Lake Louise State Park will be having its open house on June 1. This is a day that the public can visit all the state parks in Minnesota without purchasing a state park permit sticker. This year, as of years in the past, the Friends of Lake Louise will be having their "Great Hot Dog Roast." Free hot dogs will be given out to the public from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. along with free ice cream cones and home made bars and cookies.

"Long-time volunteer Margie Myers and others will be toting guests around the state park on golf carts, as is a tradition, said Park Ranger Guy Lutz.

Helping Lake Louise prepare for this upcoming day was the Teen Issues class of LeRoy/Ostrander Public School. The teacher of the class, Janet Mayer, planned the outing. Nineteen freshmen through seniors were picking up trash and enjoying a beautiful spring day. The boys in the class had walked to the state park by following the Shooting Star Bike Trail.

Mayer came up with the idea to clean up the park as a volunteer service with her students, because Lake Louise is a very special place to her. She grew up in the area and came to the park when it was called Wildwood. She recalled weddings that took place in the park with Lake Louise as a scenic background.

"We brainstormed a number of projects before we settled on coming here. The students decided on coming to the park, as they wanted to do something outside. They have also been collecting items for the Ronald McDonald House in Rochester," Mayer said.

The Teen Issues class is having a contest between all the grades at LeRoy/Ostrander to see which class collects the most items. Paper towels, laundry detergent and chocolate cookies are some of the items that have been donated.

Of course, not all of the work has been glamorous.

"We've been here for a couple hours. It is really dirty. We have picked up lots of beer cans, glass jars and clothing," said sophomore Paige Backus.

Freshmen Tiffany Frazier and Dana Frieze agreed it was a good day to be outside, even though they couldn't believe how much garbage people left in certain areas of the park. They had picked up 20 garbage bags of trash.

"It is really beautiful out here, with all the wildflowers in bloom," Frieze said.

Mayer had provided soft drinks for her crew and they were grateful for the refreshments. She teaches the same class in Grand Meadow and there the students had washed windows for senior citizens in town.

"I have taught this class for several years. It is good for the kids to get out and volunteer. They have fun," Mayer said.