A WALK ACROSS AMERICA SUMMARIES
Chapter 1: Talkin’ by a Wood Stove
In this chapter we get introduced to Peter Jenkins and get know what he is doing.
It takes place sometime during Peter’s journey. Tommy, Doc, and several other men in a
country store in a giant blizzard first confront Peter. Tommy and the doc ask him what
the devil he is doing hiking across America and Peter tells them that he is doing it to get
to know the country. Tommy offers Peter to come to his house for some food, but Peter
rejects. Peter calls for his dog Cooper. A thin farmer gives Peter five dollars in case he
needed it. Peter and Cooper then leave the store and go into the giant blizzard. Peter
then tells us how Cooper saved him one time before the walk. Peter and Cooper were
hiking along an eleven-mile alternate training route when Cooper killed a snake that
would probably have bitten Peter. We then get introduced to some of Peter’s
background. This so-called “Walk Across America” was something that was brewing in
Peter’s mind for a long time. Peter tells us that he grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut.
This is a town of about 60,000 with manicured homes and country clubs. It’s high level
of income and social status made Peter think that he had to attend Yale or Harvard. In
Greenwich, you were considered a greaser if you drove a Corvette or had a Harley
Davidson motorcycle. Most people drove Country Squire Wagons or BMW’s. Peter’s
problem, according to him, was that he thought that all towns in America were like
Greenwich. Peter tells us that he suffers from hollowness deep inside him that does not
go away. It comes back after beer, booze, or drugs wear off from a party. It didn’t go
away after he skied in a chalet in Stowe, Vermont. A revival of Woodstock, which took
place during the summer of his senior year in high school didn’t bring any relief either.
College and being by himself made the hollowness intensify. Peter himself began to
wonder what he was doing hiking in a blizzard.
Chapter 2: Mount California
The majority of this chapter tells of Peter’s past and begins with Peter’s memories
of college, which he finished just eight months ago. Peter tells us that he signed up for an
art class, which he at first thought was for girls and “femmy” guys. John Wood was
Peter’s art teacher. Peter was transferred from the Liberal Arts College to the College of
Art where he became a sculptor, glassblower, and potter. He centered his work on clay.
Peter would stay up until 3 A.M. dancing and have beer chugging contests. He was
excited by the young ladies (Becky, Chris, Jo Ann, Marianne, etc.), but he was mostly
interested in a girl from his hometown who went to a Philadelphia college. She had sent
him a love letter inviting him to see her in Philly. He never saw her during the first four
years of high school because she was sent to a prep school geared to getting students into
Ivy League schools. She had sent him another letter after prep school. They made phone
calls to each other until she was transferred to Alfred University with Peter. They got an
apartment under their favorite Sub Shop and they eventually got married in 1971. They
moved into a third-floor apartment at 51 North Main Street in Alfred. Their relationship
began to crumble and they separated on May 30, 1973. She returned to her parents in
Greenwich and Peter left to live alone with Cooper. Peter became an assistant electrician
to pay his rent at the apartment and decided that it would be best to leave everyone and
everything that he knew. His first idea was to travel from Alaska to the tip of South
America on a motorcycle. If he couldn’t make the money, he would become a rancher in
Utah or Wyoming. Peter asked his step-grandmother, Rhonda Jenkins, if he could have
two thousand dollars, but she refused, so Peter sent a letter to a Utah sheep rancher. The
rancher told Peter that Cooper would have to stay behind, so Peter decided not to go.
Peter became very bothered with the things going on in America, including drugs and
American soldiers going to Vietnam. Blacks in the South were in a quiet war as rednecks
were trying to wipe them out and Communism was bothering him. The most
troublesome thing to Peter was the industrial powers destroying the environment. Peter
told Stu Wigent, an Alfred security guard, that he and his wife split up and told him that
he wants to leave America. Stu told Peter to give America one last chance, and that is
how Peter got his idea to walk across America. Cliff Dubriel, a track and cross-country
coach, told Peter to train for his walk by walking/running a cross-country route every
day. Peter began to think about Cooper, who often attacked people at the Sub Shop for
food. Peter told Cooper that he was fat, but Cooper seemed to not care. Peter and
Cooper climbed a hill. Peter was ready to go home, but Cooper wanted to keep going.
Peter named the mountain that he climbed for training Mount California. By July Peter
and Cooper were covering five miles in about eight minutes a mile. On July 5, Peter saw
a marathon runner passing him on the mountain, causing Peter to almost think about
quitting. On August 2, Peter and Cooper made it to the top of the mountain. After a
swim, Peter decided that he would begin his journey on October 15, 1973. Peter bought
some equipment from the Alpine Designs brand since that was the best that he could
afford. Peter would call home only once, under special circumstances. Peter packed all
that he needed, including the thing that he, as well as many Americans, thought was the
most important, blue jeans.
Chapter 3: Walking into the Country
This chapter covers the first part of Peter’s walk across America, mostly in
Pennsylvania. Peter first tells us that Cooper is a hide-and-seek champion. Peter’s
equipment arrives and on October 15 about fifty people, as well as Cooper’s girl friend
Lab, Satch, come to say goodbye. Cooper once got embraced with Satch in downtown
Alfred. Peter left and gave his ’64 blue Chevy to his younger brother Scott. Cooper
became out of hand and attacked chickens. Charlie, a friend, and Scott went with Peter
the first night. They slept well next to the Appalachian river. When Peter’s new alarm
clock, the sun, woke them up, Scott and Charlie left. Peter promised that he would
follow two laws. One, a Sioux law, is “With all beings and all things we shall be as
relatives.” The second is one that Peter made up seeing many spots where deer had
bedded down for the night which said, “Every morning we will leave our campsite as a
deer would, with only a few hundred bent blades of grass to show we will have been
there.” The first week on the walk was what Peter called hi “shakedown cruise.” Peter
didn’t want to become “mileage-crazy,” which is a condition that vehicle drivers get
worrying about how many miles are traveled than on the reason for traveling. While in
Pennsylvania, Cooper attacks a porcupine with unfortunate results. This had happened
before during training and a vet had given Peter some pills that would knock Cooper out.
Peter used these pills and a man used some pliers and got the quills out of Cooper.
Cooper kept chasing animals, but never porcupines. Peter’s goal was to get to
Washington, D.C. Peter and Cooper settled at a pine-scented campsite and heard a sound
of “U-u-uah-h-h-h,” scaring Peter. After waking Peter went to a country store and bought
food for himself and Cooper. Two Pennsylvania game wardens, one fat and one thin,
came over to Peter and asked what he was doing and laughed when Peter said he was
walking across America. Peter asked them what that sound he heard last night was. The
thin warden said that it was a UFO visitor, but the large beer-belly warden said that it was
probably a white-tail buck not used to campers. Peter asked them what the best back
route to Maryland and Washington was, and they gave him directions. Peter and Cooper
went on top of Waggoners Gap and Peter, after soaring with birds, that nothing would
ever leash down his freedom walking across America. Peter eventually crossed the
Pennsylvania-Maryland border and was closing in on Washington, D.C.
