The long walkers

We’ve all heard the saying, “Change is hard!” Surely, that is why so many of us make New Year’s resolutions only to forget about them after a few short weeks into January. The self-discipline necessary to make changes in our lives to improve add and subtract from our lives to improve is much harder than simply writing resolutions on a piece of paper! Instead, we find ourselves waving a white flag of surrender, retreating to our comfort zones for another year.

That is not the case for a handful of retired public school teachers here in Cathlamet who start their day in a most unlikely place: the Wahkiakum High School track. It is difficult to pinpoint the exact day, or even the year, when the first lap around the track occurred, but Audrey Hedman was there. A retired third-grade teacher, Audrey is 92 and remembers the idea of starting to walk the track together before school. The idea came after a conversation at a women’s retreat between her and Lois Nelson, the high school secretary and wife of Bob Nelson, longtime owner and editor of The Wahkiakum County Eagle. Starting a daily walking routine seemed like a good idea. Audrey and Lois, who passed away in 2021 at 94, would meet at the track at 6 a.m. to get their laps in before the school bells rang or buses arrived, often before the sun had even risen. Over the years, other teachers joined them with their reasons and resolutions for walking. Forty years later, you can still find Audrey and a few other retirees walking the track in their seventies, eighties, and nineties. Audrey credits the track with helping her recover from the unavoidable mobility struggles that come with age. She added, “If you don’t walk, [then] you don’t walk!”

The day I joined them, the walkers had already walked one lap around the track and were starting on their second. They kept a steady pace, bundled up in coats and gloves with hoods covering their ears and heads. Walking shoulder to shoulder with Audrey was Charlene La Fontaine, a retired second-grade teacher, now 89 years old, and 86-year-old Mary Thomas, a retired fourth-grade teacher and Home Economics instructor. Also putting in some laps on the track that morning was Charlene’s husband Walt, a retired Vocational Arts teacher who is 88 years old, and 76-year-old John Doumit, a retired Ag and Natural Resources teacher for 32 years. Each one of these retirees spent their professional life teaching generations of Wahkiakum students, and I think we can all still learn something from them.

When asked, “Why did they start walking together?” Charlene La Fontaine replied, “We just thought it was a healthy thing to do!” For Charlene, walking has been part of her daily routine for over four decades, a healthy habit that was modeled by her mother, who walked regularly into her nineties. Charlene recruited her husband, Walt, to join her and her fellow retirees after he suffered a stroke over eight years ago. He is now a regular participant.

Walking with long-time friends and fellow former teachers has played an important role in Mary Thomas’ life. Although walking is not her favorite activity, especially on cold, rainy Cathlamet mornings, she knows it is essential for her overall health. Audrey and Charlene’s dedication motivates her to join them each morning. “They are older than I am, and they’re still walking!” says Mary. The conversation and reminiscing among friends make the laps around the track more enjoyable and meaningful.

Who would have thought all those years ago that a now-weathered, well-used, and aging high school track could serve as a place of health and healing? After a cancer diagnosis in 2005, John Doumit’s doctor advised him to walk a minimum of thirty minutes a day. John would exceed that back then by consistently walking three miles at a time. Over twenty years later, John continues to walk for health, clear his mind, and pray. When John arrives at the track, he aims to walk eight laps, equivalent to about two miles. He says there are days he just can’t get that far, but he remains committed to getting out and moving for at least those thirty minutes. He has doubled down on his commitment to walk as he has faced a second cancer diagnosis in the last few years. Being out on the track allows John to breathe in the fresh air, exercise, and deepen his faith.

John, Audrey, Charlene, Mary, Walt, and the other retired teachers who have walked over the years know that walking is a smart thing to do. They don’t carry trendy aluminum water bottles, wear fitbits to count their every step or lace up the latest HOKA walking shoes, yet they seem to have everything they need to reap the benefits of a morning walk with friends. Do you want to improve your life in 2025? Why not go for a walk?