Nine volunteers overcame gusting winds and chilly temperatures to clean up the city’s last potter’s field at Dunks Ferry and Mechanicsville roads on March 15.
The Friends of Poquessing Watershed organized the effort as an attempt to replicate the Friends of Pennypack Park’s highly successful monthly cleanup program. Sustained winds blew at 15 to 25 miles per hour with 35-mile-per-hour gusts, while temperatures hovered in the mid-40s as workers collected 31 bags of debris and other assorted items that partiers had left there.
Volunteers also cleaned up wooded areas adjacent to the field, as well as a stretch of Dunks Ferry Road between Mechanicsville and the Poquessing Creek.
The helpers included Patty and Jack McCarthy, Hans Brolinson, Lise and Corinne Mundy, Mary Lou Klein, Jeanne Kane, Ernie and Nick Argabright and Nance Kerns. Organizations represented included Northeast Philadelphia History Network, St. Anselm’s and Parkwood Civic Association.
In addition to the 31 bags of trash, volunteers collected five bags of cans, four tires, a Parkwood Youth Organization trash can (that was returned to PYO), a lot of St. Patrick’s Day decorations and novelties and assorted larger items.
The Friends of Poquessing Watershed has scheduled two more cleanups. The public is invited to participate. On Saturday, April 11, they will meet at Glen Foerd on the Delaware, 5001 Grant Ave. On Saturday, May 9, the meeting spot will be Knights Road and Frankford Avenue, across the street from Wawa. Call 215–638–0832, visit www.friendsofpoquessing.org or visit their Facebook page for information. ••
