"Stand and Walk" -- For fans and friends of Clayton Klein,The Walking Man
Keeping Up With Clayton
Keeping up with Clayton -- Welcome to this blog space...where fans and friends of Clayton Klein may gather to share the adventures of this inspiring nonagenarian. A native of Michigan, Clayton loves to spread the word about the beauty of our state and the health benefits of walking. Follow along. I know you'll come to appreciate his creative spirit and positive outlook about living life to the fullest, no matter what your age
Following the Footprints of Clayton Klein
From Paradise on the shores of Lake Superior (Longfellow's Gitche Gumee)to Hell (MI) and Beyond to Ohio...Fowlerville, Michigan's Clayton Klein celebrated his 90th birthday in 2009 and his 5th annual 420-mile walk for Michigan Hospice & Palliative Care Organization Sept. 4-28.
This year 2011, at 92, he's still walking, still trailblazing, and leading by example to raise awareness of the health benefits of walking.
Follow him on his journey... as he continues to leave footprints on the trail and on the hearts of many Michiganders.
From Left: Clayton Klein, Marya Parcheta Lipiec, Andy Parcheta
Michigan celebrates 175 years today. I've lived in this beautiful state all my life. I grew up in the Middle of the Mitten in Gratiot County...and I've grown to love Southeastern Michigan in the years after college. But all the rest of this wonderful Great Lakes State, I love to explore with my family...and there are miles to go
I gained a huge appreciation for this amazing state during the years I wrote about Clayton Klein, Michigan's own Walking Man, soon to be 93 years old, who continues to walk daily. For five Septembers, 2005 to 2009, he walked the entire length of our state (425 miles) on behalf of Hospice of Michigan. My favorite portion is always the Bridge Walk on Labor Day weekend -- Upper and Lower.
Yes,"if you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you." Our state motto is a great affirmation of this magificent place on the planet. Walking the highways and byways, exploring the natural wonders found here, will keep you strong and young at heart. I guarantee it!
And today, here is what our Senator Debbie Stabenow writes about this time for Michigan in 2012:
Today, we celebrate the 175th birthday of the Great State of Michigan! On January 26, 1837, President Andrew Jackson signed the law giving Michigan statehood. And what an incredible 175 years it has been!
As I was watching the State of the Union on Tuesday, I couldn’t get over how many times President Obama mentioned Michigan. At one point, Vice President Biden pointed at me and smiled – the President just couldn’t stop talking about all the good things we’re doing!
Our auto companies are making a remarkable comeback. We’re investing in the future with clean energy manufacturing, advanced battery technology, and new opportunities like bio-based manufacturing. In fact, Michigan now leads the country in new clean energy patents, and last month, we were first in the nation for economic growth.
As Chair of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee, I traveled all across Michigan earlier this month to talk about the success of our agriculture sector. One in four jobs already comes from agriculture, and we expect to keep growing those jobs in the next few years.
We’re not out of the woods by any means, but the momentum is certainly with us. So today, as Michigan turns 175 years old, let’s celebrate some of the things that make the Great Lakes State so great!
Can we really walk a mile in someone else’s shoes? Often, it’s challenging enough to find time to walk a mile in our own shoes.
At Genesis House in Fowlerville, MI — under the auspices of Livingston County Community Mental Health Services — club members walk daily as part of the overall focus on wellness. Then, once a year in May (National Mental Health Month) they invite the public to walk with them, in combination with their annual fundraiser for the clubhouse.
This year Genesis House (founded in Fowlerville in February 1999) passed a milestone — their 10th Annual Walkathon to raise awareness in the community regarding mental illness. Walking is a mainstay in recovery programs which emphasize the management of the symptoms of mental illness, as well as promoting a balanced, healthy lifestyle.
David Prain and Mike Leahy of Genesis House enjoy the springtime beauty of downtown Fowlerville on a daily fitness walk. Club members walk daily all year long, as part of the program emphasis on living a healthy, balanced lifestyle.
Said clubhouse director Lee Kellogg, “I like the idea of mental health awareness and walking. There is a big annual event at the capital in Lansing (in which Genesis House participates) called ‘Walk a Mile in my Shoes.’ We have consumers of mental health services from all over the state read a statement regarding mental health which ends with the phrase ‘walk a mile in my shoes.’”
While visiting the clubhouse on May 19 with my sister, Mary Reed, and my friend Clayton Klein, I was struck once again by the hospitality and welcoming atmosphere at the clubhouse.
