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Underground Railroad Walker

On April 2, 73-year-old Joan Southgate set out to walk 439 miles from Ripley on the Ohio River to her home in the Glenville neighborhood of Cleveland. Her path traces some of the routes taken by fugitive slaves escaping to freedom before the Civil War through a secret network of hiding places known as the Underground Railroad. But what began as an intensely personal journey has become an adventure shared by thousands of school children across the state. Like the escaping slaves, Joan Southgate has proved that ordinary people can still accomplish extraordinary things. 90.3 WCPN's Karen Schaefer has this report.