Andrew Fitch's walking route across Massachusetts that he made on Google Maps.
After Roe v. Wade was overturned, signs supporting reproductive rights were recently put on the windows of a building Andrew Fitch owns and is developing at the corner of Eagle and Main St. in North Adams.
After Roe v. Wade was overturned, signs and art were recently put on the windows of a building Andrew Fitch owns and is developing at the corner of Eagle and Main St. in North Adams.
Andrew Fitch stands outside on his walk across the state from Williamstown to Provincetown.
Andrew Fitch stands outside on his walk across the state from Williamstown to Provincetown.
NORTH ADAMS — Wearing a canvas backpack filled with homemade granola bars a friend gave him, Andrew Fitch set out from Williamstown for a 300-mile walk.
His destination: The opposite end of Massachusetts, where he hopes to have raised $1,000 for the National Network of Abortion Funds. “I saw the downfall of Roe v. Wade as a major assault on people’s rights,” he said. “Reproductive rights need our attention right now.”
“This for me is a pilgrimage across the state,” the North Adams resident said while taking a water break as he walked through the Connecticut River Valley. “I am so passionate about Massachusetts, my home state.”
So far, Fitch has raised more than $700 between donations from Facebook and Instagram friends and his own contributions. Fitch is donating a dollar for every mile he walks.
His route is not the most direct to Provincetown; it goes through Northampton, Worcester, and Boston, and he is staying with friends and family along the way. Sometimes he will get a ride to his sleeping destination if it’s not on the route. But when he starts the next day, he returns to where he left off.
Andrew Fitch's walking route across Massachusetts that he made on Google Maps.
Later, Fitch plans to stop in his hometown of Marshfield, a town north of Plymouth, for a memorial service. His grandfather, Jordan Prouty, died this year at age 93. Fitch was close to Prouty and will be speaking at the service. “I am kind of writing my talk for the service as well as I walk along here … What do I want to say?” he said. “I’ve been thinking a lot about family.”
This year, Fitch quit his job working remotely as a diversity, equity and inclusion project director for a tech company. He is also a member of the city’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access Commission. Fitch turned his focus to a North Adams real estate project — developing an empty property at the corner of Eagle and Main streets.
While planning for the renovation is underway, signs and art people made supporting reproductive rights cover the building’s windows, all visible from a busy downtown intersection.
After Roe v. Wade was overturned, signs supporting reproductive rights were recently put on the windows of a building Andrew Fitch owns and is developing at the corner of Eagle and Main St. in North Adams.
Though Fitch is taking a break from full-time work, he promised himself he would look for a new job in late July. With that deadline looming, he planned the cross-state walk.
Fitch joined a gym in North Adams and trained for his trip. “This for me is a little bit of a marathon,” he said. Growing up, he had several knee surgeries and his kneecap would dislocate, an issue that happens less now in adulthood, he said.
The traveler has already had interesting and unexpected interactions with people along the journey.
A taxi driver taking him back to his route, after a night at a friend’s house in Northampton, gave him a pep talk.
In Conway, he stumbled Sunday upon a game he was not familiar with: road bowling, an Irish game where people roll balls down a country road.
The walk so far has been therapeutic for Fitch. But also a bit painful. “I now have the largest blister I’ve ever seen in my life,” he said in a text Tuesday. “I think my feet might now be made up of more tape than flesh. But this pilgrimage and fundraiser are well worth it.”
After Roe v. Wade was overturned, signs and art were recently put on the windows of a building Andrew Fitch owns and is developing at the corner of Eagle and Main St. in North Adams.
Greta Jochem can be reached at gjochem@berkshireeagle.com or 413-496-6272.
Greta Jochem, a Report for America Corps member, joined the Eagle in 2021. Previously, she was a reporter at the Daily Hampshire Gazette. She is also a member of the investigations team.
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