Have you wondered what the large sign in front of the Oyster Bay Chamber of Commerce office at 120 South Street is for? "Donated by Les and Paula of Pine Island Etch & Sign, it is the chamber's subtle way to invite you to participate in Operation Clean Sweep, said Kathy Wilson, chamber executive director.

"The Day of Beautification is at hand," said Rebecca Rhodes-Weinreich, chair of the Oyster Bay Beautification Committee. "We can all make this town bloom like the sleeping rose it is. We just need to pull up our sleeves and get to it! We will make a difference and it will turn into a lasting one," she said.

"We're going to make it sparkle on Sunday, May 23, from 9:30 a.m. to noon."

Volunteers will gather on South Street in front of the Oyster Bay Chamber of Commerce office at 9:30 a.m. for breakfast yummies and coffee before spreading out in the hamlet for Operation Clean Sweep.

The volunteers will plant flowers and clean up the hamlet streets picking up litter, sweeping, weeding where necessary and planting flowers where needed. Gloves and garbage bags are being provided by the chamber and each volunteer is asked to bring a broom and dustpan.

The chamber has a limited number of straw brooms which they will provide for sweepers.

Both the local Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops have been contacted by Ms. Weinreich. The younger volunteers will work in the parking lot off West Main Street or behind Townsend Square so they can easily be supervised by parents and adults.

Older Scouts will work the streets and curbsides and plant flowers, with their leaders. The chamber is providing the flowers.

Connie Gallo of the Oyster Bay Beautification Committee has chosen floral arrangements for each planter in relation to how shady or sunny it is where each planter is located. Rebecca discovered that was a crucial element to the success of the plants last year, when she saw plants on East Main Street parched from the summer sun.

"I will pick on things that don't take too much care," said Connie Gallo. "It will probably have ivy which can live in the winter time too - and make the planters look good then."

Rotary of Oyster Bay has donated $1,000 to the Beautification Project which will be used to buy an English sytle commercial teak bench with two accompanying flower pots to go with them, said Ms. Gallo. "Once we start with this one, we hope to add more," she said.

The Town of Oyster Bay has given the committee permission to put the bench on the streets and are endorsing anything we do to spruce up the town to make it cleaner and better, said Ms. Gallo.

"It would be nice to have more green in the downtown area. Maybe a town square park. We are working on it still. I'm excited about it all. The town is willing to move some of the planters around. They are going to back them up against the buildings - and clean them up - even before we plant them.

"That way, they won't be in the way of car doors. Now they tend to get broken up as they sit by the curb."

The town is also trying to get a power washer for the streets, she said.

"I think there are a lot of people in town who would be more active, if they see something happening," she said with enthusiasm.

"We are also trying to get planters for around the trees and plan to put in pachysandra there too.

"We are trying to take one street - one block at a time - to make a starting point before we start throughout the town," she said.

Connie Gallo, is a decorative artist and designer. Last Thursday, just before she was interviewed on the telephone, she was out working. She does murals, hand painting and faux finishes. "That's why I get along with Rebecca so well. (Rebecca makes gingerbread houses, does fine embroidery - there is a sample at Pleasant Valley Gallery & Gifts this week - and does painting and drawing.)

"Les is artistic too. That's what it takes, an artistic vision. It's a visual thing. People think they have to spend drastic amouts of money on a plan, when it's really simple to actually do something," she said.

The seed money from Rotary was a big help. They still need about $200 more to complete that first project, she said. It costs $ 1,200 for the bench and planters. They plan to do more as the money comes in, hopefully.

The bench will be placed on South Street, in front of Creative Compositions, at the light. That way cars stopped in traffic can see the addition to the hamlet.

"Join us to kick off spring in a memorable and rewarding way," said Executive Director Kathy Wilson. "It will fill you with a sense of pride to be a part of a community working together, proving that individuals that share a common direction and a sense of common purpose can succeed at anything!"

Refreshments will be available throughout the event, she said. For more information call the chamber at 922-6464.