Our son’s haul from the Yuba River cleanup: Pepsi cans, circa ’60s or ’70s.

A record 790 volunteers participated in the 19th Annual Yuba River Cleanup. So far, about 7,465 pounds of trash and 1,180 pounds of recyclables from 85.25 miles of river, creek and lake shoreline at 32 cleanup and four restoration sites within the Yuba River and Bear River watersheds, according to SYRCL.

Our son and his classmates at Ghidotti Early College High school participated at “emerald pools.” Their Key Club advisor is SYRCL President Joe Bell. Other schools also participated.

Our son said he collected “a lot” of trash and went for a swim with his buddies. He brought home these “keepsakes”:  two steel, pull-tab Pepsi cans (circa ’60s and ’70s) that he found under a big rock. We cleaned them up, and they’re on display now.

Other items found in the cleanup included a VHS Bill Cosby tape and a bowling pin. The front end of a vehicle was pulled from Englebright Lake, and an amethyst crystal was found in Deer Creek.

Our magazine also was a cash sponsor of the SYRCL River Cleanup for the third straight year. Here’s our report from our magazine last fall about the Yuba River, “Yuba stewards” including Gary Snyder, the Getz’, the Funks’ and SYRCL, which we titled “Yuba River Journeys.” We found some vintage photos that we shared with SYRCL, and we interviewed some of the pioneers, including Dennis Brian Barry, Shawn Garvey, Roger Hicks and Janet Cohen. Dennis’ hand-drawn map of the Yuba is a treasure. It was a fun and educational endeavor.

After the Cleanup, volunteers celebrated their success at Nevada City’s Pioneer Park for a hosted lunch and games.

SYRCL’s Executive Director Caleb Dardick received a certificate of recognition from California State Senator Ted Gaines. Nevada County Supervisor Nate Beason, who also is one of our neighbors, praised attendees for their commendable volunteer efforts.

I played this circa ’60s and ’70s Pepsi commercial for our son. He had no idea about the “Pepsi Generation.”