McConnell's Mill Heritage Festival Follow Up

Hello All,

 

I am reporting on the Chapters two days at McConnells Mill State Park Heritage Festival this past weekend. We were blessed with two beautiful fall days which brought out great crowds of people to this 20 year old event. This being our first time attending, we were not sure what to expect, but whatever we might have been thinking, I doubt it could have matched what actually happened.

 

We talked to hundreds of people about the trail, mostly just casually interested people, but many sincerely interested in where to find the trail, where it went, etc. We had printed 100 of our new chapter brochures and only have about 10 left. We sold 75 raffle tickets for the picture of the Mill in the park, donated by Jim Nocera. I am going to guess we made 50 to 75 hiking sticks; mostly for kids, but also a couple adults. We distributed 140 NCTA orange bandannas supplied to us by the National Park Service.

 

Dave Wright's shaving bench was the star attraction of our display area; often families waited 45 to 60 minutes to peel the park off their hiking stick. Dave was the hardest working man at the event. Between he and Jim Houk, they make a huge pile of shavings. (On Saturday late in the day, kids standing in line noticed we had run out of sticks to carve, so four of them went to the woods and came back with their own sticks - and Dave just kept on working.)

 

The park personnel were very pleased with our display area, especially the hiking stick venue. They invited / encouraged us to be at National Get Out Doors Day at Moraine State Park next June.

 

Along with being a successful "trail awareness" event for the Chapter, this was a very good fund raiser - Photograph Raffle - $130

Hiking Stick / Bandanna Donations - $240

Total - $379

 

We all had a good time. Thanks to Jim Nocera for all the work on the brochure and the donation of the beautiful photograph that was raffled; for Dave Wright and Jim Houk working for many hours with all the kids, making all the sticks. For all those who helped talk to all the visitors - Gail Blakley, Dorothy Buquo, Kaye Turner, Herb & Kathy Adams, Susan Fudurich, Lee & Eleanor Fairbanks, Cathy Garrett.

 

Buckle up and get ready for the Gear & Beer Tri-State Fallfest on Oct. 14th - 12 PM to 5 PM.

We'll do it again one more time this year.

 

Thank you all for making this such a beautiful weekend.

 

Dennis Garrett

Large Brochure Map

Gonna Marry My Chainsaw

* Seemed like a song that comedian Rodney Carrington would write. Other titles considered for this blog entry were: "He Aint Heavy, He's My Chainsaw" by the Hollies, and "It's A Beautiful Chainsaw" by U2. But this isn't a song, just an update.

Good Afternoon Fellow NCTr's:

First want to appreciate Doug Turner and Jake Erhardt for coming out on Tuesday morning to Cemex near the lime kiln where we accomplished a bunch of small tasks including cleaning up the trailhead access off of Snake Run Rd., getting the cornfield and lime kiln weedwacked and pruned, and plotting out a reroute thru the woods to shorten our field walk through that area. A strong two hours that has the trail in good shape out there. Some pics starting from Tuesday here.  Again, if the whole album opens, close it and hit the 'here' again to get to the photo.

Secondly, to the matter of the subject of this entry, apparently we had some kind of "wind event" in Beaver County sometime over the past two or three weeks resulting in a large number of trees coming down across the trail at Gamelands 285 and the Kirkwood Farm. Four days later - giving my cheap Poulan chainsaw ALL of the credit - we are clear from the state line to Hodgson Rd. I lost count at around 40 trees cleared - if I had to guess it was probably 55 to 60 trees blocking us over that six miles of trail. Wanted to appreciate Dennis Garrett for the support (and dinner!) on Tuesday afternoon and for his scouting the mile of trail south of Watt's Mill Rd., saving me that walking to check it out. Job security indeed.

Lastly, a reminder that our monthly chapter meeting is being held at the shelter at Watt's Mill on Monday the 20th. It is a hot dog roast, campfire, pot luck event and I have been informed that Mr. Chuck Townsend of the Little Beaver Historical Society will be in attendance to give a presentation. Several items to discuss also including the Geo Trail, the chapter brochure, recent communication from First Energy regarding our trail extension, and I'm sure a report from the national conference. Hope you can make it out on that Monday night.

