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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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 Preview
our new Maps
Page:
Along with the
gazillion other
things he has
piled on his
plate in Lowell,
the NCTA
cartography
crew's Matt
Rowbotham
has been working
on new maps for
our Chief
Noonday Web
site's
Maps
page.
Preliminary
drafts of the
new maps have
been generated
and have already
undergone
editing,
correcting and
updating.
One more round,
and they'll be
ready for prime
time.
In the mean
time, we've gone
ahead and posted
what we have on
a draft version
of the new Maps
page. At
present it
contains an
overview map
plus submaps of
the trail in
Barry and
Kalamazoo
Counties as well
as in Battle
Creek and
Marshall.
You can view
these maps
on-line -- and
you can download
versions in PDF
format which you
can print out on
your home
computer for use
on the trail.
There are also
links to the
maps we have
posted on our
informational
trail kiosks in
Barry and
Kalamazoo
Counties.
The new submaps
have an interactive
feature whereby
you can click on a
particular
trailhead (also
on some
trail-road
intersections) that
interest you
and be taken to
a pertinent
Google map
through which
you can easily
generate driving
directions to
the trailhead
from your origin
of choice.
Try testing
this feature
on the
Barry County map
now.
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 Workday
Report:
Our workday
today didn't
exactly go as
planned. Our
task was to mow,
lop and clear on
the Sackett
property.
It must have
been a busy
weekend for the
membership,
because the crew
reporting for
duty was limited
to Ron
Sootsman,
Ellen
Lutz,
and Yrs
Truly.
(My brother was
still a-mending
from a recent
triple rib
fracture.)
Ron had brought
the work trailer
from Delton.
There had been
no gas container
on the trailer
for the mower,
so he stopped
and bought a
container and
filled it in
Augusta after
breakfast. Then
we made our way
up to the trail
crossing on EF
Avenue.
The first crisis
arose when Ron
tried to start
the DR mower —
and the battery
died.
After a
minute or two of
wallowing in the
crisis we got
the bright idea
of jumping it from my
car if it was a
12 volt battery.
We couldn’t tell
at first what
the voltage was,
so I called
Larry on the
cell to have
him check with
Steve
Hicks. But
while I was on
the phone with
him, Ron removed
the battery
hold-down,
uncovering a
plate which
revealed that it
was indeed a 12
volt battery.
So, I pulled the
Jeep around and
hooked up the
cable, and when
Ron turned the
key, presto!,
it took right
off. Problem
solved. I was
so
proud....
We then started
into the woods.
Ellen was right
behind Ron. Took
me longer to get
going, so I
continued along
lopping and
sawing behind
them.
After a while
Ron came back up
the trail.
Sans DR
mower. In a
flash of
insight I sensed
a problem.
Yup. The
mower had
stalled, the
battery was
moribund, and he
couldn’t
re-start it.
Ron estimates
that he'd mowed
about 1/10th of
a mile before
the mower lapsed
into its
ill-timed
repose. I
figured more
like 1/2 a
mile. At least.
Like wind chill,
you must allow
for the "work
factor."
Probably
figuring that my
jumper cables
were not 1/10 of
a mile (or more) long,
he’d begun
pushing it back
to the road.
Predictably the
stall had
occurred in a
bit of a valley
-- a distant
valley, and he needed
some help
getting it up
the hill. He
went to look for
some rope, which
would have made
it easier for
two people to
haul the mower
while the third
person pushed
it. Of course
there was no
rope.
Our first group
effort to get it
up the hill
fagged me out —
which turned out
to be partly due
to the
transmission
being in reverse
instead of
neutral. I
required at
least a couple
of rest stops.
Ron and Ellen
were in far
better condition
than I.
Once we got it
onto level
ground, it was
easier going.
Ellen and Ron
hauled it, which
made the handles
too low for me
to be of any
practical
assistance
pushing it. They
ended up pretty
much getting it
back to the
trailer
themselves while
I carried all
the hand-tools
we'd been using.
We got
everything
loaded, and Ron
planned to haul
the trailer back
to his place and take
the battery in
to a dealer to
see about
getting it
replaced.
But the good
news is that the
first 1/10th to
1/2 of a mile of
the Trail north
from EF Avenue
is relatively
manicured.
We'll set
another date to
do the rest.
