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Except as otherwise noted, all contents of this
Web site are Copyright
© Chief
Noonday
Chapter,
the North Country Trail Association.
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![[Chief Noonday's masthead]](images/cnd_mast2.JPG) |
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Images from Days of Yore:
 Here
are links to some older
pictures posted in the early
days of Chief Noonday's Web
site:
September 2000:
Photo of Chief Noonday
Chapter members who participated in
the annual Mackinac Bridge Walk, Labor Day 2000.
October 2001:
The North Country
National Scenic Trail suffered extensive storm damage in the vicinity of the Kellogg Forest. “It was like walking through a gigantic game of jackstraws
--- except that the
straws were great, full grown trees,” Larry Hawkins reported. A
hard-working trail crew got the trail cleared and usable in a
short amount of time. Here's
photographic evidence.
March 2002:
Photos of the Ott Preserve Bridge
Dedication. April 2002:
Photos
of Chief Noonday's
Grave headstone.
June 2002:
Press conference at Bridge Park
on Conceptual Trail for Calhoun County.
June 2002:
Photos from a Nine Day Hike on the
North Country National Scenic Trail (see above right).
August 2002:
Some miscellaneous
photos from
Chapter activities in the summer of 2002.
August 2003:
Photos,
provided by Tom Funke,
feature autumn scenes
in Barry County and the Ott Preserve.
August 2003:
Photos from a workday on the
Trail at Fort Custer,
provided courtesy of Jeff Fleming.
December 2003:
These scenic photos from the Fort Custer National
Cemetery area
were provided by Charles Krammin.
February 2004:
Here are photos, supplied by Larry Hawkins, taken of
the new trail kiosk
erected at the Fort Custer National Cemetery.
May 2004:
Photos
taken at the Dedication of the North Country National Scenic Trail at the Fort Custer Recreation
Area. Some
undated pictures on the
Trail featuring
Augusta Creek and
Kellogg Forest.
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Chief Noonday Chapter is
fortunate to have
two chapter members
actively involved with the national
office of the NCTA.
Jim Baldwin (left) manages
operations at Lowell on a
volunteer basis, putting his
considerable business
experience to good use
enhancing the efficiency and
effectiveness of the
national office and
organization.
Dave Cornell
(right) has re-joined the NCTA Board as a
two-year at-large member.
NOTE: Dave was interviewed
by WWMT-TV, Channel 3
(Kalamazoo) on Thursday June
8th. You could see the video clip on the WWMT-TV
Web site.
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LaVerne BeBeau
passed away at home on June
7 after a
long illness.
We have a special page of
reflections on LaVerne's
life and his contributions
to the Chapter
and the North County
National Scenic Trail,
which can be
accessed from our
Photos page.
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Dave Cornell and
Mick Hawkins
accompanied an
NCTA cartographer,
Matt Rowbotham
(below right), on a visit
to our section of the North Country
National Scenic Trail in the morning of June 19th.
The plan was for Matt to
utilize new equipment
acquired by the national
office to gather data on
trailheads and
significant mileposts on
the Kalamazoo County
section of the Trail.
This data would be
incorporated into the
GIS (Geographic
Information System)
database at the national
office, where it could
then be used for such
purposes as printing out
local section maps to
post on our trailhead
kiosks. |
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Unfortunately, after
gathering data at the
first two stops
(including 39th Street
-- right) Matt
encountered some kind of
system failure which
prevented him from
accessing GPS satellite
data, and we were forced
to give up for the day.
The project would be
re-scheduled once the
bugs were worked out.
Dave (left) took
advantage of the
opportunity to try out
new trail blaze decals
on the carsonite post at
39th street. The
decals will be used on
the carsonite posts to
replace the blue paint
blazes, which, as can be
seen in the picture,
turn white after about a
year. |
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June 24, 2006 |
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We had a great turnout for
our
June workday,
nine in all. The work
crew was anchored by Bob
and Brenda Jones
backed up by Larry Pio,
Dave Cornell, Jeff
Fleming, Tom Momenee,
Larry and Mick
Hawkins, and our
latest addition, Melissa
Schudel, hailing from
Kalamazoo, who had her
baptism of fire with the
work crew. Word has it
she’s even coming back for
more!
We met for breakfast at the
Hastings Big Boy and
convoyed out to the Peets
Road trailhead where we
divided up all the work
materials, assigned kiosks,
and went to work.
We stained the kiosks at
Peets Road, Bowen’s MIll
Road, Yankee Springs Road
north of M-179, the M-179
Chief Noonday Trailhead,
McDonald Lake (which also
involved a conversion and
major repairs effected by
Tom and Melissa), Hall Lake,
and the two Norris
Road/Yankee Springs Road
kiosks. Bob and Brenda
finished up the kiosks at
McKibben Road and Mullen
Road, which happen to be
near their home.
This having been done, all
the kiosks in the Barry
State Game Area and the
Yankee Springs Recreation
Area will have been stained.
Tom Momenee has been tasked
with revisiting the kiosks
and putting the material
back in. As discussed
at our last meeting, we will
not be replacing the
Plexiglas in the kiosks
which have been shot up but
will be laminating the
material and putting
“critter proof” chicken wire
over it.
