Memories made at Walk to End Alzheimer’s

            246 eager souls met at Sigourney High School on Sunday, Sept. 25 for the Keokuk County Alzheimer’s Walk in hopes of raising awareness of the dreaded disease and to raise money for a cure.

            Area residents registered for their trek at the school, where the high school band played the school fight song, and Star Spangled Banner. Joined by the local boy scout troop, members of the Sigourney-Keota football team and cheerleaders, walkers marched down Pleasant Valley towards Sigourney Health Care. The Walk last only a mile, with fewer participants than in previous years, but organizer Pam Schwenke couldn’t be happier.

            “For little Sigourney, it was a great turn out,” Schwenke said. “The rain held off and it ended up a fine day for the Walk.”

            900 paper shoes were placed along the nine-block route, each shoe a small donation by local residents. New to this year’s Walk were paper flowers, with the proceeds from those also going to raising money for the Alzheimer’s Association. 35 of these flowers were purchased and placed in the Sigourney Health Care garden after the Walk.

            Participants enjoyed more entertainment at Sigourney Health Care, with performances from Rylie Shettler, Khloe Snakenberg, Sarina Gretter, Abbey Danowsky, and Jeff and Nancy Beal. Youth groups from Lancaster and United Methodist churches had games out and food was prepared in the health care center.

            “This is for a good cause,” Aaron Sellers, who was on his first Walk said. “Both my wife and I have seen our grandfathers affected by Alzheimer’s and we were close to them. [The Walk] gets the word out and brings people’s attention to care.”

            For Mark Weber, this walk was also about donating the time and effort to a cause. His uncle was diagnosed and still lives with the disease. This is his fourth time doing the Walk.

            “I enjoy being involved in the community and seeing the unity between everyone here,” Weber said. “Awareness is being able to fight Alzheimer’s, to find a cure one day.”

            While the amount raised is still be determined, Schwenke confirmed that the Walk will return next year, with the new addition of paper flowers also coming back. She acknowledged that the Walk remains strong because of people, like Sellers and Weber, who have been affected by Alzheimer’s.

            “We have so many people return because their families suffer from Alzheimer’s,” Schwenke said. “I am really thankfully for all the people that came out and we hope this will continue to attract people in the county.”