Melissa Parsons was among the estimated 250 people who walked through the six wards of Columbus on Saturday picking up trash during the inaugural “Pick It Up Possum Town.”

But for Parsons, 51, the germ of the idea for this campaign against litter began decades ago as she walked to school with her older sister in Ventura, California.

“As we were walking to school, I asked my sister for a piece of gum,” Parsons recalled. “She gave me the gum and I tossed the wrapper on the ground. My sister saw that and said, ‘Pick that up. Don’t be a Litter Bug.’ I told her it was only a little piece of paper, but she wouldn’t let me leave until I picked it up. For some reason, that stuck with me.”

Parsons and her husband moved to the area 27 years ago from California and consider Columbus their home, even though they’ve never actually lived in the city.

“We’ve lived just over the state line in Alabama since we got here,” she said. “We live in Ethelsville now, but I’ve been working and shopping in Columbus all this time. I consider Columbus my home. I think Columbus is a hidden gem, but I also think it’s kind of a diamond in the rough. The litter situation doesn’t tell the story of what the city can be.”

Parsons has been associate director of business, student services and member services at Mississippi University for Women for seven years. Prior to that, she worked at the Frank P. Phillips YMCA as a fitness instructor.

Moving from Southern California to the South had its share of culture shocks for the Parsons, including attitudes about trash and litter.

“When we moved here, I had all these separate bins for different kinds of recyclables that I brought with me,” she said. “When I got here, I realized there wasn’t anything I could do with them.”

Over the years, the proliferation of litter had been a sore spot with her, so when, as part of his mayoral campaign, Keith Gaskin listed litter as one of his campaign issues, Parsons felt suddenly energized.

“I didn’t know (Gaskin), but I told people if they knew him and talked to him to tell him I wanted to be a part of that,” Parsons said. “When he was elected, I got to meet with him. I told him, ‘Look, I’m ready to do anything, even if it’s just going out and picking up trash.’ In our discussion, we agreed that whatever we do, it has to be sustainable.”

In January, an ad hoc committee met to lay the groundwork for the program.

“There were six of us at that first committee meeting,” Parsons said. “It was Barbara Bigelow, the Main Street director; Nancy Reeves, the director of the Lowndes Master Gardeners, Dusty Snider and Colby Hines from Crossroads Sober Living and Billy Jordan, the director of Last House on the Block.”

Parsons said that first meeting was primarily just a conversation about litter and what could be done. Getting the word out to the residents, they agreed, was essential.

“We knew we needed help with that, so we reached out to Doug and Marion Kilarski, who are experts in marketing and public relations and they’ve been incredible,” Parsons said.

Parsons said the mayor’s office has been very helpful as well.

“The mayor brought out Mayor Possum (a puppet) with the slogan, ‘Don’t be a Litter Critter,’ to help children understand why they shouldn’t litter,” she said. “I think back to when I was a child and I knew all about the Litter Bug, so I think something like that will be very effective.”

Parsons’ group has also coordinated with other organizations that have litter programs, including Vibrant Church and the Columbus Municipal School District.

Saturday’s litter clean-up was Pick It Up Possum Town’s first event, and Parsons was delighted with the enthusiasm and participation.

“Considering we only had six weeks to pull it off, that was an amazing turnout,” she said.

Parsons said the concept of Pick It Up Possum Town continues to evolve.

“We’re still exploring ideas and learning,” Parsons said. “It can’t just be clean-up days, although we felt it was a good place to start. It’s about awareness, and the only way to bring awareness is by education and getting people to get on board. When we can get people to look around and be proud to live and work in a place they feel good about, we’ll know we’re on the right path. We’re just getting started.”

Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].

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