Chapter 4: A New Nikon
This chapter takes place in Washington, D.C. Peter has an appointment with a
writer at the National Geographic Society. A watchman at the National Geographic
headquarters took Peter and Cooper to see Mr. Harvey Arden. Peter’s goal was to get his
walk published in the National Geographic magazine. He had to hurry because winter
was coming. Mr. Arden took Peter and Cooper to the editor, Mr. Gil Grosvenor, to see if
it could be published. Cooper had made a mess with the editor’s room, embarrassing
Peter, but the editor didn’t care. Peter told the editor about his walk and made sure that
he knew that he didn’t want any money from the magazine. Peter told him that he wants
a camera and film. When Peter said that he expected the walk to be eight months long,
the editor told him to take his time. That night Peter and Cooper stayed at Harvey’s
house and the next day Peter got one camera body and three lenses. Peter called home to
see if his parents, brothers, and sisters would meet him in Washington, D.C., and they
said yes. On the way to Harvey’s house Peter saw some Canada geese, a sign that winter
was coming. While going to West Virginia, Peter met his family. Of the six kids in his
family, only three could make it. His two brothers, Scott and Freddy, had obligations and
couldn’t make it. His sister Winky came with her boyfriend, Randy, in a yellow VW bus.
Cooper, Peter, and his family walked with each other for about two to three miles until
Peter and Cooper left their group to go their separate way. What hit Peter the hardest was
how his father looked at him.
Chapter 5: Thanksgiving and Five Red Apples
This chapter takes place in Virginia, West Virginia, and then back in Virginia.
The cold told Peter that he had to turn south and miss West Virginia. The Appalachian
Trail was Peter’s next destination, but he decided to leave it so he could see more
Americans. Peter finally reached Charlottesville and bought some boots. Peter saw a
sign telling people to be thankful since Thanksgiving was coming up. Peter was worried
that he would be fearful in the outdoors because hunting season was coming up. Peter
went into a country store and bought some of his own Thanksgiving food, both for him
and Cooper. When they found their place to eat Peter made a fire and they ate. Peter’s
favorite treat, by the way, was cranberry sauce. Peter went to sleep after eating, but a
deer hunter’s gun woke him. Peter grabbed Cooper and fled. They went to West
Virginia and Peter saw the Greenbrier Inn, a place with wealthy tycoons. When they
crossed back into Virginia, a big storm was threatening, and it eventually came. It made
it hard for Peter to keep going, but Cooper was having the time of his life with the snow,
which Cooper loves. Peter went to sleep in his tent, which he pitched between two
thickets. When he awoke, he let Cooper out to play in the snow, but Cooper crashed into
the tent covered with snow and rolled over Peter. Cooper licked Peter and knocked the
tent over. Enraged, Peter threw a snowball at Cooper. Peter got dressed and took off, but
Cooper again jumped on him. Peter threw another snowball at him. While continuing to
walk, Peter walked over mountains, until he came to one that almost made him want to
quit. They pitched camp early and went to sleep. When they awoke, they continued to
walk, and Cooper made Peter worry. Peter saw a mountain that he thought could be
Man-eater Mountain, which had the town of Chattam Hill on the other side. They made
it to the top. Suddenly, a VW bus with one man came up the mountain. The man told
Peter that it was about three to four miles to the next store. The man gave Peter five red
apples.
Chapter 6: Homer’s Mountain
This chapter mostly takes place on a mountain. At the beginning of the chapter,
Peter bought food in the Chattam Hill store. A schoolteacher invited Peter to his home
for the night and told him to meet the mountain man Homer Davenport. After Peter left
the schoolteachers place he left for Homer’s place. On the way, he met three separate
farmers in pickup trucks who told him about Homer. Peter was told that Homer didn’t
like people that much, but might like Peter because of his dog, his beard, and his journey.
At nighttime, Peter and Cooper reached the base of Homer’s mountain. They reached a
red-dirt road and found an old log cabin climbing up the mountain. Out of the log cabin
came Homer’s only neighbor, Douglas Allison, who had lived on the mountain for sixtytwo years and forty in the cabin. Allison told Peter the way to find Homer and watched
them leave. Peter and Cooper kept going up the mountain. Suddenly, Cooper stopped,
and Peter looked up and saw Homer about fifty feet away. Homer, Cooper, and Peter
went down the mountain so Homer could get some supplies. Peter told Homer who he
was and what he was doing going across America. When Homer asked why, Peter
discovered the real reason for it. It was to discover humans like Homer. Homer bought
some supplies and they climbed up the mountain again, finally reaching Homer’s
mansion, which was made of hand-hewn logs and roughly cut bare boards. One of
Homer’s three dogs tried to go after Cooper, causing Cooper to get chained for safety
purposes. There were two rooms in Homer’s mansion. Homer had lots of food in him
house as well a guns. Homer told Peter that his three hounds basically did everything,
including go after animals. Sometimes, Homer lost a dog to a bullet or bobcat. Homer
was ready to make food to eat. He showed Peter a fancy yellow beet. Peter went out to
get some water. Homer cooked some lamb chops and told Peter to use a straightened
coat hanger to cook the meat. At this point we learn that Peter has been a vegetarian for
the past three years, but this lamb made him think differently. When Peter brought the
food to Homer, he saw three pots. One had cornbread, one had applesauce, and the last
had the beets. Peter filled his plate with food from these pots as well as one with some
dessert. Peter then gave Cooper and Brownie, Homer’s dog, some raccoon. After their
meal, Homer started whittling some wood into ax handles, which is a way that he makes
money. Peter started asking Homer some questions. Homer told Peter that his people
have been mountain people for a long time. He also told Peter that he and his sons have a
farm down in the valley. They spent the night trading secrets. For two more days and
nights Peter and Cooper stayed as Homer’s guests. On the third afternoon, Homer took
Peter to his farm. Peter got introduced to Homer’s youngest son, Buck. On the way
back, Peter took some wrong turns, but eventually caught up with Homer. Before they
reached the mansion, Homer told Peter that he should consider staying on the mountain
and take over when he passes away. Peter said that he would think about it and Homer
left him. Peter panicked because he didn’t know what the trail up was. He saw a sign on
a barbed-wire fence saying that this was government land. After dark and three wrong
turns, Peter and Cooper saw Homer’s place. Peter told Homer that he would continue
walking, but might visit him again. Peter started to cry. Peter and Homer ate dinner and
then Peter started telling Homer about his background as Homer whittled.
Chapter 7: The Code
Before Peter left Homer’s place, Homer made him promise that the pictures he
took of Homer and his house would only be shown to his city friends. Peter and Cooper
left Homer. When Peter got to Saltville he went to the post office to send a card to
Connecticut telling his folks that he was okay. A man in the post office who saw Peter
told him that people had bet on him returning from Homer’s. Peter figured that he
needed a code to record events since living in a tent made it impossible to keep extensive
journals and notes. The first code that he thought of was KEDD, standing for Killer
Energy Drain Day. Another code was 25M, 05-20F, SFW 4-6 in., SN, AL, MCP, FFLH,
3, 3-7. 25M was twenty-five miles walked, 05-20F was a temperature fluctuation from 5
and 20 degrees. SFW 4-6 in. meant that the snow fell four to six inches and the W stood
for a strong blowing wind. SN meant that Peter and Cooper slept the night inside. AL
meant ate little and MCP meant that he needed maximum clothing protection. FFLH
meant that his feet felt like hamburger. 3 meant that he demands for the day were a little
harder than average. 3-7 was a scale of mental stress on the second day away from
Homer’s. Peter tells us that he makes about thirty-five miles a day. Ordinarily, they got
meals at a local eating place or grocery store.
Chapter 8: Fifteen Big-man Burgers
At the beginning of this chapter Peter and Cooper are walking through a big
blizzard in Washington County. Cooper was so hungry that he ate grass. Cooper then
ran onto a farmhouse porch. Peter was able to get Cooper off the porch before the farmer
saw him. Peter then fell asleep in the storm and when he woke up, he followed the road
and saw a hamburger drive-in. Peter ordered fifteen Big-man Burgers for himself and
Cooper. Cooper ate eight burgers, chewing the last three properly. When Peter gave the
money to the cashier, the cashier told him that he was a member of the Washington
County Rescue Squad and would ask the people at the town’s police and fire station if
Peter could spend the night there. When Peter and Cooper got there, Peter made their
reservation for the fire-station floor. The man working the all night shift asked him many
questions and told him about his tour in Vietnam. After the chatting, the man escorted
Peter to the concrete-floored bedroom and showed him different spots around the fire
engines to sleep. The slept until the town’s siren went off at 8 A.M. like every other
morning.
