Even the rain couldn’t dampen the spirits of workers in the May 18 Spring Clean-up Campaign. Members of the Skinker-DeBaliviere community, joined by over 200 Washington Univeristy students, braved the weather to help in the annual effort.
The workers concentrated on the Wabash Railroad right-of-way and the area between Des Peres Avenue and Skinker Boulevard. They carted boxes out of alleys and garages, filled plastic bags with trash, moved derelict cars out of back yards, and trimmed overgrown hedges. Trucks loaned by Washington U. and the city of St. Louis, shuttled back and forth from the Gasconade Dump.
The Clean-up was done on a larger scale than in previous years, as the cooperative effort of neighborhood organizations and the University’s Project Survival environment program. Norbert Budde, 6034 Kingsbury; Ray Taylor, 6011 Washington; and Mrs. Marvin Madeson of the Washington U. Off-Campus Housing Office shared in planning the campaign. All three were pleased with the work finished despite the thunderstorms that hovered over the area all day.
“The weather was a problem,” said Taylor, “and some areas were neglected, but we made a good start.” Budde counted “twenty truckloads of junk taken out of the neighborhood. That’s at least three times as many as last year’s.”
The students came on buses from the dormitory campus on Wydown Boulevard. Why? “Well,” explained a sophomore from New Orleans, “we feel that we’re a part of this community, too. We’ve got manpower to offer, and we’d like to put it where it can help.” A Rock Hill senior agreed, “It may seem like a small thing to do, but we’ve got to start somewhere.”
It was one of the younger workers, though, who said it best. Lugging a box—almost as big as she—up the steep Wabash R.R. incline, an 8-yr-old grinned “Hey, this place is going to be cleaned for the first time in its life!”
The April 18 Clean-up was the first part of a three-phase effort: on May 2, seven trucks loaned by the Army Reserve will pick up trash remaining in the 5700 blocks. On May 11, the St. Louis Beautification Commission will begin its annual 90-day program to clear the area of rats, abandoned cars and delapidated property.
Original photograph caption
RAIN OR SHINE THE CLEAN UP CAMPAIGN GOES ON. In what was one of the most extensive neighborhood clean-ups ever undertaken, residents, Washington University Students, and neighborhood children combined forces with city and Washington University trucks to clean up the allys of Skinker-Rosedale, the Wabash railroad right-of-way, and part of the 5700 blocks.
By request only residents cleaned up the alleys in the 5700 blocks. Some of the biggest helpers were the kids. Helping with this particular truck were Arthur Mitchell, Sammy Mitchell, Charles Shoute, Ken Mitchell, Harold Clay, Darrell Even, Darrell Cartly, Calvin Malloy, Greg M. and Darrell Crawford. Supervising is Mr. Charles Wilson, area resident. Also helping in the 5700 clean-up were area residents, Mrs. Annie Benson, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wilson, James and Dorothy Garrett, Mr. Lester Lovings, Pete Loving, Pauletta Coleman, Valiere Carter, Brady A. Mitchell, Rickey Corley, Don Cortly, Darrell Cortley, Derrick Crawford, Jeffery Crawford and Stanley Carter.
The Skinker-Rosedale campaign was coordinated by Norbert Budde. Working in the 6000 block of Westminister are area residents: Eddie Basken, Arthur Baskin, Art Santen, R.J. Stringer, Margo Creswold and Norbert Budde and Washington University volunteers: Ron Igou, Jim Schoemehl, Leslie Green, Lisa Sturt, Caroline Usher, David Esslinger and Dwight Pittman. (See story on page 4).
Originally published in The Paper, May 1970.
