Keep America Beautiful: Route 6 Roundup

Like a secret passageway that leads into the heart and soul of America, scenic U.S. Route 6 stretches 440 miles across Pennsylvania's northern tier, through forests and farmland, mountains, rivers and valleys, connecting small-town communities that prize their heritage and quality of life.

Today, volunteers from 52 different organizations in 11 counties are doing their spring cleaning, picking up discarded bottles, bags, cans and candy wrappers in the first annual PA Route 6 Roundup.

"The PA Route 6 Round-Up might be one of the largest statewide cleanup efforts in the country," says Autumn Harter, program coordinator for the Pennsylvania Route 6 Heritage Corporation, a non-profit group that is coordinating the project as part of Keep America Beautiful and statewide effort to KeepPABeautiful.

Cleaning and greening improves property values by at least 15%, according to a study by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and the Wharton School of Business. And besides, keeping it neat and tidy makes the roadway look pretty.

The visitors who come this way couldn't agree more. Car and Driver magazine named Pennsylvania's Route 6 to its list of top 10 scenic drives; National Geographic called it "One of America's most scenic drives;" and Harley Davidson says it's "one of the 50 best touring roads in the U.S."

Area businesses and residents plan to keep it that way. Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell designated Pennsylvania Route 6 an official State Heritage Corridor in 2005, and since then citizens have been joining together to preserve, enhance and promote the treasured resources that contribute to their shared sense of place.

Terri Dennison, who heads up the Pennsylvania Route 6 Heritage Corporation, says she is encouraged by the unprecedented cooperation and enthusiasm she's seeing among state and local officials, local tourism groups, county planners, historical societies, businesses and individuals along the corridor. Next week she and her organization will host three workshops on "Rollin' RV Revenue" in cooperation with the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association, to help small towns and cities along Route 6 capture tourism dollars from one of the fastest growing segments of the tourism market. The workshops will be held in Scranton (May 8), Wellsboro (May 9), and Pittsburgh (May 12). And spring tours of the Pennsylvania Route 6 Artisan trail, also coordinated by her organization, are already in full swing.

There's nothing like knowing company's coming to motivate some serious spring cleaning!

The Pennsylvania Route 6 Heritage Corridor spans 11 Pennsylvania counties, from Lake Erie to the Pocono Mountains. To download your free travel guide, see www.paroute6.com. For more info, call 814-435-7706.

Photos by Ed Bernik courtesy, Pennsylvania Route 6 Heritage Corporation.

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