Hometown Hero: Oakland man works to keep Piedmont Avenue clean

OAKLAND -- With his signature railroad cap, broom and dustpan, Michael Lydon is easy to spot on Piedmont Avenue, especially because he's one of the few people out and about when the sun is just rising and most shops are closed.

He's also the busiest, sweeping up cigarette butts, candy wrappers and any other piece of litter he comes across.

It's a job he has been doing -- without pay -- since 1979.

"You're out in the fresh air," the 69-year-old said as he swept a crushed paper cup from the gutter outside Fentons Creamery. "You're doing something positive. How could anyone not want to do this?"

Michael Lydon at his home in Oakland, Calif., shows the many photos of changes he has been involved in on Piedmont Avenue on Friday, Aug. 22, 2014. Since 1979 Lydon has voluntarily helped keep Piedmont Avenue clean and welcoming. (Laura A. Oda/Bay Area News Group)

His walk, which can begin as early as 6 a.m., takes him up and down both sides of Piedmont Avenue, from Pleasant Valley Road to West MacArthur Boulevard. He empties his dustpan in the street's garbage cans along the route.

On a recent morning, the Rev. Tim Johnson, Catholic priest at the Church of Saint Leo the Great, was the first to greet Lydon. Johnson, carrying hand weights, was out for his morning exercise. Then a woman wearing earbuds said hello as she jogged past.

"She's trying to lose weight," Lydon whispered, before pausing outside Starbucks, where a customer inside had knocked on the coffee shop's window to get his attention.

"Hey there," Lydon said as he pointed at the man, waved and continued cleaning the street.

Litter accumulates more in some areas than others, Lydon said. Bus stops and benches are particularly bad, and some merchants never sweep the sidewalk outside their shops.

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Hometown Hero: Oakland man works to keep Piedmont Avenue clean