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CNS Story:
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VOLUNTEER-TRASH Jan-3-2008 (500 words) With photo. xxxn
Volunteer, 80, keeps Delaware parish looking spiffy
By Mike Lang
Catholic News Service
WILMINGTON, Del. (CNS) -- Isidro "Pedro" Colon retired from the city of Wilmington five years ago after years of cleaning the streets of trash and snow. No one would have blamed him had he kicked back, put his battle-tested feet up and relaxed during retirement.
No one, perhaps, except Colon himself.
Colon wanted no part of lazy mornings and daytime television. He had time and talents to offer. So he approached officials at his longtime parish, St. Paul's in Wilmington. They were more than happy to welcome him aboard.
"One day he asked if he could work here as a volunteer. I said anyone is welcome here," said Deacon Angel Rivera, who does maintenance at St. Paul's. "He didn't want to stay home and watch TV. So he thought the best place to start was here at the church."
Colon, 80, can be found virtually every morning on the grounds of St. Paul's or a nearby street, doing his part to make his little corner of the world a bit more pleasant. He works year-round, picking up trash, weeding and shoveling snow. He comes in early, sometimes before 7 a.m., works three or four hours, walks to his home half a block from the church, and returns in the afternoon to continue his work.
"The church appreciates what he's doing. We wish more people would help. You have to pay people to do what he's doing. That takes a good chunk out of the collection," Deacon Rivera said.
Some people try to make Colon's work more difficult by throwing trash in his direction as they walk or drive by, the deacon said, but for the most part he is treated with respect.
He doesn't stop with the parish grounds, either. Colon often will walk from St. Paul's up Fourth Street to Franklin Street, over one block to Third and back down the hill to St. Paul's.
Colon came to Wilmington from Puerto Rico in the mid-1950s. His wife died in 1976. They had four children, three of whom survive. Pedro lives with a son in Wilmington; his two daughters live in Florida. He also has 12 grandchildren.
Colon said that despite -- or perhaps because of -- the daily work around the parish, his physical health is good. He claims no secret that keeps him in such good condition.
"I live in peace, I eat good and I sleep. That's the key," he told The Dialog, Wilmington diocesan newspaper, in Spanish translated by Deacon Rivera. "And pray. I can't leave that out."
"He's going to make it to 100," said Deacon Rivera, eliciting a laugh from Colon.
If so, parishioners and passers-by likely will find him with his gloves, shovel and trash can. Colon plans to keep volunteering at the parish "until they lower me into the ground. When I die, I want a broom in the casket," he added with a laugh.
END
Copyright (c) 2008 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
CNS · 3211 Fourth St NE · Washington DC 20017 · 202.541.3250
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