The Village Squire, 1981-05, Page 11Men's
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elb
tackling the trail should involve contact-
ing the Avon Trail Association (P.O. Box
346, Stratford, Ontario). for a guide book
and up-to-date information on trail
conditions. Even in hiking. planning
pays.
It all started
back in 73 ... .
Painting white trail blazes along a
62 -mile stretch of bush, riverland and
gravel roads is no easy feat. particularly
when you must first obtain permission
from whoever owns the numerous pieces
of property over which you travel.
But such was the task undertaken by a
group which has since become The Avon
Trail Association. Led by Dr. Crosby
Kirkpatrick, of William Street in Strat-
ford, the volunteer group marked a trail
that goes from the village of Conestogo,
just north of Kitchener -Waterloo, to the
clear. cool quarries in St. Marys.
It's a hiking trail. Dr. Kirkpatrick, a
retired MD who believes in hiking for
fitness. was joined in his passion for a
trail by people such as .lim and David
Essex, Jack Whiteside and Ron Strahm.
Actually, the Essexes. of R.R. 2
Petersburg, and Whiteside, of Stratford,
had been blazing along on their own for
some time before Dr. Kirkpatrick sought
bureaucratic support for his notions.
"Jim and 1 had been hiking together
since we were six or seven years old,"
says Whiteside. "and we had a desire to
do things like this. When we started we
never even thought of an Avon Trail. We
had an idea of getting one of our own."
Dr. Kirkpatrick heard of their efforts
and was instrumental in setting up a
meeting that resulted in united forces.
But there was an image problem to be
solved because some students had been
given a $1,500 grant to map out a trail in
the same general area and they had failed
miserably. "To resurrect a thing like that
we had to get a tremendous amount of
enthusiasm going," says Jim Essex.
"Fortunately. the larger portion of the
trail runs through Mennonite country and
they turned out to be very affable to
anyone crossing their property, as long as
Conestogo
410,
we maintained it and didn't rip down any
fences. That's why stiles are used so
extensively. We found the opposite from
people in the St. Marys area who were
very indifferent. Those were the ex-
tremes and in the middle you had the
farms back of Stratford where the people
were very willing to cooperate."
Originally the trail was to follow the
Avon River through Stratford and right
into St. Marys. But when the organizing
group was so desperate for operating
funds, the Thames Valley people donated
$100. "So we felt we should _accomodate
their request," says Essex. "which was
to route our trail around Wildwood Lake
and hook it up with the Thames Valley
Trail at St. Marys. It's worked out well."
Plans were underway late in 1973 but it
wasn't until April 27, 1975, that there
could be a formal inaugural hike, as part
of Ontario Hikers Day. About 50 people
showed up.
In November. 1975, the Avon Trail was
officially christened. In July, 1976, it was
linked to the Thames Valley Trail running
out of London. A year later. at the other
end. it was tied to the Grand Valley Trail,
near Conestogo.
The good doctor was among the first to
hike the full 62 -mile trail. He did it in
1976. At least a dozen people, including
Mrs. Kirkpatrick, have done it since.
Their names are displayed on a special
plaque which hangs in the Kiwanis
Community on Lakeside Drive in Strat-
ford. ❑
"The place to shop in the
Festival City."
Authentic Tartans
*Woollens*
•Silks•
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Many fine fabrics
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browse at
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sew wkat
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•pen d• Ily • a.m.-I:30 y we. Fridays 't111 y w.
VILLAGE SOUIREIMAY 1981 PG. 9