Barbara Newberry was the founding member of The Bedford Hiking Club; she died in 2012 and our club gave a bench @ Wilson Park in her
memory.
Jeff Routh, from Times Mail wrote an article about
Barbara and our club.Friend and charter member of the hiking club, Kay
Emery, shared memories about Newberry and the founding of the club with those in
attendance at Wilson Park on Oct. 15. Emery was one of three people who showed
up when Newberry put out a call for hikers to form the group in 1987.
1987 Times-Mail photo shows Barbara Newberry in March of 1987, about the
time she founded the Bedford Hiking Club.
.......
.
memory.
Jeff Routh, from Times Mail wrote an article about
Barbara and our club.Friend and charter member of the hiking club, Kay
Emery, shared memories about Newberry and the founding of the club with those in
attendance at Wilson Park on Oct. 15. Emery was one of three people who showed
up when Newberry put out a call for hikers to form the group in 1987.
1987 Times-Mail photo shows Barbara Newberry in March of 1987, about the
time she founded the Bedford Hiking Club.
.......
.
Kay Emery, who was one of three people to respond to Newberry’s call for hikers, led the dedication. “I showed up that Saturday morning in March of 1987,” Emery said. “But I had other things on my agenda and I couldn’t stay. I told Barbara I was very interested
and to keep me posted. She later told me she thought as I was driving away, "I’ll never see that one again.’ Well, here I am all these years later and the other two aren’t.”Newberry, who moved to the Bedford area because of her job associated with Crane, had a true love of hiking. She put a notice in the Times-Mail and asked if others were interested in forming a club to meet at Wilson Park on that Saturday morning. She was encouraged by the fact that somebody showed up, so she proceeded to form the club, under the auspices of the Bedford Parks and Recreation Department.The group met for hikes the first and third Saturdays of the month. The first Saturday hikes were shorter, 3-5 mile hikes. The third Saturday hikes were 5 to 12 miles with participants taking a sack lunch and the group eating together somewhere along the trail.The club has continued walks over the years, mostly on Mondays, but for a time on Mondays and
Wednesdays. The group now meets weekly on Mondays for regular hikes, Thursdays
for longer hikes and some Saturdays for Volksmarches in Indiana and surrounding
states. Emery recalls going with Newberry to a hike in May of 1987 at Clifty
Falls State Park near Madison. Tha iswhere she discovered Volksmarching,” Emery
said. “She immediately signed us up to be a Volksmarch Club, writing a check out
of her personal account to get us started. We had our first Volksmarch in
September of 1987. There were 315 walkers with 135 of the walkers from Bedford.”
In addition to her love of walking, Newberry was a devout Christian, spending
time in God’s word on a daily basis and always having a Bible with her when she
traveled, Emery said. She also exercised regularly, ate healthy and loved to
snow ski. She was also fond of horses and enjoyed horseback riding. She was
involved in and started a Toastmasters Club in Bedford, and she and Marybelle
Dwyer also began a welcoming service for new residents of Lawrence and Monroe
counties. She enjoyed bike riding and traveling, too. "She was always up for a
trip,” Emery said. “She was ready to anywhere, in or outside the state for
hiking, bicycling or skiing. We attended Volkmarching and AVA conventions
together.”Since the club was founded under the Bedford Parks and Recreation
Department and the organizational meeting took place at at Wilson Park, when the
club decided to memorialize Newberry, who died Oct. 4, 2011, it was fitting and
proper that Wilson Park be the spot of the memorial.The club worked with Mike
Mitchell and Jimmy Jones of the parks department. The department poured the
concrete pad that acts as a foundation for the bench. Greg Norman and employees
of Hoosier Cut Stone fabricated the bench and placed it on the foundation, which
is near the spot that the first group assembled 25 years ago. The location is
also on the route of the Limestone Year ‘Round event that is sponsored by the
club. In dedicating the bench, Emery closed saying, “So, Barbara, in loving
memory, we dedicate to honor you with this beautiful stone bench. May you ever
be in our memories, with fondness and gratitude. Thank you for being you, dear
friend and fellow hiker. Amen
and to keep me posted. She later told me she thought as I was driving away, "I’ll never see that one again.’ Well, here I am all these years later and the other two aren’t.”Newberry, who moved to the Bedford area because of her job associated with Crane, had a true love of hiking. She put a notice in the Times-Mail and asked if others were interested in forming a club to meet at Wilson Park on that Saturday morning. She was encouraged by the fact that somebody showed up, so she proceeded to form the club, under the auspices of the Bedford Parks and Recreation Department.The group met for hikes the first and third Saturdays of the month. The first Saturday hikes were shorter, 3-5 mile hikes. The third Saturday hikes were 5 to 12 miles with participants taking a sack lunch and the group eating together somewhere along the trail.The club has continued walks over the years, mostly on Mondays, but for a time on Mondays and
Wednesdays. The group now meets weekly on Mondays for regular hikes, Thursdays
for longer hikes and some Saturdays for Volksmarches in Indiana and surrounding
states. Emery recalls going with Newberry to a hike in May of 1987 at Clifty
Falls State Park near Madison. Tha iswhere she discovered Volksmarching,” Emery
said. “She immediately signed us up to be a Volksmarch Club, writing a check out
of her personal account to get us started. We had our first Volksmarch in
September of 1987. There were 315 walkers with 135 of the walkers from Bedford.”
In addition to her love of walking, Newberry was a devout Christian, spending
time in God’s word on a daily basis and always having a Bible with her when she
traveled, Emery said. She also exercised regularly, ate healthy and loved to
snow ski. She was also fond of horses and enjoyed horseback riding. She was
involved in and started a Toastmasters Club in Bedford, and she and Marybelle
Dwyer also began a welcoming service for new residents of Lawrence and Monroe
counties. She enjoyed bike riding and traveling, too. "She was always up for a
trip,” Emery said. “She was ready to anywhere, in or outside the state for
hiking, bicycling or skiing. We attended Volkmarching and AVA conventions
together.”Since the club was founded under the Bedford Parks and Recreation
Department and the organizational meeting took place at at Wilson Park, when the
club decided to memorialize Newberry, who died Oct. 4, 2011, it was fitting and
proper that Wilson Park be the spot of the memorial.The club worked with Mike
Mitchell and Jimmy Jones of the parks department. The department poured the
concrete pad that acts as a foundation for the bench. Greg Norman and employees
of Hoosier Cut Stone fabricated the bench and placed it on the foundation, which
is near the spot that the first group assembled 25 years ago. The location is
also on the route of the Limestone Year ‘Round event that is sponsored by the
club. In dedicating the bench, Emery closed saying, “So, Barbara, in loving
memory, we dedicate to honor you with this beautiful stone bench. May you ever
be in our memories, with fondness and gratitude. Thank you for being you, dear
friend and fellow hiker. Amen
