EASTON, Pa. (WLVT) - As the city of Easton slowly reopens, there’s an even greater emphasis on keeping things clean.
In April, PBS39 featured the Easton Ambassadors, a group funded by the Greater Easton Development Partnership in 2008 that cleans the city's downtown, taking extra measures to sanitize during the COVID-19 pandemic.
While the ambassadors are paid employees, there’s a group of volunteers that’s been sweeping up other parts of town. They call themselves the "Broom Brigade."
"I take a lot of pride in the city and keeping it clean is really important to me," said volunteer Joan Kistler, who lives in the city's West Ward area, "and if people see a clean city, I think they'll take more pride in it and maybe try to keep it clean."
"We're trying to keep things as normal as possible, and keeping the streets clean is important," added volunteer Nancy Poplawski, who lives in College Hill. "It's an important job."
Every second and fourth Wednesday, they pick up trash, pull out weeds, and sweep up sidewalks and streets for about an hour and a half. Anthony Marraccini, who organized the group three years ago, said curb appeal is important and that it wasn't hard to get residents on board.
"When you look at Easton’s renaissance, that's just 30, 40 years of people doing things together to make it work," he said. "It's a grassroots, ground-up notion, and when you have that kind of energy, you can do a lot with it."
The Broom Brigade typically cleans up the city’s West Ward, but this past Wednesday, they spread out along Northampton Street by Seventh Avenue.
Along with cigarette butts, plastic wrappers and broken glass, the brigade has found some more interesting things in the past.
"I actually picked up a package of beef liver, but it was all packed up cryogenically, thank goodness, because it would have stunk to high heaven," Poplawski said.
There’s a new challenge to cleaning this year. Staying safe during a pandemic means wearing a mask -- even as the days get warmer.
"No one wants to wear a mask," Marraccini said. "You do it because you care about other people. That's why you do it."
He said volunteers show up no matter what, and they usually have about a dozen each time they come together.
"I think it's fun. The reward is seeing how people are happier when you're there," Poplawski said. "People are thanking you for helping them, and then, people start getting involved."
"I think this is a great community to live in," Kistler added. "I think everybody wants help to help each other out."
To connect with the Broom Brigade, join its Facebook group HERE to get updates on upcoming cleaning days.