Chapter 9: Real High
Peter’s destination was Mountain City, Tennessee. Peter said that he’s driving too
hard and that something will give on either him or Cooper. Peter made it to Mountain
City and since the temperature was going below zero, he thought that a motel room
would be a good place to stay. He had a chicken fried steak dinner and asked the cashier
where to find a motel, and she told him. She also gave him a free meal. Cooper chose
room twenty-two and that is where they stayed. Peter bought his first newspaper since
Alfred. Peter gave Cooper a bath and took one himself. Peter saw a calendar that said
that Christmas would be in six days. Peter decided to spend Christmas in Penland, North
Carolina. He chose that place because Jack Neff, a close acquaintance of his from
Alfred, lived there. Jack made pottery. Peter got to Penland in four days. He got
directions to the studio that Jack was working at and met him there. Jack was very
surprised to see him. Jack invited Peter to him house and they had a little talk about
Christmas. Peter decided that he and Cooper would spend Christmas hiking to the top of
Mount Mitchell, the highest mountain east of the Mississippi. Peter left Jack’s and called
his brother Scott to go with him to the top of the mountain, and they decided to get to the
top without using their maps. At first, they appeared lost and Scott was in a little bit of a
panic, but Peter told him that there is no such thing as being lost and that it’s all in his
mind. They eventually knew that their plan to get to the top without maps had failed
miserably. When they got to the town of Burnsville, North Carolina and found a
laundromat. The next morning they went over to the U.S. Forest Office and found out
that they had hiked up the east side of Black Mountain Ridge and got lost, ending up in
Burnsville. Scott and Peter continued going up the brown valley. Cooper chased some
deer and they eventually got to the top of a cliff, where they pitched their tents. They
slept there and awoke at dawn. They asked a North Carolina forest ranger for directions,
and he told them to follow a path through Balsam Gap that would save them many miles.
Chapter 10: The Dark Black Shadow
While walking alongside the road in fields of cut cornstalks, six brown hounds
came after Scott and Peter. Cooper was far ahead and the hounds didn’t see him. When
Cooper finally heard the hounds he ran back, making the hounds turn towards him. Peter
said that he taught Cooper from a four-month-old puppy not to pick a fight and never to
fight back if some dippy smaller dog jumped him, but this was something that he couldn’t
get out of. The dogs attacked Cooper, but Cooper grabbed one be the neck and threw it.
Cooper’s fur was so thick that the dogs bit nothing but hair when they bit him. The dogs
finally ran home. Cooper gave chase but returned. Peter looked over Cooper and felt no
teeth marks of any kind. Peter then told us the story of a story told to him in Alfred.
Larry, the owner of a pottery studio where Cooper was found, told Peter the story of an
unknown dog who was Cooper’s father. Karma, Cooper’s mother, was only eight months
old at Cooper’s birth. Karma was locked in a strong shed behind the studio when Larry
heard Karma scream. As he neared the shed he saw a large black shadow streak through
the broken door. That shadow was what Cooper was fathered by. The next morning
Larry saw that the door had been torn from its hinges.
Chapter 11: Delirious
Scott hitchhiked back to Alfred, leaving Peter and Cooper on their own. Having
sixty dollars, Peter stocked up in Fontana Village with three to four days worth of food,
leaving him with about forty-five dollars. Peter and Cooper then went on the
Appalachian Trail. Peter started going up a hill with a rock shelter on top when it started
to hail. Peter got to the shelter and built a fire. Peter then went into his sleeping bag,
where he stayed for four nights and three days. The first night the hail poured. Peter
gave Cooper some biscuits. Peter knew that he had some kind of sickness. Peter found
himself talking to imaginary people. Sometimes he pleaded that the shelter would
collapse on him. On the fourth day, the sun reappeared and Peter got up. Crossing over
Fontana Dam, Peter spoke to two workmen. Peter went to a café and ordered some hot
food. The waitress told him that there is a sickness going around and that it’s probably
influenza. Peter was aware of how close to death he came in the rock shelter.
Chapter 12: Hanging Hill
Peter decided that Robbinsville, North Carolina would be his new home for a
while if he could find a job. As he came to the city limits he saw billboards recording
some proud moments of the town, like their football championships. Peter stopped at an
old country store with a fiddle and mandolin player. Peter listened to them for half an
hour before leaving. This was a very small town. Peter ate lunch at a restaurant and
inquired about a job. They told him that his best opportunity for a job was working on
the new state road. Peter saw two policemen headed back to the courthouse. Peter talked
with Ray Shuler, the younger cop, for about two hours. Ray invited Peter to spend the
night in a family trailer beside his house. Peter accepted and decided to spend the
weekend there until Monday so he could look for a job. Before the weekend was out
many people in town believed that Peter was a drug pusher aiming to corrupt kids. Many
thought that his walk was a clever city-boy trick to cover up drug dealing. A week
passed and Peter didn’t find a job. Some people went against Ray. Peter called his folks
to mail him fifty dollars to get him to another town. Peter, still without the money after
several days, camped at the edge of town, petrified. An unmarked police car pulled up to
him and asked for I.D. After Peter showed it to him, the man with the State Bureau of
Investigation made a threat to Peter, saying that he might get hanged from a pine if he
wasn’t out of the town soon. Peter went to the post office and got his mail. He left
Robbinsville.
Chapter 13: Smokey Hollow
Peter made it to Andrews at dark, but he left it since it was close to Robbinsville.
He made it to Murphy. He passed a lit-up basketball court with six black boys playing
there. Peter saw a huge traffic jam on Main Street. It looked like a rerun of American
Graffiti with young guys trying to get near pretty girls. When Peter went to Webb’s
Restaurant to eat, the sheriff welcomed him to Murphy. He also told him about John
Muir, who also walked through Murphy. Peter went back to the basketball court and
played on the team with the Oliver brothers. His team won 20 to 18. Peter told them that
he’s walking across America. Terry, the most aggressive of the group, invited Peter to
camp with them at the old schoolyard in their neighborhood. Peter was scared of doing
this because it was a black neighborhood. Peter set up his tent while the boys went home
to tell their mamas that they were camping. Peter had a fire ready. Peter remembered
having a dream about living with a black family, and now he wondered if it would come
true. In the morning, one of the boys offered Peter to come to their home. Peter went
him, noticing that the only public building of any kind in Texana was the Mount Zion
Baptist Church. The two boys that Peter went with were Eric and Bruce. As they passed
a house three sickly mutts charged from underneath the porch of a house. Eric said that
they weren’t his dogs. Finally they reached Eric’s house, a trailer. Eric’s mom, Mary
Elizabeth, welcomed Peter. She served food to Peter, Eric, Bruce, and Zack, the eldest
son. She, however, ate in the living room to see her favorite soap opera. After eating,
Peter asked where he could find a job and a place to live, but Mary Elizabeth said that she
believed that God sent Peter here to test their faith and invited Peter to stay with them.
Peter, after objecting the first time, decided to become the only white member of Texana,
taking Bruce’s room. Cooper was introduced. Peter learned that everybody in the family
had a nickname. Mary Elizabeth’s was Red, describing her hair and temper. Peter called
he Wild Mama. Bruce’s was Onion but Peter called him Nappy. Eric’s was Buba.
