Published: April 22, 2007 01:36 am      

ENVIRONMENT: Canal gets clean sweep

The second annual Canal Clean Sweep reminded Lockport’s Dennis Caisse of his tour of duty in the Army, and also of his mischievous youth as a Washington Street teen.

“It wasn’t the mean streets of Washington Street of today, but the real folksy streets of 1960s,” the retired teacher and librarian said. “We used to sneak down to the overpass and drink a few beers and toss the bottles over and watch them smash on the rocks. Now, 40 years later, I’m down here picking up the glass.”

On Saturday, Dennis and Carol Caisse were among the 25 volunteers who helped clean up the park off Clinton Street.

“We’re trying to help others,” Dennis said. “It reminded me of being in the Army, a police call, but it was much more fun than a police call ... If it moves, pick it up. If it doesn’t move, paint it.”

Unlike the Army, Clean Sweep was loosely organized and the volunteers were truly volunteers. Dennis called it a multi-sectarian effort to beautify and to clean up America.

The army called it an “ecology call” in the 1970s. The state calls it Clean Sweep.

The state Canal Corporation supplied bags and the volunteers brought gloves and rakes. The gloves were a particularly good idea because unmentionables littered the park.

Most everyone filled up two large bags and could have used wheel barrows to haul it away. There was a grill filled with barnacles, a garbage can, roofing, tar paper, sheet metal, a canister, a gas regulator, beer bottles and condoms.

Dennis thought it was amazing junk with tubes and shopping baskets and weird stuff. However, he said, “I was hoping we wouldn’t find Love Canal stuff, things oozing out.”

Carol wasn’t that impressed with their haul or the gas thing that was filled with barnacles.

“It was nothing very interesting, just junk,” the former English teacher said. “It was kind of loosely organized. When I was picking up trash I was thinking of ways to organize it better.”

She felt that a second group could police the area today and pick up an equal amount of trash. She thinks the next cleanup should be devoted to another area like Clinton Street hill.

The Caisses were happy they volunteered. “It was just because it was a fun thing to do it and it was going to be a nice day, so we just decided to do it,” Carol said. “You feel like you’re doing a good deed.”

The couple went to Mass at St. Patrick’s and then to Tim Hortons before moving on to Upson Park.

“My life now is trying to help others, trying to gain more spirituality,” Dennis said.

There is still plenty of junk left in the park, and Dennis suggested it might be a good project of the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, if the kids are careful.

Niagara Falls had a similar project along Cayuga Creek on Saturday morning.

Contact reporter Bill Wolcott at 439-9222, ext. 6246.