Lansdale Hometown Hero Walk Set for June 9

Mike Bishop Rieg is helping to bring a new event to , right in between Lansdale Day and Under the Lights Car Show.

The Army veteran is one of many organizing Pennsylvania Hometown Hero Walks in June in small towns across the state.

The local walk in the borough will definitely be on June 9, Rieg told Montgomeryville-Lansdale Patch during a Veterans Day event at

It is an off-shoot of the Pennsylvania Hero Walk, where people walk 320 miles along the shoulder of Route 30 – 25 miles a day – from the Philadelphia Museum of Art to Wayne, Pennsylvania to support the Wounded Warrior Project. Rieg takes part in that walk, and is the only one from eastern Pennsylvania.

“We decided to do something exciting next year. Logistically, the walk is difficult to do in areas west of Harrisburg. Lansdale is a long way from the closest spot in Chester, so let’s have our own,” Rieg said. “I don’t think we will do the art museum to Wayne this year because people are doing the local walks.”

The idea is everybody would donate $20 and walk for an hour along a route in Lansdale. Money would also be raised through T-shirt sales.

The goal for these parades is to have local towns honor their service members in a hometown event.

“The most important thing is to find a hall to start and do a loop,” he said. “We need to find a good route for an hour.”

He said would be a perfect starting and stopping point.

Rieg came before the borough public safety committee in October where he discussed the idea.

The committee thought it would be perfect to hold the walk on Saturday, June 9 or Sunday, June 10, as it would fall between two popular Lansdale events.

“You’d actually be a ‘tweener, which is good,” said public safety chairman Mike Sobel.

Lansdale Police Chief Robert McDyre said two officers would cover the walk and a van will follow for more safety.

“We will be staying on the sidewalks, obviously,” Rieg said. “We’d be picking up litter too. That’s a requirement.”

Walkers will also be soliciting donations along the way. McDyre said the borough would have to waive the soliciting ordinance for the event.

Rieg thinks it will be a huge event. He will be in talks with the borough to finalize plans for the June 9 walk.

“I talk to everybody I see about it. And if they are not interested, I make them interested,” he said.  “Raising money and public awareness – that’s the whole idea.”