AT Museum Volunteer Newsletter - Spring 2019

Spring 2019

Brought to you by Nathaniel Shank, Appalachian Trail Museum Manager

Coming up the Trail

Volunteer Signup Link

Museum Cleanup Day March 16th
Saturday, March 16, 2019 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 ready for opening the following Saturday. Don't forget to also sign up for the docent training.

Volunteer Kickoff Celebration March 23rd
Come Join the party with snacks and games to kick off this 2019 season. We will talk briefly about the need for new volunteers and gather ideas as to what can be done to encourage existing volunteers. Then we will Play games, eat snacks, and play instruments if need be. Don't forget to bring your instruments!

Docent Training March 22 - March 31st (or by appointment)
The sessions 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.

Flip Flop Festival Harpers Ferry WV April 27th and 28th
For a detailed schedule and more information, visit www.flipflopfestival.org.We need volunteers to represent the museum

Hall of Fame Banquet May 4th
Tickets are now on sale for our 2019 Banquet, to be held on Saturday, May 4.  The 2019 venue will be the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center, located at 950 Soldiers Drive, Carlisle, PA.  The evening will begin with a reception at 6 pm, with dinner to follow at 7 pm.  

Complete information on tickets is available HERE.

The M.C. for the 2019 Banquet will be Sandra “Sandi” Marra, Chair of the Board of Appalachian Trail Conservancy.  Music will be provided by Randy "Windtalker" Motz, an A.T. thru-hiker.  The highlight of the evening will be the induction of the 2019 Hall of Fame class.  We had record attendance in 2018, so get your tickets soon.

Hall Of Fame Festival May 5th
Five new exhibits will be introduced to the public. More details to follow. We are going to need a few helpers with games, cooking burgers, setting up, and tearing down for the festival. The lunch will be potluck style and free for all guests. There will be a donation jar and food donations are welcome. Come enjoy the music by Strings on Wings. We will have something for all ages. Plan to have a great time!

Mason-Dixon Appalachian Trail Outdoor Festival Rouzerville Pa
Saturday, June 8th 10-4
We need volunteers to represent the museum

Summer Programs
If you know anybody that would like to present at the museum for one of our programs please send an emial to manager@atmuseum.org
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Native Plants Garden to Benefit Wildlife coming to the A.T. Museum this Spring

Work began in earnest at the A. T. Museum last fall on the creation of a colorful garden full of PA native plants that will provide nectar, pollen, seeds and berries for butterflies, pollinators, birds and other wildlife.  The new garden is located in front of the historic stone mill building where the museum is housed along Rt. 233 at the Pine Grove Furnace State Park in Gardners, PA.  The garden and the wildlife it attracts will be easily viewed and enjoyed by museum visitors as they enter and exit the new main entrance to the museum via the extensive fully-accessible ramp that was built by Jack Adams of Maryland and his dedicated group of volunteers. 

AT Museum volunteers Lorrie and Bob Preston, Georgia Freet, Margie and Jeff Schmidt, and Dan Taylor worked to get “the bones” of the garden laid out and the soil prepared in anticipation of planting this spring.  Invasive and non-native weeds and grasses were removed and a layer of wet cardboard was applied to the soil and covered with mulch to smother the remaining roots.  River rock was spread in the false spring and dry stream bed areas to bring a sense of the mill’s historical past, as per former museum manager Howard Davis’ creative landscape plan.  

A stepping-stone pathway was created throughout the garden to add a natural design element and allow easy access for maintenance and ongoing care of the garden.

As the garden area was cleared, care was taken to preserve any of the native ferns and wildflowers that were trying their best to compete among the more aggressive non-native species.  These have some historical significance and may have been planted by previous generations who used this building or they may have grown there naturally over the years.

A common milkweed patch, planted in the fall of 2017, is the centerpiece for the garden and is already multiplying.  Milkweed is the only host plant for Monarch butterflies and these young plants supported their first few Monarch caterpillars last summer. 

Planting of some of the best PA native plants to provide food, shelter, or a place to raise young will get underway this April & May and the project will be evolving and ever-changing in the months and years ahead. 

The garden will provide opportunities for education about the critical relationships between native plants and wildlife and will highlight the extremely important wildlife habitat that the Appalachian Trail corridor provides from Georgia to Maine. 