Michelle Kozak greets visitors with Genesis House tour
Michelle Kozak treated us to a quick tour of the premises. She explained the history behind Genesis House and talked about current activities. Kozak says she likes to call it the “Five Star” tour because of the clubhouse high standing in certification and recognition.
My sister remarked about being impressed with the club house staff and clients. “I really enjoyed meeting them all,” she said, adding, “I learned a lot of very interesting facts.”
Klein is Fowlerville’s “Walking Man,” known for his former annual walks down the State of Michigan from Paradise in the Upper Peninsula to Hell in Livingston County and on to the Ohio border. Averaging 20 miles a day, he’d walk the 420-mile trek throughout three weeks in September. Still walking daily, the 94-year-old “Walking Man” walks for exercise and health; and he enjoys sharing stories of his walking adventures over the years. He is a regular guest each May to help kick off the Genesis House Walkathon.
Guest walkers May 19 at Genesis House from left: Susan Parcheta, Jody Buckholz, Mary Reed, Clayton Klein, Darlene Kimmel
The clubhouse also provides support to members for transitioning into employment opportunities. That day Jody Bucholz and Darlene Kimmel from Michigan Works in Howell joined in the Walkathon. Bucholz is on the Genesis House advisory board. “She is on our Employment Committee,” said Kellogg, “and is really helpful in our efforts to get members jobs.”
Kimmell and Bucholz said they enjoyed the walk experience with the clubhouse members. Kimmel liked the idea of including the walking program as part of the Genesis House day. “We do that here,” she said [at Michigan Works], adding that it helps creates a lifestyle habit of walking. “It’s a wonderful habit.”
Kellogg said now that the totals are in for the 10th Walkathon, the club members have set a new personal best in the distance at 285 collective miles during the lunch break.
“The annual event has dual purposes,” said Kellogg. “The most important is to impact the health of all Genesis House colleagues. By participating in the daily efforts of the Walkathon, many colleagues develop a daily walking routine that goes beyond the month of May.
The Clubhouse tracks the ‘frequent fliers’ (colleagues that walked more than five times during the month); and they set a personal best in this area too, with 24 colleagues logging multiple one mile walks during May.”
“The second part of the event is fund raising,” Kellogg added. And, yes, you may donate anytime during the year to help the clubhouse. “The books are still open,” he said, “and we are optimistic that we will reach the stated goal of $1500 by the time the books are closed at the end of June.”
“These funds,” said Kellogg, “are used to assist colleagues in improving the quality of the program by attending Clubhouse training and conferences and also to help members attend social activities.”Kellogg said that donations may be given to the clubhouse at any time.
He deemed the 2011 Walkathon a success for personal best for distance (despite the wet weather). “I think one of the big differences this year is the amount of repeat walkers (we had fewer total walkers than last year but will end up going further.) Next year we will set a goal of number of members who walked 5 times or more per month, because the best outcome we could have is for walking to become a daily habit for even more of our members.”
“We’ve averaged about 13 walkers each day,” Kellogg noted. He also issued an invitation to anyone in the community to walk with them. “Yes,” said Kellogg, “we encourage guest walkers year round –anytime!”
I, too, like the emphasis on walking and mental health that Genesis House espouses. I like the Mirriam-Webster meaning of Genesis: “The origin, or coming into being of something.” When it comes to our health, we can have a “genesis” any time. We can always start over. We can begin again.
While the annual May Walkathon provides a community focus on the clubhouse to raise awareness for mental health, every day for club members revolves around walking and a personal wellness focus. Walking, with its many benefits, puts this activity at the top of any healthful living list. It’s a tool we always have with us.
One way to begin again, for a positive lifestyle choice, is to walk – putting one step in front of the other. As the Genesis House club members discover, pure movement helps us to begin again.
By Susan Parcheta “All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
Take time to smell the flowers…walk.
For the folks at Genesis House, the clubhouse in Fowlerville affiliated with Livingston County Mental Health organization, the daily mantra might well be: “All Things Walking.”
To clubhouse member Bea Eldridge, it definitely includes taking time to smell the flowers. Eldridge helps keep the flowers around the clubhouse blooming all summer long; and during the daily noontime walks about town, she slows to appreciate the colorful beauty of blooms flowering along village sidewalks.
This May clubhouse members experienced their 9th walkathon, an annual fund-raising effort held during that month, which is also national Mental Health Month. For the past several years they’ve been inspired by a walk, talk and visit with Clayton Klein, Fowlerville’s own walking hero – who walked each year from 2005 to 2009 (to benefit Michigan Hospice & Palliative Care Organization) from Paradise in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to Hell in his home county of Livingston and on to Ohio – a journey of about 420 miles.