Mick Hawkins
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August 2-5, 2007
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Participants in the 2007 National Conference gathered on the shore of Lake Bemidji for this President's Photo. (To view this image full size, right-click on it and select View Image.) |
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NCTA National Conference 2007
at Bemidji, Minnesota:
We have been to
the headwaters
of the
Mississippi, the
land of Paul
Bunyan and Babe
the blue Ox, and
returned!
Dave
Cornell, Jim
Baldwin, Mick
and Larry
Hawkins, Martha
Jones, and
Jim
and Linda Warren
all made their
way by various
routes to the
northlands of
Minnesota to the
campus of
Bemidji State
University where
we were greeted
by the wonderful
folks from the
Itasca Moraine
Chapter and the
new Laurentian
Lakes Chapter.
Jim and
Linda
had a very near
miss with the
bridge collapse
in the Twin
Cities, arriving
at the bridge
ten minutes
after the
collapse. Let us
all thank God
for their
deliverance. For
those of you who
don’t know her,
Linda is the
former editor of
our Chapter
Newsletter.
| More photos from the Conference are posted on our Photos page. |
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When we checked
in, we met the
newest member of
the Chief
Noonday Chapter,
Erin Lesert
(pronounced les-SERT),
who was just
this last week
hired as the
Member Services
Director and
Office Manager
at the NCTA
office in
Lowell. Erin
will be the “Go
To” person in
Lowell for all
those membership
issues. You will
be meeting her
soon at the
Chapter Meetings
and out on the
hikes and works
days.
Thursday
afternoon began
with the Board
Meeting where
Dave, Larry,
Erin and
Jim
were all in
attendance. Dave
received the
gavel from John Leinen and
became the
newest President
of the NCTA
Board of
Directors. Larry
was seated for
his first
meeting as a new
board member.
 After a picnic
on the shores of
Lake Bemidji, we
attended the
Annual
Membership
meeting in which
Bruce Matthews
(right),
our new
Executive
Director, was
introduced to
and welcomed by
the membership
at large. Clare
Cain presented a
whirlwind slide
show of the
State of the
Trail in which
members of CNC
who participated
in the kiosk
erections in
Battle Creek and
the mission trip
to Lost Nations
were featured
prominently. We
were entertained
by Anne Dunn, an Ashinabe story
teller, and her
daughter Annie Humphrey, a
Native American
folk singer and
song writer, to
close out the
evening.
Friday was hike
day for most of
us. Mick,
Larry
and Martha hiked
in the Itasca
State Park,
visited the
Headwaters of
the Mississippi
River and
immersed
ourselves in the
history of
Northern
Minnesota. Jim
and Linda sailed
to Star Island
for another
beautiful hike.
Friday evening
was the first of
the Awards
Programs. Tom Momenee and
Ron
Sootsman
received their
100 hours awards
in absentia.
Mick Hawkins received
his 400 hours
NPS Volunteer
shirt. Jim
Baldwin was
awarded the 1000
hours vest and
Dave Cornell
received the
coveted 2500
hours NPS
Volunteer shirt.
Mick was
nearly blown
away when he
received the NCTA’s
“Communicator of
the Year” award
for his
outstanding work
on our own CNC
Web page. It was
a good evening
for the Chief
Noonday Chapter!
 The evening
closed out with
Charlie Maguire
(left),
the North
Country
Balladeer.
Charlie is a
retired U.S.
Forest Service
ranger who
 writes and sings
songs
immortalizing
figures in local Minnesota
history. It was particularly
touching for
those of us who
had been studying that
very subject
earlier in the
day. Joining
Charlie was
Barry Babcock
(right),
outdoors man and
Minnesota
historian,
regaling us with
the history of
the area between
Charlie's songs.
Charlie closed
out the evening
introducing the
Ballad of the
North Country
Trail, which
will soon be
available to you
on CD from the
Trail Shop. We,
of course,
already have our
copies, which
were pretty much
sold out by the
next morning.
Saturday, Jim
and Linda set
out for the
canoe trip on
the Mississippi
where they were
awed by the
wildlife of the
area, eagles,
herons and the
like. For some
reason, Larry
and Mick elected
to stay on dry
land and joined
Martha and
Erin
on a hike on the
NCNST in the
Paul Bunyan
Forest.
Workshops and
rest filled the
afternoon, and
then we attended
the Annual
Dinner,
participated in
the silent
auction,
witnessed the
giving of more
national awards,
and were
entertained by
Eric Larsen, a
native
Minnesotan who
has explored the
North Pole on
the only
expedition to go
to the pole in
the summer.
