ROYAL CITY - The fledgling Liberty Livestock 4-H Club of Royal Slope has quickly reached an important milestone, its first civic service project.

Eight members participated in the planting of several shrubs and the relocation of sod sections at Royal Memorial Gardens cemetery on April 10. The young people were supervised by parents Michelle Miller, Katie Allred and Caroline Piercy.

This was the second cemetery work day for the group. In March they effected a spring cleanup at the Pleasant Valley Cemetery on Road B Southeast.

The pioneer cemetery was established in 1912 when a local landowner donated the one-acre plot for a community cemetery on the occasion of the death of a young boy from Meningitis. Some 35 individuals have been buried there.

Pleasant Valley is maintained in a natural state in accordance with the wishes of descendants of the interred. Native vegetation is allowed to remain in place as the ground cover.

However, tumbleweeds and cheatgrass consider themselves to be native flora and need to be controlled on occasion. In March the club members and parents removed and burned last year's tumbleweeds. They plan an additional work day prior to Memorial Day to mow the cheatgrass.

The Royal Memorial Gardens cemetery, located at the northeast corner of Royal City, was established in 1963, through the efforts of some of the earlier residents of this community. The first interment there happened to also be a young boy.

Both cemeteries are administered and maintained by a three-member Board of Commissioners. On occasion, community groups have come forward to perform special projects at the cemeteries.

"These efforts are greatly appreciated by the commissioners," John Murphy said. "There is a limit to the amount of work we can undertake by ourselves."

The Liberty Livestock 4-H Club started last December. Its members had been part of the Loft Loungers in Othello.

"We decided we wanted to start our own group," Parent Michelle Miller said.

There are 18 members, all of whom will be showing pigs at the fair, either Grant, Adams, or both. The club leader is Kriston Weyns, and the project (swine) Leaders are Rebecca Joslin and Cynthia Small.

Children must be in third grade or 8-9 to be in 4-H

"My two favorite things about being at the fair last year were camping and Fitting & Showing," 12 year old Ty Miller said. "This is the time when you are judged on how you show your pig. I liked this category because it showed the judge how much I had worked with my pig over the summer."

Ten year old Colin Miller said: "I have had many fun times in 4-H, but the best was showing my pig at the Grant County Fair last summer. Market and Fitting & Showing were my favorite. I got blue ribbons in both categories."