MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – At the Montpelier Senior Center, Anne Ferguson talks rubbish.
Every Tuesday, rain or shine, Ferguson leads a group of mostly seniors to pick up garbage around downtown Montpelier. The group’s moniker? Trash Tramps. “I thought it was a really good name,” Ferguson said.
The group has a creed they recite: “I am one. I am only one, but still, I am one. I can not do everything, but still, I can do something.”
“Wherever you go, have fun and come back at 3 o’clock,” Ferguson instructs her tramps. “We’re looking for everything, we’re looking for everything.”
Reporter Joe Carroll: So, it’s kind of freelancing.
Anne Ferguson: Totally.
Ferguson started the group and this September she’ll have been dealing with debris for a decade. The 73-year-old hasn’t missed a week. They pick up all kinds of things. Ferguson’s big concern is the cigarette butts. “The big deal is keeping the butts out of the storm drains and out of the river,” she said.
The Trash Tramps separate the used butts so the plastic in them can be recycled. “Some people think if you drop a cigarette butt, it magically grows into a cigarette tree!” said Mary Mello, a fellow Trash Tramp.
Donna Barlow Casey spent years working for the city of Montpelier. “It seemed like there was a gap in my life because I wasn’t down here helping do certain things,” she said. In a way, one man’s trash is her treasure. “Somehow, it makes you feel better, you know?”
And the people of the Capital City appreciate the volunteers, with Trash Tramps getting words of thanks wherever they go.
Reporter Joe Carroll: How’s it feel hearing that?
Anne Ferguson: Oh, it’s so kind.
The group is out for about an hour before returning with their collections. Another successful day of cleaning up the capital, where trash talk is encouraged. “We’re easygoing. Always love to have people join us,” Ferguson said.
No butts about it.
