The All Oranges Walk: A FreeWalker Creates His Own Journey

How did this all start?  I was in the room where it happened, that is, the origin of the FreeWalkers organization in 2010.  I was the Secretary of the NJ Committee for the East Coast Greenway Alliance.  One evening, a gentleman named Paul Kiczek (the original Founder of FreeWalkers) came to our monthly meeting.  He explained how he wanted to do a 50-mile walk on the East Coast Greenway in New Jersey, inspired by Bobby Kennedy’s 50-mile walk on the C&O Canal Tow Path. Risa Olinsky and I decided “why not?”  We joined Paul on that walk for 11 miles and that was it – we were both hooked on long distance walking.

Fast forward seven years later, when Diana Nyad asked me to be her first Ambassador for her organization, Everwalk.  The goal was to lead a walk on the first Saturday of each month.  Fast forward another seven years (to today)… I am still leading a monthly 7-mile walk in Liberty State Park in Jersey City, NJ monthly.  In that time, I have added 12 miles to create a Jersey City to Bayonne to Staten Island loop, finishing at the start via a Ferry or the PATH.

My journey with FreeWalkers has brought so much joy and so many friendships to my life, but it has also shown me how much potential we all have to challenge ourselves and inspire others by creating our own walks and allowing them to grow over the years! 

With that, I would love to invite you all to join me on Sunday, May 19 on FreeWalkers’ 8-9 Mile All Oranges Walk!

Several years ago, I did a five-mile Oranges walk for FreeWalkers.  After a few more years of living in South Orange and appreciating how much history is all around us in our area, I decided to expand that original walk to include as many historical sites as possible (as well as a few good bakeries).  After all, that is what FreeWalkers is about – learning more about where we walk and why it’s important and special.

And now for a little history lesson about the Oranges…

There are four towns in New Jersey with Orange in their name:  Orange, East Orange, South Orange, and West Orange.  Montclair was part of the original tract of land that formed the Oranges and would have been North Orange.  Interestingly, the original name for the area was Orangefield before it was changed to Orangedale and then, ultimately, Orange (which was first settled in 1678 and at around the same time the oldest house in New Jersey was built in South Orange).  ***Fun Fact:  That house still stands but is in need of restoration.

Creating and growing walks for FreeWalkers has always been a fun challenge for me.  As I start mapping out the route and selecting our landmarks, there are three things I make sure to consider – as I would recommend to anyone who wants to coordinate a walk with FreeWalkers.

My first and foremost priority is safety – that is the primary goal.  I want people to walk on trails or sidewalks whenever possible.

A close second is easy access to the start/end of the walk, which I prefer to be a loop (so that we start and end at the same location for folks who drive).  Mass transit access is always a plus but not an overriding goal of mine.  

A third priority is access to bathrooms and food, particularly on longer walks (yes, I do consider 10-12 miles through the Oranges on the “longer” side).

One other fun tip:  whenever I am trying out a new walk, I will always walk the route (as opposed to driving or Google-mapping) because one always sees things differently when walking a route in person than any other way.  For example, you’ll appreciate better on foot the stretch of road with no viable sidewalks or a portion of a trail that is difficult to navigate because of rocks or holes. 

With that, let’s get to our All Oranges Walk!

We will depart the South Orange Train Station (across from the South Orange Firehouse which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places) at 10am, heading through South Orange to the Old Stone House, past Seton Hall University and through the Historic Montrose District.

We next enter East Orange, passing the East Orange Veterans Medical Center (built on land previously owned by Louis Bamberger of department store fame, now part of Macy’s).

We will continue to Monte Irvin Orange Park named for Monte Irvin, a Hall of Famer, who was one of the first players to move from the Negro League to Major League Baseball.

Next up – into downtown Orange to visit an Italian bakery that has been owned by the same family for 75 years. 

We will also visit a churchyard with pre-Revolution burials, and a park that was formerly the home of the United States Radium Corporation (infamously known for the Radium Girls).

After that, we may visit Rosedale Cemetery where Samuel Colgate and other famous people are buried

…

…and, of course, passing the famous Star Tavern Pizzeria!!!

West Orange is next, where we will walk past the Thomas Edison National Historical Park.

We will also pass Schneider Hardware — an old-fashioned hardware store that has been owned by the same family for 100 years, and the Americana Diner recently featured in a Harlan Coben mystery series.

Finally, we will head back to the South Orange train station, but through the part of Orange which was home to 21 hat factories employing, at its peak in the 1890s, several thousand employees. The original Stetson hat factory was in Orange but was named the No Name Hat Company. They started using the Stetson name when they opened a plant in Philadelphia. We will finish with the Tau Sculpture created by Tony Smith (a resident of South Orange) through Meadowbrook Park, and then to Cameron Field (where Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig played) before returning to the South Orange Train Station.

I am so excited to share this walk with everyone and hope you will join us.  If anything else, I hope that anyone who is considering proposing a new walk to FreeWalkers will do so (feel free to reach out with questions or ideas by emailing info@freewalkers.org)!  We are always open to journeys and adventures in new locations!!! 

See you on Sunday, May 19!!!

—David