Morning Sun Pittsburg, Kansas 20 March 1998
The world is ravaged with the results of human violence, warfare, environmental pollution, lives ruined by drugs. "I don't know how to deal with all those problems, so I'll take a walk," said Rudy Stolfer, 48, Washington, Pa. "Maybe somebody will figure it out while I'm out here walking."
He took a break Friday through Tuesday in Pittsburg. "It was really something to be here over graduation weekend'" he said. "I got to some parties and talked with a lot of the kids."
Stolfer said that the walk is called the Walt Root Quest for Peace. Walt Root is an acronym for "We Are Living the Results of Our Thoughts." It officially started on Thanksgiving Day of 1996 in Washington, D.C. "The basic premise of the walk is that it's time to wage peace," he said. "We've had the rule book (the Bible) for 2,000 years now, and we ought to be doing better." Stolfer said the walk was divided into phases. In the first and second phases the group made it to the West Coast. "This is a walk, but we did get a ride through the Rocky Mountains," he said.
He pulls provisions in a box shaped like a coffin, which memorializes those who have died in war. The cart was demolished by an automobile accident on Jan. 30, 1997 just outside Selma, Ala., but the walk resumed March 11 from Birmingham. Ala. "The coffin is like my Winnebago, except no air conditioning," he joked.
Stolfer left Ochoco National Forest in Oregon on July 13, 1997. His goal is to be at Lafayette Park in Washington, D.C., by Sept. 7. He'll join with Prop One, a group which has been maintaining a Peace Vigil in the park since 1981 in an effort to abolish all nuclear weapons.
He is currently walking alone, but expects others to join him for the final phase of the walk. "We've had people who've walked with us for a few days or whatever," Stolfer said. "One time a group of students from Moscow walked with us. Some of the Pittsburg State University students I talked to over the weekend even thought about coming along with me for a while."
He averages around 20 to 25 miles a day, and has worn out four pairs of shoes since July. He lives primarily out of the kindness of others. "People can't understand what it's like to live without money," he said. "Well, when you're hungry, people give you food."
Numerous experiences stand out in his mind. "I walked through the Mescalero Indian reservation, where they're going to put a radioactive waste dump," he said. "It's beautiful country there. The people there are praying about this, but what can they do?" A happier thing happened in Oklahoma. "A group of kids got me up one morning dragged me to their sixth-grade class and I signed autographs for them," he said. "I was in their current events the day before. It's amazing that somebody taking a walk can be front-page news."
He describes the walk as "an act of prayer." " Dedicate it to the greater glory of God, point it in a general direction—that of peace—and see what happens."
Though he said the walk isn't a protest Stolfer is still dismayed "that we can spend thousands, even millions of dollars to try to dig up dirt against the president, but there are working mothers who can't afford day care and kids in high school who can't read."
An ex-Marine Stolfer worked on the railroad for 16 years. He became involved in environmental issues and worked for Greenpeace for a time before he started walking for peace. He said he has no idea what he'll do after the gathering at Lafayette Park on Sept. 7. "Maybe another walk will be in order," Stolfer said.