Volunteers on far shore pulling debris from shoreline vegetation.
While partying canoers looked on, volunteer Greg Waddell prepared to take a canoe full of trash to the central collection point.
Roland Guay brings another canoe-load of debris out of the creek.
Roland and Greg at far end of table are joined by John Chappell and his sons as they all enjoy a well deserved lunch after a hard day of cleaning.
Heat from the stove clouds the picture, but not the smiles from cooks Curtis McVey, Hugh Davis and Tita Sokoloff (left to right).
Always time for a chat, even before eating.
Jeff Gore (L) and Ed Keppner (R) chose to chat over their lunch.
Calvin Bradley and Nancy Hicks sipped sodas in the shade before taking on the food.
Give Econfina Creek
Spring Cleaning
After three weeks of planning, lining up sponsors to donate food and favors, and arrange logistics, the Econfina Trash Bash was off and running at 8:00 am on Saturday morning, May 19.
Emails following the trash bash pretty much summed up the spirit of the day. The most detailed note was sent to Tita Sokoloff, a prime mover, along with Alice Guay, in organizing the event. The email was from Fred Bozeman to a group of friends, including Tita. Here's what Fred had to say:
Hi Gang!
Some of us did the Econfina Creek Trash Bash yesterday.
Tony Collins, Dimitrius Papageourgiou and I got there at 8:00 and ran a shuttle, leaving Dimitruis' truck at Highway 388 and putting in at Highway 20. We were on the water at 9:00 and picked up beer cans, bottles, paper, styrofoam, chairs, blankets, shoes, plastic bottles, and assorted other trash. Dimitrius hit the jackpot, finding a bag holding a cell phone, car keys, and $15!
With all the turning around and paddling back upstream to get stuff, and climbing in and out of the boat, it was a much more tiring trip than a normal paddling down that six mile stretch. It took us six hours. The creek was low and the water was crystal clear.
After the cleanup, we all gathered at Pitts Spring and put on the feed bag with a great cookout. In all, there were probably about 50 people involved in the river cleanup, and we collected an incredible volume of trash.
Like Tony said, for as much a we've enjoyed that river over the years, we owed it a good scrubbing.
Fred
Emails to Alice Guay were briefer, but reflected the same spirit:
Gene Parsons: Thanks/Regards/Fun and good for the environment events are GREAT
Fred Bog: My friends and I have had a lot of good times on that creek over the years. Thanks again for organizing the cleanup.
Greg Waddell: SURE ENJOYED THE TRASH BASH..... LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT TRASH BASH
The Friends of St. Andrew Bay heartily thank the sponsors for their support for this event. Without this help from the community, the event couldn't happen.
Transportation For Trash
Bay County not only provided the dumpsters, but emptied them and waived tipping fees.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service not only provided lots of volunteers, but also trucks to get people back and forth from pickup sites and collection points and most importantly to lunch at Pitts Spring
Water Transportation For Volunteers Econfina Creek Canoe Livery provided the free use of 10 canoes. The Canoe Shop donated a prize canoe rental.
Sparky B's Electric lent a generator.
E&E Equipment provided trash grabbers.
The Norh West Florida Water Management Department generously welcomed the volunteers to Pitts Spring where FSAB provided an after work barbeque.
And For All the FOOD
JR's Rib Shack and Red Bar supplied cooked treats such as chicken and beans, and Panhandle Engineering, Home Depot and Publix Supermarkets each donated $100 that produced the hamburgers, buns, etc. And Buffalo Rock Co. and Bayou George Grocery made certain there was plenty of soda for the thirsty volunteers.