A GROUP OF AMBOY SENIORS, Teri Dyer, Dianne Armstrong, Diane Harmon, Marcella Langford and Inez Dixon, have continued their daily regiment of getting exercise and collecting litter from streets in Battle Ground four days a week. Dyer hopes their example will get more local residents involved in keeping the streets clean.
It all started a few years ago in nearby Amboy when lifelong resident Teri Dyer and her friends would leave the Curves they’d meet at every morning for their daily walk.
“It was Teri’s idea,” said Diane Harmon, “We realized we could walk at a good clip and seeing the garbage everywhere, she decided to start picking it up.”
The act gained the group some local notoriety, but when their exercise center closed down, they were left wondering what to do next. Instead of stopping their routine, rather, they just came down to the Battle Ground Curves and literally picked up where they left off.
“We come down four days a week and have many different paths we take to do our pickups,” Dyer said. “The surprising thing has been the reaction we’ve gotten since we started doing it.”
Dyer and Harmon both said they’ve gotten multiple compliments from area residents, or people passing through, as they’re seen along the roadside every morning.
“The big thing everybody tells us is ‘thank you’ for doing it,” Dyer said. “When I’m passed by people on the street, though, I make sure to ask them where their garbage bag is?”
Harmon said one of the things people may not understand is how much they can pick up in a short amount of time.
“Even if everyone who was outside brought just a grocery bag with them, they could fill it up with quite a bit of trash and the streets would look considerably better,” Harmon said.
Local workers have also voiced their approval for the ladies and the work they do, Dyer added. Among the areas where they find the most garbage to clean up aren’t around restaurants or stores, but actually around the schools.
“I don’t think kids are aware of how much they tend to drop on the ground for others to pick up,” said Harmon.
Dyer said even with the weather changing, she, Harmon and the three other friends they carpool with to Battle Ground won’t be stopping anytime soon.
“We all own umbrellas and coats and have been doing this for a long time,” Dyer said. “The only time we don’t go out is when it’s snowing or icy out.”
While they spend most of their mornings away from their hometown, the ladies do make it a point to continue their cleanup efforts in Amboy one day a week.
“Every Wednesday we go through town and do some picking up,” Dyer said. “We always end up being at RJ’s Coffee and Espresso for a cup and a chance to visit and they’ve been nice and put some chairs out for us.”
Harmon added that even though they aren’t as active in Amboy anymore, the impact of their goodwill hasn’t diminished.
“We’ve noticed in the areas we used to go to that the garbage hasn’t returned in nearly the quantities it had been before we started,” Harmon said. “I’m not sure if someone else has taken over for us or if the same people who were dumping it haven’t done it as much, but it’s really looked a lot nicer in Amboy since we’ve started doing it.”
When not helping freshen up Battle Ground or Amboy, Dyer spends her time with her grandchildren or creating homemade jelly and canning.
“We can everything and I just got done making 12 pints of raspberry jelly,” Dyer said. “My grandchildren are always coming to me and saying they need more of it, but the one time I tried to teach them how to do it themselves, it seemed too boring for their taste.”
With all the members of the group but one in their 70’s and enjoying retirement, Dyer and Harmon both said they’re all going to keep making their daily trips outside for as long as they can.
“We enjoy doing it because it gives us a chance for exercise and it sends a good message to the community that we still care enough to help clean it up,” Dyer said.
Anyone looking to assist Dyer, Harmon and their compatriots are encouraged to come by the Battle Ground Curves located at 813 W. Main St. #105 before 8:30 a.m. every weekday but Wednesday.
