Outfitted in orange vests and gloves, 25 4-H Livestock Club members, leaders, parents and family members recently assisted Seipstown Grange clean up litter from Route 100 and Claussville Road in Lowhill and Weisenberg townships.

In addition to the Route 100 North crew of Amber Schiffert; Lillie, Jonas, Olivia and Deborah Geiger; Tori Schiffert; Bailey Vassallo; Shannon Wetzel; Cyrus, Jenny and Ashtyn Gehringer; the 4-H team included Marvin, Jonathan and Malachi Smith; Julia Wetzel; Sherry, Aliza, Riley and Sydney Nyce; Karen Selig; Brian, Fay, Adam and Josh Dietrich; and Amanda Witt.

Starting from Clauss-ville, Seipstown, the Lowhill Township Building and Claussville, four teams in banner-marked vehicles scoured their prospective areas until they came into contact with each other.

In total, the volunteers accumulated a sea of 35 white, litter-filled garbage bags. Shredded tire treads, vehicle components left behind from accidents, political and yard sale signs, miscellaneous hardware, plus many other exotic items one would not expect to find as litter were all meticulously removed from the roadways.

Stuffed toys and a small, yellow, plastic saxophone were among the discarded, as well as an assortment of a dozen different types of energy drink bottles.

The cleanup volunteers are always curious why the newly gained energy from consuming these popular drinks didn't give the imbiber the strength to carry the empty container to a proper disposal site instead of just tossing it on the highway.

4-H Leaders Jenny and Cyrus Gehringer were aided by the newest crew member, their 3-month-old daughter, Ashtyn, who rode along in a support vehicle.

Jenny Gehringer said a majority of participants have helped in all four of the litter cleanups in which the 4-H has participated.

She said the 4-H members finds the experience to be a great way to perform community service with their friends while using their new-found knowledge to educate others against tossing items onto the highway.

Thanks to the dedication of these young people and their leaders, the members of the Seips-town Grange have been able to continue the beautification project under local PennDot District 5-0 for more than 25 years.

Assisting with the spring cleanup of the grange's adopted 11 miles of highway, which reaches into Heidelberg and Upper Macungie townships, were Ron and Lyla Derr, Grant and Jill Mertz, Joe Zeller and this reporter, Grange Adopt-A-Highway Coordinator Ann Wertman.

Volunteers who are able to give a few hours to assist with the spring and fall cleanups, which produce the greatest volume of the nearly 100 packed garbage bags filled each year, are always needed and welcome.

Over the years, many participants have stepped aside due to health issues.

Call me at 610-298-3254 or email me at annawertman@verizon.net to volunteer to help keep these rural roads beautiful for everyone to enjoy.