The Rose City Roamers is a walking organization in Portland,
Oregon, devoted to the promotion of health and fitness through participation in
various non-competitive sports activities. The most popular activity is walking,
but we also include cross country skiing, swimming and bicycling.
Our club was formed in June 1987 by John
Martinson (pictures below). It is affiliated with the AVA (American Volkssport
Association) and an international network, the IVV (International Volkssport
Verband). We are the 10th member of the OTSVA (Oregon Trail State Volkssport
Association).
Participation in events usually is free, but a
system of awards is an extremely popular part of volkssporting. The awards
consist of patches, pins and certificates for the number of events and distance
goals achieved. To obtain IVV credit and participate in the awards program you
must buy the appropriate book and pay the credit fee at the events.
Working at This Is The Place Heritage
Park, dressed in my Hudson's Bay living history
cloths---a voyageur. I got
started in living history while on a volkswalk in Vancouver, and the
check point was Fort Vancouver National Historic Park. I
became an active volunteer over there for three or four years.
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A picture of the club in the early days,
when we were marking the trail at McIver's Park.
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