The cleanup crew from left to right:
John Gerty, Marcy Maller, Harold Lassers, Marlene Puska, John Heiam, Donna Steinebach, Lois Goldstein, Tom Lipps, Kristen Salathiel
The weather forecast earlier in the week indicated it might still be raining on Thursday morning so we postponed the trip three hours. We were rewarded with perfect weather, with temperatures in the 70’s, and low humidity. One woman who was floating down the river in a tube, said that back at home in Texas, it was 104 today, and she was happy she was here!
There were a lot of people on the river, but it seemed to be all families. People were sober, and polite, so it was fun to watch everyone enjoying the river. Here, a family group is having fun on a rope swing.
Meanwhile, we searched for litter, and found very little. Normally on a river cleanup, I collect four or five Tom’s bags of trash. Today I found one bag! Still, with nine people looking, we were able to fill two large garbage bags. Often however, we fill four to six bags! It was about as close to a perfect day of cleanup as we are likely to have.
Narrative and photos by John Heiam