"Just a regular neighbor who cares”
William Pagan, Sept. 24, 2020
Every day, and sometimes twice, William Pagan leaves his home on Wolfram near Milwaukee Avenue with a sharpened stick and walks around the neighborhood picking up litter. He started this routine in 2019 after he retiring from a 30-year career as a lieutenant in aviation security at O’Hare. “Empty-nesters” William and his wife, Yolanda, have lived in the same house for 23 years where they’ve raised three boys and are grandparents to four with one more on the way.
Besides picking up litter, meeting neighbors and generally keeping an eye on things, he traps rats – because somebody has to. In the past 8 weeks he’s trapped 49 in the alley behind his house. Last year during the same period he trapped 80.
William was kind enough to take the time to answer a few questions for the blog:
What does our trash tell you about the neighborhood?
1.That people are very inconsiderate, examples are, the number of masks and rubber gloves I find as I walk as well as food and containers of food and signs of people cleaning out their cars and dumping everything along the curb. People picking up after their respective dogs only to throw the bag on the ground once it is full.
2. The garbage I encounter tells me we have many displaced people that are alcoholics, based on the number of liquor bottles, beer cans and cigarette packages strewn all over the place.
3. We have a real serious rodent problem based on the droppings I encounter when walking through the alleys.
If everyone simply covered their garbage cans and broke down boxes the rats would not have access to food scraps and would ingest poison put out .
What bugs you the most?
Everything as stated above.
The inconsiderate nonchalant attitude of most people and the total disregard by those individuals that choose to tag (graffiti) private property.
What do you enjoy the most?
I enjoy the fruit of my labor as I see the difference "one person can make.”
I love to see the street clean and I love it when the alley DOES NOT look like an alley as I believe it is but another street.
Do you meet many neighbors while you're doing this?
Yes I do and have exchanged numbers with many of them where normally I would not have. They tell me they are thankful and appreciative of what I do, and also express that they see a significant difference.
Did you grow up in this neighborhood?
I did not, I grew up in Bucktown, but I have been living here going on 24 years.
You said your father used to do the same thing, keeping the neighborhood clean.
Yes, My Father was a very simple hardworking man and a maintenance worker.
Do you remember if he said why he did that or what he thought about it?
He told me he liked seeing things clean and I know that it gave him a sense of accomplishment when he did what he did. I am my father's son, so I truly understand how he felt as I feel the same way.
Did people seem to take more pride in keeping the neighborhood clean then? Yes What changed? Wow, the world has changed drastically and unfortunately not for the better. People need to wake up, look around and assess what they can do as individuals to make their part of the world better.
Any final words about rats?
As it pertains to rodent control, if encountered and once trapped, I dispatch them as quickly and humanely as possible, double bag and dispose of them accordingly. While on my walks, I have encountered rats that appear to be dying from ingestion of commercially applied poisons and I have opted to put them out of their misery, quickly and swiftly, as I believe it is the humane thing to do. Reality is, I would be ok If I never encountered another rat, but the droppings and damage to cans and garages that I see speak volumes, so I will continue to do what I can to mitigate the problem. While speaking to the streets and sanitation garbage truck worker he mentioned that he can see and has noticed the difference my efforts have made as it pertains to his encounters with rats...........The effort will continue.