Peter’s was Al, short for Albino. Peter went to town to look for a job, and Hugh, the
manager of Webb’s Restaurant, told him that his boss, Mr. Weber, needed the foundation
of his house painted. Peter did the job and was paid sixty dollars. Peter then went to the
state employment office and spoke to the only placement officer there. He found Peter a
job at veneer mill. Peter was to report for work on Monday at Timber Products. Peter
went back to the trailer and rested on Bruce’s sofa. A man of about forty walked in the
trailer. He called himself Frank, Jr. said that he was Mary Elizabeth’s husband. He was
upset that he had never heard of Peter, and Peter felt the same about Frank, Jr. Eric came
home and tried to talk to Frank, Jr., but he didn’t answer. Eric told Peter that Frank, Jr.
was not his or any of his brother’s father’s. Peter went to the basketball court with Eric,
Zack, and Bruce, where they played on Saturday. The next day was church day. Peter
knew that if he wanted to live here in Smokey Hollow he would have to go to church.
Zack gave Peter some clothes and they all went to church. The platform shoes made it
hard for Peter to walk. The church had yellow plastic windows instead of stained-glass
ones. When Mary Elizabeth and Frank, Jr. drove up in their Pontiac, Pau Pau Oliver,
Mary Elizabeth’s father was in them. His nickname, Smokey, was what Smokey Hollow
was named after. He was now a deacon at Mount Zion. Smokey invited Peter to sit with
him at the front of the church. Reverend Lewis Grant led the service. Electric guitar
playing Roscoe led the songs. Over to Peter’s right was Miss Lucy Ann Siler, the eightyyear-old mother of the Mount Zion Church. She made gestured while the music played.
Lewis Grant then asked the guests to stand, and he easily noticed Peter. Peter said that he
was living with the Olivers in Smokey Hollow. Whenever he said something, people said
“a-man.” Peter then heard of a story that Pau Pau was shouting for joy one Sunday about
ten years ago in the church when he fell on a stove, but he wasn’t hot at all. After church
was over, Peter had to shake many hands. To Peter, this church was different. Peter
spent the rest of this Sunday eating, shooting baskets, and enjoying rest.
Chapter 14: Lemm and Preacher
On Monday, Peter left for work. On his way, he passed a sign that said “Timber
Products” and log piles. He approached a knoll that had a collection of old wooden
buildings. He could see wood shaving piles. Tire ruts and cars in varying states of repair
surrounded the only decent building in the place. Peter reached the veneer mill and saw
about ten men. Most of the men knew about him already. Many of the men had doubts
that Peter could work at the mill. Lemm Smith was Peter’s assigned working partner.
Lemm is a seventy-four-year-old man who works for two dollars an hour. They sawed
logs and Peter stacked them in six-foot-square piles. Peter went to the trailer after work
and slept until the next morning. Lemm went home and raised a garden, which he had to
do making two dollars an hour. The next day, Peter started walking to Joe Brown
Highway. After about a quarter of a mile, a Jeep with Oscar Winkler, nicknamed
Preacher, asked Peter if he wanted a ride. Peter accepted. Preacher was a nine-fingered,
sixty-eight-year-old man who was tall, lean, quiet, and always had a pipe in his mouth.
They started work at 7:30 A.M. and for fifteen hours they worked with three ten-minute
breaks as well as lunch and dinner. Preacher drove Peter home. Preacher drove up at
7:30 A.M. and on the way to work told Peter about his wife, Annie, his brother Bart and
their foods and animals. He invited Peter to his house and Peter said that he would be
there Saturday. Peter noticed that many men in the sawmill had missing finger parts,
including Lemm. Lemm told Peter tales of the sawmill, including the one about his
partner getting sucked into the whirling blade that cut three-foot-thick tees. Twenty years
ago Lemm’s assistant drank moonshine on the job. He then slipped into a blade. On
Friday, Peter smelled booze from Lemm’s lips. Lemm almost killed himself. He forgot
to sharpen the saw blade and he didn’t press down hard enough on the lever that made the
150-pound log core pass through the deadly blade, causing the log to get cut halfway
through and spit it back toward Lemm, barely missing him. From that Friday on, Lemm
trained Peter how to run a one-man sawmill. Lemm shut the mill down with no warning.
Lemm thanked Peter for his help and told him a tragic story. Someone got careless and
let a log get caught in a blade, causing a large splinter to break off and rifle through the
helper’s head. Peter said that he would learn how to use the machine, and as soon as he
did Lemm would quit for good. He already quit twice, but came back each time. Lemm
spent the rest of the day teaching Peter how to sharpen the blade. After his first week of
work and seven hours of overtime, Peter was paid $85.50, enough to buy food for his
new family and save some for the walk West.
Chapter 15: Sweet Milk, Booze and Lightning
The weekend in Texana turned into a dangerous orgy of booze, weapons, and
hypnotic rock music. Saturday in Peter’s part of town was “butcher night” by the staff on
duty at Murphy’s small hospital because of the violence at the parties. Matt Carter, Mary
Elizabeth’s uncle, lived in Smokey Hollow. He had a party that turned into a fight
because one man looked “wrong” at another’s girl friend. Someone shouted that a man
named George was shot in the stomach. George went to the hospital and was out soon.
Saturday morning, Peter went with Cooper to the Winklers’ farm, which they settled in
1941. When the Winklers bought it, Preacher worked to keep food on the table, Annie
worked to pay for the land, and Bart, Preacher’s bachelor brother, did the chores. Peter
shook hands with Annie and Annie hugged Cooper. Annie rang the dinner bell for Bart.
They all ate food cooked on an old-fashioned, beat-up wood stove, which puzzled Peter.
During the meal, Peter kept telling Annie that he had eaten in great New York,
Washington, and Boston restaurants and hers was by far the best. Annie gave Cooper
some “Appalachian specialty”: cornbread drowned in sweet milk. When Peter got back
to Smokey Hollow, he saw that Frank, Jr. had been laid off his job. To continue to earn
money Mary Elizabeth worked at a yarn mill and to make extra did domestic work in rich
white folks’ homes during the day. Everyone had a feast, and afterward, Frank, Jr. kept
to himself. He said that he heard bad rumors about Peter. People around Murphy of all
races say that they think that Peter is an undercover agent. He also said that people said
that if Peter weren’t out of town soon, they would kill Cooper and then him if he weren’t
gone. Peter made it clear that he wasn’t an agent. Kolen Flack, an agent, headed a
federal office and state troopers, who were local boys, helped him in a raid. The
bootleggers believe that Peter had squealed on them. All the bootleggers would be fined
a thousand dollars or thrown into prison for a year. Frank, Jr. also said that people might
go after the Olivers if anybody gets in the way. Mary Elizabeth told Frank, Jr. to get all
of his guns and told Bruce to go to the pool hall and pass the word. Zack was to tell this
to Smokey and Peter was to not let them down. When Peter saw Frank, Jr., guns, he
hoped that Mary Elizabeth’s beloved god would stop this fight.
