AT Museum: 2014

Monday, December 15, 2014

AT Museum Volunteer Newsletter - Volume 2, Issue 2

Volume 2, Issue 2 - December, 2014
brought to you by Joe Harold, Appalachian Trail Museum Manager

The snow is starting to fly about and the museum is all tucked in for the winter. We removed the sensitive items from the exhibits and the water has been turned off. The ramp continues to get built, (but will on hiatus again soon, for winter). And the basement awaits a coat of paint and its new exhibits. We moved the artifacts out of the second floor (see story below) and the second floor is getting ready for its renovation. My winter tasks have started as I figure out what to restock for the retail sales and place the orders.

An uncommon angle of the museum

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Artifact Move

On December 10th, I gathered a crew to move the large amount of artifacts that have accumulated on the second floor to our new storage space over in Carlisle.

The setup

Ed and Ron at work

A very successful system

I picked up a U-Haul and headed to the museum. After some thinking, we figured out the easiest way was to use the new ramp. We put down some decking and a couple up top would move the boxes to the ramp where people down below would take them and put them in the truck. Margy used her mad packing skills to ensure everything would fit nicely into the truck and in about an hour and a half, we were heading to Carlisle.

Carol, Michele and Ron at the truck (Margy is in there somewhere too)

Jack, Ed and Jim on the upper loading dock

I parked the truck at the loading dock and we started to move the items from the truck to the elevator. Our new storage space was on the second floor and the large freight elevator would come in handy. Everything had been going perfectly so far...

At the loading dock

I went up to the storage area to open the door and get it ready and I notice that the lock was not on the hasp and the hasp had been broken. I looked inside and there before me sat at least 50 refrigerators, filling the space. I was at a total loss. I went down to the office and asked what was going on and there had been a misunderstanding and they had thought the space was rented to someone else.

They found a temporary space where we could put the items on the third floor and we loaded up that space pretty much all the way. Now, once they fix this fiasco, we will have to go back and move everything down to the second floor, where it belongs.

So the move achieved the first goal, to clear out the second floor, but we still have a job to do to get all those items down to where they belong.

Artifacts gone...

Carol in temp storage room. I think we were getting irradiated.

Michele, Jack and Joe filling the temp space

All finished. Ron, Jim, Joe, Margy, Michele, Ed and Jack. (And Carol taking picture)

Much thanks to the volunteers of the day. Ed, Carol, Jack, Jim, Margy, Michele and Ron. I couldn't have done it without you. It was still a fun day considering.

I treated those who could stay to a nice lunch over at Applebees (with Margy's gift card help).
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Visit to ATC for Open House

On Saturday, December 6th, my wife Lisa (AKA LoGear) and I, headed to Harpers Ferry to visit the ATC during their annual Open House. There were plenty of goodies to eat and lots of very cool people to talk to. The day was a little rainy, but that didn't stop us for taking a short hike to the trail (I had hiked out of and into HF a few times, but never walked the blue blaze to the ATC). After that we headed down the hill to check out the shops. There was a special event going on down there too and there were Union Soldiers and others in period dress walking all around. It was pretty cool. Laurie Potteiger had to get all the "museum" people outside for some pictures. We all had a great time.

LoGear, Carol, Phys Ed, EarthTone and Yellow Shoes

Two Union Soldiers walk up the "trail" in town

Unique buildings

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Things Coming Down the Trail

January 23rd - 25th, 2015 - Northern Ruck - Bear's Den, VA
January 30th, 2015 - South Mountain Partnership Breakfast
February 14th, 2015 - Riverhouse Valentine's Day Fundraiser and Dance
February (TBD), 2015 - BillVille comes to help at the Museum
March (TBD), 2015 - KTA Membership Celebration and Film Fest
March 28th, 2015 - Museum opens for its Sixth season.

Thursday, November 20, 2014

AT Museum Volunteer Newsletter - Volume 2, Issue 1

Volume 2, Issue 1 - November, 2014
brought to you by Joe Harold, Appalachian Trail Museum Manager

The season is complete and this issue starts Volume 2 of the AT Museum Volunteer Newsletter. One year ago, I started this job as manager of the museum and also started this newsletter as a way to let all of our volunteers (and anyone who was interested) know what was going on at the museum. I have had a wonderful year and look forward to what next season will bring through our door. I hope you all will continue to come along with me.

