T-R IMAGE BY ROBERT MAHARRY
Steve Feld, imagined with his reliable Marshalltown roadmap and his dog Lucy, who strolled with him every action of the method, just recently finished his objective of walking every block of the city over a duration of about 8 months.
Back in December, the T-R initially reported that Steve Feld, a retired meter reader for Alliant who was no complete stranger to walking around Marshalltown due to his previous profession, had actually set out to travel every block of the city in collaboration with his canine buddy Lucy, an excellent dane who weighs around 120 pounds.
About 8 months have actually passed — 136 days were invested walking, to be specific — however he has actually formally finished the journey since July 16. East Main Street, Braeburn Lane and South 7th Avenue were the last 3 stops.
As there are numerous miles of roadways within Marshalltown — some little and hardly obvious to the homeowners who don’t reside on them (and with some personal drives, which he prevented) — it was rather an endeavor for Feld, who likewise still consistently runs 5Ks in his 60s. But as he put it in the past, he’s a goal-oriented person, and he wished to offer himself an obstacle.
Using his reliable map and bringing Lucy along every action of the method, Feld would just drive to a location he wanted to walk and after that knock out as much as he might every day, with the caution that due to the growth of business like JBS and the development of the YMCA/YWCA building, some roadways on his map no longer exist.
“I’ve talked to a couple guys (who say) ‘Oh yeah, I think I’ve done the whole town.’ No. Not a chance,” Feld said. “These are, like I say, long sections. Campbell Drive, I went out to that concrete place, that’s 18th Avenue, and that’s a long stretch. These are all long stretches. I went from the river to MCC, everything in between. The north side of town is busy. Look at all those streets. If there’s a little stub, I do it. When we say we covered it, we covered it.”
It all began in the northeast corner of town at the crossway of 15th Avenue and Marion Street, and Feld kept a journal of every day’s development and reflections. Lucy, who existed for the interview and discharge a couple of trousers however otherwise decreased to comment, grew through the experience too.
“She matured as we did this thing because initially, she was pulling on the leash, nervous, traffic and stuff was bothering her, but as time went on, it was amazing,” Feld said. “Semis drive right by, and she don’t even blink.”
Walking under bridges was one task that constantly made Lucy anxious, particularly when they crossed Highway 30 to walk the location around Marshalltown Community College. For a few of the busier locations in the area with faster moving traffic — he pointed out Iowa Avenue West as an example — Feld ensured to head out early in an effort to beat the rush.
In reviewing the conclusion of the objective, Feld mored than happy for the chance to satisfy a lot of fantastic individuals, whether they wished to speak with him or simply family pet Lucy and get a photo with her.
“I think she did (have fun) because now she knows when it’s time to walk in the afternoon,” Feld said. “We did the fall, all of winter, spring and summer. We didn’t go out in the extremes, but most of the winter is an extreme so we were out all winter.”
Feld isn’t one to kick up his feet and unwind now that he’s finished this journey, and among his next experiences will be walking the city blocks of a few of the smaller sized neighborhoods in Marshall County consisting of Albion, Green Mountain, Le Grand and Liscomb.
“It was fun to have a goal and work towards that goal, and now (I’ll) find a new one,” he said. “The main thing was all the nice people that came out and talked to Lucy and wanted to pet her and stuff like that… She’s very nice. She looks a little intimidating sometimes. I’d be intimated, but she’s not. She’s just a normal dog, only tall.”
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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or [email protected].
