Bern ? First, Bern got free washing machines. Now most of the town is being flown to Washington, D.C., as Maytag thanks them for taking part in a water conservation study five years ago.

About 250 Bern residents that’s most of the town’s population will spend Sunday through Thursday in Washington, where they will accept an award from the Department of Energy, tour sites including the Capitol and meet with former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole of Kansas.

In 1997, residents in more than 100 homes in Bern and the surrounding area participated in the study and were given new Maytag washing machines.

The study began with residents recording the use of their current machines for four months. A water meter measured how much water was used and wasted. Participants were then given a Maytag washer that is supposed to use 40 percent less water and 60 percent less energy, and their energy usage was monitored for three months.

Residents got to keep the washing machines when the study ended.

“It was good to be a part of a study that focused on conservation,” said Bern resident Betty Lortscher. “That was the important part to me. But we all got into the spirit of it and had fun.”

The company study showed that the washers saved the city and area 4.3 million gallons of water over five years.

“I was amazed, like a lot of people, about how much water was conserved,” said Robert Meyer, manager of the water district for the Bern area.

Bern is north of Topeka near the Kansas-Nebraska border.