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Fall Furnace Fest

On October 18th and 19th, the local community converged onto the park and gathered for the annual Fall Furnace Fest. This festival is the biggest event of the year at the park and is put on by the Friends of Pine Grove Furnace. Many volunteers come together to provide the visitors with a large number of things to do and see, including pumpkin carving, scarecrow making, hay rides, mansion tours, music, vendors, food... Well, you get the idea. The whole park is involved and it is a real good time.

A perfect autumn morning awaits festival visitors

Last year, I recall a good number of visitors coming through the museum that day, but I was pleasantly surprised when those two days accounted for our highest visitor counts of the season, pushing us up over my goal of 8300 visitors by a good margin.

Rough Edges String Band setting up

I'm pretty sure one of the reasons a lot of Festival visitors came through the museum was the excellent music that was emanating from the Rampatheater area. The Rough Edges String Band had set up at the ramp and provided some very good music in the early afternoon. It was very pleasant hearing the excellent folk music coming through the front door and quite a few visitors mentioned how nice it was.

A nice crowd gathering to listen to the great music

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Drag'n Fly and Freckles

I like to follow hikers who publicly track their journey as they make their way along the trail striving to complete a Thru hike. This year I was especially interested in following two local Gals. Carolyn "Freckles" Banjak and Nan "Drag'n Fly" Reisinger, who completed what the ATC describes as an Alternate style Thru Hike. Starting at Springer and making their way north, they eventually "saved" a little of PA, jumped up north to beat the weather and summiting Katahdin, then coming back down and filling in the gaps. This left the wonderful situation of actually finishing their 5 millionth step at the Museum.

The Museum awaits the Hikers

Freckles and Drag'n Fly heading for the last white blaze

We all gathered around and waited for the two hikers to show up and it was a pleasure to applaud their finish of the 2185.3 miles of the trail.

Nan also walked herself into the AT record books by being the oldest female to complete a Thru Hike. Congrats to both.

Here is a link to their story written by BJ Small, for The Sentinel
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Museum Receives $18K Grant

Gwen Loose, one of our Museum Board Members and a dedicated Docent worked long and hard to submit an application for a grant from the Cumberland Valley Visitor's Bureau and her tremendous effort paid off with an $18,000 grant that will be applied to the renovations taking place in the basement. On November 12th, Gwen and I headed to the Catering Barn in Mechanicsburg and had a nice breakfast before receiving our grant check.

The funds will go a long way to making the best children's exhibits that we can for the basement space. You can read about all of the grants CVVB awarded here.

If you haven't seen the progress that Ron Bungay and crew have made in the basement, here are a few pictures to bring you up to date.

Utility area, wall removed

Snake central (old well) gets a new lid

New wooden pillars were placed along the walls

Work is proceeding

Jeff Seal works on the stone wall

Work around the door

Pouring the new floor

Nice and smooth

The new wall between the exhibit space and the utility space

I guess I haven't taken a most recent picture. I will remedy that for next month's Issue. There is still a lot of work to be done, but the bulk if it is complete.

Much thanks goes to Gwen for her work with the grant and alto to Ron and his crew, Carol Bungay, Mike Wingeart, Martha Wingeart, Jeff Seal, Bill Dickinson, Sam Vinch and Maureen Vinch for the amazing transformation that has taken place in the basement of the Old Mill.
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Highlights and Milestones of the Season

As the season went on, I started keeping track of the little milestones and highlight that happen as visitors come to the museum and our Docents greet them and show them the way. Here are some I would like to share:

Total Attendance: 9166
Total Docent Hours: 1886.7
Other Volunteer Hours: 1748 and counting
First 100+ visitor day: 4/26/14 - Mikki Williams and Howard Davis on duty
Total 100+ visitor days:20
Total 200+ visitor days: 2, Fall Furnace Fest weekend.
Highest Visitor Day: 273, 10/18/14 - Barb Culton and Joe Harold on duty
Our other busy days were Memorial Day weekend and Hall of Fame weekend.