If you would like to volunteer in some capacity with the creation or ongoing care of this garden or have any questions or pertinent ideas, please contact Museum Manager Nathaniel Shank at manager@atmuseum.org.

Financial donations for purchasing plants, tools, educational signage, and more are welcome and can be made to honor or memorialize someone special.  Note your donation for the Butterfly/Pollinator garden and mail to:          A.T. Museum, Att: Treasurer, 1120 Pine Grove Rd., Gardners, PA 17324.

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Volunteer Renovation Crew

Work has continued on renovations of the top two floors of the AT museum mill house.  With the addition of a "barn door"  to the library this past fall, the construction on the third floor is nearing completion. A hasp has been installed that will allow the library to be secure. Trim work for the bookcases is progressing and should be finished in the near future. On the second floor, about half of the walls have been painted. The rest of the walls are waiting for the finishing touches on the drywall. Then painting will complete the work on the walls.

    The next step for the bathroom is to install wall tile. When tiling is complete, the plumber will install the bathroom fixtures. A ceiling of beadboard will also be installed. 

A general clean up and organization will take place the end of April. Our goal is to have the construction site as presentable as possible for  

 the new exhibits to be on display the first weekend of May.

Several one-day work trips are scheduled this spring and additional work trips will take place this summer. 

Any individuals that want to volunteer are welcome. Typically our work is scheduled during the middle of the week. If interested contact Ron Bungay at ronbungay@verizon.net

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New Exhibits

The Appalachian Trail Museum will mark a major milestone in its own history in 2019 with the installation of five new exhibits. Children will experience a “Night on the Trail” as they enter a replica trail shelter on the lower  level. Once inside, a skylight in the roof will frame a night sky illuminated with many constellations, and sounds of the night will pique every child’s curiosity. Exhibits on the newly renovated second floor will offer visitors a contemporary trail experience, with displays featuring long-distance hiking legend Walkin’ Jim Stoltz, a national hiking event “HikaNation,” and the landmark signing of the National Trails System Act.  A view to the upper floor will offer visitors the story of blazing the A.T. in Maine, complete with A.T. founder Myron Avery’s folding boat.  A celebration marking the opening of these exhibits is planned for Sunday, May 5, 2019. Exhibits are made possible through a grant from the Cumberland Valley Visitors Bureau.

Here is the list of accomplishments:

• Installed the Night on the Trail shelter with night noises on Dec 19-20. Photos attached. check out the night sky!!
• 2^nd floor exhibit panel for Walkin’ Jim Stoltz was completed. Photo attached.
• 2 additional frames to feature future hikers were completed
• 2^nd floor panel for HikaNation was completed. 
• 2^nd floor panels for “The Appalachian Trail becomes America’s Trail” were completed.

In addition, our volunteers painted 3 areas of the 2^nd floor in preparation for installation of these panels.

And the 3^rd floor exhibit on “Blazing Trail in Maine” was completed and installed earlier last year. 

Walkin' Jim Exhibit

Stars in Shelter

Children's Level Shelter Exhibit

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If you would like to volunteer in any capacity contact the museum at 

info@atmuseum.org

AT Museum Volunteer Newsletter - April 2018

March 2018

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

New Mail/Register Box on 2018 Halfway Sign

Check out our new donation box. (feeding bear is not recommended in the wild)

                                                                                                                                                 

Important Reminders

Hall Of Fame Banquet & Festival May 4th & 5th

          On May 4th we will be at the Allenberry Resort Inn, located in Boiling Springs, PA. The evening will begin with a reception at 6 pm, followed by the banquet at 7 pm. The Buc Hill Aces will be our musical entertainment for the night.

2018 Appalachian Trail Hall Of Fame Inductees

Click Here For Tickets To The 2018 Hall Of Fame Banquet

We have established a special email address for questions concerning the Appalachian Trail Hall Of Fame Banquet: atmbanquet@gmail.com

Hall Of Fame Festival May 5th
          On May 5th the Festival will be held at the Pine Grove Furnace State Park. The picnic lunch is open to the public free of charge, but donations are welcome.

