There weren’t any spaces where kids could just ride their bikes without riding in the street, exposed to the danger of moving cars.

Shortly before Doug Seavert passed away following a yearslong battle with cancer in April 2020, he told his wife she needed to do something to help bring the different areas of the community together with sidewalks or bike paths. Nancy Seavert spent the next year and a half fighting her own cancer battle before passing away in October 2021.

After her passing, the Seaverts’ niece, Heather Leith, and a handful of other community members organized the Manson Trail Committee and, using money left by the couple, began work to bring Doug and Nancy Seaverts’ vision to life and connect the south side of Manson with the rest of the town.

“We all promised her we would see this through,” Leith said.

The community of Manson was deeply important to the couple, Leith said. Nancy Seavert was born and raised in Manson and was a 1985 graduate of Manson High School.

After the Seaverts’ married, they moved around for a few years before settling back down in Manson.

The Manson Trail Committee initially looked into helping build sidewalks in front of homes in the area, but quickly learned that due to things like buried cables, that option wasn’t feasible. They then pivoted to creating a walking and biking path that would run along the old Rock Island Railroad line from Iowa Highway 7 to the Manson Northwest Webster football field and Manson Fairground Park in the northeast side of town.

The first section of the trail — 0.7 miles known as the Seavert Pathway — was completed last spring between Iowa Highway 7 and Seventh Avenue. The 8-foot-wide path is currently constructed of compacted gravel, but the committee plans to eventually pave the surface with asphalt or concrete.

The completed trail will stretch approximately two miles and will be broken up into other sections, which will be named pathways. No motorized vehicles will be allowed on the bicycle and walking path. The trail is owned and will be maintained by the city of Manson.

Though the initial plans for the Manson Trail include a two-mile route, there will be opportunities for possible future connections and loops in the area, according to committee member Laura Horan.

Other members of the Manson Trail Committee include Teresa Ewing, Jesse Grossnickle, Jan Miller, Wade Niewoehner and Cindy Poppinga.