Volunteer workers from 61 Southern Baptist churches of North Carolina have adopted northeastern Pennsylvania as their summer home and the Tamaqua area is deriving benefits from that move.

On Monday, men from the Surry Baptist Association arrived in town and began to apply a much-needed coat of fresh paint to an 1870 railroad watchbox owned by Tamaqua Save Our Station.During the 10 years it's been on display, the watchbox has been hit hard by weather. The Baptist volunteers hope to restore it to its former glory."We'll be here until Friday," said spokesman Brian Aman. Also on hand were Bruce Jessup and Robert Smith, all from Pilot Mountain, North Carolina.The watchbox, located near the Tamaqua train station, originated with the Philadelphia and Reading Railway Company and arrived in Tamaqua on April 12, 2006.It's believed to be the only one of its kind in Pennsylvania.The pyramidal wood frame box stands 15 feet high and is covered with tin, a safety measure that would have prevented it from catching fire from steam engine embers. The building also would have featured a potbelly stove.The building sports an original raised seam tin roof, a feature that matches the roof of the train station.The watchbox served the railroad in the New Ringgold area and was donated to Tamaqua SOS by New Ringgold Fire Co., which had used it as a ticket booth for decades.The men said the watchbox is just one of many different projects they're tackling as a goodwill gesture.They said they hail from an area made popular by actor Andy Griffith and his fictional town of Mayberry.The men represent Jessup Grove Baptist Church in that town, a member church of the Surry Baptist Association.Over the past two weeks, other members of the association were in Tamaqua painting and sprucing up the North and Middle Ward Playground.The men said they're staying in the area free of charge thanks to the generosity of a Hazleton church.They conducted a "backyard Bible study" Tuesday and will continue today and Thursday, as part of their church's outreach.The aim of the Surry Baptist Association is to help churches spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.