By Teddy Rydquist
Leader Staff Writer
Cans and bottles — returnables worth 10 cents each — have been piling up in the Oxford Village garage for the better part of a month. The mounds of can and bottles in plastic bags was due to a fundriaser to help the Polly Ann Trail.
Split into two defined segments, the Oakland County portion of the Polly Ann Trail runs from Orion Township to the Lapeer County line, spanning a total of 14.2 miles, with the Lapeer County portion continuing north for an additional 20 miles to North Branch Township.
While the Lapeer County portion is managed by separate groups in areas the trail is maintained, the Polly Ann Trail Management Council (PATMC) oversees the Oakland County segment.
Typically, PATMC relies on grants, sponsorships, and donations to keep the trail running smoothly and fund any repairs. With Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s controversial Executive Order closing or limiting most businesses in the area, the management council had to find other ways to stir up financial support for the trail.
“I was talking to (Village of Oxford Police Chief) Mike Solwold, and he was saying they wanted to do a fundraiser to help out folks in the community,” Trail Manager Linda Moran said.
“He mentioned wanting to do something for the Polly Ann Trail and that was awfully nice, we’ve had some funding pulled, we’ve had some funding cuts.”
Born out of this conversation was the idea to hold a can/bottle drive benefitting the trail, and the timing of the financial injection was needed as the PATMC must replace a failing culvert, a tunnel carrying water under the trail, in Orion Township.
With the returns also presently closed at grocery stores, Powers Distributing, located in Lake Orion off Giddings Road between Silverbell and Waldon, stepped in and worked out a deal to take the soda and beer cans off the Village Police’s hands.
“We planned to cut it off at the end of the month (May),” Moran said of the length of the fundraiser.
“But then the bottles kept coming and coming, and Mike (Solwold) called me, and we decided to have Memorial Day be our last day of collecting the bottles.
“I talked to a wonderful gentleman at Powers Distributing and they had seen what we were doing and offered to help us out. They told us they don’t know when she (Whitmer) plans to re-open the bottle returns, but when it happens, they will write us a check and take the bottles and cans from us.”
Due to the bottle/can return closure, many people were experiencing a surplus build-up of returnable items at their house. As Moran pointed out, this bottle drive allowed people to clear out their own clutter and contribute to a good cause at the same time, killing two birds with one stone, so to speak.
“The generosity of folks has been overwhelming,” said Moran of the turnout the bottle drive received.
“I was totally gobsmacked by the enthusiasm behind it, really makes you happy to be part of the community.
“We raised enough to repair the culvert and we also have a root problem under the cement behind the Frosty Boy in Oxford. Those are two pretty big projects we’ll be able to tackle.”
Concluding their returnable collection on Monday, the Oxford Village Police will release an exact total raised by the fundraising effort on their Facebook page.
Complementing the Paint Creek Trail, another one of Oakland County’s local gems, the Polly Ann Trail has experienced a significant increase in usage during the Lower Peninsula’s shutdown.
If you are interested in learning more about or supporting the trail financially, further information is available at this website, pollyanntrailway.org.

  Can Drive, Oxford Police, polly ann trail