Donald Dash Trail Run
May 3, 2025
Registration Is Open

Two farsighted, unrelated women, Delma Donald Woodburn and Pat Hitchcock, neighbors and then partners in providing land—and vision—that formed Donald County Park.

Land that was initially gifted from Delma’s family in 1993 and with future acquisitions and land acquired in 1996 from Pat Hitchcock, one of many Friends of Donald Park volunteers who worked tirelessly as a volunteer, make up this park a truly shining star in the Dane County Park System.   

Pat in her youth grew up on a farm, drove her Indian motorcycle cross country, studied at a dude ranch in Wyoming, worked on a degree in outdoor education and became a state park ranger, one of the first women to do so.  Pat earned money at an aircraft factory so she could head overseas to France with the Red Cross at the end of WWII, then returned home to promote the international aspect of youth hostelry with a 12,000-mile bicycle trip across North America. Among her many inspirations was meeting Earnest Thompson Seaton, a founder of the Boy Scouts of America.  Pat’s can-do spirit and idealism for public lands led her to bring people together to build Donald County Park.  “We can do this!”  Pat’s lasting words.

Delma grew up in a politically active household with her father serving in the State Assembly.  She grew up on her family’s farm, loved the outdoors and riding her favorite pony, “Flashlight”.   Never one to sit idle, after her father died in 1934 Delma assisted her mother in the maintenance of their three contiguous farms in Springdale, including the one on which she was born, as places to give young farmers a start.  After earning a B.A in economics from UW Wisconsin in 1921 and marrying James Woodburn, the family moved out of the area.  She continued to oversee the Vernon Valley Farms, eventually with the aid of her sons and grandchildren, throughout her life.  Nevertheless, Delma remained deeply interested in her family history and the Donald Farm which led Delma to becoming a major contributor to the creation of Donald County Park.

​