FERRIDAY — The sun was bright and the air was brisk, and Ferridians took to the streets Saturday with one thing in mind — spring cleaning.

Saturday was the Ferriday town-wide cleanup day, sponsored by the Ferriday Garden Club, and residents, civic clubs, inmate crews and town employees joined in on the effort.

Ferriday resident John Sutterfield decided to work the cleanup into his daily walk.

“I only lack a few days of being 90, and not many people my age can get out, so I walk,” he said.

But Sutterfield’s participation Saturday was really just a continuation of something he’s been doing for a while now.

One day during his walk, he found a trash-grabbing mechanism on the side of the road, and he said he figured he might as well start by picking up the grabber. Now, he uses it to take care of other litter.

“I pick up all the trash I see as I am walking,” he said.

And while Sutterfield was one of Saturday’s oldest participants, young people joined in the effort as well.

Three members of the Doty Road Church of God’s youth group, Jonny Griffin, 11, Yolanda Sommerville, 10 and Dohnterrius Sommerville, 11, also showed up to do what they could.

“We are doing this to make our town look better,” Griffin said.

Yolanda Sommerville agreed.

“We want to keep Ferriday clean,” she said.

But while he didn’t mind picking up litter, Dohnterrius Sommerville said there was one item he didn’t want to find on the side of the road.

“I don’t want to pick up diapers,” he said.

The cleanup day was in anticipation of the Louisiana Garden Club Federation’s annual cleanest city contest, in which the Ferriday Garden Club had entered the town.

In addition to picking up trash and litter, the cleanup efforts include cleaning sidewalks of dirt and grass, picking up empty lots and things like straightening up street signs and telephone poles, Ferriday Garden Club Beautification Committee Chair Lena Bateman said.

And there is still work that can be done, she said.

“The ditches that most people can’t get in, I need some men to get in them and clear them out,” she said.

The cleanest city contest judging will be March 30.