Meet the Thetford Walkers

The Thetford Walkers
Houghton Hill
Sue Gault (with snowball), Susan Rump, Lynne Miller
Cathy Newbury, Mary Johnson, Marcia Dunning
photo credit Susan Cloke

Meet the Thetford Walkers              

Susan Cloke

Journal Opinion Winter Columnist

I’m a ‘winterer’ in Vermont.  I longed for freshly fallen, soft snow, gloriously white with sunshine reflected off its surface.  I sought the profound silence of winter.

Sitting in my living room in Santa Monica California friends asked, ‘Won’t you be lonely?’  And I wondered about that. 

My daughter, her husband and their twin boys live close enough for me to go down on most weekends and I have a few friends here, having been to Vermont before.   Still winter can be a long time.

Enter the Thetford Walkers.  A lively, engaging, and kind group of people, they gather at 10:00 every Friday morning at the Latham Library and choose where they want to walk.  Usually covering 2 to 4 miles depending on terrain and weather.  Through the Thetford List Serve they invite anyone who would like to join them.

Inge Tribetz, one of the founders of the Thetford Walkers, serves on the Steering Committee of the Thetford Elder Network (TEN). http://www.thetfordvermont.us/thetford-elder-network/

Answering my question about how she got to Vermont she said,  “In high school I worked as a reporter at a small paper in Germany.  I covered evening meetings of the Goat Herder’s Club and other local events.  I thought it would become my profession.”

But then she married and her husband’s work brought them to the United States.  Both are avid skiers and hikers and decided Vermont would be a wonderful place to retire.

“We didn’t know anyone when we moved here but we saw an announcement of a Working Day for the Green Mountain Club.

It was our introduction to the people of Vermont.”

http://www.greenmountainclub.org/

Look for Tribetz in Thetford and look for her at the Ski Marathon in Canada! 

Susan Rump is a Plein Air painter. Right out of high school she almost went to art school.  Instead she decided to prepare for teaching. 

A Thetford Academy teacher for 29 years, she is now retired. Although she still sometimes puts on workshops at Thetford Academy connecting art, writing, reading and thinking - all organized around literature.

A TEN Board Member, she is a co-founder of the Thetford Walkers, this is their 5^th year, and she is also an organizer for the popular Senior Luncheon held at the North Thetford Church.

“It’s a small community and the scale suits me well.  People who come here look around and see the gorgeous countryside and many people come here because it’s possible to live lightly on the land and make a difference in your own world,” said Rump.

Marcia Dunning followed in her mother’s footsteps and became a nurse.  She worked as an orthopedic nurse at Dartmouth for 31 years.  About her work, she says, “It was mostly elective surgery and people mostly got better and so they thought I was great!”

“Now I can spend all the time I want on my big garden.  I grow all the vegetables my family needs – eight varieties of potatoes, tomatoes, beans, lettuces, broccoli, and all colors of peppers,” said Dunning.

In addition to being part of the Thetford Walkers she volunteers at the elementary school to help teach cross-country skiing, is a member of the N. Thetford Library Board and is on the Rivendell Trails Association.   http://www.crossrivendelltrail.org/history.htm

Mary Johnson’s husband spent his childhood summers in Vermont.  It was because of his memories of Vermont that their family came here in 1974.

They both worked at Dartmouth.  When Dartmouth gave her the opportunity to study to become an X-Ray Technologist she took it and, after graduating from that program, stayed at Dartmouth-Hitchcock until 2011.

Now retired, she belongs to a handcrafting group, participates in her Lutheran Church disaster relief program, and exercises at the Thetford Community Center in the old white school building.

‘I saw the walking group on the List Serve and thought, these people have been doing this for so long and I’ll never be able to keep up.  But Sue Rump told me to come and walk and go at my own pace,” said Johnson. “I’m glad I did.”

Sue Gault came to Vermont after a long career at Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) where she started as a Tech Writer and went on to be Manager of Information.

“My husband and I had always loved Vermont and in 1995, after we retired, we moved up here, eventually ending up on Gove Hill,” she said.

“We both loved antiques and became antique dealers.  We focused on American antiques before 1850.

“When my husband passed away I decided I needed to meet people and got involved with TEN.  I ended up making a flyer for the walking group.  I had a blast when I joined in.”

Gault is also on the Board of Directors of Willing Hands.  They pick up food that would otherwise go to waste and deliver it to organizations for people in need.  It’s a very hard- working, hands-on Board of Directors,” she said.  “We dig potatoes and get dirty.” 

Lynne Miller lived with her parents on her Grandfather’s farm. “Then my dad bought a farm nearby and we lived there and loved it,” she said. “ Life was different then.  Kids had lots of freedom.  We would ride our ponies all over and go swimming in the creek and just run free.”

She studied fine arts and elementary education and got her Master’s Degree in Special Education.  In 2000 she retired from teaching, moved to Vermont and bought a farm in East Thetford.  A place for her two horses.  She trains, she rides, she competes.

Miller has been on horse trips all over the world – including Iceland, Banff Canada, Kenya, Chile and Argentina.

“The walking group has people with a wide range of interests.  We seem to all understand the importance of having a positive attitude and supporting each other,” she said.

I agree.  The Thetford Walkers have been a wonderful part of my winter here in Vermont.  Come join us!