Volunteers break out the brooms on High Street

by Town Reminder

Turley Publications photo by Dennis P. Hohenberger
Elvin Bruno, a 17-year-old junior at Holyoke High School, cleans a corner of High Street with help from his mother last Sunday.

A clean sweep
Volunteers break out the brooms on High Street

By Dennis P. Hohenberger
Turley Publications Correspondent

HOLYOKE – A dozen volunteers, led by Elvin Bruno, a 17-year-old junior at Holyoke High School, spent last Sunday cleaning up High Street. The group started on the corner of Lyman and High Streets and worked their way toward CareerPoint near I-391.
Armed with brooms, dustpans, shovels and plenty of garbage bags, the group picked up wrappers, debris and a seemingly endless trail of cigarette butts. High winds made the task more difficult, as trash flew up and down the way.
Mayor Alex B. Morse joined in on the effort later in the day. Side alleys and empty lots got a clean sweep, too, as fallen branches and old tires were stacked neatly.
Bruno said Holyoke’s theme of unity inspired him to organize the clean up, and to make the city “a nicer place, a cleaner place to work, live and play.” “Seeing our downtown streets, you can certainly tell the litter and trash is an issue that needed to be addressed,” he said. “It’s definitely an eyesore. After a while it starts to wear on people. It has an effect.”
He felt Holyoke has undergone positive changes since last year’s election. Last month, Bruno posted a Facebook request about the clean up and received a number of responses. He was disappointed because heavy rains delayed the original date by one week.
Still, when Bruno arrived outside City Hall on Sunday, he found a group of willing volunteers ready to work, which included his mother, Tonya Torres, who he calls his “biggest supporter.”
Bruno split his forces up into two groups, with each group working a side of the street. By the time volunteers made their way to Hampden Street, they already filled a number of garbage bags. Compared to past neighborhood clean ups, where groups remove tons of debris, High Street was mostly littered with tossed food wrappers, bags, can and bottles.
Bruno wants more residents to come out for future efforts, and he plans to hold the events once or twice a month. He said a major problem is the lack of trash receptacles on High Street. “If someone here on the corner of High and Lyman has a bag of trash, they certainly don’t want to walk a mile to the end of the street to throw away their stuff,” he said. “Often times it ends up right here on the side of the street.”
When he sees a person littering, he will walk over and pick up the item on the ground, which can prove a humbling experience for the litterbug. “As this event came closer, I’ve been more aware of people who are throwing their trash down on the street,” said Bruno, who wore an “I Am Holyoke” t-shirt.
Residents and businesses, he said, should be more active in keeping the street and neighborhood clean.
His mother, Tonya Perron, picked up trash on patch of grass near the Clover Cafe. She said she was proud of her son and his community work. “He’s involved in so many things. He’s just all over the place,” she said. Despite the bad weather the week before, she said Elvin was determined to hold the clean up.
“We’re hoping just by today it grows, and that we can continue going on from different streets and different wards in Holyoke,” said Perron, who moved from Northampton. “We really believe in community, diversity and unity. I always instilled about great morals, respect for everybody and we’re all one and we need to work together.”
It wasn’t long before the crew reached CareerPoint. High Street, at least for one day, shined.