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As the spring sun melts Nome’s snow, trash and debris scattered by winter wind catches itself in brush on the tundra and litters the beaches and roadsides. Another common sight this time of year is Nome resident, Mary Reader. You can spot her walking with a bright yellow trash bag in one hand and a picker in the other.
“I was trying to remember when I first started doing this,” Reader said. “My mom and Ingeborg Handeland did it for years, picked up trash around town.”
Reader was born and raised in Nome, with her family going back generations in the area. She’s a worker by nature and likes to keep busy but she said personal reasons motivate her to get her out the door and pick up trash each spring.
“I lost my son, it'll be 20 years ago on Memorial Day. And I needed something to do to help me deal with my grief and my sadness, and I don't sit still very well,” Reader said. “Some people turn to unhealthy options when they're dealing with their grief, but I decided to start picking up trash.”
Looking for space to think, Reader said she uses the trash picking time for solitude and the opportunity to connect with loved ones that have passed on.
“I usually pick up trash with my earbuds on. I don’t want to talk to people, I don’t want to hear people. I like to hear the birds singing, but I just want to be in my own little world with my thoughts and get out and get moving, and like I said, for my mind, it helps my mental health. It’s my free therapy,” Reader said.
With a keen eye for garbage that needs picking, Reader does notice and appreciate others in town pitching in. She applauded the City of Nome's annual Spring and Fall Clean Up events and students at Nome-Beltz Middle High Schools and the jail for pitching in too. She said if we all do our part, we can make a big difference.
“Our town is not the most beautiful town in the world, but it doesn't have to look like a dump, and it doesn't matter if you live in a mansion or just a one room house, you can keep your area clean. I mean, take pride in it and appreciate, appreciate what you have,” Reader said.
Although she doesn’t ask for thanks, Reader does encounter appreciation when she’s out and about. She recalled a time a stranger threw $100 into the cab of her car while picking trash near Nome’s Monofill.
“He said, ‘buy yourself some flowers!’ I was like, ‘that's too much!” then he took off,” Reader said. “I found out who he was later, and I got a hold of his mom and let her know what her son had done.”
Reader said she hopes her actions set an example for others, realizing we’re all on this planet together.
“You know, this is it. This is our planet and you know, we need to take care of her. She's a her, in my mind,” Reader said.
