The recipients of this week's Ben's Bell are Gene and Erna Rosten, who keep their neighborhood tidy and provide aid to Tucsonans in need.
They were nominated by their neighbor, Jean Zimmerman, who said the Rostens have been a familiar sight along west-side roads for 19 years as they pick up litter along Speedway, Ironwood Hills and Greasewood.
"Summer and winter they have walked this area to keep it clean for the rest of us," Zimmerman wrote.
The couple - Gene, 81, and Erna, 80 - retired to Tucson from New York state in 1991.
"To them retirement meant doing for others," Zimmerman wrote.
In addition to litter lifting, the Rostens scour weekend yard sales looking for beds, cribs and other furnishings to clean up and donate to Aviva Children's Services. They use coupons to buy groceries for Youth on Their Own. They volunteer at the Veterans Affairs hospital, providing patients with conversation and toiletries. And, through their church, they make sandwiches for the homeless.
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"They are such good neighbors and they do so many things that most people don't even know about," Zimmerman said.
Erna Rosten traces her interest in volunteerism back to the 1960s, when Lady Bird Johnson urged people to "beautify America."
"Mrs. Johnson, when she was in the White House, she said keep American beautiful and I thought everybody should do a little bit," Rosten said. "We do what we can when we can. It makes us feel better to keep our neighborhood and the environment cleaner.
"We really like having something to show for our time."
Contact reporter Kimberly Matas at kmatas@azstarnet.com or at 573-4191.
