BEVERLY — Most kids go to the park to play.
Dylan and Logan Stevens go there to clean.
Armed with sponges and rags, hair spray, motor oil, vinegar, and stain remover, they've been scrubbing away the city's graffiti, one playground at a time.
"That was their favorite part of school vacation week," said their mother, Helene Stevens. Over the summer, they plan to hit every park in Beverly, and beyond.
The effort started last Monday at Obear Park, near the Kernwood Bridge in the city's Ryal Side.
"There was graffiti all over the children's slide," said Logan, 8. "It was the F-word, so we scraped it off so kids wouldn't see it."
She and her brother Dylan, 10, used wood chips to rub away the obscenity, but figured there must be a better method. A little Internet research led them to the store for supplies, and the next day they went back to Obear Park with their Paradise Road neighbor Moira Legault and her grandfather, who drove them.
"Mr. Legault had no idea why we were there," Logan said.
The three started cleaning the rest of the spray paint and words written in marker that were on the playground equipment and drew a crowd as other kids gathered to see what they were doing.
"I said, 'You guys can get a toothbrush and help,'" Logan said. As seven or eight kids were scrubbing away, Beverly Patrolman David Costa walked by on his rounds.
"I was just amazed not only at what they were doing, but they inspired other kids to help out," Costa said. "It made me want to do something for them."
They were getting low on rags, so he bought them more, restocked their cleaning supplies, and returned with junior police badges and juice boxes.
He also arranged to present the three kids with certificates of appreciation during the reopening ceremony of the McPherson Youth Center on May 14, to honor them for their action.
"You don't see that very often from kids these days," Costa said.
Dylan and Logan said they saw a problem and decided to do something about it. Throughout the summer, they plan to get their friends together and form a graffiti and garbage club to make sure they reach places like Lynch Park, where there's more trash on the ground than written on the walls.
"It's really fun to clean it off because we're helping the environment," Logan said.
Over the weekend, they canvassed most of the city parks for graffiti and were at Livingstone Park after school on Monday. Their 2-year-old sister, Lucy, climbed up the slide and poked at cleaning supplies that they took away from her as they worked.
Their sister is just one of many they hope to influence.
"It's giving little kids watching us an example, and if kids are seeing us cleaning it up, they get a better idea of how they can help," Dylan said. He also hopes it will discourage kids from marking up the playgrounds in the first place. They've been back to check on Obear Park a couple of times, and so far it's remained clean.
"Them doing what they're doing makes me feel like I'm a good parent," said Stevens, who has another child on the way. "We're doing something right."
