WESTMORELAND CONSERVANCY NEWSLETTER
www.westmorelandconservancy.org
October 2008 Editors: Shelly Tichy & Kate Blackmore (724) 325-5523 wcnewsletter@comcast.net
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RALLY 2008
The National Land Conservation Conference
Rally provides the opportunity for members of land trust organizations
to come together and share ideas through seminars and workshops. It
offers an in-depth program of conservation education and training. Robert
Burger, Kate Blackmore and I led a field trip for The Westmoreland Conservancy
on Thursday, September 18th, taking in Rockland Furnace,
Freedom Falls, Volant Mills and McConnell’s Mill. The trip introduced
participants to 18th Century Industry in Western PA. The
Iron Furnaces and Mills pre-date the steel industry that Pittsburgh
was so famous for in the 19th Century. Our group members
came from Florida, Minnesota, Maryland, Colorado, Connecticut, California
and Eastern PA.
Robert and I were able to attend Rally on behalf of the Westmoreland
Conservancy. We attended workshops on Saturday and Sunday, and I was
able to participate in the first Board Member Summit on Friday. The
Summit allowed the attendees, all board members from land trusts all
over the country, to discuss and find solutions to various issues. The
information gathered and brought back to the Westmoreland Conservancy
should keep us busy for quite some
time!
Rally Field Trip
A memorable day began at zero-dark-thirty as 23 of us, caffeine in hand, boarded a tour bus and headed North to the historic Rockland Iron Furnace (circa 1859). We found it nestled among mature hemlocks next to a peaceful waterfall. The day was cool and sunny, creating an atmosphere that filled the senses. Roberts' extensive knowledge of the era and area completed the experience.
From there we hiked down to the old Railroad Tunnel ( 1915). Two flashlights guided the group the half mile of darkness and back again to find the bus and healthy appetites awaiting us.
Due to the recent visit from Hurricane Ike the region was still experiencing some power outages which unfortunately included the restaurant we had reserved for lunch. However, an affiliate slightly farther away accommodated us nicely, and the food was superb.
Volant was on the schedule for the Amish experience, and the shopping, of course. The Grist Mill is presently under renovation and the water wheel adorns the front lawn of the building while the race is rebuilt. The shops are plentiful and full of wonderful crafts, antiques and reproductions.
We were all reluctant to leave Volant, but McConnell's Mill beckoned. Parked at the top, we walked down the lane thru the massive rock outcroppings. Robert, a geologist, is a font of information, and I think we all came away with a greater understanding of how the area came to be. We lingered as long as we could by the millstream, thru the covered bridge, and in the woods.
I believe that our guests had a taste of some of the best that Western Pennsylvania has to offer, and will hopefully take home with them that sense of home that we all feel when we explore this great state.
Murrysville
Community Day
Saturday, August 23rd: Murrysville Community Day
was held at the Public Works Complex on Sardis Rd. Tammy Frech from The Wildlife Center in Verona presented the Awesome Owls program at 3pm. She showed attendees an Eastern Screech, a Barred and a Great Horned Owl. For more program information, write to Tammy at: education@animalrescue.org
Geo Cache
Treasure Hunt
A light drizzle didn’t dampen the enthusiasm for the GeoCache Treasure Hunt, which was held Saturday, September 13th. Open to the public, this event provided the opportunity for participants to challenge their GPS skills by searching for hidden “caches” in each of five nature reserves in Murrysville; the King Nature Reserve on Crowfoot Road, the McGinnis Nature Reserve on Hunter Road, the Tomer Reserve on Twin Oaks, the Walter Reserve on Weistertown, and Potter’s Corner next to the King Reserve on Crowfoot. Coordinates for all of the caches were identified at the entrance to each reserve.
If they successfully located the caches, the treasure hunters were rewarded with a chip and an opportunity to sign their name in the cache’s log. A picnic followed the hunt where raffle tickets were exchanged for the cache chips and prizes awarded to the winning ticket holders. Some participants found every cache, entitling them to even more chances to win.
Generous sponsors of the event included Atrias, Bruschettas, Giant Eagle and Pasqualinos- all of Murrysville, Damons and Monster Golf of Monroeville, and Vincent’s Pizza Park in Plum Boro.
Most of you are aware that when you try something new, there are often “bugs” that need to be worked out, whether it’s a program or an event. This was no exception. The following is an account of working out that glitch.
GeoCache by Doug Bauman
The Westmoreland Conservancy recently hosted a Picnic and Geo-cache
Treasure Hunt on Saturday, September 13th. The object was to find the
caches at each reserve, then finish the day at our picnic at Townsend
Park where prizes were awarded.
Saturday morning the hunt began, there was 1 cache in each of the reserves:
Tomer, McGinnis, King, Walter and Potter's Corner. I decided to give
it a try, having never used a GPS device before, I was anxious to try.
My friend Ladia and I decided to start early,
and our first attempt was at the King reserve. We set up the coordinates
in his GPS device, and proceeded to hike the path. This was fun, and
we spent much of the
time engrossed in interesting conversation, occasionally stopping to
see if we were getting closer to the treasure. After a while we got
to the top of the hill, and noticed that of the two coordinates, one
was
getting closer N40 27.520, yet the other was actually getting further
away W79 39.965. Ladia wanted to turn around and proceed up the power
line, yet I told him that would take us out of the King reserve and
into a plan of homes. So we kept walking, hoping that at least one number
would match up.
