Hear the great outdoors

Alex Hyman’s participation in the Hike through History project at Cromwell Valley Park was predestined. Marlene Riley, occupational therapy and science emerita professor and Hyman’s godmother, conceived of the project during the pandemic, when finding clinical placements for her students was difficult. Riley and Hyman’s mother—also an occupational therapist—had become friends at Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore.

The project is a two-mile trail featuring audio narration via QR code that explains the significance of the historical sites and structures in the park.

Hyman, an electronic media and film graduate, had only been to the park a couple times. He is, by his own admission, not a hiker. He was also initially reluctant to participate.

“I had no microphone. I didn't have audio production software,” Hyman says.

So he recorded the project on his phone, all 20 locations.

There’s plenty to learn. Find the mysterious graveyard in the park known only through oral histories. The apple orchard—planted during World War II on the Sherwood side of the park—evolved into a peach orchard. If an apple tree died, a peach tree replaced it.   

“Everything I read was complete news to me,” he says. “I was inspired to go see where the placards were going to be,” he says. “The project is so laudable to me. Everyone [in the OT program] involved needs kudos. It’s one of the most meaningful things I’ve done.”

(1) Find the Hike Through History Trail on the Willow Grove Farm side of the Park; (2) Look for signposts with QR codes to access Alex Hyman's narration.