Marquette’s downtown Friday was the scene of one of those circumstances that make the Upper Peninsula the great place to live that it is.

Business people and passersby alike were surprised to see a group of principally young people washing windows.

Clad in neon vests, these were missionaries of a type from the St. Albert the Great Catholic Church in Houghton.

And who or what paid for this unexpected labor? No one. They were volunteers working on behalf of the Room at the Inn program, which operares a familiar warming center and community meal location along West Washington Street in Marquette.

In addition, a RATI official noted in a Mining Journal story on the matter, the volunteers were honoring a cherished downtown Marquette memory.

“This is important, because right now we are on the verge of establishing a permanent shelter here at The Warming Center location. And I want to (do) everything possible to let the community know that we just want to be friendly partners with the Marquette DDA (Downtown Development Authority) and carry on the memory of Phil Niemisto, who gave so selflessly to the downtown community,” RATI Executive Director Nick Emmendorfer said.

Added missionary Makenna Ketter: “We’re volunteering because essentially it’s important. There’s a need for volunteers, there’s a need everywhere we go, especially in our own backyard.”

At a time in our country’s history, when obtaining more and more for one’s self seems to be the overwhelming goal of so many, we applaud this effort for what it was — selfless volunteerism that all of us could learn something from.