Chapter 16: The Pigpen
When Peter went to work Monday, everyone in the veneer mill had his way of
testing Peter to see if he was the agent. When work was done, People were still
wondering who he really was. The agents returned, and the bootleggers made enough
money in a week or two to pay off their fines. The local drinkers wasted themselves in
moonshine and forgot about finding the squealer. Frank, Jr. put his arsenal back in the
stuffed bedroom. After getting paid on Friday, Peter met Mary Elizabeth and her mother,
Margaurite, in front of the new A&P. Pau Pau would sit in the car. Mary Elizabeth kept
asking Peter if his check came on the way to the shopping carts, and Peter always said
yes. Peter, Mary Elizabeth, and Margaurite did shopping. One Friday, a white woman
pointed out Peter. Mary Elizabeth and Margaurite didn’t hear a word because they were
hard of hearing. Peter then knew why Pau Pau didn’t want to come inside; he had great
hearing. Peter spent a large portion of his check. After finding out that Mary Elizabeth
had hypertension and high blood pressure, Bruce was losing his teeth, and Eric was
growing fast, Peter started buying fruit. Peter wondered why a black family wasn’t
growing pork and food knowing that they were eating worthless food. At work, Peter
saw a pile of planks. He asked the owner, Hans Bierkans, if he could buy the wood. He
bought it and told Pau Pau. Pau Pau called Mary Elizabeth’s uncle Shike, a deacon at the
church. They loaded his truck full of the wood. Pau Pau, Frank, Jr., and Peter built a
pigpen, and Frank, Jr. made another for his family. Long after Peter left, they harvested
over six hundred pounds for the whole family. That Sunday, church felt much better.
Chapter 17: Locomotive’s Coming!
On Monday, work started with some people feeling real sick. Spring began to
show itself. Cooper didn’t really like it here and spent a lot of time his abandoned
Pontiac. Three or four infected and pregnant hounds raced behind Cooper when Peter
called him. These dogs tried to steal food from Cooper, so Peter gave some food to them.
Peter spent some time in the woods, and one day, he heard Eric call him. When he came
close to the trailer, he heard Mary Elizabeth crying and praying loudly. At first he
thought that the bootleggers had come to take revenge. Peter went in and saw nobody but
his family. Suddenly a storm with fierce rain and hail came. Mary Elizabeth kept
praying and told everybody to get down to avoid the tornado. Suddenly, the storm
stopped. They went out to see what was destroyed. This was the worst storm in over a
hundred years. Zack, Eric, Bruce, Peter, and Frank, Jr. headed down the highway toward
Murphy in a car. There was severe storm damage. They then headed towards Andrews,
falling into a ditch and getting out of it on the way. They then went towards Marble and
then towards Peachtree. They then took a right in the Hiwassee River road and it was six
miles back into Murphy. Peter saw people sawing trees on the road. A huge storm mark
was left in the forest. Someone told them that the tornado had basically destroyed
Bealtown, a residential section of Murphy. The entire community needed rescue. A
father asked them to help find his baby, and Dwight Bennett, a high school student and a
member of Peter’s church, found the dead baby on a tree. Peter and his group helped
clean up the town. The Ranger Baptist Church wasn’t as blessed as the church was
practically destroyed. The Mount Zion Baptist members decided to help despite being
made up of an entirely different race. On Sunday, some white people came to the Mount
Zion Church. Reverend Grant had the offering plates passed. After all the sermons and
passing of the plate ended and $232.27 was collected the money was given to the
reverend from Ranger.
Chapter 18: Pau Pau
Two major events happen in this chapter before Peter leaves: Zack becomes the
first person in his family’s history to graduate from high school, and Peter’s parents come
to see him. When Peter came home one day, Zack asked him what he should do after he
graduates. Peter requested college, but Zack said that Peter was crazy. However, in the
fall of ’74 Zack went to Berea College in Kentucky on a basketball scholarship. Peter
and Cooper danced of Monday nights in a barn. Peter learned that he had a predictable
routine. Work, grocery store, basketball, swimming, church (never predictable before
now), and sleep was this routine. On Wednesday morning something unforgettable
happened. It was May 12 and the water had been shut off late in the night and someone
left the bathroom spigots turned on. When the water went back on the floor flooded.
Eric left a whole box of detergent in the washing machine, causing suds. Peter tried to
clean up the mess before the others awoke. When he looked in the mirror he saw that he
was white, which he forgot. A man named Red would have loved to kill Peter because he
was white, and one Saturday he tried. Red was an escaped convict living with Mary
Elizabeth’s sister and three daughters in the Hollow. Red was scared of Cooper. On this
Saturday Red called Peter from outside. Red was very drunk. Peter went outside and
Red told Peter that he would kill Cooper if Cooper growled at him again. Eric went
outside, but Peter sent him back in. Peter was able to get through the confrontation
without any trouble. Red disappeared about two weeks later and some SBI men from
Georgia looked for him. Weeks later he showed up again, but Mary Elizabeth and Pau
Pau told him not to bother Peter again or else they would see to it that he never bothered
anyone again. Margaurite said that she would kill him if he touched Cooper. After four
months, Peter earned $660. He left the veneer mill. On the last day that he went home
from the mill he smelled a feast that was being prepared for him family, which was
coming to Murphy. Peter wondered how his family would react to his new one. On
Monday morning Peter’s black family got ready for the arrival of Peter’s real family.
They finally showed up. The people in Peter’s family who came were his parents and
sisters, including Abbi, who called Cooper. Peter’s mother was happy to meet Mary
Elizabeth and Peter’s father wouldn’t stop shaking Peter’s hand. Both families had a big
feast. They even celebrated Peter’s July 8 birthday a week early. For the rest of the week
Peter’s parents and sisters camped out at the Hanging Dog Campground. They swam in
lakes, shopped at the A&P, and went over to the Winklers’. They even explored the
mountains. Peter began to discover a love for his country. Before Peter’s father drove
away he pulled aside and told Peter to treat everyone like these fine people have treated
him. Up to the last week of staying at the Hollow, Peter and Cooper kept going to the
Winklers’ farm to buy butter, sweet milk, and buttermilk for the family. Then he said
goodbye to the Winklers. Annie gave some ham to Peter and told him to give it to his
black family. Peter’s last Sunday at the Texana church came. People in the church
testified how they felt about Peter, and Pau Pau said it best. He said that Peter started
calling him Pau Pau, which meant Grandpa, but Peter didn’t know that until Eric told
him. Pau Pau then knew that Peter was an all right white and said that he was proud of
him. Not many months after Peter left Texana and Smokey Hollow, Pau Pau died of
cancer, which he had when Peter was there but never said a word about it. Peter finally
left the black family.
Chapter 19: The Blue-eyed Dane
Every step that Peter took from Smokey Hollow was painful. He crossed into
Georgia and the richly beautiful mountains of the Chattahoochee National Forest. Peter
camped in a pine forest the first night. The next morning at a café Peter met a hip young
couple who directed Peter and Cooper to the Wolf Creek Wilderness, a survival school.
Peter went there and was told about a place that would send him and Cooper three
hundred miles out of their way. The Farm sounded like utopia, but Peter would have to
walk to central Tennessee. While walking there Cooper wrestled and ate a woodchuck.
Peter coasted into a country store and Gulf station where he met a pulpwood worker.
Peter came to the end of the Chattahoochee National Forest and the heat troubled them.
Peter had to drag Cooper out of house entryways. Peter passed by the Klas family, who
was having a picnic. They offered Peter a Coke and Peter drank it, asking for water
afterward. Instead of water, father Klas gave Peter some of his best moonshine that made
Peter feel lightheaded. Days turned into weeks as Peter walked to the Farm. He went
through northeast Alabama, where he went to the town of Flat Rock. In this town, Peter
went to a general store where he saw an all-white, blue-eyed Great Dane that was bigger
than Cooper. A hypersquatty mutt went to Cooper and growled. Cooper swatted the
mutt and shook him. The Dane attacked Cooper and Peter jumped on top of a car,
powerless to stop the fight. However, Cooper was able to make the fight a draw. The
owner of the dogs told Peter that he should get his dog into some local dogfights and said
that his Dane had never met his match before. The owner of the Dane then offered two
hundred dollars for Cooper, then five hundred, then a thousand, but Peter refused each
time and walked away after the third offer. Peter declared to himself that he would sell
Cooper for a million dollars and would be together with him forever.