According to my records, the following volunteers have been helping out at the museum for all five seasons. They were recognized at the dinner. There are probably more people who have been contributing, but I was using the spreadsheet I inherited that mainly tracked Docent hours.

Five Season Volunteers (Docent): Linda Bierly, Ron Bungay, Robert Croyle, Robert Freeman, Jim Foster, Georgia Freet, Janice Gibson, Bill Leslie, Gwen Loose, Larry Luxenberg, Joan McKean, Mary Parry, Lorrie Preston, Margy Schmidt, Jay Sexton, Dan Taylor, Mikki Williams, Kent Wilson, Jennifer Wright, Tom Wright.

We also applauded those who served 10 or more shifts as a Docent during the season.

10+ Shifts: Joanne Firman - 41, Bill Quinn - 26, Ed Riggs - 25, Michele Burton - 22, Georgia Freet - 14, Gwen Loose - 14, Joan McKean - 13, Jay Sexton - 12, Jack Harbaugh - 11 and Rayne Debski - 10.

Thanks to all for your dedicated service. It is truly appreciated.
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Volunteer Recognition Dinner

November 16th marked the Fifth Annual Volunteer Recognition Dinner, held at the Ironmasters Mansion in the Park. Close to forty guests came together to celebrate the season and join us in recognizing all of the volunteers that make the Museum possible.

There was plenty of food and even some drink and lots of good stories passed around. The good feelings I feel as we acknowledge the accomplishments of the museum and the people who give their time is amazing. I thank all who did what they could during the season to make this one of the most successful years of the Museum's existence.

The day had started out with some warm cider and cookies over at the museum in the new basement space. Ron and Carol set up some chairs and heaters and were showing some pictures of the work of the summer.

A nice social hour started at four with light snacks and drinks. I passed out a little quiz for all to play with where we could also gather some ideas for retail items and what to do with the new exhibits that will be going into the Children's Area of the basement.

Next a LOT of food was put out buffet style for all to enjoy. We had to put the desserts in the kitchen as there was not enough table space out in the dining area. I'm pretty sure everyone had their fill and I know I was pretty stuffed when I was done.

After dinner we started the recognition phase of the night. I started out with the facts and milestones of the year, so that the attendees could see how their hard work had paid off for the museum. I also announced the Five Season Recognition and 10+ Shift Volunteers and awarded each with a special AT Museum Gift Certificate of $20 and $10 respectively. We also shared stories of working at the museum during the season and there were some very interesting and funny stories to tell.

Next Larry Luxenberg (President of the AT Museum Society) spoke on the great things that we did this year and gave us a little preview of what was to come. Larry also mentioned our need of some special people. We still need someone to lead the Sunday Programs and we are looking for someone with HVAC skills to help install a heating/cooling system in the museum. We also need to get a committee for logging all of the wonderful artifacts that keep coming into the museum.

Each volunteer received a complimentary one year membership in the AT Museum Society, a nice card from Red Wolf the membership secretary, a Museum support sticker and a special 2014 Volunteer Patch. (Those of you who couldn't attend the dinner will be receiving these things in the mail shortly.)

Special Thanks was given to: Roger and Kathy Stone (caretakers of the mansion and our hosts). Robert Freeman, Barry Flicker and Jack Harbaugh (lawncare). Georgia Freet (gardening, landscape). Jim Foster (Computers and Hall of Fame Banquet). Red Wolf (for all he does). Michele Burton, Steve Dodd, Robert Freeman, Howard Davis, Vern Graham, Carolyn Banjak, Nan Reisinger and Chris Firme (Road Scholar Hikes). Ron Bungay, Carol Bungay, Mike Wingeart, Martha Wingeart, Jeff Seal, Bill Dickinson, Sam Vinch and Maureen Vinch (Basement Renovation). Jack Adams, Ed Riggs and crew (Second Floor Ramp). And Sean Benson and the Pine Grove Furnace State Park Staff.

We created a new award this year called The President's Award. This award recognized outstanding contribution and extended service which exemplifies the true spirit of volunteerism and the Appalachian Trail. This award went to Alan "Gonzo" StrackelJahn.

