CLARION CHAPTER
A few years ago CAROL ATWELL discovered that she was rather bored. So she asked herself, "What do I like to do; what makes me happy?" The answer came, "When I'm outside." She did an internet
search on the word "outdoor," and found the Butler Outdoor Club. She contacted them and asked what she might do to help. Enter Bob Tait, Pennsylvania's enthusiastic State Coordinator who told her that NCTA could use a chapter in her county. Carol says that "Bob is a riot; his enthusiasm is contagious." She caught the bug and came to the organizational meeting and immediately took on the job of secretary with its many of the record-keeping duties. Carol planned and pulled off a Pennsylvania state campout for 15 people. The group did trail work, hiked and met other Pennsylvania folks, some of it in the "pouring down rain." She is the program coordinator for next year's NCTA annual conference. All those time slots to fill with great programs and seminars are her responsibility! Carol also attended a training session to teach others how to do trail maintenance and she has begun to use that new skill to train the Recreational Outdoor Club from Clarion University. She was a bit shy about sharing her love for being outdoors. "It's very spiritual for me;" she said, "to be outdoors is calming and meditative. It helps me sort things out." I suspect that many of the readers of this magazine understand her feelings. She says she needed to find a way to share the "miracle of nature" with others. Thanks to her parents and Girl Scouting "I'm really comfortable in the woods;" she explained, "it's second nature." But many young people don't feel that way and we need to invite and involve them. We need to open nature to them and to pass on that comfort-- to "young kids and teenagers, even if they are sometimes hard to
tolerate," Carol continued. She considers her time on the trail as fun and the organizational skills her gift to the trail effort . Her work experience with the Riverview Intermediate Unit of the local school district has honed those skills. Carol knows that if there isn't someone doing those basic clerical duties: scheduling, planning, communicating, even a great effort can lose its momentum. And she is happy to
contribute this important piece.
WAMPUM CHAPTER
RICHARD LUTZ really loves maps. I mean really! Richard likes to hike, but he loves maps. Maps are like a puzzle to solve. And it was one such puzzle that got Richard hooked on the North Country Trail when he was just 16. Richard characterizes that introduction as happening "by mistake." The NCT actually appears on a Pennsylvania state map that Richard had, but he could not find it on the ground. "Where is it?" he puzzled. He began gathering info and called Bill Menke of the National Park Service.
But Bill was out checking trail, by coincidence, at Beaver Creek, Pennsylvania. Hot on the trail of this trail, Richard chased Bill down and learned that there were still lots of trail miles to be built despite that
line on the map. Lots of other things Richard likes about maps are involved in creating trail such as planning potential routes, field checking, and computer skills. When I asked him how he got from liking
to work with maps to being President of the new Wampum Chapter, Richard gave what is becoming the common Pennsylvania answer, "Bob Tait." Bob asked him to come to a Clarion meeting, but Richard says he had "no idea how or why or what" Bob was talking about. Next step, President! Richard likes to be in the middle of everything related to the trail and he's sure there. He commented on the value of the Lake Ann Conference. "I met a lot of people, learned what's going on. I'm learning to delegate," he said. He also found some of the seminars valuable. He received the Volunteer of the Year Award for the Wampum Chapter. Richard is now 19, and a student of Recreation and Park Management at Butler County Community College. He hopes to continue to be involved in the NCTA. Beginning "by mistake?" Maybe, but the benefits to the North Country Trail are certainly no mistake.
BAW BEESE CHAPTER
The folks in southern Michigan face a huge task to create off-road trail miles from Battle Creek to the Ohio border. TERRY LADD has signed on to be part of that effort. He's the Vice-president of the new Baw Beese Chapter. He brings years of leadership skills from his current job as Sales and Tech Rep for the DuBois chemical company, and from previously owning his own auto-finishing company. There are a few miles of trail on public land there, such as in the Lost Nation State Game Area. But Terry says people "don't know what's available." He's been active in getting this area cleaned up, signed and blazed in order to keep it certified. Terry led some folks in the serious job of clearing after Michigan's big blowdown earlier this summer. He's always been an outdoor person, liking hunting and fishing. He was vaguely aware of the trail from seeing the paved section adjacent to route 99 between Jonesville and
Litchfield. Baw Beese organizer Rich Saur signed Terry up and began to show him how much more trail could be available. Terry sees this same sequence as part of the dilemma he wants to help solve. It would be wonderful for people to get out, but if they don't know what's there, they can't. Promotion, publicity and maps are all greatly needed. He values trails as opportunities for our families and kids. "Kids are so computer/couch oriented," Terry noted. Schools have even dropped physical education except for competitive sports. He likes to make sure that his own family (wife Carol and a son and daughter) gets out on the trail for exercise and to see nature. He's only been involved since June of this
year, but we can see that Terry's energy will take him far. He too says he's just starting to learn what it means to be an NCTA Chapter. They are beginning to look at a proposed off-road route from Lost Nation to the Ohio border, and Terry is right in the thick of the action.
SPIRIT OF THE WOODS CHAPTER
The newest NCTA chapter is sandwiched between old faithfuls West Michigan and Grand Traverse Hiking Club. Although the chapter is new, GORDON WILKES is not new to trail work. A long-time friendship with Lynn Waldron guaranteed that Gordon would find himself involved in the trail. About five years ago he and Lynn helped build the Vincent Smith Memorial Bridge over the Sable River. A group of volunteers worked with the Forest Service to build it, and then a prison work crew took it to the installation site. This fine piece of work is only two miles from Gordon's home. He's helped with other construction projects too. He worked with the Girl Scouts to put in a small bridge near White Cloud, and with the Boy Scouts on some trail relocation projects. Gordon was on hand to aid in the recent relocation of a covered bridge by the Chief Noonday Chapter. There are many trail maintenance jobs we never
think of that can take quite an effort. One such project that Gordon also helped on was the installation of timber and cable erosion control bars near Baldwin. He's done trail maintenance on his own initiative. He explained, "I like to see the trail kept up." Sounds like Gordon was a one-man chapter just needing to happen! He's a retired tool and die maker, but likes to hike and would like to backpack someday. "We should be looking to the future," he said. Recently he traveled with Lynn to the Ohio-Michigan (OHMI) Trail Council meeting. The trail administration was a whole new arena of knowledge. Who knows what Gordon will be doing next? Oh, I hear that he's helping to field check the trail for the forthcoming NCTA maps! Keep it up, Gordon!