Thursday, March 21, is the birthday of John O’Dell, educator, minister, outdoorsman, father of the River-to-River Trail, founder of this Society, and much else, a true Renaissance Man, whose contributions to Southern Illinois will long outlive him.  The River-to-River Trail was little more than a dream, lines loosely drawn across a map, until the 1990’s, when John took out his topographic maps, put on his boots, and set out on foot to mark a route across Southern Illinois. With the help of his wife Marilee, who provided his personal shuttle service and support team, as well as of others in the community who caught John’s infectious enthusiasm for the project, John laid the foundations of what has grown into the present 157-mile long hiking and equestrian trail between Elizabethtown on the Ohio River and Grand Tower on the Mississippi.  To help promote and maintain the Trail, John created the River-to-River Trail Society, and its series of free public hikes, which for the past twenty-five years have introduced hundreds of people to the joys of hiking Southern Illinois. Although advancing age and declining health have finally forced John to relocate out of state, his influence still lives on in our area. If you want to celebrate John’s birthday, take a hike!