Walking to end Alzheimer’s

They gathered in the Foundation Building at the Steele County Fairgrounds Saturday morning, united for one purpose – the fight against Alzheimer’s.

Following the Walk to End Alzheimer's opening ceremony, participants headed out for the walk, either a one mile or 5K.

The walks are the Alzheimer’s Association’s largest national fundraiser, said Betsy Palmgren, who leads the Minnesota-North Dakota Chapter of the group and attended the Owatonna Walk. During the fall months, she said, there are more than 600 walks nationwide, with 17 in Minnesota, including Winona, Brainerd, the Twin Cities, and Grand Rapids.

Corey Harguth served as emcee of the morning program. The association’s vision, he said, is for a world without Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. There are new treatments, he said, and research is showing that healthy lifestyle changes can slow the progression. The event, he said, supports those activities and research.

Several awards were given out, including Norma Rumpf as the top fundraiser, Mary’s Angels at the top Friend/Family team, and Faribault Senior Living as the top facility/company fundraiser. Barb’s Warriors were named the top rookie team.

The local Alzheimer’s group has set a goal of raising $80,000 this year. Their total as of Sunday was over $60,000, with donations still coming in. There were 226 walkers.

“Alzheimer’s is not going to back down,” Harguth said, “and neither will we.”

Memory Café

Jerry Ganfield of the Steele County Historical Society (SCHS) was also on hand to talk about the Memory Café. Ganfield said that in 2011, they got a $16,000 grant from the Minnesota Board of Aging, which allowed the Historical Society to start a program to reduce isolation of those with Alzheimer’s.

The Memory Café began in December 2021 with four couples, Ganfield said. Today more than 45 people regularly attend the monthly meetings. The morning generally includes an activity, presentation or craft, time to talk and originally a snack. The snack, he said, has now evolved into lunch.

Both those with memory issues and their caregivers have a lot of fun, Ganfield said.

The grant and other monies received, he said, allow the SCHS to keep the program completely free.

“It works for us at the History Center,” he said. “I really have come to call these people friends.”

New to the Walk to End Alzheimer’s program this year were paper flowers held by participants, representing their connection to Alzheimer’s. An orange flower signified support of the cause and the vision. Purple designated a participant in the walk; yellow, supporters or caregivers, and blue, those living with Alzheimer’s.

One additional color, Harguth said, does not yet exist; white will represent the survivors of Alzheimer’s.

“Together we can end Alzheimer’s,” Harguth said.

With the program ended, the walkers headed out to support their vision of a world with Alzheimer’s or dementia.