FRAMINGHAM, MA – The Walk ’n Mass Volkssport Club invites you to walk in Framingham, the home of the nation’s first state teacher’s college. This walk explores Framingham’s history – past and present, has 6 and 10km, (3.8 and 6.2 miles), walk route options, is non-competitive, follows a marked route, and is accomplished at your own pace.

Anyone may participate regardless of age or physical condition. Both walk route options are suitable for baby strollers. Wheelchairs would encounter difficulty due to lack of curb cuts on some of the walkways. Children under the age of twelve must be accompanied by an adult. Leashed pets are welcomed, and clean-up rules apply.

START/FINISH: Dunkin’ Donuts, 444 Franklin Street,Framingham, MA 01702

START TIME: Saturday, November 12, 2005 9 a.m. to Noon

FINISH TIME: by 3 p.m.

Don’t want to walk alone? Meet at the start at 9:30 a.m. to walk with other participants.

REGISTRATION AND FEES: This event is FREE to those who wish to participate without receiving an award or IVV Credit. There is no pre-registration. Registration on the day of this walk is $4.00 to $5.00 for a “B” award and IVV Credit. A “B” award is an award that was used for a previous event. “B” events give you an opportunity to collect some terrific and unique awards from the past. Registration for IVV Credit only is $3.00.

PROCEDURE: Each participant must register, sign an insurance waiver and receive an Event Card at the start. Cards are validated at checkpoints along the route, and must be turned in at the finish table.

FACILITIES: Restrooms are located at the Start/Finish and along both walk routes.

TRAIL DESCRIPTION: Named for Framlingham, England where Thomas Danforth, who owned much of the land that became Framingham, was born, the 10K Framingham walk route takes us to commercial, historical, educational and recreational areas important in the more than 300 years since the town was recognized in 1700 as the 74th Town in the Province of Massachusetts.

We begin our walk near radio station WKOX, formed in 1947 by World War II Veterans. We pass the Mount Wayte area where in the late 1880s Methodists established a summer camp, which was taken over by the Chautauqua. This religious organization set up an outdoor auditorium for 4000 people and sponsored over 30 lectures and 8 concerts as well as sporting events and campfires each summer.

On the grounds of Cushing Hospital, now part of Framingham’s Tercentennial Park, Cushing Chapel and a few of the 95 original buildings still stand. During WW II large numbers of injured veterans were treated here. The park includes several veterans’ memorials as well as a 9/11 Memorial.

After passing Stearns Reservoir, a part of the Boston Water Supply system with an impressive gatehouse and stone bridge, we come to Framingham State College, the nation’s first public teachers college. Christa Corrigan McAuliffe, the first teacher-astronaut was a graduate of FSC. The McAuliffe Center was established to honor her commitment to education by providing exciting, standards-based programs in the pursuit of excellence. The Challenger Learning Center is the McAuliffe Center’s best-known program. A newly renovated memorial planetarium was recently rededicated.

The final portion of the walk takes us to Revolutionary War and modern day times, existing side by side. After passing Framingham’s Minuteman Statue we visit the Old Burying Ground, site of the first meeting house in Framingham and where many Revolutionary soldiers and early settlers are buried. One of the more interesting plots has a common stone for Peter Parker and John Clayes who were killed by lightening while trading horses in June 1777. Peter Salem, a former slave and prominent in the Battle of Bunker Hill, is buried there.

After leaving the burying ground, we return to more recent times, pass behind a shopping center and Rt. 9 and walk through more neighborhoods, past the office of the world famous Framingham Heart Study, to the finish.

The 6km (3.8 miles) route visits most of the historic sites mentioned above. On mostly flat, paved walkways, both the 6 and 10km walk routes have an AVA rating of 1.5, suitable for strollers, but not wheelchairs.

For information about other Massachusetts walks, visit the club’s pages at:  www.ava.org

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