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Don Gallagher thought he would have trouble getting people to volunteer for a cleanup on Saturday along the Allegheny River in the Natrona section of Harrison.

He was happy to say he was wrong.

"I really only had about 20 volunteers signed up to help, initially, but people just started calling late in the week saying they wanted to come out," Gallagher said.

More than 40 volunteers showed early Saturday to pick up trash, trim bushes, remove brush and beautify the riverbank from Lock and Dam No. 4 to the Brackenridge line.

Gallagher said he expected at least 20 more volunteers to arrive in the early afternoon hours.

"I'm overwhelmed with the response," he said.

Gallagher is vice president of Natrona Comes Together Association. The group organized the local cleanup event as part of 2006 River Sweep, which is an annual, six-state effort to clean up the banks of the Ohio River tributaries.

Similar activities were scheduled for Saturday elsewhere in the Alle-Kiski Valley -- in Apollo, Ford City, Plum and Verona.

The state Department of Environmental Protection provided cleanup crews with such things as garbage bags, gloves, and water and soft drinks.

Gallagher said people started arriving for the Natrona cleanup about 8 a.m. He said crews would work until about 2 p.m.

"Everything that's visible -- everything we can get by hand -- we're trying to pick up," Gallagher said.

Volunteers worked right up against the river. They pulled out such things as rusted bicycles and tires. Crews also worked on the top of the riverbank along Veterans Way, a narrow alley in Natrona behind River Road, picking up paper, bottles and cans and every other piece of litter.

Some volunteers painted the 60-or-so cement safety pillars that line Veterans Way. They painted them red, white and blue. L. Arnold & Son's Hardware donated the paint, Gallagher said.

Those who volunteered said they did so simply to give back to the community.

"I like community activities, and I thought this would be a great way to help," said Samantha Skaggs, 15, of Chestnut Street in Natrona.

Samantha was among a number of kids who pitched in.

Jason Cook, 16, of Sycamore Street, said he wanted to help make the area look better. He said he's witnessed drinking parties and bonfires along the riverbank.

"It definitely looks better now," he said.

Jason's mother, Judy, said she had no problem getting her son up and moving early Saturday.

"He was ready before I was," Judy Cook said.

Brackenridge resident Carol Karadeema said she arrived early Saturday because she appreciated Natrona Comes Together Association's decision to make the area look better.

"They need to do this the whole way down the river," she said. "Every town should be doing this."

Ken Gamble, who lives along Oak Street in Natrona, said he didn't have to work Saturday and decided to do something constructive with his time.

"I just wanted to help out and be a part of something like this," he said.

Gamble said he's not down at the river often, but enjoys the chance to fish whenever he can. He wants to be able to fish along a clean riverbank.

"If I do go fishing, I don't want to see bottles and junk everywhere," he said. "I'd like for it to be clean."

EL Swiklinski, who lives along River Road with the rear of his house along Veterans Way, said he's caught people in the act of throwing bags of trash over the riverbank.

"I ask them to pick it up," he said.

"I want to see nature," Swiklinski said. "I want to see a clean riverbank."

Vanessa Pawlak, who lives along Linden Street, said that if she catches someone littering along the riverbank in the future, she'll do her best to make sure they pay a fine.

"We'll make sure that serious consequences take effect," she said.

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