Thanks for all you do for the trail!

Dave Brewer

Trail Work Coordinator

Darlington Days 2012

Hello Everyone,

We completed our Darlington Days trail awareness mission late this afternoon, just as the first rain storm of the weekend set in.
We had our display in operation all day Saturday and Sunday; we were visited by a lot of folks that were interested to know about the trail, where to find it and how to become involved - some serious, some just curious.  One new member signed up.

Our hikes on Saturday afternoon, originating at Watts, went well.  Charles Townsend, from the historical society, preceded the hikes with a most interesting presentation of the history of the Watts Mill area.  Pictures of the hikes, the talk and the stone house foundation are attached.

A big thanks to Gale Blakely for arranging with the Little Beaver Historical Society for the space we used for our booth and all the prep work that made our display area work so well & being on hand all weekend.  Lee & Eleanor Fairbanks were full time the entire weekend, manning the booth, managing the hikes and setting up & tearing down, the whole nine yards. 

Jim Houk was a force at the marshmallow roast, creating interest in our hiking stick project and as a major fund raiser - Jim purchased a small truck load of flowers at the Roger's Sale on Friday, sold the flowers at the booth on Saturday and Sunday and donated the profits to the chapter - $54. We also sold one cookbook, one hiking stick and received generous donations from visitors for an additional $21.00.

Also, JoEllen Sokolosoki, Dorthy Boquo and Dave Wright were on hand throughout Saturday & Sunday at the booth and setting up.

Dave Brewer, the trail was in beautiful shape, the shelter area looked great and the old house foundation area, where the history talk as given, looked better than it has in 30 years. There were many compliments on the condition of the trail, the many great bridges, serious interest in the Jimmy Hupp memorial, and not one person opted out of the steep hike up the spur trail to Indian Rock, where a short talk was given by our newest Chapter member, Mike Appici, who has lived his entire life within a 1/2 mile of the rock.

(My thanks to John Vlah for doing a bang-up job of clearing that foundation last week and to Jake Erhardt for walking the sweep on the long hike!  - Dave)



The weekend was busy, but fun and I believe fruitful for our Chapter.  Thanks for all the work and fellowship and we will thank God for the two beautiful days that allowed it to happen in such fine fashion.

Dennis Garrett
VP, Wampum Chapter, NCT

Darlington Days - Help Wanted

Your Wampum Chapter Darlington Days planning committee met in a marathon session last Friday evening to nail down the details of our participation in this year's festivities on June 2nd and 3rd, and at one point the President called to make sure that negotiations were moving forward to an orderly resolution.  It is clear that this is going to be a major effort to pull all of this together and that we're going to need some folks to come out and jump into the activities we have planned for the weekend.  It is a tremendous opportunity to build awareness and support for our National Scenic Trail that passes right thru the downtown of this community!  Here's what we have going on and what we're looking for in the way of help:


1.  We'll be setting up a couple of information tables on the grounds of the Greersburg Academy on Saturday morning and plan to have them manned from 8 AM - to 5 PM on Saturday and from 11 AM to 5 PM on Sunday.  We'll have maps, photos, brochures, trail tools, a hiking stick sale, and a raffle going on.  We'll need people to be at these tables (under canopy) for those time periods.  You can come out for an hour or two - or all day (or both days!) if you'd like, to be available to talk to people about the North Country Trail.


2.  There is a parade scheduled for 10 AM on Saturday morning that we plan to march in.  The "paraders" gather at the school (north-west of town on Rt. 168, near the Garrett estate) at 8:30 AM and commence marching at the 10:00 kick-off time.  We'll be carrying our Wampum Chapter banner and encourage our walkers to have a backpack or trail-building tool to carry along.


3.  Saturday afternoon (Saturday is also National Trails Day) Mr. Chuck Townsend of the Little Beaver HIstorical Society has agreed to give a 1:00 PM talk at Watt's Mill about the history of this area.  This talk will be followed by two hikes that we'll be leading:


    A.)  A Short Hike (1/2 mile or so) to the backpacking shelter at Watt's Mill.  Cathy Garrett and Eleanor Fairbanks will be leading this hike and it will involve a marshmallow roast, some activities for kids, and a short talk about Little Beaver Creek and the NCT.  We think we have a "shelter crew" in place to make sure we have a fire going and the area is in good shape but we can always use more support.


