Walking Neenah

Take a stroll with us if you will. Explore Neenah on foot with the High School students of teacher Tara Meinke’s class  in the Arete program. We will be exploring the community with these students and seeing Neenah through their eyes in “Walking Neenah.”

Smelling the air as it becomes crisper from the cold and tucking your hands in your jacket to hide them from the cold of the wind. In the autumn, a walk to a park is not just a walk to a park. Every time you walk, it’s like each tree you pass has a different story to tell. Some you could say are getting old because of how they are losing their leaves and some you could say are still young at heart by the way the branches just don’t want to let go of the leaves. At the beginning of the way to Laudan, you pass a semi large tree in front of the church. It always seems to change its leaf color earlier than the rest of the trees around it. This particular tree has these branches that hang over the sidewalk like a small roof.  When you walk past the trees, leaves poetically lay everywhere. Being able to hear the crunching of the leaves is refreshing. It reminds you that nothing lasts forever but leads to new things.

Finally, you reach the tip of Laudan Park. You can see the park in the distance, but you are greeted with a soccer goal without a net. There is a little path that leads to the park, right next Wilson Elementary School. As you walk up the path finally reaching the playground area with my favorite part, the seesaw. Across the path from the park there is a tree that I love to just sit under and think. I’d say it’s also a great place to have a picnic! The walk to Laudan Park is a great walk and great place to just think!

-Walking Neenah Article by Student Shannon Maynard