3rd Quarter 2001 Newsletter

In Memoriam

Marguerite Kimberly Carter, 97, died March 10, 2001, after a period of declining health. She joined the CMC in 1948 along with her late husband, Piercy Carter, a local attorney. Many of us remember her for her amazing endurance, but fewer knew she was a graduate of Randolph Macon Women’s College with a BA degree in mathematics. She also did some graduate work at Columbia University and the University of Wisconsin. She taught at both Asheville City and Buncombe County schools, and retired after 21 years service with St. Genevieve of the Pines. Since 1968 she was involved with the slimnastics class at the North Asheville Community Center and hiked regularly until her recent decline.  Kimberly Ave. in North Asheville is named for her family.

Minnie B. Allen, 85, wife of Dwight Allen and mother of two, died March 2, 2001, in her home in Hendersonville. Minnie was a native of the Elizabeth City, NC, area. She was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army Nurses Corp and served in the European Theater during World War II. Since Dwight was in international banking, she also lived in New York, Tokyo, Manila and London. CMCers will best remember her for being responsible for an MTS section of trail just west of U.S. 25 and for joining on work trips with her husband.

Our condolences to the families of these faithful members.

On The Trail

And Off

Positions open: Both Wednesday and Half-Day Hike Coordinator jobs are in need of leadership. If you can make a contribution to the club by coordinating either the Wednesday hikes or the Half Day hikes, call John Pawcio and talk it over with him. Without these coordinators, no hikes can be scheduled for those periods.

Web page change: Note that the name of the club web page (see masthead above) now ends in “.org” instead of “.com”. The former ending will continue to work for a while, but all new references to the site should include the new ending.

New hike sign up sheet: To make it easier for hike leaders to deal with emergencies, the new sign up sheet for hikers asks for an emergency name and number that can be called should it be needed. Be prepared to provide that information when you sign up. The form also affirms that hikers will not be intentionally separated from the group.

Next Council Meeting: August 13, 2001, 6 p.m., McGuffey’s off Tunnel Road.

Annual Meeting set: The Grove Park Inn Heritage Ball Room has been reserved for November 9, 2001.

Service Award nominations: Use the form inserted in this issue to send in your nominations for our Award of Appreciation and for the Distinguished Service Award.

Club joins new alliance: The Council voted in May to join the American Hiking Society, an alliance of hiking organizations. We join nearly 150 other hiking clubs, land trusts, and trail organizations with a vested interest in protecting the future of hiking trails. Visit their website at www.americanhiking.org/alliance/index.html for more information.

Joe Cirvello has second thoughts: Nearly a month after leaving Springer Mountain, GA, Joe decided to end his thru hike of the AT. For details on his thinking, email him at joec@brinet.com  or phone him at 627-1797.

New email address: note on the masthead above that Let’s Go co-editor, Jan, has a new email address.

CMC remembered in will: the late Perry Rudnick of Hendersonville has willed the club $5,000 with no strings attached. Should this be something you could do, too?  Think about it.

Sam’s Gap: According to Howard McDonald, paving on the new highway through Sam’s Gap will begin soon. The AT will pass beneath the new road. Let’s hope this work will also reduce recently reported vandalism there.

Club membership: As of the most recent count, our rolls are down by about 150 members. It would be interesting to learn why they have not renewed. The roster of paid members is enclosed with this issue.

Rattlesnake Lodge: Did you know that thanks to Chase Ambler’s diligence you can learn the history of this hike destination on the web at www.rattlesnakelodge.com/.

New Members: Craig Brock, Edward Stagl, Karen Lockee, Michelle Greenspan, Milton Burril, Marian Goodman, Jerry D. Self, Ray & Dolly Elingburg, Karen Wilkie, William Cutler, John M. Cooper, Jann Nance.

Saturday Work Day

Give some of your outdoor time back to the trails by helping on a Saturday
work day and learning what is involved with trail maintenance.

These are held quarterly. We will meet next on August 18 at the Moose Cafe at 8:00 AM for breakfast and will return from working around 4:00 PM. Fun, educational, and productive. Call Les Love, 658-1489.

CMC May

Co-Produce PBS Film

Bonesteel Films has asked the club, as a non-profit entity, to be a financial sponsor of a new hour-long film entitled “The Mystery of George Masa,” set to be completed by year’s end.

A good friend of Horace Kephart, George was a charter member of the CMC and helped establish the AT. An avid hiker and noted outdoor photographer, he was the first to measure the length of many of the Smokies’ trails using a bicycle-odometer wheel, while his artful photos were used to promote the idea of preserving the area as a national park. Thanks to club efforts described in our history booklet, he later had a knob near Charlie’s Bunion named after him.

George died without available funds in 1934 and the club paid his funeral expenses. Bernard Elias is providing the film company valuable research on Masa. Costing the club nothing, we would simply control the funds involved if our sponsorship is agreed upon and a suitable CMC member can be found to chair the project. Any volunteers?

Hiking Sticks Or No

According to a recent study by the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, pole testers favored their use. Ten backpacking volunteers walked a treadmill in one-hour stints and all said they preferred the devices. The Swiss call it a wanderstock in German, and swear by them, but they are not as widely used in this country. The study concluded that the sticks do not save effort necessarily, but do help hikers stay balanced, especially over rough terrain, and thus conserve energy needed to keep going.