AT Museum Volunteer Newsletter - June 2016

June 2016
brought to you by Joe Harold, Appalachian Trail Museum Manager

Business is boomin' at the Museum this June.  There are lots of hikers coming through and our visitor counts are rising.  The weather is rather pleasant and our new Children's Museum is a hit.  The grounds around the museum have been transformed with some great landscape additions and the ramp is nearing completion.

Thanks to all of you for your help.  It is certainly appreciated.

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A.T. Hall of Fame Inducts Four 

We had a record crowd at the Allenberry Resort on Friday, June 3rd as we held our sixth annual Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame Banquet.  Everyone gathered in the carriage house for some good music by Windtalker, good food provided by the Allenberry, good comments by our emcee, DCNR Secretary Cindy Dunn and great speeches by the inductees. 

Honored were Maurice Forrester, Horace Kephart, our own Larry Luxenberg and Henry Arch Nichols.  The HOF committee had the pleasure of having Charter HOF Member Gene Espy present Larry his Hiking Stick (fondly referred to as a Bodhi or Bo D. HOFman)

Maurice Forrester

Horace Kephart

Larry Luxenberg

Henry Arch Nichols

You can read more about the four honorees on our website in the News section.  
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New Children's Museum Opens

Saturday, June 4th continued the busy weekend where we dedicated and opened our new lower level Children's Museum to the public.  A crowd of around 60 visitors gathered around as the speakers talked about all the thought and work that went into creating this space dedicated to the future of the trail, our children.

Gwen speaks to the crowd before the ribbon cutting

Margy and Gwen prepare to open the door to a whole new Museum experience

Your journey starts here...

The space was opened for all to enjoy and the day continued with a Children's Festival.

Festival!

We had music, a trail mix table, story telling and other activities.  We didn't let the early afternoon showers dampen our spirits as the day was full of excitement.

Jennifer reads one of her stories to the gathered children

Later, we had a Volunteer Picnic followed by a couple of our honorees from the night before telling their stories of the trail and their love of its beauty.  

It was a very good day for the Museum.

Visitors enjoy the Reading Hut

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Welcome Our New Intern

After our first 2016 intern prospect fell through, I feared that we would not have the help that we have been lucky to have each summer at the Museum since it opened.  About two weeks ago, I received a call from Tim Atwell, a recent Messiah College grad, who still needed to do his internship.  I eagerly accepted his proposal and we set him up as our Programs Intern.  

Tim introduces Eric who told us all the scary details of ticks and Lyme
and the steps to take to protect yourself at last Sunday's Program

In addition to serving as a Docent, Tim will be helping with the Sunday Public Programs each weekend for the next two months.  Tim isn't your typical college undergrad.  He's a tad older, has a family and a full time job and has served in the Military.  

If you are around on any of the next several weekends, please welcome Tim to the A.T. Museum family.
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Program Added for June 26th

We have added a presentation for the June 26th slot that had been vacant in the Programs schedule.

At 2:00 pm, Tim Atwell, (our intern) will present:

The Necessity of Adventure Experiences in Modern Youth

In the 1930’s, German educator, Kurt Hahn, identified six social declines that hindered the proper development of youth. In response, he developed a school called Outward Bound which is considered the foundation of modern day adventure education. 

Recognizing that these declines are evident in today’s youth, a two week-long wilderness backpacking experience was designed to specifically address these issues. This experience was provided by the Messiah College Office of Adventure Programming, and was designed, implemented, and evaluated by Tim Atwell, an Adventure Education Major Senior. 


Come listen to Tim discuss his findings. You may not be surprised that there were gains made in all of the 6 declines, especially around the areas related to mental toughness.

This seems like a very interesting topic.  We still have a lot of vacant slots for August this year.  If you have a presentation you would like to give, let me know and we will get you on the schedule.  See all our Program Descriptions on our Programs Page.  
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Positions Available at the Museum

Some of you might already be aware of this, but it is time to make the announcement.  

I have decided to step down as manager at the end of this season.  You see, there is this trail... That people like to hike for a real long time...  That's what I want to do.  That's what I need to do.  So, with that said, we need to find my replacement.

I won't be leaving until the end of the year, so the search is only beginning.  I hike in 2017.

I have proposed to the board, and they are in the process of ironing out the details, of splitting my job into two positions.  We feel that this will separate the two parts of the job so that more direct effort can be placed on both.

Here is the plan so far (subject to amendment and alteration by the board)

A.T. Museum Manager - The manager will be responsible for retail sales and stocking, building and grounds maintenance, Road Scholar Hikes, event planning and outreach.  The manager will also directly supervise the Volunteer Coordinator.

Volunteer Coordinator (Asst Manager) - The Volunteer Coordinator will be responsible for recruiting, training and scheduling the docents and other volunteers, manage the Sunday Public Programs, supervise any interns, and help with event planning and outreach.  

