The Friends of Andy Guest Shenandoah River State Park held its annual clean-up of a portion of the South Branch of the River on Sunday, September 19.
About 50 volunteers of all ages helped remove over 1900 pounds of trash- including, a 12-ft. pvc pipe, a lot of barbed wire, steel grille, deck post, motor engine cover, spiderman toy, animal trap part, doll head, 51 plastic bags, 113 beverage cans, 21 caps/lids, 27 items of clothing/shoes, 6 eating utensils, 50 food wrappers, 4 pull tabs, 31 golf balls, 8 bait container packages, 6 cinder blocks, two 55 gal. drums, 9 tires, AND, yes, a kitchen sink!
Although the water is low, it was a beautiful day for canoeing. Thanks to Downriver Canoe Company for providing 20 canoes and equipment. Actually most teams spent as much time in the River getting trash as they did in the canoes. Our great church group led by the extended Clark family, as always, loaded numerous canoes. One team from our Kohl’s Department Store contingent – Crystal Montgomery and Thomas Jenkins – our grand prize winner with 365 pounds of yuk including the kitchen sink, wasn’t even able to get in their canoe by the end of the trip.
The Friends thank all our participants, helpers and the Park staff for a tremendous effort – and lots of fun!