Volunteer for the A.T. Hall of Fame Festival

                                                                                                                                                  

AT Flip-Flop Festival

          April 28th & 29th in Harpers Ferry, WV. Anyone interested in volunteering to man a display at events like this one please let me know by email at manager@atmuseum.com.

http://www.flipflopfestival.org/

                                                                                                                                                 

AT Museum Library Help

          A crew of volunteers will be needed to attach film to each bookcase shelf (to protect books from wood off-gassing and acid) and put the shelves back into the cases. Someone with excellent penmanship will be needed to write call numbers on book slips as well.

Other jobs will come to light as the collection processing begins. Any volunteer with previous library experience could be especially valuable, but anyone with time and an interest in helping can let Linda know. She can be contacted at lpatton@fsu.edu.

You might want to check out her website at booksforhikers.com.

                                                                                                                                                 

Angry Bird Trail Story

          When I hiked the Pacific Crest Trail I did it in sandals and hiked with a banjo. The banjo was given the name Uncle Sam. My trail name could have been the detective, officer, cow whisperer or something along the lines of hillbilly banjo hippie creep but I stuck with Angry Bird because the people I ended up hiking with already knew me from the Appalachian Trail. I also had some very cool bird experiences where I was convinced that they had planned to attempt to kill me once again. Here is one great bird story I have...

          August 16th, 2014: That morning I had hiked a detour from Oldenburg Lake Trail to Crescent Lake, and then I took the White Fish Creek Trail to Odell Lake. Then at Windigo Pass (trail mile 1882.9 in Oregon) I had taken a seat on a log to break for lunch. As I was eating my lunch I noticed a high volume of chip monk activity. These chip monks were expecting me to drop food. I laughed at the thought of a thru-hiker dropping food! Then as I proceeded to eat my granola I noticed a screech??? As soon as I turned around I caught a glimpse of one of them flying away!!! A hawk had swooped down and grabbed him from right behind my left shoulder. I have heard owls catching prey in the middle of the night but finally just now saw a bird of prey in action actually catching its prey. The good news is that I was not the target this time. That made me very happy. :)

                                                                                                                                                 

April 28th - AT Flip Flop Festival in Harpers Ferry, WV

April 29th - Ironmasters challenge trail run and hike

May 4th - Hall Of Fame Banquet

May 5th - Hall Of Fame Festival

May 7th - Road Scholar Hike

May 31st - AT Museum Program about women of the Appalachian Trail

June 2nd - AT Museum Children's Festival

June 16th - Red Run Park AT Festival in Waynesboro, PA

AT Museum Volunteer Newsletter - July 2016

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

The peak of the NOBO Thru Hiker crowd has most likely passed, but we still have a lot of hikers coming into the Museum.  Most are very full from eating ice cream, but we know that in a few minutes they will be hungry again.  With the passing of the peak, our hours will scale back to Noon to 4PM and before too long, we will start to see the SOBOs come through the park.  

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

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2016 Will Be A Banner Year At The Museum 

Each month I prepare a summary report that I send to the the Board of Directors.  It gives them, (and me), a good snapshot of how the Museum is doing throughout the season.  The report shows attendance, sales, donations and volunteer hours.  As I was preparing the June report early this month, I notice that for the last two months everything has been looking very promising.  June had the highest visitor count since our first two months back in 2010.  Our donations and sales were the highest ever.  This shows that people are really liking the Museum and our Docents are who make them like it.  

I'm sure "A Walk In The Woods" is partly responsible for this popularity, but we also think that our new Lower Level Children's Museum (suitable for all ages 2 to 200) is also drawing in more visitors.  

As business continues to Boom, we will continue to be there to welcome our visitors and show them the wonder of the Trail.  With all of you volunteers, that is possible.
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A.T. Museum And The Park in the News 

The Museum has also been fortunate this year in the publicity department.  We have been featured or mentioned in a number of publications in the area.  Below are a few I have gathered in the last couple of weeks.  

