The number 24,901 is symbolic to most minds, but it is especially fascinating in Brad Hathaway’s because he sees it as a finish line coming into view.
“I’m kind of a numbers freak, I could tell you exactly how much money I have found on my walk,” he said while resting at the Town Beach at Aucoot Cove. “You want to know how much money I’ve found? Just shy of $400. But that’s 32 years.”
Likewise, the Mattapoisett resident has been steadfastly accurate in measuring his progress while walking the equivalent of the earth’s circumference.
“I absolutely knew… from the minute I started walking,” he said. “First of all, I took my car and I measured every place to a quarter of a mile that I could possibly walk, down into Marion, down as far as Angelica Point – I did that once, 10 miles so I knew… I knew exactly.”
What began in 1988 as a 3-mile-per-day prescription to the wake-up call of heart disease and the threat of diabetes has, in its stretch run, been refocused as a “Walk around the World” for the benefit of the Mattapoisett Land Trust.
Brad Hathaway’s lifelong passion for land conservation emanates from four centuries of American history that goes back toMayflower passenger John Cooke, one of the five colonists to purchase the land surrounding Aucoot Cove from Native Americans in 1668, and Arthur Hathaway, a witness recorded in the Plymouth County Registry of Deeds.
Brad Hathaway is a direct descendent of both colonists, and his commitment to his land led to the 1974 co-founding of theMattapoisett Land Trust with David and Norma Hewitt, George Mock, and others.
Today, the Mattapoisett Land Trust protects over 850 acres of land. The proceeds from Brad Hathaway’s walk around the world will be used to purchase land in the Aucoot area in an effort to increase the 480 acres presently held there by the MLT.
At age 88 and dealing with a December 2019 diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease, Brad Hathaway now needs a walker to get around. He has fallen on the backroads and once on Route 6. Rain, ice, and snow used to be a nuisance. Now bad weather is a dealbreaker.
“I used to pick up trash, but now it’s very hard for me to get down,” he said, noting 11 discarded scratch tickets yielding $49 in lottery winnings. “If I get down, there are times I can’t get up even if I have (my walker). But if this rolls away from me, even 4 or 5 feet, I can’t get to it.”
His pal Carl Sharpe reminded him that he has no cell phone, to which Brad Hathaway said he does not have a computer. “I won’t,” he said.
Brad Hathaway is old school in more ways than one.
On September 1, he had approximately 90 miles remaining. He is acutely aware of the 20-mile difference measuring from pole to pole, and will keep that in his back pocket should the wheels come off on the home stretch. All tongue in cheek, of course. He fully intends on reaching his goal.
In the early 2000s, Brad Hathaway wrote a story for The Standard-Times in which he stated he thought he could complete the earth trek sometime in 2008. The memory now triggers laughter. “It’s 2020 and I’m still walking,” he said. “My wife used to walk with me. There’s something driving me inside now that says, ‘You’re going to make it.’”
The day he will make it is anticipated to be on Saturday, October 3, and the Mattapoisett Land Trust has organized a celebration.
Starting at 10:00 am, supporters will join him where Aucoot Road meets Bowman Road and join him for the home stretch back to his house. Attendees are asked by the Mattapoisett Land Trust to wear facemasks, and family groups are asked to maintain 10 feet between their clusters. Parking is available along Aucoot Road and at the Town Beach at Hiller’s Cove.
For more information or to donate, visit mattlandtrust.org/bradswalk or mail a contribution to Mattapoisett Land Trust, P.O. Box 31, Mattapoisett, MA. Online contributions can also be made by searching “Brad Hathaway” at gofundme.com.
By Mick Colageo