Labor of Love: Lock's 'unwavering commitment' helps keep College Road clean

6/2/2021

This article was originally written by Ron Cooke for the Key West Citizen

In 2009, Tom Lock volunteered to help clean up a main thoroughfare in Key West. He never envisioned it would become a passion for the 61-year-old employee at the Lower Keys Medical Center.

From that time 12 years ago, Lock has been a one-man cleanup crew of College Road.

"I got started when First State Bank was doing a cleanup on North Roosevelt Boulevard. I volunteered to help with that in August of 2009," explained Lock. "One of the ladies at the bank said she did not want to clean up North Roosevelt, she wanted to clean up College Road and asked if anyone would help. I told her I worked at the hospital and saw how disgusting the road gets, so I volunteered to help and that's how it all started."

Now, he is out there every other Saturday cleaning the road. He starts at the north end of College Road and works his way to the other end doing both sides.

"I do the whole road. It's about five miles and takes five to six hours," he said. "I usually end up with like 13,000 steps and three bags of trash."

Originally from Fall City, Nebraska, Lock followed his oldest brother to Key West because his job in Nebraska was seasonal.

"I would get laid off each winter because we did road work, so I would collect unemployment. I did that job for 13 years and moved here in 1991 and started out at the hospital," said Lock, who departed the Keys for a job out west.

"I left for a couple of years in 2005 and moved to Salt Lake City. I had friends out there but could not live there because the winters were harsh," said Lock. "After being here for 13 years it was hard going back to work outside in the snow.

When the opportunity came, I got my job back in the materials department. They had five people in my job for that two year stretch. Everybody thinks my job is easy. Materials in not an easy job."

Lock said the most unusual thing he found was a fully-loaded handgun.

"It was Smith & Wesson .357. I found it between the Sheriff's Office and Sunset Marina condominiums in that grassy area. I saw something shiny and once I picked it up I realized it was real," said Lock. "I called the police department and they came and got it. Of course, I didn't want to stand there holding it when the police arrived, I put it back."

He no longer goes into the mangroves to pick up litter.

"I went to reach for boots once and a guy said 'hey leave them alone.' That's why I don't walk back in the tree lines because there are a lot of encampments. People sit back there and drink."

He rarely finds anything of value but said the money he finds helps with living in the Keys.

"I found a $100 bill once which I paid part of my rent with," laughed Lock. "I found a $20 bill two weeks ago. It's hit-and-miss. I get a lot of people thanking me for doing it. That's all I need to keep doing it which is a lot of work, but I find it rewarding. I'm out here in the beautiful weather. I get a lot of people walking and driving by who honk or give me thumbs up. That's all I need to keep doing it. The hospital buys the bags, and they let me dump them in their trash."

In his 12 years of cleaning the road, he has had just three rain-out days.

"I wish I didn't have to do it. Mostly it is bottles, cans and fast food trash. The one thing I hate to pick up is those little things people floss their teeth with. I've picked up thousands of those things along with e-cigarettes," said Lock, who has been mistaken for a prisoner at the county jail. "When I grew up we always had a litter bag in the car. You'd hang on a radio knob and when it filled up we'd empty at the gas station or home and start over. We're a disposable society. If their air freshener stops working, it's out the window."

Lock said the hospital supports his endeavor.

"I appreciate my employer supporting me. They go above and beyond," he said.

It is a mutual respect for Lock, said his supervisor, Ann Crislip, the director of Materials Management.

"Tom Lock's unwavering commitment to the Key West community is truly admirable. For the past 12 years he has voluntarily dedicated every other Saturday morning to removing litter from College Road. Tom's selfless labor of love has benefited all the business, residents and visitors of College Road," said Crislip.

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