    B)  The Long Hike - 2 1/2 miles from Hodgson Road, along the NCT over the Kirkwood Farm and GL285 back to Watt's Mill.  Lee Fairbanks will be leading this hike which will also include the side trip up to Indian Rock and a short presentation about that historical feature.  It looks like, at this point, this hike is where we're going to need more help.  We need someone(s) to commit to being the sweep for this walk, and we also need to know if there are people who can help with car-shuttling hikers from Watt's Mill to the beginning of the walk at Hodgson Road.    ************** As a side note, during the times of these hikes while the majority of our people are at Watt's Mill working with these activities, JoEllen Sokoloski has committed to manning the info tables in town but she could use some backup *********.


The people who organize and promote the Darlington Days activities have been very generous to us in regards to space, publicity, and support so we're looking to capitalize on this opportunity to build awareness of the North Country Trail and its role in the community.


How are you able to help with this weekend of activities?  Let us know by emailing back to me at wam@northcountrytrail.org or by getting word to Dennis Garrett at dcgcag@gmail.com.


As usual, the pay for this work is nothing, but the sense of satisfaction will be IMMENSE!  Thanks for all you do for the trail!


Dave Brewer
Communications Coordinator

GAC Flyer For April 21, 2012

The Wampum Chapter of the North Country Trail Association will be conducting a roadside trash cleanup along River Rd. in Wayne Twp. on Saturday, April 21^st from 8:00 AM until Noon.

Volunteers and community groups are welcome and encouraged to come out and help with this Earth Day Weekend project.

Meet at the Bevington Boat Launch on River Road at 8:00 AM.  Bags, gloves, and safety equipment will be provided.

For questions or more information please contact the chapter at wam@northcountrytrail.org or at 330 531-1623.

Thanks to our local and state sponsors:  Wayne Twp., PennDot, DEP and the Pennsylvania Waste Industries Association.

Hot Dog Roast At The Shelter January 21st

Good Evening Fellow NCTr's:

Sending out an invitation for anyone who wants to head to the backpacking shelter next Saturday afternoon, January 21st, for a Wampum Chapter winter hot dog roast/pot luck/campfire.  The plan is to meet there at around 2:00 PM, build the fire, and enjoy some North Country Trail comaradarie (and food!).  It should be a nice opportunity to enjoy that beautiful spot along the North Fork of Little Beaver Creek during a season when we don't usually get out there.

The weather forecast looks positive, with higher temps than this weekend, and if you want to stay and enjoy the sunset (or even do the overnight thing at the shelter!!) that's certainly an option.

Bring your potluck contribution to share if you'd like - if not, just bring yourself and anyone else who might be interested in an afternoon in the woods with some great trail folks!  This outing is open to anyone who wants to make the trip out.

A couple of other dates and events to be aware of:

The Wampum Chapter monthly meeting is this Monday evening, 6:00 PM at Hito's in West Pittsburgh.  Come a bit earlier if you are planning to order dinner.

The Clarion Chapter is having their monthly hike Sunday, January 22nd.  Details on that are here https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/events/330236067001264/ and all are invited to join them.

There is a planning meeting for the 2013 National Conference scheduled for Tuesday, January 24th at King's Family Restaurant in Grove City, PA - 5:30 or so.  If you'd like to be involved in this please contact Joyce Appel at joyceappel@windstream.net so she can get you up to speed on what's been accomplished on this project already.

Lastly, I've started the 2012 Chapter album on Picasa with some pics from Rick Ostheimer's and my trip to Gamelands 285 last week where we met up with Rick Eiler and his friend Dennis.  You can see those photos here https://picasaweb.google.com/105725471641034380528/WampumPAChapterNCTA2012#

Thanks for all you do for the NCT - hope to meet up with you along the way.

Dave Brewer
Trail Work Coordinator