Back in the 1970s, the federal government did a full court press against the growing epidemic of litter in the United States, and more specifically along the nation's highways.
Baby Boomers remember well the image of a native American with tears running down his haggard face as he watched men, women and children carelessly toss trash from their cars along the sides of the road.
While the message was strong, there were two glaring problems with the ad campaign. First, the actor featured in the spots was not, in fact, native American, a fact kept secret until he died. Second, and more importantly, viewers never saw the featured actor, or anyone else, pick up the trash. The message "don't litter" resonated with viewers (though littering remains a common practice) but no mention was made of what to do when you happened upon refuse.
These days, state prisoners can often be seen cleaning up the trash on the sides of the road, leaving dozens of yellow bags along the highway for pickup. It's a successful program and makes good use of the manpower available in the prisons.
But what of the trash that accumulates along the roads within a community? The responsibility for this type of cleanup generally falls to residents, which is what makes events such as last weekend's cleanup day in Beverly so important.
Scores of volunteers spread out across the downtown Saturday to clean up various locations as part of the "Clean Sweeps program." Local groups such as the Beverly High School lacrosse team, Beverly Chamber of Commerce, Kiwanis Club, Rotary, Beverly National Bank and Beverly Cooperative Bank participated. They came from all walks of life with one key thing in common — they all love Beverly and are willing to give of their time to keep it looking as clean as possible.
While organized efforts like Clean Sweep (organized by Beverly Main Streets) are a terrific way for citizens to participate in keeping their town as attractive as possible, they are certainly not the only way. The responsibility falls to every resident every day, as they take their dog for a walk in their neighborhood or walk downtown to grab lunch. If you see a crumpled up piece of paper or a discarded can, pick it up and throw it away.
The campaign to keep this little piece of America beautiful is just that simple.
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