
All four of these people attended a picnic, sponsored by the Joplin Trails Coalition, to celebrate the dedication of signs marking the Ruby Jack Trailhead on Old Highway 66 immediately west of the Oak Street intersection.
"I've walked the trail a couple of times," said Louis Daniels at Saturday's picnic. "I walked out two and a half miles and had to walk back two and a half miles. It's a nice trail; it's shady, and cool. It's kind of lonely too, you hear a car on the road every once in a while, but other that it's quiet and peaceful."
The Joplin Trails Coalition has been working since it acquired the old Burlington-Northern Railroad bed in 2004 to prepare a more-than 17-mile waling trail from Carthage to the Kansas state line.
Perry Johnson, president, and Braden Horst, secretary, were among the officials with the Joplin Trails Coalition present at the picnic. Also present were Carthage Mayor Jim Woestman, State Rep.-Elect Tom Flanigan, Carthage Council member John Studebaker, and more than three dozen others.
Horst said a few area residents have discovered the trail since the installation of the signs marking the trailhead last week.
"There were three cars here this morning before we set up for the picnic," Horst said. "That meant there were people here using the trail and that's what we want. The trailhead was hard to see without the signs, but now it'll be better."
The group used the picnic to sign up new members and promote their annual Maple Leaf Bike Ride, slated for Saturday, Oct. 11.
Johnson said volunteers, working during workdays on weekends, have graded and leveled the trail from Carthage to approximately County Road 200 just east of Oronogo.
Johnson said the group planned to add compaction rock and run a roller along the first section, then move west and start improving the next section through Oronogo.
He said the trail was open all the way to the state line, but it was pretty rough west of Oronogo.
Moore, from Carthage, said she hadn't been on the trail as of Saturday, but she was here to investigate it.
"I've lived in several big cities and I've always looked for the walking trails in those places," Moore said. "I'm excited about it. It will be a great place to get out in nature and take in the birds and the air. Walking a trail is a relaxing way to stay in shape too."
