Robeson County and Lumberton have no surer friend than the Lumber River. Without it, our county would be much different, and our county seat might not be at all.
The 115-mile dark-water river, a state park, never fails Robesonians, offering us water that is vital to our sustenance, scenic beauty, and a place to get away from it all with fishing, canoeing, camping out and other recreational opportunities. The river is also a key selling point for Robeson County anytime an industry with jobs to offer comes to take a look.
The river asks for little in return, and gets less than that.
Too many people in this county see the river not as Mother Nature’s beautiful gift, but as a trash can, a place to dispose of tires or refuge to escape a fee or a longer ride to a Dumpster. Garbage is tossed into the river every day, but only once a year is there an organized effort to clean up the mess.
This year it’s on Saturday, with the 17th edition of Big Sweep on the Lumber River, an effort we are pretty confident has been headed by by Neil Lee, now the park superintendent, since Day 1.
“I can’t get in the head of a litterbug to really understand it,” Lee said for a story that was published in The Robesonian on Wednesday. “It’s a lack of respect for nature, unfortunately on some people’s parts, and laziness. They are too lazy to keep it with them and save it to throw it away when they get home or back on shore.”
Each year Lee and a band of volunteers spend a fall Saturday scouring the river, pulling from it what they can, an effort that typical yields a couple of tons of discarded items. Although it’s called a Big Sweep, the effort is actually modest. Earlier this week, Lee said he had about 30 volunteers, many of them Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, and others from the Lumber River Canoe Club. That’s from a county with 140,000 residents.
There are 90 miles of the Lumber River that wind through Robeson County, leaving about three miles to each volunteer, and underlining the enormity of the task. We can — and should — do better.
If you would like to pitch in — make that pick up as others have done the pitching in — call (910) 628-4564 and find out where to be, when to be there, and what you can do. In addition to helping rid the river of trash, it will be a day of exercise and camaraderie on what is forecast to be a sunny, crisp autumn day, all for a noble — and overwhelming — task.
years ago, before my health took its decline, I owned a small 15 foot aluminum john boat. It was always a joy to just get out on the river,fish,and take a slow scenic ride to just get away from a lot of stress; but, like the article said, too many disrespectful people litter the river and while one expects fallen trees and limbs to make navigating it hazardous in places, those were not deliberate acts of no good, sorry excuses for human beings, who choose to destroy a natural scenic wonder we have and often fail to appreciate.
I'll have to pat myself and a few others who went with me for always leaving the river better than we found it, by cutting limbs back, taking back bags of trash ( where we could safely remove it ) and always, its saddened me to see so much disrespect for this natural wonder that runs through our county. My neighbor, a great family doctor ( Dr. Charles Inman ) left over 200 acres to the conservatory of this river and we should always remember the kindness and caring Dr. Inman and his son Dr. Tom Inman extended to this county in doing so.
I no longer get to get out much thanks to acute leukemia and a host of other medical issues, but I'll always be thankful to the Inman's for they're very generous gift to the state park. I'm sure Dr. Charles Inman would be proud to know his family made that great donation and while I won't get to enjoy it much myself anymore, my kids, grandchildren and so many others will.
Please, do your part when you use the river or the park facilities and leave it better than you found it. In the end, if we all pitch in, we can all help keep it up for future generations. For all of you who are able with the cleanup operations I'm no longer able to do, I sincerely thank you. Mark Savage, 3094 Smith Mill Rd, Lumberton, NC, 28358-8965. 608-0455