By LINDA KELLETT

C-S-E News Staff

FORT PLAIN — Fort Plain rocks.

One stone at a time, members of area Girl Scout, Cadette, Boy Scout and Cub Scout troops, their leaders, and several local volunteers made their mark on the hill behind the Fort Plain Museum on Thursday.

Armed solely with paint brushes, they labored in the late-June heat to coat the hundreds of irregularly-formed pavers, arranged decades before by other service-minded individuals.

From a distance, the gleaming white rocks looked huge.

Visible from the air, the Thruway, and Route 5 in Nelliston, they combined to form individual letters that spelled out the words, F-O-R-T P-L-A-I-N.

Fort Plain Museum volunteer Tom Bollen, who was among those at the site when four of the first mammoth-sized letters took shape around 50 years ago, was on hand last week, delivering paint donated by a Johnstown Benjamin Moore dealer and helping ready hot dogs, chips and sodas for the volunteers’ lunches.

Cadette leader Jean Wilday, of Fort Plain, was also present. In jest, she commented on Bollen’s youthful contribution: “I said, ‘Why didn’t you use bigger rocks?’”

That was a sentiment shared by others present.

When asked to comment on the task before them, Junior Girl Scout Chelsea Hazzard, of Canajoharie, said painting the rocks, which intensified the early-morning heat, was not fun. “It’s too hot,” she said. “I’m already sweating.”

Junior Girl Scout Shaiann Bouck, of St. Johnsville, on the other hand, said she loved the painting.

“I love getting dirty,” she said, proudly showing off white splotches on her hands and arms.

“It’s not fun if it’s not messy,” agreed Wilday.

Fort Plain Mayor Guy Barton said village workers sprayed the weeds, and the Scouts graciously decided to tackle the service project to help the village and the community. Depending on the number of volunteers, he said the project could take four to six hours. “We appreciate what they’re doing for us,” he said. “It’s going to look beautiful.”

Barton said, “The leaders are forming the future of Fort Plain by having an opportunity to serve by volunteering. That’s what we need is volunteers in the future. The kids take pride in what they’re doing. They’ll also be working at the Fort Plain Fourth of July celebration doing hay rides.”

Among those present for the work session, which ran from 8 a.m. to about noon, included Victoria, David, Jeffrey, and Jean Wilday; Shaiann Bouck; Jasmine and Sarah Van Avery; Breanna Snyder; Hailey, Chelsea and Heather Hazzard; Kyler Duff; Kayla Wilder; Bollen and Barton.