Celebrate Gettysburg Magazine 

Main Line Today

The Half Gallon Challenge seems to be a popular news item this year.  Here are two videos on the topic.  The first one is from the York Daily Record and the second is from Fox 43.  
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Programs Needed for August 

If you have checked out the Sunday Public Programs page recently, you will see that the month of August still has slots open for presenting our public programs.  If you have something you would like to present, or know someone who might be interested in presenting a topic, let me know and we will get it scheduled.  
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Things Coming Down the Trail

July 17th, 2016 - Program: Backpacking with a Dog
July 24th, 2016 - Program: Starting out Halfway... WV, MD and PA on the A.T. 
July 31st, 2016 - Program: You Don't Know What You Got 'til It's Gone
August 28th, 2016 - Program: Appalachian Odyssey 

AT Museum Volunteer Newsletter - Volume 2, Issue 14

Volume 2, Issue 14 - December, 2015
brought to you by Joe Harold, Appalachian Trail Museum Manager

The recent weather is confusing to me.  With only a few days until the winter solstice arrives, I'm wanting to see some snow.  60 degree days are for spring and early fall, not winter.  But the off season continues.  For me, that means, buying stuff to sell next year.  Work on maybe cataloging the artifacts we accrued this year and updating the Docent Manual and the other things I use to do this job.  The down time is needed, but I'm always needing to get into the woods during every season.  So I squeeze in what I can with the Holidays going on, and continue to have that itch that always needs to be scratched.  
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The Bionic Woman 

A few weeks ago, I received an email telling me that Niki "The Bionic Woman" Rellon would be hiking through the park in a few days and they were wondering if we could open the Museum for her as she came by.  If you don't recognize her name, she is an amazing woman that has been hiking the trail this year.  What makes her special, is when she completes (somewhere down in Virginia), she will be the first female amputee to complete a Thru Hike.  Niki is an amazing outdoorswoman, who lost her leg after a rappelling accident in Utah back in 2013.  You can read a little about her on Robert Sutherland's blog.  Her story is quite interesting.

The Bionic Woman, enjoying a Coke in the Museum

So this was right around Thanksgiving and one of our amazing volunteers, this year's Volunteer of the Year, Michele "Amma" Burton, agreed to be on standby (others volunteered to, thanks to all who offered to help) for her arrival.  As you know, hiker schedules can be erratic and you never know exactly when a hiker will arrive.  Their time tables are usually quite flexible.  Having a "local" around really helped me out.

So, Niki did come by and Amma was able to come down and show her the Museum and Amma being the Trail Angel she is, also went well beyond that with her help.  She brought here a big turkey sandwich that day then took her on a food run the next day then brought her home so she could clean up and have a nice bed for the night.  Niki, a German girl, cooked up some stroganoff for a nice meal

Amma and Bionic Woman up the mountain at Amma's place

Niki's last update on her Facebook page had her in Shenandoah overcoming a small problem with her leg, but she is getting close.  Congrats Bionic Woman.  Keep on hiking.

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The Halfway Point: Moving through PA since 1937 or so

You all know that "AT Halfway Point" is pretty much our claim to fame here at the AT Museum.  Pretty much on a weekly basis, I have the question about the Halfway Point and when I mention that the point moves, pretty much every year, because the trail length changes pretty much every year, I have devised a little Primer on the whys and wherefores of the living trail that we love so much.  Here is a little bit of information that I have gathered and try to pass on to our visitors when they inquire as to why the trail length changes and therefore why the halfway point moves.  

Back in 1937, when the "completion" of the AT was determined, there was a small knob just outside of Boiling Springs, PA that was named Center Point Knob and a bronze plaque was placed on a nice white rock in the middle of the trail.  The official length at this time was 2049 miles according to Publication No. 5 - 3rd edition.  The Mountain Club of Maryland was pretty proud of this point and tried hard to keep the official trail length the same, so the point wouldn't move.  But sometimes reality doesn't comply to peoples wishes. 

Center Point Knob

So, the reason the trail's length changes, is because the trail will never really be "complete"  There is always somewhere along the trail that needs attention.  It might be a large re-route that changes the length, or maybe a club will add some switch backs that improve the erosion control along a steep part.  Lately, I have been seeing that a simple re-measurement reveals that what was once thought of as being a .4 piece of trail, was actually .6 or something.  Things change.  So, long story short, the trail is a living trail.  Always changing in length.  Sometimes more, sometimes less, but always changing.  

