Take away the rides, the booths, and those thousands of people and West Franklin street looks pretty bare after the West Side Nut Club Fall Festival ends. Except for all that trash left behind. Nut Club members are conquering a mess that takes hundreds of hands and a good amount of planning to clean up. Final Clean-up Chairman Brian Woods says nut clubbers take pride in leaving Franklin Street as clean as possible. Cleanup begins around 6:00 am and with massive amounts of trash and debris left behind, its all hands and machines on deck. But there's a hidden crew that mostly goes unnoticed and one that plays a vital role in the festival's success, the Electrical Committee. Without electricity to power the fryers, there's no deep fried Oreos or funnel cakes. The Nut Club says it strives not only to take care of businesses and visitors, but also the non profit groups that line Franklin Street for blocks. Even though the cleanup process takes at least eight hours of work, the West Side Nut Club says its ready to do it all over again next year. The West Side Nut Club is still tallying up money raised this 91st year of the festival. Though members think it didn't break any records, they're sure this year's numbers aren't far behind, thanks to the dedicated visitors and booths that gave their all this week.
