Glasgow is a beautiful, historic river town perched on a bluff above the Missouri River. It has the "oldest continuously operated library west of the Mississippi" and is located on the "sharpest bend on the Missouri River". It probably has the highest percentage of residents that are proud to call themselves "river rats".
Glasgow residents love their river, and it shows. There is just not the normal amount of recreational and party trash as we find in most places. Stump Island Park is almost pristine. People take care of the river.
This was our third clean-up in Glasgow, but because of high water and bad weather in 2004 and 2007, this was our first time getting everyone out on the river. And we had a blast.
123 volunteers showed up and they removed 3.9 tons of junk from the banks of the river. 30 of those volunteers were from the Stienmetz 4-
H organization in Glasgow, who also cleans up Highway 5. Other volunteers came from as far away as Kansas City, Chillicothe and Arnold.
With the help of Mo. Dept. of Conservation Agents and Biologists, we got most of those folks out on the river to collect trash. With trash bags, shovels, a gas-powered chop saw, bolt cutters and their gloved hands, they cleaned up about 10 miles of the river.
One group spent all morning directly across the river from Stump Island Park, cleaning up refuse from years of scrap and tire dumping, as well as your general party trash. The Prentzler family brought their own boat and cleaned up all along the downtown Glasgow riverfront. Several boats attacked floating rafts of trash with nets.
After the morning's clean-up, all the volunteers enjoyed a great lunch donated and prepared by the Farmer's Pick Buffett at Isle of Capri Casino in Boonville. We gathered for a really fun trash contest with the treasures people found on the river. You can see the winners (and the full trash tally) below.
We spent the afternoon hauling all the trash in, including one boat entirely full of scrap metal. Then our crew got to enjoy the nearly full moon evening camping under the beautiful cottonwoods of Stump Island Park.
83 Bags of Trash
14 Tires on rim
1 Tractor Trailer Tire on rim
1 Tractor Trailer Tire w/out rim
1 Combine Tire on rim
5 Tires w/out rim
1 Inner Tube
1 Tire Rim, no tire
7 Chunks O’ Styrofoam
1 Cooler
2 5-gallon Metal Buckets
1 55-gallon Metal Drum
4 55-gallon Plastic Barrels
1 Refrigerator Coil
1 Drier Front
1 Deep Freezer
1 Helium Balloon Tank
1 green plastic Yard Chair
1 plastic Chair Seat
1 large piece Foam Rug Padding
3 Exhaust Pipes
1 Car Bumper
1 Tractor Seat
1 large orange Plastic Marker
1 Shovel
1 Concrete Test Core
1 Chainsaw Chain
1 Chemical Sprayer
25’ Corrugated Tubing
4 lengths heavy Barge Rope
22’ Rubber Hose
1 Ceiling Tile
1 Firebox Liner Brick
1 large orange Vinyl Floater
1 ceramic Sewer Pipe
1 large Conveyor Belt
1 Toilet Bowl
1 Fishing Line w/ Weights & Hooks
1 Grill
1 plastic Pumpkin shell
1 heavy Iron Chain
2 4” heavy wall Cast Iron Pipes
8” heavy wall Cast Iron Pipe
1 men’s Polo Shirt (perfect condition)
1 Fence Post
2 Angle Irons
4 sections Rebar
1 Window Weight
12 pieces Wire Cable 5’ to 30’
11 Iron Pipes
1 Scaffolding
2 Freon metal tanks
152+ Pieces Scrap Metal Steel (very heavy)
category winners in BOLD
1 Porky the Pig red piggy bank
1 Turtle Shell
1 plastic Genie Bottle
1 side to a Price Chopper shopping cart
1 unique Oil Can
1 Christmas Tree Cookie Cutter
1 Doll Leg
1 Stereo Speaker
1 Toy Wheels
1 Red Board
1 Metal Wheel Rim
1 Duck Decoy
1 Heavy Steel Pipe elbow marked 1896
1 pair of plastic Hipster Glasses
1 pink Headband
1 Leather Shoe
1 Perfume Bottle
1 old Glass Bottle
1 Tree Trunk w/roots
2 pieces of Drift Wood
1 Christmas Cookie Tin
1 plastic Pedestal
1 Light Bulb
1 Glass Bottle
1 Machete
1 Boat Hook
Assortment of Balls
1 Sharpie Highlighter
1 Depth Finder for fishing
1 Flip Flop, 1 Croc
1 plastic drink Thermos
1 metal drink Thermons
1 Fire Extinguisher
1 Trailer Light
1 Glass Bottle
1 car Head Light
1 red Milk Crate
1 Deer Antler
1 Mussel Shell
1 Alien Head (actually a chert nodule)
3 Rubber Duckies
Total Volunteers: 123
Total Trash Tonnage: 3.9 tons
Groups Participating: The Missouri River Relief Crew, MO Dept. of Conservation, Missouri Stream Team, Steinmetz 4-H Club, Logboat Brewing Co., Friends of Big Muddy, Truman State University
Fun Team Names: Roller Skating Land Sharks, Bad A** Boys, the Amazing Tacos, Destroyers of Trash (D.O.T.), Muddy Water Shenanigans, the Pirate/Fairies, Cistine Wonders, the Prentzler boat, The River Rulers and Hellbenders.
