A Time to Celebrate! Come Walk With Me at Hudson Mills Metro Park on June 15

Hudson Mills has paved trails like this one at Fowlerville Community Park - photo taken of Clayton Klein in May 2013 as we walked and talked about the gathering of walkers at Hudson Mills Metro Park on June 15. Bring your cameras!

*You’re invited to kick off summer with Michigan’s Walking Man: 10:30am – 2pm Saturday, June 15, 2013 at Hudson Mills Metro Park south of Pinckney and just around the corner from Hell.

You know that guy who walked to Hell from Paradise? And, beyond Hell to Ohio? And he walked that 420 miles for the benefit of Michigan’s Hospice program? Five times?

Yes, our own Walking Man, Clayton Klein. And, yes, the last walk was four years ago – September 2009 – the year Clayton became a nonagenarian!  Since then, he’s written his memoirs: My First 90 Years. Perhaps you walked with “Ole Clate” or perhaps you cheered him on and supported the cause. Maybe you’ve been enjoying reading all the escapades and adventures in his book… including his travels on the big walk. Well, Hell is beautiful this time of year. And, we think that a celebration is in order.

So, we’re inviting you to spend a little while catching up with Ole Clate at Hudson Mills Metropark, a wonderful place in Hell’s neighborhood.  The park is located on Territorial Road West of US 23 and south of Pinckney. Please note: There’s a $5 per vehicle fee for day use.  Turn right at the booth to River Grove parking lot, and we’ll be there.  

*Directions: For your GPS, the address is: 8801 N. Territorial Rd, Dexter, MI. From M-52, take M-36 to Pinckney, then south (at light) on Dexter-Pinckney Rd to Territorial, then, east to the park on the right-hand side. From US-23, go west on Territorial to the park, on left.

We’ll meet at 10:30am allowing time to walk (there are two 4-mile paved trails) or bike. Or bring your kayak for a float down the Huron River that runs through the park.  Or sit and relax awhile,  enjoying  the beautiful scenery with the company of Clayton fans.

Bring picnic supplies:  whatever food and drinks you’d like, chairs, blankets, etc. We’ll provide hot dogs and chips, cake and perhaps some iced tea.  We’ll picnic at 12:30. We’ve set the end-time at 2pm so there’d be time for a stop at Hell’s little ice cream shop on your way back home. (From the park, take Territorial west to Dexter-Pinckney Rd  and back north to Darwin Road, and drive west to Hell.)

We hope, among the many events going on that day, that you can fit part or all into your schedule.  If you enjoy this gathering, perhaps we can plan a future walkabout at another location. It would be fun to keep the Walking Man Club going.

Bring your family and let us know if you’re coming and how many. You can call Clayton at 517-223-8135 or email him clayton@firststep.net  / or email Sue Parcheta at sgparcheta@gmail.com  (phone 517-281-2014). You can also message Susan G Parcheta on Facebook. By all means, be sure you are fans on the Clayton Klein, the Walking Man page at Facebook.  That’s a good place for keeping up with Clayton!

Looking forward to seeing you at Hudson Mills June 15. Metroparks link:  http://www.metroparks.com

Booksigning note: Clayton will have books there, and will be glad to autograph a copy for you.

My First 90 Years: Michigan’s Walking Man Clayton Klein pens memoirs | The Livingston Post

My First 90 Years: Michigan’s Walking Man Clayton Klein pens memoirs

Added by Susan Parcheta on September 19, 2012.
Saved under Books, Editor Picks, Education, Health, Life, Recreation, Susan G. Parcheta
Tags: Canadian Yukon, Clayton Klein, Fowlerville, Labor Day Bridge Walk, My first 90 Years, The Walking Man

 “Come walk with me across a century,” Michigan’s Walking Man Clayton Klein might say, as he invites us to celebrate his life and times in his newest book: My First 90 Years.

“Come Walk With Me” — Clayton Klein, the Walking Man inspires Michiganians ~ Walking Man logo art by Laurie McDowell

The author, adventurer, entrepreneur looks back from the grand perspective of a nonagenarian.
Follow this extraordinary time traveler (now 93), as he takes you on an incredible journey from his hometown of Fowlerville in the Middle of the Mitten to Mackinac, from Costa Rica to the Arctic Ocean.

Memoirs of Clayton Klein, Michigan’s ‘Walking Man’

Enjoy tales of exploration of far-flung frontiers, whether canoeing the vast wilderness of the Canada’s Northwest Territories and the Yukon, or piloting his Cessna airplanes over the mountains and jungles of Central America.
Klein is known throughout Michigan for his solo walks each September from 2005 to 2009 on behalf of Michigan’s Hospice programs – trekking 420 miles from Paradise on the shores of Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula, across the Mackinac Bridge on Labor Day down through the heart of Michigan to Hell in Livingston County and beyond into Ohio. He continues to enjoy each Labor Day Bridge Walk.
A back injury suffered many years ago prompted him, at doctor’s recommendation, to begin walking. His back healed, Klein continued to walk daily, having now logged over 65,000 miles throughout Michigan.  His walks for Hospice inspired countless others to become more active.
At the conclusion of the 2009 Labor Day Bridge Walk, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm presented Klein with a plaque from the State of Michigan honoring him for his contribution to its citizens.

Clayton Klein, The Walking Man, with plaque from State of Michigan in honor of his contributions to Michigan Hospice and to inspiring creative, healthy living at any age.

The book highlights his youthful days growing up as a country boy, and later as a farmer, business man and book publisher – along with much local history of people and events during the  last nine decades. Throughout you’ll glimpse the strength and determination of a man who believed he could accomplish his dreams.
Klein comes from a family of  writers, and is author of several books, including Cold Summer Wind, recounting his Canadian paddling adventures, and  A Well-Kept Secret: From the Glory Years of the Detroit Tigers, about his late wife Marjorie’s friendship with the legendary Hall-of-Fame hero Hank Greenberg.
My First 90 Years is available for pre-publication price of $20. After Oct. 15 it will be $24.95, plus $3.50 for shipping. Checks and money orders may be sent to Clayton Klein, PO Box 968, Fowlerville, MI 48836. For more information, Email clayton@firststep.net. You may keep up with  The Walking Man  and his latest tales on Facebook at Clayton Klein the Walking Man.  The book is also available at Amazon

My First 90 Years: Michigan’s Walking Man Clayton Klein pens memoirs | The Livingston Post

My First 90 Years: Michigan’s Walking Man Clayton Klein pens memoirs | The Livingston Post