Guest editorial: Celebrating the "Butt Lady" of Auburn

You might not know her name, but if you spend any time in Auburn at all, you've seen Sally Dawley. Her yellow T-shirt announces she's removed a million cigarette butts from Auburn's parks, streets, sidewalks, parking lots, curbs, alleys … and as appalling and impressive as that number is, it's inaccurate. It's been more than a year since it's been only a million. You've seen Sally in Old Town. You've seen her in the strip malls up Highway 49. You've seen her on Lincoln Way, on High Street, the ARD parks, the School Park Preserve behind City Hall and the Police Department. You've seen her, head down, in Central Square. Sally is the "Butt Lady" of Auburn. Since 2014, she's been everywhere, every day. Her energy is astonishing. Sally calls me most Wednesday nights with her current numbers. No, I don't include her numbers in every Gold Country Denizens column, because mentioning her every time would mean I might not have space for someone who has never appeared in the column. Nevertheless, she's one of many people who make Auburn a better place to live. And every time she tells me her numbers, I'm both proud and annoyed. Proud because her numbers keep growing, and annoyed … because her numbers keep growing. It's a terrible thing that people choose to litter the landscape with the dregs of their deadly habit. Just about every time she calls, she invites me to join her for a session of butt-hunting. I finally said yes. So this past Wednesday morning, I met her at the parking lot on Lincoln Way next to the Placer County Law Library, up from Herschel Young Park. It was already hot, but Sally was ready: She wore her straw hat, of course. She had her counter: a mechanical tool that only counts by one. She carries several plastic bags, where she stores any plastic bottle or aluminum can she finds for recycling. Sure, why not pick up this stuff, too? Free money, right? And she's never without her broom or her lobby dustpan. Lobby dustpan? This tool enables her to scoot any butt she finds into the pan without bending over. However, she bends over plenty often. She also uses one of those long aluminum bacon tongs when sweeping doesn't work. She has a grab-and-grip litter picker-upper at home … but she'd rather use the bacon tongs. So we spent a good part of the morning looking for cigarette butts in Old Town. I'm here to tell you this is an experienced hunter: She zeroes in on what she's looking for, faster than I could. Of course, if I had started this mission and kept at it for "several hours every day, unless it's pouring down rain" for six and a half years, I suppose I'd be as sharp-eyed as she is. Sharp-eyed? Sure. In the hour I spent with her, she picked up 187 – and she had her eye on another as we stood in the shade at the edge of Crudo's parking lot. Why does she do this? Sure, sometimes she finds money. Sometimes, people hand her a sawbuck or a twenty – and "a gentleman a week and a half ago gave me $100," she said. Wow. But that's rare. She does get a lot of compliments. And people thank her and express astonishment. "They're just amazed" at her numbers. So is she. "But are you discouraged?" I asked. Sure, she said. No matter where she goes, she finds too damn many butts. "I have moments," she said, whipping another seven butts into her dustpan along the back of the Alehouse, "when I'm irritated with all these people. And it reminds me of how stupid smokers are." She started because, "I got tired of seeing butts and seeing birds picking them up. They're poison," she says. "And I always find too many. A fisherman told me that he found cigarettes inside fish. They get washed into the creeks." Once she started, she kept finding butt after butt. She knows she's doing the right thing. And this work is good for her. She walks for hours every day. She's lost 30 pounds since 2014. "I don't have to pay for a gym," she grinned. The only place she shows up predictably is Mel's on Highway 49 on Wednesday afternoons, when the restaurant presents its classic car show – which of course attracts owners as well as admirers. Sally arrives at 3 and predictably finds "hundreds" of butts at this event, but the numbers vary. Sally has found a need and filled it. She makes the world – her world, our world – a better place. As of this writing, her numbers since 2014 have reached 1,754,306. When you see her, and you will, please thank her. Susan Rushton's opinion column appears regularly in the Auburn Journal. Her email is goldcountrydenizens@gmail.com.