Lyall keeps Park Avenue Apartments spic and span

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, June 17, 2003

He sweeps, he wipes, he dusts now and then, and he leaves a trail of spotlessness behind him.

For Jerry Lyall, living at the Park Avenue Apartments has meant an unexpected form of volunteer work - keeping the senior citizen high-rise complex tidy.

"I moved in about a year and a half ago and I did a few little things, but I started in earnest about three months ago when the CAO took over the management here. They asked if I would and I agreed to do it," Lyall explained. "I don't really do that much, and it doesn't take that long. I enjoy it and I meet people this way."

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While Jerry, 64, is not one to toot his own horn, others who know him are more than willing to do it for him.

"He makes my job a whole lot easier," Park Avenue Apartment Manager Dan Palmer said. "The tenants come to me and tell me how much they appreciate what Jerry does. Everything is clean. He really takes pride in what he does, and it shows."

Lyall takes out the trash, and keeps the hallways, elevator and foyer cleaned. A couple of times a day, one can find Lyall with a cleaning cloth and a bottle of Windex, going over the plate glass doors and windows of the entry area.

"Some people don't come in here that often and if it were dirty they wouldn't want to come back. I want it to look nice when people come by," Lyall explained.

A native of Logan, W.Va., Lyall worked for many years in Columbus. After retiring from the St. Regis Paper Co., he moved to Lawrence County where his sister lived. He found out about Park Avenue Apartments through friends.

Some of the other residents have taken up Lyall's quest for cleanliness. Now, when they see him with his vacuum cleaner, they go get theirs and join him in the hallway for a little cleaning brigade.

Lyall has another form of volunteer work in mind - he would like to help organize activities for other Park Avenue tenants,

"A lot of them don't drive, so they don't always have transportation to go places," Lyall said. "I'd like to see some activities for them here."

And would he encourage others to volunteer their time to help others? Absolutely.

"I think most people would help out if they were asked," Lyall said. "I think most would be glad to."