MULLAN — Mullan Jr./Sr. High School Principal Jacki Almquist loves a good spring cleaning, and even more so, Almquist loves when she sees her students giving back to the community that supports them through thick and thin.

Last week, the students participated in the annual town cleanup, where they worked throughout the town sweeping, painting, weeding, planting, spreading bark and doing minor repairs at the cemetery.

All 83 students in the Mullan School District participated in the full-day event, which began with the students being divvied up into groups for specific projects and then wrapped up with lunch and swimming at the Mullan Pavilion.

Almquist and the staff throughout the school district believe the town cleanup project helps instill a sense of community pride in the students. By giving everyone a chance to contribute, it helps improve the students' ownership of the community while keeping the city looking fresh and improving the overall health of their respective neighborhoods.

This isn’t a new tradition for the small district, but it’s one that has endured for years.

According to various school district staff, the first time they held the cleanup event was April 1974, four years after the first observance of Earth Day. It has been a constant for the past 30 years.

“After a long winter, it’s nice to have a town that’s been dusted off with a good spring cleaning,” Almquist said. “The students understand it’s a way to say thank you to the town, and they really take pride in doing a good job.”

The project is never the same from year to year. Sometimes it's planting flowers at the John Mullan statue, sweeping and revitalizing the town basketball court, repainting the Tiger paws at John Drager Field or cleaning up the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes parking and picnic area.

"The Mullan kids are amazing and hard-working,” she said. “They always inspire us."