Chapter 20: The Farm
This chapter takes place on the Tennessee Farm. People showed Peter shortcuts
to the Farm until he got to the gatehouse entrance, where he saw several young folks in
their twenties. Men had long and straight hair and the women had to bras, makeup or
jewelry. Leslie, an ex-marine, kept an eye on who was coming and going since they
didn’t have a sheriff. Leslie decided that they could stay and took Peter and Cooper for a
ride around the giant farm. The Farm stated in San Francisco with Stephen Gaskin.
Stephen went to San Francisco and started an experimental college class. The class
learned what was going on in this generation. In his class Stephen and his young
followers decided there was a real spiritual world, so the first stage of the Farm was
conceived. The class moved to Haight Street and then Stephen moved his flock again to
a rock hall on the beach. Stephen decided to tour the country teaching, speaking, and
feeling the pulse of the people, so 250 devout students followed him. After hearing this
story, Peter and Cooper were taken to “First Road Couple’s Tent.” They passed many
dimly lit homes. Peter went inside the tent that was shared by four married couples, three
of which were home. The couples who were home were Patrick-Ruth, Joel-Roberta, and
Jeffrey-Marilyn. They were called this because people on the Farm went by first names.
These couples were the most educated Farm residents. Patrick was the originator and
operator of the grain mill on the farm. Ruth was a member of the farming crew and
worked in the fields. Joel was the Farm’s only lawyer. Jeffrey was chief of the tentfarming crew. Labor on the farm was divided into groups of men and women called
crews. Marilyn was the head teacher for the Farm’s school. Two children belonging to
some other couples were in the tent. It was the Farm’s policy for all women to care for
two or three children while other moms were working in the fields. Peter fell asleep on a
retired bread truck and woke up at 6 A.M. Peter learned that the Farm was a vegetarian
community and didn’t drink stimulants. Jeffrey went off to frame the new tent house
where their leader and teacher, Stephen, would soon live with his extended family of two
wives and many children. Someday they hoped that these framed tent houses would be
changed to fine wood homes. Joel had to prepare an appeal to get Stephen out of jail for
growing marijuana on the Farm. Peter was on his way to a Farm crew’s morning meeting
with Roberta and Ruth when he saw the fields. He also saw a man installing the Farm’s
new used-phone system. The intertent phone network would be called Beatnik Bell.
Michael, the farming crew chief, called the meeting to order and gave out assignments.
Peter found out that when the Farm first arrived in Tennessee, they were determined to be
totally organic, but that changed soon. They decided to become sharecroppers. The six
weeks that Peter lived on the Farm, he worked mostly on the farming crew. There was
no time for sports, but they had fun playing a game of “bite the pepper,” in which you
bite jalapeno peppers until you had to stop. The one with the most melted taste buds
won. People picked out what they needed for a week. Some things were rationed.
Women worked in the canning and freezing tent all day and sometimes all night. The
Farm once got hepatitis. Babies were also part of the Farm, which had lots of pregnant
women. Babies were the most continuously productive crop. Stephen teaches that
physical birth is a sacrament. The Farm even allows women outside it to bring their
unwanted baby to the Farm instead of having an abortion. Stephen taught that you are
God. He said that you should give up competition for food, housing, life, and
individuality. While serving his jail sentence, he was allowed to come home on
weekends. Sunday had meditation, not work. One Sunday, Peter went to Meditation
Field without Cooper. Stephen arrived with two wives and many children. His spiritual
talk was a continual flow of ideas, stories, mixed religions, and his personal experiences.
Stephen married those who wanted him to during these long sunlit services. Every
service began with an hour of meditating. The primary reason for the Farm’s existence
was to simplify their lives so they would have time left over to look for God. Stephen
taught that God disappears every time you look for him. Stephen performed a Farm
wedding. He married 150 and five hadn’t made it. Stephen was asked if there was a
devil, and Stephen said that if you’re gonna have a Christ you gotta have a devil.
Stephen convinced his crop that a great spiritual teacher was needed in every generation.
Peter decided that the Farm wasn’t for him. To find out why these young people wanted
the Farm, Peter went, night after night, to the office and print shop where they kept all
their records and Stephen’s writings and studied the census. The majority was raised in
big cities and many were college educated. Only 3 or 4 had farming experience. Most
marked “not much” for past religious affiliation and not even half of the population has
any religious background, but they had now found a promised land and religion in
Stephen. Peter realized for the first time that maybe he was looking for his God.
Chapter 21: Down a Deer Trail
Cooper wanted to go into the wild woods. In the woods Peter and Cooper started
their favorite game, run, wrestle, and chase. After walking down a deer trail for about a
mile, they ran free. Cooper followed the scent of an abandoned animal and they were off
through the trees and hollows. Peter realized the heavy hold the farm had on him. He
was sucked into their subtle, seductive world, a world he didn’t want. Peter was never
convinced that the Farm was where he belonged. Cooper never liked the Farm. Peter
saw Cooper lying next to a rough oak trunk rubbing and scratching himself. Peter saw
how beautiful he was. They played dive and dodge. They both went in water and then
fell asleep. They then went back to the tent, but stalked down the hill because Peter
dreaded to go inside. In a big way he wanted to leave right now. Peter decided to brush
Cooper’s coat so he would look his best when they left. While brushing, he discovered a
scar on Cooper’s stomach that he got protecting Peter. This is the story of how Cooper
got it. It happened five miles before Murphy, North Carolina. Peter had just topped a
long hill. A German shepherd sprang for Peter, but Cooper blocked the attack. Cooper
attacked the shepherd. Peter grabbed Cooper and kicked the shepherd. For some reason,
the shepherd tried to lick Peter’s hand. When the shepherd shrank up to Cooper, both
dogs began to wag their tails as if they became friends. That is the story of the scar.
Peter brushed Cooper and heard some geese migrating. Peter decided then that he would
leave on Wednesday, October 16, 1974, the day after the first anniversary of the walk.
Chapter 22: The Water Truck
Today Peter would be working on the water truck and tell the Farm that he and
Cooper were leaving soon. The truck had a tank full of water to be delivered around the
Farm. Michael climbed behind the wheel. Peter straddled the cool tank and rode the
truck. Cooper trotted a safe distance from the back. About half a mile down the road
they came to a gradually narrowing section. Cooper ran along the two-foot bank beside
the truck. He wouldn’t let the truck travel by, but leaped down off the bank under the
rear. The truck drove over Cooper. Peter, confidant that Cooper had survived, leaped off
the tank and screamed for the truck to stop. Peter felt for Cooper’s heartbeat but wasn’t
sure if he heard one. Michael drove them to a clinic with a research dentist who was
checking if marijuana had any positive effect on teeth. Peter asked the dentist if he
should take Cooper to a doctor, thinking that Cooper was knocked out or in a coma. The
doctor used a stethoscope on Cooper and told Peter that Cooper was dead. After hearing
that, Peter felt dead. Peter remembered that many of Cooper’s friends on the Farm were
the little children. Peter drove to the tractor barn to get a shovel to bury Cooper. James,
one of Cooper’s best friends on the farm, wanted to come to help bury Cooper. Peter
accepted, feeling that he needed someone to share the nightmare. Peter found a place to
bury Cooper in the forest and cried carrying Cooper there. He and James buried Cooper.
Nine days after Cooper was crushed, Peter walked down the dusty road that led him and
Cooper there. Now he walked by himself.
