Walking Around Huntington

My husband and his family are from Huntington, West Virginia. The opioid crisis has marked the city, but it is truly the Jewel City on the Ohio. The city rests in the river valley along the Ohio, with nice long boulevards, perfect for cruising. The central downtown area features a reviving commercial district and the beautifully restored Keith-Albee Theater.

I took a walk along the Ritter Park Trail from Ritter Park to its terminus at Safety Town. While out walking I restocked the doggy bag holders and picked up three bags of trash—which I thought was pretty good given the recent wind storms.

Construction of the Memorial Arch occurred between 1924 and 1929 to honor the dead in WWI. For those familiar with history or France it might look somewhat familiar. The recent development of the Clio app (http://www.theclio.com) really brings it alive.

Huntington’s Parks and Recreation Department is excellent. As I walked along the 2-mile trail, most doggy bag stations had stock provided from the public and litter seemed scarce until I arrived at the end of the trail. As I said, a Jewel City.

At one point, a CSX train heading downtown passed alongside the trail. While it thrilled me, I figured it probably drove all of the kids walking the trail nuts. Any motivation necessary to take a walk, right?

At the very end of the trail is the joy of many elementary and middle school students in Huntington, Safety Town! Safety Town teaches fundamentals of civic administration, safe driving, and safe behavior around cars and trains. A sign inside the fence reads “The Safest Town in West Virginia.”