When the trail length changes, so does the Halfway Point.  There have been a few more "permanent" markers along the trail marking the Halfway Point, but they never were accurate for more than a year or maybe a couple.  Now, long distance hikers like to have their little celebrations during their months long hike.  Getting halfway done of an over 2000 mile long trail is one of those events.  They like to know when they are "there".  They dance their dances, sing their songs, then continue on, maybe taking on the Half-Gallon Challenge at the General Store in the Park.

You have probably seen the marker we have outside the Museum.  This marker used to be about three quarters of a mile up Piney Mountain that rises up behind the Museum and was placed there in 1987 by 1985 Hiker Wood Chuck (the same guy who made the Museum's sign)  This marker stood up on that mountain for a couple of decades and was used in many celebrations and pictures even though the point had moved on to somewhere else.  At that time the trail length was 2138 (according to the math on the sign).

1987 Marker, now an artifact at the AT Museum

The next sign the PATC put up was in 2011 (also made by Wood Chuck) and is still standing about 3.5 miles south of the Museum.  This sign adds up to 2081 miles, so you can see that generally the trail has been growing as the years go by.  

2011 Halfway Marker.  About 3.5 miles south of the AT Museum

Back in 2013, when I got involved with the AT Museum and started spending more time on the trail in the area, I came across a place on the trail that was that year's Halfway Point.  There was no official marker, but the hikers had taken it upon themselves to create one.  They had made a small circle of rocks (very abundant material in our state) and formed a 1/2 inside the circle.  

2013 Hiker made marker

This formed an idea in my head.  I decided to help the Hikers out.  Each year, the ATC announces the Official Trail Length and the various AT Guide makers calculate where the Halfway Point is for that year and publish it in their guide.  I decided to take that information and create a place for hikers to mark their actual completion of half of the trail.  I made a small sign and laminated it and placed it in 2014's Halfway Point and the hikers came and did their thing.  It was kind of rinky dink, so I got mixed reviews, but that of course, left lots of room for improvement.  

2014 Halfway Marker.  Ol' Rinky Dink

The hikers would fix it up from time to time with their duct tape and it did last the season.  I asked Vern Graham, one of our Road Scholar Hike Guides if he could make something more substantial and he didn't disappoint.

2015 Halfway Point Marker

So this year, I placed my second movable, temporary Halfway Marker along the trail for hikers to enjoy.  The point was right where the trail crosses Dead Woman's Hollow Road.  This year I added a register so the hikers could record their thoughts.  I removed it for the winter in November.

The Official Length has been announced for the 2016 Season and the trail shrunk just a tad (.1 mile) and the Halfway Point moved a bit back to the North about .2 miles.  I will be placing an updated sign some time after the snows melt next year (if the snows ever come that is)  It will be along the old forest road that heads to the PATC Anna Mitchner cabin.  

And that's the story of the AT Halfway Point.
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Longwood Gardens

A little while ago, Larry Luxenberg and Jim Foster were contacted by Longwood Gardens about getting involved with a Community Read Program they were planning.  

The Gardens are this huge place near Philly in Kennett Square, PA and it is a wonderful place to visit that is open 365 days a year and something is always in bloom.  I hear their Holiday decorations are over the top.  A Community Read is when they pick a couple of books on a certain topic, one that would appeal to adults the other to children and promote events throughout the area.  For this next read, they picked Grandma Gatewood's Walk to promote and asked if we wanted to be involved as we represent the Trail in the area.  

A few days ago, Larry and I met with a group of librarians from the local area along with a representative of Longwood Gardens and discussed the program and the things we can do.  
The program is set to kick off in early January and most of the events will be in March and April.  We will be providing speakers to the local libraries and hopefully have an event or two ourselves in the Spring.  We will be sending out more information as the program continues.

Check out Longwood Gardens at their website http://longwoodgardens.org/
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Ramp Progress

Just a quick update on the second floor ramp.  We are getting close.  Here are a couple pictures of where we are stopping for the winter.  I can already envision how it will look when the faux bridge is finished up and we get all of our plantings around the ramp.  I think it will look good and will blend into the environment and building.   

Where the ramp will come into the deck

Ginger and the ramp

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Things Coming Down the Trail

January 8th, 2016 - Longwood Gardens Community Read Kickoff
January 22nd - 24th, 2016 - Northern Ruck - Bears Den Hostel, VA
March 26, 2016 - AT Museum opens for the 2016 season