Chapter 23: TAA
Starting the walk without Cooper was hard for Peter, but he couldn’t just run back
to Connecticut, so he had to continue. Peter had to go to Alabama, which he knew as
being a terrible place. He crossed the border on a Friday night. Peter saw a sign of
Governor Wallace that said, “Take a Fun Break in Friendly Alabama.” Nothing bad
happened to Peter for some time. On his way to set up camp Peter saw a pickup truck
with the Greens, Leonard, Sara, Sandra, Rusty, Anthony, David, and Mark. He had
dinner with them and decided to see Governor Wallace. Peter remembered a man back in
northern Georgia who had invited him to his home in Sheffield, Alabama. Peter
remembered that this young man’s father was a doctor and found in a phone booth a
doctor named Qualls. He called him and told him about the invitation. The doctor
picked him up and the Qualls family treated Peter ass though he were kin. The doctor
noticed that Peter was sick and wouldn’t let him leave the home of the Qualls. When
Peter left he went to see the “Guv-na.” In his coded map, Peter wrote TAA—Totally
Amazed by Alabama. A man named Mr. Earl Martin drove up to Peter on Peter’s second
day out of Sheffield and said that he would like to go with Peter and gave Peter a fiftycent piece, peppermint stick, and candy bar. Peter walked through the William Bankhead
National Forest on the third, fourth, and fifth days and on the fifth found himself in
Winston County, a famous place that split from the Confederacy during the Civil War to
keep from getting killed over slaves, which they didn’t believe in. Peter saw a football
game between Banks High School, which was number one in America, and its rival,
West End High. The Banks quarterback, Jeff Rutledge, got injured and his team lost.
Peter was invited to spend some time in the home of Roger and Pat McGuire, who had
moved to Alabama from Chicago. Peter then went to see the “Guv-na.”
Chapter 24: Shelby County
Peter camped in a fresh pine forest north of Columbiana. He was going to call
home in Connecticut. He went into a phone booth and his dad answered the phone. Peter
talked about his amazement toward Alabama. Suddenly a pickup drove by. A man from
the truck picked up Peter’s backpack and started walking off with it. Peter told his dad
that someone had to make an emergency call and hung up. The man threw Peter’s pack
on the gravel and faced Peter, standing a foot from Peter’s face. Peter told the big drunk
man that he was from Connecticut, giving away that he was a Yankee. The man asked
his buddies if he should kill Peter now or later and didn’t believe Peter when he said that
he was walking across America. He threatened to badly hurt Peter. Peter tried to
convince the man that he wasn’t a drug dealer and he really is doing a hike. He then
antagonized the man and said that if he beat him up he would have to write about him,
which would ruin all the good things that have happened to him in Alabama. The
drunkard then admitted that he was trying to pick a fight and that Peter recognized that.
He also said that his boy was hooked on drugs and he aimed to hurt Peter because he
thought that he was a drug pusher. He then invited Peter to the truck for a beer. While
they drank, the man said that Peter had guts. Peter was invited to go for a ride, but Peter
told them that he had to make a call, so they let him go. Peter searched for a campsite
and hid in the bushes whenever a car passed by. The drunks’ pickup truck passed Peter
over ten times. These men were the Shelby County Drunk Four. At about noon the next
day, the man who Peter encountered the night before pulled up beside Peter and
apologized for what happened. After he said that he wished that he could do something
for Peter, Peter told him to take care of his son. When he left, Peter went his way to find
Governor Wallace.
Chapter 25: “The Guv-na”
Peter was on his way to the “Guv-na,” and on his way he passed through the town
of Cooper, which made him realize how the walk had changed since Cooper’s death.
Alabama’s beautiful women also amazed Peter. Roger McGuire gave Peter the address
of friends in Montgomery named the Waldos. Peter went to their house. Mark, the
intense father, was active in his job as the senior reverend of an Episcopal church. Peter
spent a Thanksgiving with them. Peter also had the chance to meet many strongly knit
Southern families, including the Walkers. The Walker family had Jordan Dorman
Walker, the big-businessman father; Gloria Steward Walker, the mother, and Madrue
Lanier Walker, their beautiful daughter. Peter was told that not everybody liked George,
the governor. He suffered a shooting that crippled his legs. He often sneaked out of his
office to talk with people. When Peter came to see him for an appointment he saw
Yankee businessmen waiting for the governor. Peter saw a Confederate flag under the
American one, which surprised him. When he was waiting to get into the office,
cattlemen went into the office. They asked for the governor, but Governor Wallace asked
for Peter. Wallace told Peter how much he heard about him and said that he invited him
in first because the hardworking folks don’t get heard from enough. Peter told the
governor about his ideas about Alabama, but the governor laughed and told Peter to see
how good Alabama is by living with its people. He also told Peter to try earning money
by speaking at schools and said that the state troopers would check up on Peter during the
week. Peter left the governor and said good-byes to the Waldos and Walkers. He walked
on Martin Luther King’s route. In the town of Selma he went inside a burger palace and
met Calvin Orsborne, who was born and raised in Selma. He owned a cotton gin and
talked with Peter about politics. Peter passed through the Live Oak Cemetery, which
pushed him triple down the route. Peter camped in a field with cows and the next
morning the field’s owner asked Peter what he was doing. Peter told him that he was
camped for the night and the man said fine. Peter was soon on his way.
Chapter 26: Miss Margaret and M.C.
Peter begins this chapter near what looks like a ghost town. Peter went into a
weathered-looking store and asked where he was. The lady said that he was in Orrville,
Alabama and this is its only store. Peter then went to the post office to write postcards to
his folks and friends. In the post office a man dressed as a cowboy said that he was a
Jenkins, M.C. Jenkins. M.C. invited Peter to his house to get out of the cold. M.C. and
his wife, Miss Margaret, lived on a three-hundred-acre spread he ranched in his
semiretirement. Peter and M.C. pulled up to an antebellum mansion. Slaves had planted
the trees around it. The house was one story high and had very high ceilings. Peter and
M.C. waited for dinner and M.C. told Peter about himself. A midwife in a log home
delivered M.C. in 1912 in middle Tennessee. The Jenkins-Butler clan worked all the
time in his youth. M.C. said that the children had to do chores or get hit with a “finishing
stick.” There was an all-day church service one Sunday one day each month. Peter went
to bed and was woken up at eight. He was given chores to do. He shoveled, helped
deliver calves, fixed fences, painted the barn, and helped separate bulls. M.C. told Peter
stories, including some of how the Southern white man had suffered, like blacks, from
unfair prejudices. He also told Peter of how he fired bullets between the legs of a man
squatting and relieving himself alongside the country road. He told Peter of how he
worked and saved seventeen dollars to start college, or how nobody in the country could
whip his dad, or even how there were many mules in the field. He said that his dad,
Spurgeon, was the best man in the country. More than once, M.C. offered a cleaning
lady a job, home, to take care of her and her fatherless children and pay her for domestic
work, but she always refused. The income would have stopped he welfare checks. M.C.
and Margaret had two sons and a grandson named Packy who is five years old. Packy
went in his grandfathers footsteps going wherever M.C. went. After two weeks Peter left
the Jenkinses to go to the Gulf of Mexico. He knew that he would be seeing them again.
Chapter 27: Mobile
In Safford, Alabama, Peter came upon a restaurant called the Spot, where a
railroad crossed the road. The waitress inside knew who Peter was and told him that
everything has already been paid for him. Peter knew that someone from Orrville had
done this as a gift. Many folks stopped Peter to see how he was and ask if they could be
helpful. Harry Miller, a catfish farmer, invited Peter to his home. He was also a honey
farmer and offered Peter some, but Peter declined because it wouldn’t fit on his pack.