Lastly, we honored our Volunteer of the Year. The winner of this award was Joanne Firman. Joanne only started volunteering at the museum last season, but she quickly became one of my most dependable Docents. Her 41 shifts helped ensure we were open all the days we advertised and the trials and tribulations she had to endure were a testament to her dedication. Her warm welcome to all the visitors helped make them feel comfortable and she proved her fortitude by mastering the credit card machine and was responsible for the highest cash and credit card sales days throughout the season. We are lucky to have Joanne on board and hope she continues to help us out with her magnificent Docent skills.

Joanne Firman, 2014 AT Museum Volunteer of the Year

It was a very good night that marked a wonderful season and I thank all who helped out with the setup, cleanup and all the wonderful food that was provided.
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Things Coming Down the Trail

November 24th, 2014 - Exhibit items removed, Museum put to bed for the winter.
December (date TBD), 2014 - Move artifacts from second floor to Carlisle storage facility.
March 28th, 2015 - Museum opens for its Sixth season.

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

AT Museum Volunteer Newsletter - Volume 1, Issue 12

Volume 1, Issue 12 - October, 2014
brought to you by Joe Harold, Appalachian Trail Museum Manager

This will be the last issue of Volume 1. Next month I will start on Volume 2. I will want to include a story of the Recognition Dinner, so I probably won't publish until the 20th or so.

This has certainly been a good year for the museum. Some of the things we do may move slow, but they do get done and we have lots of new things planned for next season.

I hope those of you who can make the Volunteer Recognition Dinner have RSVP'ed or will do so shortly. It will be a great time for all.

Newest Museum Fall Picture

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Volunteer Recognition Dinner

November not only marks the end of our Museum season, it is also the time when the Museum shows its appreciation to all those who give their time and efforts to make the Museum what it is today. On November 16th, we will gather at the Ironmasters Mansion to share stories, food and our sincere thanks to all those who have made the AT Museum the success it has become. Those who contributed their time, blood and/or sweat should have received an invite by now.
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Most Mature Thru Hiker Summits Katahdin

Drag'n Fly and Freckles on Big K

This year I have been keeping track of a little history that is being made on the trail. Two local gals, volunteers here at the museum, are on the trail for a Thru Hike. Freckles, aka Carolyn Banjak and Drag'n Fly, aka Nan Reisinger have summited Katahdin and after finishing a section in Vermont they had to skip and a few places down here in PA, will be finishing their 2014 Thru Hike at the Museum on October 19th. Drag'n Fly will be the most mature (oldest, only in years, not in heart) female Thru Hiker to complete the hike in one year. Please join me in offering congratulations to this amazing feat.
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More Landscaping at the Museum

On October 2nd, a group of volunteers came together outside the Museum and planted some native grasses on the slope between the benches and the road. They planted hundreds of plugs of Standing Ovation Grass, a North American native that will offer nice summer greens, blues and purples and in autumn, brilliant reds that will impress all who view it.

Much thanks to Michele Burton, Bernie Ferrell, Georgia Freet, Jack Harbaugh, Tom Jackson and Margy Schmidt who came down and did all the digging and planting.

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Progress on the Ramp

Just a quick picture to show that the work on the ramp continues and before long, we will be starting on the second floor renovations. Many thanks to Jack Adams and Ed Riggs (pictured) and the many others who have helped Jack during this construction.

The Ramp

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Journalists Descend on the Museum

Also on October 2nd, the Cumberland Valley Visitors Bureau (CVVB) came by with about 25 local outdoor writers to check out the museum among other places. They had a short talk by ATC Mid-Atlantic Regional Office Director Karen Lutz and an impromptu Q & A with two awesome Southbound Thru Hikers Walkie and Talkie. The questions they were asked were great and the answers very informative. It was just another way the the trail provides and was very serendipitous.

Karen Lutz describes the Museum and its function to all visitors

Walkie and Talkie answer questions

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2014 ALDHA Gathering in Williamstown, MA

I attended my second Gathering last week. This one was in Williamstown, MA on the campus of Williams College. The fall colors were very vibrant and the view of Mt Greylock was amazing. I spent most of the weekend manning the Museum table with Red Wolf and our Silent Auction turned Flea Market did rather well in bringing in much needed funds for our renovations. All in all we brought in over $500 dollars in sales, memberships and donations for the museum. Here are some pictures from the wonderful weekend.