Last Minute Post Tuesday at Leita Thompson Memorial Park (Optional Lunch)

This will be a fairly FAST Paced hike up, down & around Leita for 5 to 6 miles.  You should not have to worry about it being to muddy & I will cancel early Tuesday morning, if rain comes back into the forcast for our hike times!  It is all paved or graveled by Roswell Parks.  They usually have a porta-pottie in the middle of the hike.  

Leita Thompson, called “Miss Leita,” (1884-1978) had a strong appreciation for hard work, independence and women. At 16 years old, she joined the National Woman’s Party which later helped pass the woman suffrage amendment in 1920. She worked in banking and advanced to become one of the first female banking executives in the country. She advised women on retirement and provided disability assistance. She founded the Leitalift Foundation in 1956 to help support workingwomen make a living and achieve their goals. The foundation also provided social and professional recognition for outstanding women. For many years Leita Thompson, a hard-working single woman herself, personally and through the Leitalift Foundation, made it possible for working women to enjoy a fuller life by providing housing on her property. Since the foundation's creation, at least 156 students, nurses, retirees and professional women received grants, support and recognition in the community.

Leita Thompson purchased the property in 1946 and made it her home until her death in 1978.  At that time her property, 107 acres, went to the Leitalift Foundation. Later in 2001, the Leitalift Foundation donated it, more than 100 acres of prime, undeveloped land to the city of Roswell. The 2001 gift was then worth $20 million.

Today this land on Crossville Road consists of a dog park, pavilion, garden and miles of wooded trails in her name. The Arts Center West is now run by Roswell Visual Arts, a division of Roswell Recreation and Parks Department.

We will meet at the overflow parking lot at 9:50 am for socializing & introductions. Out of respect for the majority of people who arrive on time, we will leave PROMPTLY at 10:00 am.

After the hike: You are welcome to join us for lunch at Panera Bread on Hwy 92, where they serve sandwiches, soups and salads. It is located less than a half mile away from the Leita Thompson Park, east on Hwy 92, towards 400. Panera Bread is in the Super Target shopping center, near Chick-fil-A.

Optional Lunch:

Panera Bread

Roswell Corners

1195 Woodstock Road

Roswell, GA 30075

Take a right out of Leita Thompson Memorial Park. Do a Uee back past Leita Thompson.  Then, turn LEFT onto Mountain Park Road. Take the 1st RIGHT into Roswell Corners Shopping Center. Drive straight to the end. Turn RIGHT & go to the end. Panera Bread will be on the right at the end of the shops.