Two women have joined forces to roll out the Rock Train of Walbridge, a chain of painted rocks radiating positivity.
Lisa Hagdohl is the organizer of the Rocking the Rails group, while Jennifer Zam has the Walbridge Rocks group.
The purpose of the rock train, which is located in front of the municipal building at 705 N. Main St., is to promote kindness, joy, and smiles through painted rocks. Many of the rocks have kind messages or represent Walbridge history.
“The fun part about it is you honestly learn a really good lesson about kindness, because you’re putting your time and energy into something. You’re making it pretty, then you’re just leaving it behind with no expectation,” Mrs. Zam said. “It may not be posted. You’ll never know who gets it. You’ll never see it again. But you’ve done something. And that’s what kindness is supposed to be — it’s selfless and there’s no expectation.”
She and Mrs. Hagdohl have been advocating kindness rock painting on social media since the summer of 2019.
Mrs. Hagdohl said the idea for a Walbridge rock train was planted five years ago when she saw the beginnings of a rock snake at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island in Michigan.
“It had the great big head of a snake and it had only 10 rocks on it. I was up there this year and it must have had 1,000,” she said. “It just weaves through this mulch and it’s very cool.”
The Walbridge Police Department has contributed two rocks to the village train. Mrs. Zam painted one to represent Lake Local Schools, with the blue Flyers logo. Others include an American flag, yellow smiley face, and a large locomotive to represent the village, which has a deep railroad history.
They hope the rock train will eventually wind up at the municipal building, have hundreds of participants, and draw visitors to the village.
Mrs. Hagdohl is a Walbridge native and has two daughters and four grandchildren. Mrs. Zam, who has lived in the village since 2011, has two children, ages 10 and 13.
Both believe they have painted 1,000 rocks each.
For those interested in rock painting, the women say it can be as easy as removing a rock from the yard or as complicated as buying them to get a round, flat one.
They purchase acrylic paint from any local store to brush on the rocks, then use a clear coat to seal.
Walbridge Mayor Ed Kolanko has wholeheartedly endorsed the rock train.
“We need more positivity and it’s a good thing that they are doing, and I’m happy to support,” he said. “A cool feature about it is somebody took time to actually paint something, and it can be elaborate, it can be basic — but it’s always a positive message.”
Look and touch, but don’t remove the rocks in the Walbridge train. This is a different concept from most painted rock sharing, in which people are encouraged to hide them and place them — not just in their communities, but all across the country.
Sylvania resident Jim Kimble, who is 87, started painting rocks as a way to take a break from being a caregiver to his wife, Anne, who has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
“For me, painting the rocks is therapy. It gives me something to do and it’s something to do with purpose,” he said.
His daughter, Kerri Brimmer, of Rossford, encouraged him to paint rocks as a hobby he could do at home, then track them through social media. He “signs” his rocks with #jimandannerock.
“I’ve probably done over 2,500 now,” Mr. Kimble said.
He prefers to give his messages of kindness to service people, including nurses and cashiers.
“The smiles you get back, the responses you get, sometimes it almost makes you tearful,” Mr. Kimble said.
He plans on creating a railroad-themed rock for the Walbridge display.
The rock painting is a diversion that’s easy to do, especially for those who think they aren’t creative types, Mr. Kimble said.
He said a joke about his art talent was oft repeated in his youth: The only thing Jim can draw is flies.
For more information, visit the Rocking the Rails (Walbridge Chapter) and Walbridge Rocks on Facebook.
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