On Sunday we all
said goodbye to
our friends, new
and old, and
left to return
renewed to our
own sections of
the trail. We
will meet again
next year
(August 7-10) in
Cazenovia, New
York. We hope to
take more of you
with us as we
participate in
this great
endeavor of
ours, building
the North
Country National
Scenic Trail.
Larry Hawkins
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Quoting from
today's
newspaper
(thanks to Cal):
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| Hard at work on the Trail on the John Gay Property: (l-r) Ron Sootsman, Larry Hawkins, and Ben Hawkins. |
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John Gay
Workday 8-18-07:
The work crew
was a bit sparse
as we gathered
at the Hastings
Big Boy for a
fortifying
breakfast.
Only Mick
and Larry
Hawkins, at
first, and then
Ron Sootsman
arrived with the
trailer.
So we called in
the United State
Coast Guard for
help. Lt.
Cmdr. Ben
Hawkins,
USCG, who just
happened to be
home with the
kids visiting
Larry and
Diane,
volunteered his
services just to
see what all
this “trail
work” was that
Dad was always
talking about.
With
McLeod
tools
and mattocks in
hand, we hiked
up the two track
and attacked the
trail above the
road,
re-benching and
widening the
trail for an
impressive
distance.
I won’t say we
built a lot of
trail with just
the four of us,
but what we
built was
“awesome”,
clearly gold
star quality.
Luckily for the
rest of you,
there is still a
lot of trail to
be
rehabilitated,
and we will have
to revisit the
John Gay
property again
later this Fall
to finish the
trail through
the hilly
section, but it
will well worth
it. This
is a beautiful
section.
So, for those of
you who haven’t
hiked it, I
would encourage
you to visit it
and help pack
down our new
trail.
(More
pictures
can be seen on
the
Photos page.)
Larry Hawkins
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Hastings
Summerfest 2007:
Jerry Pattok
once again
capably
coordinated
Chief Noonday's
presence and
promotion of the
Trail at the
2007 Hastings
Summerfest.
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| The Brothers Hawkins in their "ranger" suits, Larry and Mick, hold down the fort in Chief Noonday's booth at the 2007 Hastings Summerfest. |
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t looks easy,
but actually
quite a lot of
work goes into
this activity
every year.
Jerry
loaded the
booth, easels
and table onto
his truck and
transported it
all to Hastings,
where he and
Dave Cornell
set it all up.
Then, greeting
visitors and
giving out
information on
the Trail for
one shift each
were Sandi
Pattok,
Laura Pattok,
Anna Pattok,
and, of course,
Jerry,
along with
Marcia Mellen,
Tom Garnett,
Steve Hicks,
Larry Pio,
Fred Miller,
and Larry
Hawkins.
Mick Hawkins
put in two
shifts -- this
year's “Iron
Man”, Jerry says
-- although Mick
feels he would
still have a
ways to go to
fill the
Summerfest shoes
of John
Morgan in
days of yore.
Jerry did
the scheduling,
sent
notifications
and thanks, and
helped take down
the booth and
store all the
stuff when it
was over.
Erin Lesert
and Joe
Higdon had
volunteered for
a shift but had
to cancel
because of
emergencies.
Charles Krammin
stored the
booth.
In addition to
serving a shift,
Larry Hawkins
stored the
materials that
were used, set
up the displays,
took the
materials home
after each day,
and helped take
down the booth.
Jerry pronounces
him a "man of
gold."
Larry
also experienced
cold wet feet on
Friday when a
mid-afternoon
cloudburst
overwhelmed the
area storm
sewers, and he
soon found
himself standing
in water nearly
up to his knees
-- in the
booth!
Most of the
supplies and
equipment
survived (as did
Tom Garnett's
nice dress
shoes), but some
time after the
deluge Larry
discovered that
the big plastic
storage box
containing all
the brochures
and other
handouts had a
hole in the
bottom.
(Which probably
explains why it
didn't float
down the
street...)
Mick
unfortunately
had gone out to
Yankee Springs
and so wasn't
around to
capture all this
on film.
To the credit of
the type of
people who make
up Chief Noonday
Chapter, all of
the volunteers
either signed up
at meetings or
contacted Jerry
-- which made
scheduling
easier than it
had been in the
past.
Jerry remarks,
"The shifts that
I observed and
the one I put in
were busy
distributing
information.
Interest in
joining the
Chapter was
exhibited by a
number of
people."
It was a
worthwhile
endeavor.
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(Next
page of our Paths Once Wandered)
Last modified:
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
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