Red T shirt contest

The next 15 people who purchase a red IN THEIR PATH 2009! T shirt for $10 will receive a free Restore Cleveland Hope DVD.

Just email us at info@restoreclevelandhope.org Be sure to include your mailing address so we know where to send your T shirt and DVD. Include the size you would like as well. You may pay for your T Shirt By Regular Mail or using pay pal on our website.

My Next 5 friends who send me an invite on Face Book win a Free DVD. Send me your invite right now!! Winners will be listed on my Blog.

Wayward Blogger

Hi everyone,

I admit I am such a wayward blogger. So at my daughter's gentle nudge here is an entry. I will do better I promise.

Can you believe that I am walking again? After I finished my walk in 2003 we founded Restore Cleveland Hope, saved Cozad-Bates House. Now we are going to develop an Underground Railroad Education and Resource center. If you have not seen my newsletter sign up here!

Get your "In Their Path 2009" T-shirt

In Their Path 2009! T-shirts, the bright red ones you see in the accompanying photograph, are available in small, medium, large and extra large. Just send a check made out to Restore Cleveland Hope for $10 each to Restore Cleveland Hope, 9606 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106, include your mailing address and size requested, and we will mail it/them to you. Or you can visit the Restore Cleveland Hope website to find out how to get your shirt for only $5.

May 30

May 30, 2009. What a parade. What a celebration. It was way beyond wonderful. So the walking has ended but the joy continues; when am I going to stop grinning? I am so grateful for all of the hard work, creativity and love given by so many. It was truly a gathering of the Beloved Community. The Beloved Community marching down inner city East 105th Street. All of us Freedom Seekers headed straight to our beloved 'safe house.'

Saturday when I walked into the Bratenahl Village Park and saw so many friends, so many bright-red-In Their Path 2009! T shirts, it was literally breath taking. Time disappeared; I have no idea how long it took us to get from Bratenahl to Cozad-Bates. I just remember floating along with neighbors, friends, board members, my children and grandchildren. My big strong beautiful niece, Gianna and her wife (…that was shrieking exciting because I thought Gianna and Lauren had to work and so I did not know they had driven in from Syracuse.)
My good , great friend, Stephen Kahnert in from Chicago. Andrew Allen came from Cincinnati. Andrew joined me the first week of the 2002 walk and walked all the way to Cleveland. A huge group (20 or more) Gilmour Academy students. The Holy Rosary Montessori Girl Scout troop. Mustafa Griffin and student from C.A.S.T.L.E. charter school. And I should not have named anyone because, I of course, cannot name everyone, and I really, really want to.

My ‘papparazzi’ friends Adrienne Brockway or Kim Yanoshik running, kneeling, jumping to get just the right angle. My son Robert, holding the video camera professionally steady, asking reporter style questions to capture the moment. Lovely Margaret Bernstein.

The beloved Restore Cleveland Hope board members. Bookwomen book club members. Euclid Avenue Congregational pastor Terri and my church-family members. Ndeda Letson, there since dawn. And on and on and on. You should have been there to soak it all in. This is the Beloved Community. WOW

Through Wade Oval Sista Jewel’s young African dance group swirled our way down the street and onto the Cozad-Bate’s lawn. And there below the bright, blue sun-shiny-sky, we had cool clear, water and refreshing triangles of sweet watermelon.

Then the wonderful program participants: Ismail Douglas, Sally Tatnall, Chris Ronayne, Deborah Van Kleef, Kevin Conwell, Shari Cloud, Mittie Jordan, Chris Begay, with the folks on the lawn singing and clapping and praying and cheering along. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

The end of the In Their Path 2009! walk. What a gathering. What a wonderful day.

Date: May 28 2009

Weather: Sunny and warm this morning and not to hot. It has been raining almost every afternoon since I have been close to home.
Where I walked today: Real close now I walked in Willoughby, Willowick, I am almost through Wickliffe.
The ”Safe house” where I stayed: When I left George’s in Austinburg. May 19th to May 21st then home for Dr. Sakina Rose’s http://www.ocpm.edu/ graduation then back in Austinburg May 23rd and 24th. Lisa Link and Family Monday 5/25 then her sister Alynn & Rhea Mahle House in mentor http://www.city-data.com/picfilesv/picv11790.php Tuesday and Wednesday 5/26 and 5/27 (Gee My head is spinning just looking at it written out like that.)

Who walked with me: My son Dan was my driver 5/27 the day before was Jason Reed who teaches and works with young men at St Ignatius High. http://www.ignatius.edu/ Jason was such a wonderful and attentive driver. It was as if he was raised in a different era: Such door holding and holding my arm as I stepped out of the car, going to get the car after we had lunch. What a guy! We were quite a crowd today Khadijah Muhammed, Gloria Fearon, Sakina Rose, Jamal Houble, Son Robert and Daughter Teci www.linkedin.com/in/lbaldwin Her kids Helena and Alex. Thursday 5/28/09

One thing I really want you to know: All four of my grown children Martha, Robert, Letitia and Dan will be in attendance for the big celebration on May 30th. Here is a prayer to the weather gods to let it be sunny for a few hours this Saturday. Martha www.Marthasouthgate.com Made a comment on my blog http://joansouthgate.blogspot.com/ How exciting. She told me about a website to look up when I get home. http://www.thedefendersonline.org/ sounds like it right up my alley.

May 25

Sally and I did a relay yesterday. That means that since we did not have a driver Sally walked alone, for a while then I walked a while as we took turns driving. As I was waiting in the van for Sally a guy came up to me to ask if I was having car trouble. I said no and explained what we were doing. His Name was David Crookshank. He told me about Ron & Kay Wright who have a house that is a documented underground railroad site. It is the Seth Marshall house in Painesville OH.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Went to church with George, his sister Jo from Tennesee and Sally. All white choir, all white UCC church and the opening hymn is Lift Every Voice and Sing. Lovely.

After church we talked with 93 year old Margaret Ticknor and her daughters. Although she is small, rather frail and has had a stroke, today, during our brief conversation she was alert and engaged, even correcting some details of Austinburg's rich history. Her daughter, Ginny was pleasantly surprised. Later Ginny gave an exciting tour of the Cowles family home. Ginny is an historian and tour guide, who showed us many authentic artifacts and one room, a study, that had been kept in its original state as stipulated in Betsey Cowles will. Betsey was an amazing strong woman who was one of the first female students at Oberlin College, an abolitionist and a suffragette. And her strong sense of history has made it possible for the family to still have all of these important pieces, furniture, books, documents, journals and stories.