Wednesday, January 18, 2017

AT Museum Volunteer Newsletter - January 2017

January 2017
Brought to you by Nathaniel "Angry Bird" Shank, Appalachian Trail Museum Manager

Though the museum seems quiet there are still quite a few things going on. From organizing little things, to planning speeches I have found that the work never ends, and that is a good thing. 

What the ramp looked like last year at this time

What the ramp looks like now
New clock added to the docent desk

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Exhibit Committee Meeting
The date for the Exhibit Committee Meeting has been set for Saturday January 21st, from 10:am to noon on the second floor of the Appalachian Trail Museum. At this meeting we will discuss the idea of our become a hiker cards for the children's mini walk of the AT, the evolution of the backpack exhibit, and any new ideas you may have for exhibits to be displayed in our future.

To sign up you can follow this link: Exhibit Committee Meeting

Afterward we plan to have a social time to enjoy treats and good company. 
So stick around if you can!

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January Renovations
Three of our dedicated volunteers decided to
 surprise us with some of their great looking handy work.

Storage Area Door

Trap Door Ceiling Access

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Museum Cleanup Day & Docent Training


I have updated a few new shifts on SignUp.com for the Museum Cleanup Day on March 18th, the Museum Greeter Orientation on March 17th - 25th, and Docent Shifts will soon be updated as well. Please follow the links provided to sign up for these shifts.

The Museum Greeter Training Sessions will be scheduled for March 17th, 18th, 19th, 24th and 25th. These sessions (5 in total) will provide Docents with a review of the processes and refresh the memory. I will also be conducting hands on training on the PayPal Here software at all sessions.  Any new Docents will receive more intense training.

Saturday, March 18, 2017 is the date for the spring clean-up at the Appalachian Trail Museum. Activities will start at 9:00AM and we should be done by 12:00 noon or 1:00PM. If you cannot make it for the entire morning, we appreciate whatever time you can spare so we can have the museum in ship-shape for the opening the following Saturday March 25th.

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Saturday/Sunday Public Programs 


Once again the Museum is hoping to offer a variety of Saturday/Sunday Public Programs.  We are starting to book the presenters now and hope to offer interesting presentations throughout the season. If you have something you would like to present, let me know and you can have an early pick of which Saturday/Sunday you want to present. Your topic can be just about anything relating to the trail, or the outdoors, or local history, etc... If the program can be held outdoors that would be great as well.

Send me a short description of your presentation and pick your date.  I will be updating the AT Museum Programs both here and at atmuseum.org. All Sundays are open between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

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Angry Bird Trail Stories
Day number one on the Appalachian Trail: Hiking up to Katahdin was a little more than just another peak in the state of Maine for me. I never liked back tracking so I decided to hike up the Abol trail which was shorter and steeper. I then descend on the Appalachian Trail. This trail has been relocated since my accent in May of 2012 but still remains to be the shortest route to Katahdin to this day. Along this accent and for the next two days I hiked with another guy who I call Alabama. One because he is from Alabama, and two because I have forgotten his name. 


Knifes Edge Trail May 30th, 2012
After hiking down to the Katahdin Stream Campground I traded in the day pack that they provided for me and went on to the Hurd Brook Lean-to completing 18 trail miles for my first day on the trail. Along the way I dropped my phone in Nesowadnehunk Stream and had to improvise a way to dry it out in a zip lock full of rice that I kept in my front pocket for the next few days. On the third Morning however on top of Nesuntabunt Mountain I was so determined to take a picture with my phone that I did not care if it was broken in the process. The result was an amazing picture and a phone that has not died to this day. You can see the picture below and understand why I was so determined.

Sunrise view from Nesuntabunt Mtn. on Jun 1st, 2012



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Things Coming Down The Trail
January 21st, Exhibit Committee Meeting
January 27th - 29th, Northern Ruck - Bears Den Hostel, VA
March 3rd - 5th, Appalachian Trail Kick Off Convention, Amacalola Falls State Park, GA
March 17th - 25th, Museum Greeter Orientation
March 25th, Museum Opening Day