Klein (while saying that last year was his last Paradise to Hell walk) at 91 is still actively walking and promoting the benefits of walking to everyone he meets. He’s the first person who’ll tell you that walking is one of the best ways to improve and maintain physical health,
Klein and Lee Kellogg, director of Genesis House, agree wholeheartedly about the power of a good walk for our health. “The walkathon,” explains Kellogg, “helps focus on our collective wellness and the many tools we can use to help all of us create more balance in our daily lives.”
Although it took awhile to get clubhouse members used to the idea of walking on a daily basis, he says,
“now they walk year round.” Beyond the walkathon, you’ll find clubhouse members walking uptown and back as part of the daily routine. “We walk for our physical and mental health,” Kellogg says,” and for a chance to socialize and get fresh air.”
Clayton Klein is a favorite guest at Genesis House
Michelle Kozak, her mother Nancy, Bea Eldridge and Lynn Wertman posed for a photo with Klein as the Genesis club members rounded out the 2010 Walkathon month. Klein and I enjoyed lunch at the clubhouse, and then the walk that day to help raise money for clubhouse projects.
At Genesis House, he is a legend, and an inspiration. Each May he has been a luncheon guest during the walkathon. As he tells his always-encouraging-story of curing a back injury 40 years ago by simply walking, he’s able to share the wonderful ways that walking has helped him live a happier and healthier lifestyle ever since.
That day, another luncheon guest heard Klein’s walking tales. Francesca Pernice Duca, professor at Wayne State University, was in town for conference planning with Kellogg: the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association Conference in Idaho. Their workshop was called “The Social Discourse of Recovery: The Role of Clubhouse Staff in Recovery Promotion.”
Speaking of staff, each year at the May Walkathon, I’ve enjoyed walking with staff members, and during Klein’s September walks in previous years, Kellogg and staff have walked with Klein when he arrived in Fowlerville. I often think how the example of Clayton Klein has been influential in helping to create the enthusiasm for walking and health at Genesis.
As Kellogg puts it, “We are thrilled to have exceeded every goal of our walkathon. We exceeded our goals for both the number of walkers and our total mileage. Our goals were 60 walkers and 270 miles and the actual was 63 and 278.”
“We have also implemented a wellness campaign,” he adds, “where every member and staff of the Club is identifying wellness goals that are visible, measurable and trackable.”
“Clayton is inspiring,” says Kellogg. “He is a wonderful role model for all of us at Genesis House, as we work towards improving our collective health.”
Over the last couple of years, joining the Genesis group walking – both during Clayton’s long distance walk events and during the clubhouse walkathon – I’ve admired the daily diligence of the clubhouse members and staff to their walking schedule.
They’ve inspired me to keep up my own walking program. Sometimes it goes in fits and starts, although I always have Clayton Klein to call if I need to put on some steam, and not just stroll leisurely, as I often do…always with my camera in hand.
Good strong walking is a good thing, and one of the best things we can do for keeping our body going. I’m convinced that all the walking Klein does has contributed to his positive mental attitude. If walking makes you think younger, I figure, I’m all for it.
There are so many benefits to walking that countless books are written about it. This one caught my eye most recently: Walking Your Blues Away: How to Heal the Mind and Create Emotional Well-Being by Thom Hartmann. It’s a great book to help you understand the way the bilateral movement of walking affects our body and our emotions…helping us to “get over” the stuff that muddles our lives. In fact, it’s one of the best therapies around, and it’s with us all the time.
Hartmann explores the benefits and explains why walking works as a tool for emotional well-being. My favorite excuse for walking, as he points out, is that this kind of bilateral activity “gives access to the whole brain, making walking and other forms of bilateral work/play useful for enhancing creativity and problem solving.”
“The legs are the wheels of creativity,” he quotes Albert Einstein as saying. Now, then, as Clayton Klein likes to put it: “Stand and walk.” OK…sounds good to me. Like the Genesis folks, let’s devote some time daily. Let’s get motivated; let’s get moving!
For more information on Genesis House and their walking program visit www.genesisliv.org.
"Stand and Walk" -- Motto of Clayton Klein, the Walking Man -- and other nature wisdom quotes
"I frequently tramped eight or ten miles through the deepest snow to keep an appointment with a beech-tree, or a yellow birch, or an old acquaintance among the pines." --Henry David Thoreau, naturalist and author (1817-1862)
