EVERETT Jim Grane took his family to Jetty Island on Sunday for a day of swimming and relaxation.
Instead, the Seattle family spent the day picking up more than 530 pounds of trash.
Dozens of people took part in Sunday’s annual Jetty Island Trash Bash, which is held each year on the last day people can ride the free ferry to the popular summer hangout. More than 1,100 pounds of garbage was collected during the four-hour event.
Grane, 49, didn’t know about the Trash Bash ahead of time. He had never even been to Jetty Island.
But soon after arriving, his family was hauling a 179-pound railroad tie up the beach.
“We came up just for the afternoon, and we started picking up trash,” Grane said. “I tend to be a little competitive, but it’s for a good cause.”
Close behind the Grane family was David Henshaw, 15, a member of a local Boy Scouts of America troop. Henshaw, representing his Scout troop, worked with his family to clean up 372 pounds of trash.
The Henshaws trekked over sand, rocks and driftwood logs to fetch a roll of carpet on the south end of the island. In the brush near the carpet, they also found an old, broken ladder and a half-buried piece of plywood. Family members took turns carrying the ladder between them, with the carpet and plywood set on top.
“This is helping the community, and benefiting a lot of people who come to the jetty during the summer,” Henshaw said.
Most of the garbage collected Sunday either washed up on the island or was discarded there during the past few months, said Kraig Hansen, a park ranger for the city of Everett. He credited volunteers for their hard work.
“It’s a tremendous help,” Hansen said. “They go places people normally wouldn’t go.”
While some people picked up trash, others simply enjoyed one last day on the shores of the manmade island.
Lauren Enyeart, 27, sat and fed seagulls while her 4-year-old son, J.D., built a sand castle. Enyeart said she always comes to the island on the last day the ferry runs.
“It’s probably one of the saddest days of summer,” she said.
Reporter Scott Pesznecker: 425-339-3436 or spesznecker@heraldnet.com.
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