Earth Day Reading

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Within a year, Pregracke's able to put together a small crew and in another year, has bought his first barge. Having picked up garbage in parking lots on a summer job, I sympathized with the miseries of his crew. Most aren't able to last more than a season of the long, hard days moving bathtubs and refrigerators, but the fact that Pregracke is able to motivate them to make it through four or five months of such work is a testimony not only to his dedication and infectious enthusiasm, but the passion felt by all to return our riverscapes to their natural beauty. And they make a memorable cast of characters—perhaps the most distinct of them being welder Rodney Shaw, bass player for Burnt Melba Toast, who builds a pilothouse on struts from a tractor cab for their low-riding tugboat and eventually leaves with a crewmate to start a family.

Following years of successful clean ups, Pregracke's team move into reforestation, education and bringing the message out to riverside communities across the country. They steer through bureaucratic regulations and the backbiting of non-profits to arrange an annual campaign in Washington, D.C. By 2005, they are ready to offer their services in helping rebuild New Orleans, gutting the water-logged homes of devastated families to reskin the frames with fresh plasterboard.

Throughout, Pregracke's upbeat approach is a model for students and others who might wish to take on problems seemingly too large to tackle. Humble in manner, he writes forthrightly about his own mistakes and learning to negotiate for the needed funds to keep going while maintaining friendly connections with likeminded organizations. Some readers may lack patience for the details of piloting a barge or sealing a leak, but missing out on the grit of working life would rob his story of the elements that make each river and those who work on it unique. Perfect summer reading for anyone who wants to make a difference, From the Bottom Up does its job so well, it's fired me up to get out this Earth Day and skim garbage along the Hudson. You can always do more.

—P.W. McRandle

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