A crowd of almost forty people gathered in front of the cash registers at the Big Y in Mansfield, Connecticut, on November 8, to take part in a group walk known as a Volksmarch (German for Folk Walk).

It was one of the coldest days of the season in Willimantic, Connecticut, with temperatures dipping below freezing, but the day was clear and sunny. It was too cool to sweat on a 10 km. (6.2 mile) walk, the standard distance for a Volksmarch.

“This is a great day for a walk,” proclaimed Andy Fal, founder of the first Volkssport Walking Club in Connecticut. Fal should know. He logs so many kilometers in a year that Rockport Shoes has asked him to wear their shoes, in order to test their durability. 

Fal brought the idea for a walking club back with him from Germany, where he was stationed in the U.S. Airforce. He started the New Britain Hardware City Hoofers in 1989, and he is now working in conjunction with the Connecticut Valley Volkssport Club to sponsor walks all over the state. Group walks are offered at least once a month, and there are 14 year round walks. 

The Willimantic walk started at the Windham Mills State Heritage Park, where we viewed the waterfalls and learned how waterpower was harnessed to run the mills years ago. We then walked up a pedestrian footpath, and began our trek towards the downtown area. Marie Long, a long- time Willimantic resident, remembers when the footpath leading up to Quercus Avenue from American Thread was a road heavily traveled by commercial trucks. She said that she often watched the trucks get stuck under the railroad overpass, because the drivers didn’t realize how low it was, in spite of the caution signs.
 
Later, we reached a footbridge connecting Pleasant Street to Main Street, which has always been a pedestrian bridge. Long said that she often crossed over it when she was a young girl. “The nuns would leave us alone at lunchtime while they ate in the convent, so we used to walk over the bridge into town. There were some pretty big spaces between the boards on the bridge – not big enough for anyone to fall into the river, but we used to imagine that we could fall if we weren’t careful.”
 
Long told fellow walkers about the history of her town, and a Girl Scout troupe from Newington had an opportunity to learn something about Willimantic’s past. The Girl Scouts participated in the Volksmarch because of a collaboration between Volkssport and the Girl Scouts of America, and the girls earned a badge for their participation. 

Carol West, a Volkssport representative, said that she has been trying to promote the walks as a way for the scouts’ families to spend time together on weekends. “Parents are spending so much time shuttling the children here and there, that there is no time for families to do things together.  Walking is a good opportunity for families to be together.” She said that walking also addresses the obesity issue, by providing families with an activity that helps them to stay fit. 

The girls ran in piles of leaves by the side of road and Andy Fal observed that, “Only girl scouts would be interested in squirrels and brown leaves. It’s a nice to have them walking with us.” 

We continued to walk along Main Street, past a mix of corporate offices and small businesses. Then we strolled through a historic cemetery before we crossed the street and climbed a hill to the Windham Community Medical Hospital.
One of the Girl Scout chaperones mentioned that she wanted to check into the Sleep Lab for a nap, but no one seriously considered doing that, and we all made it to the top of the hill. 

After we left the hospital parking lot, we walked back to The Windham Mills State Heritage Park on scenic back roads lined with Victorian mansions. It was a beautiful walk, we got some great exercise, and we saw many sights that would be inaccessible from a car window.

Unbeknownst to many shoppers, there is a box behind the customer service counter at the Big Y that contains walking tour maps of Storrs and Willimantic.  So, if you would like to take either of the walks yourself, you may ask for a free map – but you better hurry. 

Unfortunately, according to event leader Lee West, the Storrs/Willimantic walks will be discontinued at the end of the year, due to lack of interest. “The only walk we’ll have left in Eastern Connecticut is the one in Mystic. We’re really hoping to get some ideas for good walks in the Northeast Corner of the state.”