Alex stupak born

David Letters

The 1973 OPEC oil embargo strained the American economy and gave rise to an upward spiral in gas prices, rationing and a 55-mile-per-hour speed limit. Americans reexamined their energy consumption and transportation habits.

David Letters, a Leominster native and University of Massachusetts graduate, thought it might be a good idea if the privileged and empowered in our nation’s capital walk the Washington Mall as a way to get in touch with transportation and the country’s needs.

Letters had long been drawn to walking and dreamed about walking across the country. It was a natural extension of Letters’ fascination with Leominster native Johnny Appleseed’s 19th-century sojourns into the Midwest.

In 1974, Letters was 27 years old and he knew if he was to ever realize his boyhood dream to see America up close, the time was at hand. If the idea of walking across America seems frivolous, Letters can assure you it is not. The oil crisis caus