Deep conversation and a shared love of nature and the outdoors sustain a trio of St. Louis women through a decades-long friendship.
Suzie Nall, Sharon Marbarger and Sharon Dougherty are in the various stages of their not-quite-retired-yet careers. Nall, a lifelong educator, is also a consultant and community volunteer; Marbarger is a licensed social worker who has a private counseling practice; Dougherty is a real estate agent. Together, they are mothers and grandmothers who have known each other since their children attended Clayton schools in the 1980s.
The three are no strangers to their neighbors: They started walking on a regular basis in and around the neighborhood some 25 years ago. Little did they know then that their adventures were only just beginning …
“I would say that our compatibility was on the high end of the meter!” Nall exclaimed.
Nall adds that through the years, the three of them “conversed in three tenses: the past, the present and the future.”
“We reminisce regarding our professional lives, our childhoods (in Illinois and Iowa), the childhoods of our children (a total of eight) from preschool through college, through marriages, deaths and grandchildren. Also, the world as we knew it in the 1950s and 1960s,” she said.
Nothing is off-topic. Other points of discussion among the three include current events, book clubs, recipes, the aging process, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, politics, technology such as social media and AI – and even their own mortality.
“Verbal exchanges and conversation are a lost art, and we did our share of reviving this art,” Nall said. “Our conversation agendas crossed the personal and the professional. We talked about how differing opinions and the art of listening are often lost in the 21st century, especially within the context of social media and the dominant role of technology.”
When the COVID pandemic struck the country in early 2020, the women found refuge in each other, and their walks evolved into hikes and long drives and road trips.
“Suzie got a book called, ’60 Hikes Within 60 Miles,’ for each of us, giving us great information on places we’d never heard of,” Dougherty said. “The three of us used to – and continue to – walk the neighborhoods but thought it would be great to exercise surrounded by nature.”
Marbarger adds it felt safer to be outdoors, yet still be together during COVID.
“The motivation was to be out in the natural world doing something healthy and interacting with my friends to fulfill social needs,” Marbarger said. “We had more free time during COVID, so we could venture further out of West County.”
And venture they did! During the pandemic, the trio explored a number of parks and hiking trails stretching across the St. Louis region.
“Our hikes took us to city, county and state parks, as well as conservation areas and local universities which have hiking trails,” Nall said. “Our decisions for hiking trails came from a variety of sources – local news items to hiking books, to recommendations from friends and family, and from websites. We hiked in six different counties.”
Depending on their schedules, hikes usually spanned 4 to 5 miles, with each one lasting up to three hours to complete. So far, their longest hikes have been in Hawn State Park and Pickle Springs Natural Area, both approximately an hour’s drive south of St. Louis.
“We loved Pickle Springs and Pere Marquette State Park (in Grafton, Illinois),” Marbarger said. “We liked looking for new and different trails.”
And apparently, on any given day, the trio had their share of adventure, too.
“We had some interesting adventures, from avoiding the elk during mating season in Lone Elk Park to staying clear of the duck hunters in Horseshoe Lake, to getting lost trying to find Fort Bellefontaine – and snakes!” Nall recalled. “Oh yes, (and) enjoying donuts from old-time bakeries!”
These days, the women walk or hike closer to home and consider Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center, Queeny Park and Creve Coeur Lake Park among their favorites. They have also explored little-known spots like Emmenegger Nature Park in Kirkwood and McDonnell Park in St. Louis County.
“We all lead very busy lives,” Dougherty said. “It was much easier to spend hours on the trails during the COVID shutdown, but we’re finding it more difficult now.”
Marbarger agrees by saying the return to “normal” routines post-pandemic is “disappointing.”
“We miss the free time we had to explore the many beautiful and unknown (to us) parks and trails in Missouri,” she said.
Still, their get-togethers – near or far – remain an essential part of their lives.
“I feel very fulfilled after a hike,” Dougherty said. “Lots of exercise energizes me and being with good, longtime friends is a gift. We’re always so grateful that we’re healthy and blessed with so many friendships – we’ve known each other for so long that we know (each other’s) friends, as well.”
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