So if any of this strikes you as something you might want to take on, stand by for additional information and an official announcement.  I certainly would love to have members of the current A.T. Museum family step into the job(s).  Your experience and familiarity with the Museum's processes would definitely be a plus.

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Things Coming Down the Trail

June 19th, 2016 - Program: Drag'N Fly and Freckles
June 26th, 2016 - Program: The Necessity of Adventure Experiences in Modern Youth
June 27th, 2016 - Road Scholar Hike
July 3rd, 2016 - Program: Hiker Picnic and Stories
July 10th, 2016 - Program: Wild Edibles
July 17th, 2016 - Program: Backpacking with a Dog
July 24th, 2016 - Program: Starting out Halfway... WV, MD and PA on the A.T. 

Leonard Adam "Baltimore Jack" Tarlin - 1958 - 2016

AT Museum Volunteer Newsletter - May 2016

May 2016
brought to you by Joe Harold, Appalachian Trail Museum Manager

The Museum has been open for more than a month now and the numbers have been pretty impressive.  There are still some slow days, which will continue until the schools let out, but each day seems to have an interesting mix of visitors.  

Thanks to all of you for your help.  It is certainly appreciated.

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Big Weekend Coming up for the Museum 

The first weekend in June when National Trails Day is celebrated, has always been a busy time for the Museum.  This year will be no different and the significance of this year's events will be great.  

On Friday, June 3rd at 6 pm, we will assemble at the Allenberry Resort to induct four honorees who have made significant impacts to the Trail and Trail Culture.  Among them will be our own A.T. Museum Society President, Larry Luxenberg.  You can read about all the inductees on the News page of the website.  Buy your tickets here.

On Saturday, June 4th, the excitement continues with the Grand Opening of our new lower level Children's Area that has been in the works for several months.  The ribbon cutting and dedication will take place at 10 am.  After that we will have a Children's Festival with music, story telling, Leave No Trace activities, a survival lesson, a Nature Scavenger Hunt, a make your own Trail Mix table and more.

Bring your kids, tell your fiends and come to the A.T. Museum to help us celebrate.

The Volunteer Picnic will also take place on Saturday for all prior, present and aspiring volunteers at the museum.  We will try to feed all comers, as we show our appreciation for our volunteers and welcome any interested parties who want to help the Museum.

You can sign up to help with the Festival and Cookout here.
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Ramps and Trees and Exhibits, Oh My 

There has been a flurry of activity going on around the Museum inside and out.  The ramp looks closer to completion every day and the new trees look comfortable in their new homes.  The exhibits are scheduled to start going into the basement on Thursday in preparation for the grand opening and work continues on the renovations/restorations on every floor of the old Grist Mill.  

Ramp progress (this is a couple of weeks ago)

Work crew installs White Pine

The A.T. Museum is due to blossom like a flower over the next year or so.  Stay tuned.  

The reading hut area

Trees in their new home

Ramp decking going in

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Movie Screen Plays to Full House 

Our May 1st screening of the wonderful film: Trail Magic.  The true story of Emma "Grandma" Gatewood was a success.  The lower level was standing room only as we were able to welcome director Peter Houston who introduced the film and answered questions from the visitors.  Everyone appeared to have enjoyed the story about one of our Hall of Fame inductees.  We do have a copy of the film and will be showing it from time to time on the TV screen in the Hiker Lounge.

Director Peter Houston introduces film to a full house

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Sunday Public Programs 

After a couple early presentations, our annual Sunday Public Programs are scheduled to begin on June 5th and will continue throughout the summer.  You can get more information about each of the programs by going to our Public Programs page.  We still have some open slots later in the season.  If you have a program you want to present or maybe know of a program that might be a good fit with the Museum, let us know.  
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Another Sad Passing 

The A.T. world has lost another legendary personality.  On May 4th, Leonard Adam "Baltimore Jack" Tarlin, passed away suddenly from congestive heart failure.  "Jack" had become a constant fixture all along the trail, offering advice and stories to all who hiked by.  His absence will be felt from Springer to Katahdin.  

"Baltimore Jack" carved by Tom Logsdon

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Things Coming Down the Trail

June 3rd, 2016 - Sixth Annual Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame Banquet
June 4th, 2016 - A.T. Museum Children's Festival - National Trails Day
June 5th, 2016 - Program: With Pickaxes, Rakes, and Shovels: A Pictorial History of the AT in WV, MD and PA.
June 12th, 2016 - Program: Lyme Disease Prevention
June 13th, 2016 - Road Scholar Hike
June 19th, 2016 - Program: Drag'N Fly and Freckles
June 27th, 2016 - Road Scholar Hike
July 3rd, 2016 - Program: Hiker Picnic and Stories
July 10th, 2016 - Program: Wild Edibles

Larry the snake enjoys the sun while it lasted