The Sealys, who owned that store in Orrville, came to see if Peter needed any supplies,
but Peter didn’t. After seven days, Peter got to Mobile. Peter was moved by the greatgrandfather live-oak trees, which proved that in Mobile, man and nature live in harmony.
Peter ordered some fries from a McDonald’s and continued walking. Peter decided to
find a job and was out of money. Peter sat next to a man playing a guitar. This man,
Randy Brown, had hitchhiked cross country. Peter went to his place for a little while.
Peter decided to become a surgeon, a tree surgeon. He used chain saws to cut trees. On
the tree team, his name was Feet.
Chapter 28: The Revival
Peter got his first paycheck and went to a pub/café for an early dinner when a man
named Hal came over to talk. Hal invited Peter to a party at his apartment, and the party
would have ladies and plenty of stuff to get high on. Peter accepted. On his way to the
apartment he spotted a billboard that announced a Christian crusade at the City
Auditorium. He later saw it two more times and decided to go there instead of the party.
Peter got to the auditorium and looked for a tent. Finding none, he went inside the
auditorium and heard singing. The whole place was full with at least ten thousand sitting.
Peter sat at the empty space below the stage where he could take pictures. John McKay,
a singer, sang solos. After him, a woman sang. After her, a tall man charged from his
seat at the back of the platform and rushed to the microphone. This was James Robison
and he had a Bible. He was going to say a message. He said that repentance is required
to know God and salvation is not guaranteed just because you belong to a church. He
said that just being a member of a church wouldn’t save you or change your life. If you
enjoy life without God, you have never repented. He also said that joining a church
won’t make you a Christian and salvation is the answer. Salvation is committing your
life to Jesus and believing on Him. You could go to church all your life and still not
know the Lord. Robison’s powerful question was, “Have you ever repented of your sin
and turned your life over to Jesus Christ? Are you saved?” Peter decided to admit that
he needed God. Robison asked all who want to accept Jesus as their personal Savior to
raise their hands, and Peter did so. Robison then asked those with raised hands to come
up and pray. Peter and many others went up to pray, accepting Jesus as their Savior.
After it was done Peter went home. Peter stayed for a while with Floyd Luttrell and his
wife. Floyd’s neighbors, Dr. Wiseman and his wife Teko, invited Peter to their house.
Since they had six kids, Peter went to them. The Wisemans told Peter about the beach
called Gulfshores and Peter went there, badly burning his legs. Peter was told to stay in
town at least another week for his legs to heal and was also told that if this ever happens
again the walk might end. Tom Smith, Peter’s picture editor at National Geographic, told
Peter to stop at New Orleans and write about what the walk so far has been like for him.
The Marks, Yankees from Connecticut, invited Peter to their house. Big Robert Marks
was an executive at Ingalls Shipyard in Mississippi. Peter thought that he might work at
a shipyard somewhere.
Chapter 29: The Gulf of Mexico
Peter walked away from Mobile with a prayer that he would someday return.
Peter went to the Jenkins Memory Store on his second day out and bought some food. A
state trooper named Oscar Kyles was ordered to watch out for Peter and met him outside
the store. He made arrangements for Peter to camp by the store. By midmorning the
next day Peter had crossed into Mississippi. Peter wanted to reach the Gulf and nothing
would stop him, even a Southern belle, which is what M.C. Jenkins said he needed. Peter
made it to Biloxi, Mississippi where the beach and the Gulf paralleled the road. Peter
camped the night not too far from the waves. Part one of the walk was almost over.
Peter then goes through a lot of his experiences. He had started out searching for himself
and his country and found both.
Chapter 30: Holding Hands
Peter reached New Orleans. Originally he had planned to live in the wildest
district of the French Quarter, but now that didn’t seem like the right place for him. Peter
was on an antique bridge when a semitruck approached from one direction and one from
the other. Both would crush him, so he grabbed on to the railing on the side of the
bridge, dangling fifty feet from the water below. Peter was thinking about a place to live
when he remembered someone from the revival named Bill Hanks who had said that he
was a student at a New Orleans seminary. Peter called him and was told to go to the
seminary. Peter felt that it was weird that he was in a seminary and he thought about
leaving more than five times. Everything on the campus was in perfect order. Peter
reached Bill’s trailer. Bill was studying to become a Southern Baptist minister. The
student body was all men. Bill got permission for Peter to rent a room in the men’s dorm
at the campus. Peter moved into Lipsey Hall. Peter was writing his article for National
Geographic. Bill asked Peter if he could go to a party, and Peter accepted. It was at the
only women’s dorm at the campus. At the party, Peter spotted an attractive girl. He kept
watching her throughout the party. Weeks passed and he didn’t see her again, but he
heard a scream going down to a diner one night. He looked at the girls’ dorm and the
doors flew open. Out came a man with a pitcher of water behind him aimed at his head.
The man went back in and Peter heard laughter, so he decided to go inside. There was a
water fight inside and Peter saw the girl. She dumped water on Peter. Peter got into a
water fight. Eventually they cleaned up and Peter told the girls what he was doing. The
girls didn’t seem to comprehend his walk, but the girl that he was attracted to did. She
offered to take him on a tour of New Orleans. She told him that she was Barbara Pennell
and told him to come tomorrow at seven-thirty. Peter bought himself some clothes for
the date. He went to her room and rang the buzzer several times before she appeared.
Peter drove himself and Barbara in the red VW. Peter parked in the French Quarter and
walked around it with Barbara. Many structures that they saw butted up against each
other. There were botanical gardens and tropical trees. Peter took Barbara to Antoine’s,
a special restaurant in the Quarter. They walked around some more and then went back
to the car, but they didn’t know where it was. They looked for a long time and finally
found it. Peter continued seeing Barbara that summer of ’75 from June into the fall. In
September they talked about getting married. It seemed realistic, but Barbara realized
that if she married Peter, she would have to finish the walk with him to the West Coast.
Barbara’s roommate, Ann Green, said that if anyone could handle the walk it was
Barbara. Those who approved of the marriage thought of the adventure, but those who
Barbara looked at who opposed the marriage thought of the hardships and insecurities of
the walk. A counselor said that Barbara should either break up with Peter or wait until he
finished the walk to marry him. Barbara decided to break up. Peter was alone for some
time until Barbara came up to him and decided to go to church with him. She said that if
she doesn’t get a sign, the relationship is kaput. Peter suggested that they go out to
dinner, but Barbara wanted to spend the rest of the evening in her room. The next day
they went to church. At the church, the reverend, Charles Green, pushed in an old lady in
a wheelchair. This woman, Mom Beall, had come all the way from Detroit to give a
message. The reverend gave an introduction of Mom Beall and then Mom Beall began to
speak. She told everyone to open his or her Bibles. The story she told was about
Abraham and his son Isaac. Abraham wanted Isaac to have a wife, so he sent a servant to
Mesopotamia with camels and gifts. Mesopotamia was where Abraham wanted the wife
to come from. A woman named Rebekah came to the well where the servant had stopped
and drew water for him and his camels. The servant knew that this was the proper
woman. The next day, Rebekah’s family called her to them because the servant was
ready to ask her and give her gifts. Suddenly, Mom Beall paused and then said, “Will
you go with this man.” She repeated it several times. Barbara told Peter that she would
go with him because that was the sign! Just before they left, a man gave Peter at tape
with a recording of the service.
Afterword:
Peter has been with Barbara since that November Sunday. They married in
February of 1976 and started the walk across the rest of America on July 5, 1976. They
settled down to write this book in a cabin on a ranch near a tiny village deep in the Rocky
Mountains. In the summer of 1978, Barbara and Peter walked over the 12,800-foot-high
Engineer Pass.