Mary Perez
Walking Woman
~ by Rachel Berenson Perry
photo by Rachel Berenson Perry
Some people are born organizers and Mary Perez is one of them.“ I always wanted to be really good at something, like playing an instrument or singing— an expert at one thing,” she said, as she sat at my dining room table. Her diminutive frame and pixie-like face are reminiscent of a wood sprite.“ I’ d have to say that organizing people would be it.”
Many have benefitted from Mary’ s expertise by participating in the Walking Women of Brown County, an open group of dedicated hikers that has existed since 1999. Inspired by a Chicago hiking group and initiated with a few notices in the local grocery store and library, the outings have been as simple as taking a trail in the state park and as complex as hiking the Wyoming Wind River Mountains with llamas carrying gear.
In its heyday, Mary produced a monthly Walking Women newsletter with write-ups of past excursions and an upcoming itinerary of as many as three monthly hikes and annual spring and fall road trips.
“ The group expanded to Bloomington, mostly through their Newcomers Group, as well as women from Columbus, Seymour, Spencer, Martinsville, and even Chicago. We could have three or four on a walk up to sometimes 25,” she said, adding that Walking Women still exists on a small scale. A summertime gathering at a member’ s Cordry- Sweetwater home and the annual Christmas Walk in downtown Nashville continue to draw long-time friends for strolls augmented with pitch-in meals.
“ I love being behind everyone, looking ahead and seeing a line of women walking, talking, being out in nature.“
“ The best things about Walking Women have been finding new places to walk and being out on the trails. I love being behind everyone, looking ahead and seeing a line of women walking, talking, being out in nature. And the friendships that have formed over the years have been irreplaceable. Something I didn’ t even think about happening. And it happened, I must say, mostly from the casual way it was organized. There were no expectations, no responsibilities— you just showed up and went for a walk. And what happened on that walk was an outcome of us just being together.”
Some say,“ once a social worker, always a social worker,” and the adage fits Mary well. In addition to organizing Walking Women, Mary has arranged outings to the Phoenix Playhouse and Dance Kaleidoscope performances in Indianapolis for members of the“ Green Room”( a group that meets weekly to discuss current issues); participates in yearly trail maintenance at Big Bend National Park in Texas; serves as the collection point for items to go to charities; distributes farm eggs for a neighbor; and makes“ fire starters”( handy igniters made from candle wax and dryer lint in individual cardboard egg carton cups) for Mother’ s Cupboard and St. Vincent DePaul.
50 Our Brown County Sept./ Oct. 2022