So on Monday, September 3, Al and Mary will step out of the woods and put away their hiking gear as they lead the line of march down Main Street in a celebration of “Newtown’s Natural Beauty.”

Trailblazers of sorts, Al and Mary may best be known for the creation of the Newtown Trails Book and Touring Newtown’s Past, two books that have helped enlighten people about some of Newtown’s lesser-known natural treasures.

Both in their 80s, these two adventurers have often been seen together marking trails in the back woods, documenting old houses, or enjoying their shared passion for photography and travel.

“I think our consuming interest is to show people what’s available in Newtown,” Mr Goodrich said.

Mrs Mitchell, the author of 19 books, has been described as a philanthropist, hiker, and gardener, and seems to derive her greatest pleasure spending time hiking in the thickets with Al. At the age of 78, she walked every mile of trail in Newtown.

“Some were daunting, but it just didn’t bother me. I figured what have I got to lose,” she said.

An engineer, conservationist, and mapmaker, Al Goodrich has relied on his sense of curiosity and direction to help him discover pathways long since lost.

“I just love to do it,” he explained this week. “I was a member of the forest association in the early 1990s for a few years, and [former Conservation Officer] Dave Thompson gave me a bunch of property maps. I was so impressed, I thought I’m going to have to walk every one; and that’s how it got started. They were so beautiful; and then I met Mary Mitchell, and we walked them all and drew maps of all of them.”

What came out of their work were the trail books designed to assist people wishing to take an adventure right here in Newtown. There are a multitude of walks and hikes that crisscross the town, and the trail books, available at the Cyrenius H. Booth Library, provide pull-out maps, history, illustrations, and a few photographs of what you will encounter. The original Trails Book was published in 1991 and several updated versions have since been released. Proceeds from the book benefit the Friends of the Library.

“It is very satisfying, particularly to see how the attendance has mushroomed since we put our maps out,” said Mr Goodrich. “Before we did the trails books, people were forever getting lost.”

Mary Mitchell, who was born just one month after the Titanic sank in 1912, is a writer and spent much of her adult life living in Washington, D.C., with her husband, an attorney who worked for the government. She moved to Newtown in 1987, two years after his death. She admits she had little interest in Newtown. After all, she didn’t know anyone besides her daughter and her family in Brookfield.

“It took me about four years to pick up The Bee,” she said.

In 1989, however, she met Al Goodrich at a Flagpole Photographers Club meeting. It marked the beginning of what they call their second life together. Soon after, they were spending their days in the open spaces of Newtown, documenting everything they came across. Al still chuckles as he recalls the time he fell in the mud somewhere inside the Pootatuck State Forest, then had to look on helplessly as Mary took his picture.

“I always had the point of view that I’ve had my life, why not have another,” Mrs Mitchell explained. That attitude certainly came in handy as she and Al traipsed through the backwoods, pushing back prickers, swatting back mosquitoes, and wiping away the sweat.

“There was always something beautiful around the bend or up the next turn,” they said.

Al Goodrich drew his first map as a Boy Scout growing up in Erie, Pennsylvania, and has been involved in map making and engineering ever since. Once asked how much time he figured he and Mary had devoted to walking and marking trails and working on the book, Mr Goodrich responded, “I enjoy it. It would spoil it to keep track of the time.”

Mrs Mitchell agreed, “It gives us a sense of personal discovery of a place. It’s fun to find something ourselves and do something so others can enjoy it.”

The two admit they were both surprised and honored to hear of their selection as grand marshals, saying they are just a couple of volunteers with common interests.

Mr Goodrich, whose wife died in 1988, lost a son, James, in a Navy accident in 1978. Today, he lives on his own in a house on Boggs Hill Road where each year he eagerly awaits spring so he can tap the maples.

“He’s unstoppable, indomitable,” Mrs Mitchell said. “He’s just a very good natured, pleasant man with a quirky sense of humor.”

Picking up where they left off with the trails book, the Goodrich/Mitchell team published Touring Newtown’s Past for the Newtown Historical Society in 1996. In it, they document Newtown’s colonial structures, which, for the most part, are local homes built before 1826. The book chronicles 272 Newtown homes from the period, all of which can be seen from the road. With the help of Town Historian Dan Cruson, Mrs Mitchell did most of the research and writing, while both shared in the photography. Al headed up the dark room work.

Both are also involved in FISH, a local organization dedicated to providing transportation for those in need of a ride to medical appointments, etc.

Always curious to discover what was up around the next bend, Al Goodrich and Mary Mitchell have teamed up to leave an indelible mark on Newtown. For that, the community of Newtown plans to honor them on Labor Day.

The Newtown Summer Festival Committee is still collecting donations to stage this year’s Labor Day Parade. Donations may be sent to the committee, c/o Fleet Bank, 6 Queen Street, Newtown 06470.