Dewey Beach Civic League President David Main said the cleanups are good for purging the air of postelection politics; it gets people together for a common purpose.

“The whole idea is to provide occasions where people can get together and not talk about politics,” Main said.

Sponsored by the civic league, the Saturday, Oct. 3 cleanup kicked off at Sunset Park, where citizens distributed shovels and trowels and broke off into work groups. Some headed to the Lifesaving Station to weed, Main said, while others, including freshly minted Mayor Rick Solloway, tended the median, pulling weeds and planting flowers.

Commissioner Diane Hanson worked around the Lifesaving Station. She founded Beautification Day in spring 2007, in cooperation with the town and the civic league. “It was very positive,” she said. “They were focused on what they were doing.”

Dewey resident Dave Davis broke out his shovel for the occasion. Saturday was the third time he and his wife, Trish, joined the cleanup, which he said he always finds gratifying. “This time it was rather quick and relatively easy compared to the previous days,” he wrote in an email, “so a welcome thing when the stomach really wants breakfast.”

Main said the cleanups aren’t just about weeding and planting – they’re about bringing people together. “We’re all neighbors and friends, despite all the politics that go on,” he said, adding with a dry chuckle: “People take politics very seriously in Dewey Beach.”