At the Norris Road/Yankee
Springs Road trailhead we
noted teeth marks on
the roof assembly of
one of the kiosks.
Evidently two-legged hunters
aren't the only ones giving
nefarious attention to our
kiosks!
Meanwhile, down in Battle
Creek at Historic Bridge
Park, John Rudnicki
and Ron Sootsman set
up our work trailer and a
display for
Bridge Day.
Tom Garnett joined
them later in the day.
Larry and Mick
Hawkins wandered in at
the very end and deserve no
credit for working, but we
did get some valuable time
in with Dennis Randolph
and Annette Chapman
of the Calhoun County Road
Commission. They are
the administrators for the
Calhoun County Parks. They
are valuable partners with
the NCTA as we go through
Calhoun County, and there
are exciting things for us
in the foreseeable future.
Happy trails!
Larry Hawkins
President, Chief Noonday
Chapter, NCTA
Webmaster note:
We have some pictures from
both events posted on the
Photos page.
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June 24, 2006 |
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For the benefit of everybody
who lacks access to
The Kalamazoo Gazette,
the Saturday June 24th issue
published an article by
Carrie Moore, headlined
A
Little Help, a Whole Lot of
Trail, on the
Kalamazoo section of the
North Country National
Scenic Trail.
It emphasized the vital and
much appreciated
contributions of private
landowner partners like
Dr. Ron Hutchinson and
his wife Grace.
Larry Hawkins and
Dave Cornell of Chief
Noonday were interviewed.
The actual article had a few
pictures, map, and a little
description of the NCTA and
Chief Noonday Chapter in a
sidebar. (Click on the
title to read the text of
the article.)
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 Dave Cornell,
John Morgan,
and Mick Hawkins
accompanied
NCTA cartographer,
Matt Rowbotham,
on
what was this time a
more successful
project of gathering
GPS and site data
than had been
possible on June 19.
At that time Matt
had experienced an
equipment
malfunction soon
after the day's work
had been underway,
and we were forced
to postpone the
balance of the
project.
Things went better
today.
 We
visited the kiosks at the
trailheads on Crane Road, on
the Paul Henry Trail at the
Middleville Stagecoach Park
and the Irving ends, and the
Peets Road and Bowens Mill
Road trailheads.
Our objective for these
rounds was to obtain "You
Are Here" maps for
posting on these kiosks, as
well as on kiosks at the
Kellogg Biological Station
and in Kellogg Forest.
Data for the Kellogg maps
had been acquired by Matt on
an earlier trip.
Matt hopes to be able to
bring the maps to us at our
September Chapter meeting.
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Another gorgeous day
for
work on the
trail
at Ft. Custer!
We got off to a
minor rocky start
when we discovered
that Lakeside Cafe
in Augusta was
closed, but Dave
Cornell scouted
out a great
alternative at
Kare’s which was
only 2 1/2 blocks
away.
After a good
breakfast where
Tom Garnett
stopped in to say
Hi! on his way to a
BCHS affair, we
convoyed out to the
work site. We
left Dave on
his own (always a
dangerous thing!) to
stain kiosks at
Hutchinson’s and the
Fort Custer sites.
Steve Hicks,
Larry Pio,
Ron Sootsman,
and Jim Heaton,
whom we welcomed
back from his Sierra
Club adventures in
the Adirondacks,
took on the major
willow tree that was
blocking the
pathway. They
cut a whole lot of
wood before they
opened that part of
the path up as it
was a very large
tree. They
then moved on to do
some more heavy
clearing with chain
saws and pulaski.
Larry Hawkins
fired up the power
weed wacker and
began to cut away at
the jungle beyond
the downed tree.
It was so thick you
couldn’t hardly find
the puncheons. John
Morgan and
Mick Hawkins
worked along with
loppers and pruning
shears until we had
a clear path cut
through the wetlands
to the hardwoods at
the west end of the
section.
After clearing the
path, Larry,
Larry & Steve,
the administrative
comedy team, planned
out the puncheon
extensions that we
need to get done
before the next wet
season sets in.
We will probably
save that until
September when
Steve is back in
the pack.
Respectfully
submitted,
Larry Hawkins
President, Chief
Noonday Chapter,
NCTA
(The Webmaster
apologizes for the
fact that he was too
busy stepping into
hidden water holes
to take pictures
today....)
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![[Image: Jerry Pattok on the trail]](images/sumhike0.jpg) We
had a great turnout
for the
Summer
Hikes
at the
Warner and
Otis Sanctuaries.
A total of fourteen
people took part --
in spite of
predictions that the
temps would reach
into the 90's by
noon.
Hikemaster
Jerry Pattok
(right) did a
fine job of leading
the hike and, ever
the educator,
providing commentary
and insight into the
history, geology,
and other features
along the way.
Participating in the
hikes were Gordan
Bennett,
Charles and
Verle Krammin,
Ron Sootsman,
Mick Hawkins,
Glenda Specht,
Marcia Mellen
and her grandson
Jude, Roxanne
Potter, Tim
Warren, Jan
Crosby, John
E Morgan, and
John Rudnicki.
See the
Photos page for
pictures.
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