Civic cleanup in Sierra Madre

Nov. 10, 1907: Sierra Madre held Cleaning-Up Day, “and it proved to be the greatest day in the history of the town,” The Times reported.

“About 10 days ago, the city decided to be clean morally, by voting out saloons by a big majority, but not content with that, the citizens decided that they would be clean physically, so at 6 o’clock in the morning, according to a prearranged programme, anvils began firing and church bells ringing to rouse the population, and by 7:30 o’clock there were 250 people, brimming over with enthusiasm, and 10 teams at work,” the newspaper said.

“Rich men with soft hands, and looking and feeling queer in overalls, turned to with a will, and if they didn’t work as hard as their less fortunate brothers in life who were inured to such toil, they certainly tried as hard, and as a result the town is the cleanest it has been since it sprang into existence.”