Hank Aaron is a baseball icon. The Hammer holds a handful of the sport’s most prestigious all-time records: most RBIs (2,297), most extra-base hits (1,477) and total bases (6,856). And, having begun and ended his career in Milwaukee—departing not for bigger bucks, but only when professional baseball itself left the city in 1966—Aaron is not just a baseball icon, he’s a Milwaukee icon. Less known than his athletic achievements are Aaron’s philanthropic activities. Hammerin’ Hank is the founder and executive director of the Chasing the Dream Foundation, which awards scholarships for youth to pursue their passion, whether it be veterinary medicine or ventriloquism.
Aaron has also lent his name and unstinting support to the creation of the Hank Aaron State Trail (HAST). It originates with former Mayor John Norquist, who felt that a tract of abandoned railroad land gave a poor impression of Milwaukee to passing motorists. In addition to beautifying the area, redevelopment would create jobs as well as a green buffer along the river. Given the proximity to the stadium and the athlete’s sterling reputation as Milwaukeean and philanthropist, Hank Aaron was chosen to be the trail’s namesake. Over the years, the Department of Natural Resources has continued to develop the trail, which now extends from Lakeshore State Park, through the Historic Third Ward and Menomonee River Valley, past Miller Park, and westward over the new bridge at 37th Street.
On Saturday, Aug. 15 at 9 a.m., the Friends of Hank Aaron State Trail (FOHAST) will be leading a leisurely two-mile stroll to highlight public art found along the way. “We had a few goals for this event,” says Melissa Cook, FOHAST manager and guide for Art Loop and Sculpture Garden. “We wanted people to discover different parts of the 12-mile trail. We also wanted to get people walking as part of a healthier lifestyle.”
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Cook concedes that the two miles to be covered are not the most handsome vistas that the trail has to offer, but natural beauty is not the focus of the event; rather, it is the art and the historic happenings that inspired the works that are the real objects of contemplation. One such piece is A Place to Sit by Katie Martin. “It’s a very beautiful piece. Very site-specific,” said Cook. “Katie focused on the history of an area where different Native American groups would come together to harvest wild rice. She had been reading a book called The Making of Milwaukee in which the author describes the settling of Milwaukee as a game of musical chairs at the end of which the Native Americans had no place to sit.” Martin’s chair-like sculptures are inscribed with the names of the different tribes that once worked the land. Other featured works of art include murals that were created in celebration of the 40th anniversary of a 1967 march for civil rights that crossed the 16th Street viaduct, which is now known as the James E. Groppi Unity Bridge in honor of the local civil rights leader who led the march.
Participants will meet at the west parking lot of Sigma Environmental at 1300 W. Canal St. The $2 fee is payable at the event or in advance at milwaukeerecreation.net.
In September, the Friends of the Hank Aaron State Trail will continue their efforts to get Milwaukeeans outdoors and active. On Sunday, Sept. 20, FOHAST will lead a bike ride and tour of the Milwaukee Soldiers Home, a 90-acre site of historic buildings dating back to 1867 that was named a National Historic Landmark in 2011. On Wednesday, Sept. 26, there will be a walk through Stormwater Park, which was ingeniously designed to be beautiful and functional while also preventing the former rail yard from dispersing pollutants in rain and snow runoff.
