Creek Clean Up No Trivial Pursuit

Where can you find:

• parts of a washing machine
  
• a drive shaft from an automobile
  
• a pneumatic house
  
• a motorcycle gas tank
  
• a car gas tank, a toy gun
  
• a computer monitor (which contains up to 5 pounds of lead)
  
• a box spring
  
• several old tires
  
• a child's bicycle
  
• abandoned wooden pallets
  
• several pieces of clothing
  
• a rusted drum with a label warning that corrosive material was once inside it
  
• a collection of bottles and cans
  
• an assortment of Trivial Pursuit cards?
  

At one of the odds and ends stores on Central? At Fred's Alignment, maybe? In somebody's garage? Well, possibly. In this case, however, these items - and unfortunately many more - were found in 1st Creek when Old North Knoxville held its first 1st Creek Clean Up on Saturday, June 8th from 9 a.m. until noon. Fifteen piles of discarded items were gathered on the banks to be picked up and taken away.

Beth Booker of Old North Knoxville coordinated with WBIR-TV, KUB (Knoxville Utilities Board), and the Izaak Walton League to make this event a success. Old North provided juice and bagels before the clean up began and the Izaak Walton League provided pizza and drinks for the lunch after the clean up. Approximately 45 volunteers from these different groups participated in the clean up. There were even people not associated with any of these groups, such as Matt Edens from Parkridge, who showed up and participated. 

Still, only about half of the Creek that runs through Old North Knoxville was cleaned up. A second clean up is planned for this fall to tackle the other half. So to all those who participated in June's clean up, thank you. Many hands made light the work and also allowed for a little fun to take place while work was going on. To those who didn't get a chance to help out in June, we could certainly use you this fall. We are fortunate to have a piece of Knoxville's history flowing through our historic neighborhood. Not many neighborhoods have such an asset, and particularly not one of an historic nature. After all, 1st Creek was instrumental in Knoxville's founding.

Starting in Fountain City, 1st Creek flows through North Knoxville - including Old North Knoxville - and on through the Old City, emptying into the Tennessee River at Volunteer Landing. John Adair settled along 1st Creek near Fountain City and at the mouth of 1st Creek in 1791 the Treaty of the Holston was signed, just to name two events that have taken part along its banks. 

Oh, and by the way, does anybody know how many U.S. states border the Pacific Ocean? Or the name of the half-Vulcan, half-human character on TV?

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