Cleaning up the Tuckasegee, one hula hoop at a time

Where else can you find a weed whacker, hula hoop, 18 paddling buddies and a river bank made of old cars? Try the Tuckasegee River in Bryson City.

Eighteen canoeists and kayakers descended on the Town Tuck section of the river and removed 650 pounds of trash June 30 during Week of Rivers. The trash included glass liquor bottles, an umbrella, fishing net, soggy carpets (complete with growing plants), plenty of beer cans, a seat cushion and tarps.

The club worked with Roger Clapp, executive director of the Watershed Association of the Tuckasegee River. While paddlers pulled trash from the river, Roger and his assistant Dale Campbell tossed our mounds of trash in the backs of pickup trucks.

Besides trash, we did find some blue herons along the river, and Tom Womble saw an otter while we waited out a couple of thunderstorms beneath the Everett Street bridge in downtown Bryson City.

Please thank the following paddlers for their efforts on the cleanup: Bjoern Aldag (OC-1), Reinhard Koepp (K-1), Dennis Barnes (OC-2), Susan Eda (OC-2), Barry Schmidt (K-1), Tom Womble (K-1), Robert Womble (K-1), Eliot Mintzer (OC-2), Stan Heatwole (OC-2), Joe Vines (K-1), Ben Fleming (OC1), Mame Fleming (OC-1), Sam Fleming (K-1), Jack Fleming (K-1), Ford Fleming (K-1), Bill Hussey (K-1), Bonnie Semora (OC-2), Bob Brueckner (OC-1).

Robert Womble won a prize for finding the weed whacker.

One bit of advice from my own experience: Don't throw a soggy, heavy piece of carpet in the back of an XL11 canoe unless you've always wanted to paddle a large brick.

By Bob Brueckner

CCC Conservation Chair