This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

This Town Is Made For Walkin'

Growing up in Watertown, I used to walk everywhere.

Watertown is a good walking town: being about four square miles in size, most places are within walking distance. When I was growing up here, I walked everywhere. In grammar school, my friends lived nearby and we’d always walk to each other’s houses to play. In junior high and high school, my friends lived further away but I still always walked to their houses when we’d get together. I lived on Boylston Street in the East End, and I remember frequently walking to friends’ houses on Riverside Street, George Street, Waverley Avenue.

We weren’t afraid to walk back then, and our parents weren’t afraid to let us kids walk. We were generally in groups, but we’d also be walking alone when heading back to our own homes. And I believe most of us walked to and from school.

Once we met up, my friends and I would usually walk to wherever we were going. And since the town is fairly small, it was quite manageable to do so. We frequently went to Watertown Square, often going to Woolworth’s, where we might get something at the soda fountain or look through the bins of discounted 45s. (I found a lot of great records there.) We also often walked to King’s department store on California Street to go shopping. The store had a cool little clothing department geared toward teenage girls. And because we didn’t hang out at any particular place, when we had nothing to do, we’d just walk around. I think I knew just about every street in Watertown back then (though I don’t remember them now).

Find out what's happening in Watertownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

One day Boston Bruins player Derek Sanderson and broadcaster Don Earle were appearing at Zayre department store to sign copies of Goal: Bruins, the album that was put out in celebration of the Bruins’ 1970 Stanley Cup win. Zayre was on River Street in Waltham, and since a group of us really wanted to see Sanderson, we walked there. The crowd was so big that I never got anywhere near him, but I got Don Earle’s signature on my record. (A number of years later, I did get an autographed photo from Sanderson when he made an appearance locally.)

I walked an even longer distance one day when my friends and I took the bus to Harvard Square to do some shopping and looking around. After we were finished, we got ambitious and walked home. It was quite a long walk and we got pretty tired but we were proud of ourselves for doing it. But my tiredness from that walk was nothing compared to the exhaustion I felt after completing the 25-mile Walk for Hunger .

Find out what's happening in Watertownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

When I was a junior and senior in high school, a few of my friends sometimes had access to family cars. We were able to go to more places by car – and we did – but we also still walked quite a bit. It wasn’t until after I was graduated that a car became my prime mode of transportation. These days, it seems that I drive everywhere, even short distances, and I know I’m not the only one who does this. I’ll drive to the bank in Coolidge Square, a distance that would have been a very short walk when I was younger. I wouldn’t even think of walking to Target, though it’s only a block or two from what used to be my grandmother’s house, to which my mother and I walked all the time. Of course when I was younger, I not only had the energy to walk places, I also had the time. We all had more time back then, as we weren’t overscheduled, rushing around to jobs and appointments as happens in adulthood.

It’s a shame that once we get cars, they become our prime mode of transportation, even for short distances. Granted, there are many reasons, such as distance, time, weather, or health, that walking is not always feasible, but when it’s possible, it’s sad that the choice to walk is not made more often. About a week ago, the weather was (finally) so nice and warm that I decided to take a walk to the post office in Coolidge Square to mail some bills. Then I strolled over to Dunkin’ Donuts and picked up my first Coolata of the season. It was enjoyable, and it reminded me of the simpler times of my youth when I walked everywhere.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Watertown