Soon we got to a place along the trail where
indeed that one coordinate matched, yet the other was way off, but I
happened to notice that the reading (39.020) was indeed about 1.0 away
from the desired. Ladia and I, both engineers, decided to subtract 1.0
from the number, in the event that perhaps that one digit was
transcribed incorrectly. So we reprogrammed 38.965, and voila, we were
off into the woods thinking we had fixed the problem. Ladia was so anxious
to go, that he led us off the trail and into the briars of the woods
near the neighboring property of the rod and gun club. I didn't get
a chance to tell him about the club, but luckily no shooting was heard
this day. Soon I caught up with him and we kept going toward the direction
indicated by the device.
I wore shorts, and my legs were suffering at
the hands of the briars. Again we met up with the trail, where it bends
to the left and toward the stone foundation. His device was not a top
of the line model, and it seemed to have difficulty when you get close
to the point you are searching. We wandered to the stone foundation,
but no luck, nothing there, so we wandered all over that vicinity trying
to locate the cache. After a while we started back, thinking that maybe
we wouldn't be able to find it, but he wanted to go back one more time
an we did. This time I was able to see the cache, just based on luck,
because it was cleverly hidden behind a tree, yet right next tot he
path, which I did not know a-priori. I told Ladia that we really ought
to have stuck to the trail, ha!
On the way back we met up with a troop of scouts
and their leaders and told them of the transcription error, to which
they were grateful. The boys all seemed like they were having great
fun, and they told
us that the cache at Potter's corner was easily acquired. We next visited
3 more reserves and were readily able to locate the rest of the caches
more easily. Ladia and I learned quite a bit about geo-cache
treasure hunts and how to use GPS. It was fun, and we are looking forward
to the next hunt!
Upcoming
Autumn/Winter Activities
Saturday, October 11 Autumn Color Walk at Laurel Summit Trails. The area is 2,739 feet above sea level and several degrees cooler than surrounding towns. This area also provides trailhead parking for Spruce Flats bog and Wolf Rocks Trail. We’ll finish our excursion at Ligonier Days.
Wednesday, October 22: Monthly meeting with Special Guest Program: Bill Powers of Pix Controller.
Saturday,
November 8: McGinnis Reserve Walk, McGinnis Parking Lot, Hunter
Drive, 10 AM.
In Memory
of Maury Hanes
I met Maury soon after joining the Westmoreland Conservancy, a little more than 8 years ago. He had an easy laugh and an infectious, impish smile that put me (and everyone else, I’m sure) at ease.
I remember when we began discussing a website for the Conservancy. We wanted to modernize, to bring our message to “the masses”. Maury went right to work, coming up with the original incarnation. Not at all intimidated by new technology, he just dove in head-first.
The most lasting image of Maury in my mind is with that axe. Let everyone else play with the loppers or the chain saw, he was using the axe. An instance: a large tree had come down on a property adjacent to the McGinnis Reserve. There were 6 or 8 of us on site, cutting up the branches and trying to reduce the size of this enormous thing on the ground. There’s Maury, swinging the axe on the opposing end, smiling away. First time I ever got poison ivy. Every one of us got it that day, except him!
I knew Maury from the Conservancy and as a member of the Friends of
Murrysville Parks (FOMP). For FOMP, he readily agreed to join our effort
working to develop a strategy to control invasive plants in the parks,
and although it turned out that he had to miss almost all of our meetings
due to a conflict with choir practice, he was nonetheless a steadfast
member of our group and supporter of our efforts. His quietly principled
support of the environment, interest in nature, and ready willingness
to lend a hand to help out with trail maintenance and heavy work such
as chain sawing for the Conservancy will be sorely missed, along with
his friendliness and sense of humor.
Saturday, September 13th there was a memorial
workday at the Lillian Kellman Nature Reserve for Maury, and a ceremony
for installation of the park bench which had been donated by the Hanes
family.
With the untimely death of Maurice Hanes, The Conservancy has lost a very good friend and supporter. He freely gave of his time, his presence, his ideas and of his physical effort. There isn’t a walking trail on the reserves that hasn’t benefited from his actions with a chain saw or axe.
Have you ever seen Maury angry or upset? I haven’t. But I have seen him being gracious, generous and making people at ease with his slow humor.
You are probably familiar with “Dueling Banjos”. Well, we found ourselves in a situation of “dueling axes” over a particularly difficult tree root. My double-bladed axe was a lot shinier than Maury’s, but somehow his axe seemed to be a lot more accurate!
Maury’s activities were not limited to the Conservancy. It was a real pleasure to go canoeing with Maury and Marge, but when Maury was leading why was there always a headwind, irrespective of our direction of travel?
Your presence is much missed.
Submit Your E-Mail Address To Have Event Updates & Information Delivered
Be more closely informed about events, walks and excursions. Provide
your E-mail address on the attached form and mail it to the address
provided. You can also E-mail it to the Conservancy website at contact@
2008 Board of Governors/Officers
Officers: President – Shelly Tichy
Vice President – Katie Blackmore
Secretary – Joanne Kendall
Treasurer - Bjoerg Granger
Governors: Mount Fitzpatrick, Doug Bauman,
Cary Bohl, Charles Conway,
Richard Wagner, Maury Hanes,
Mark Emerson, Betsy Aiken
The meetings are open, and we look forward to seeing you there. Meetings are held the 4th Wednesday of each month at the Murrysville Library at 7:30 pm.
October 23rd
**Holiday Schedule
The next Newsletter is scheduled for January 2009
Westmoreland Conservancy
P.O. Box 446
Murrysville, PA 15668
contact@
Schedule of Upcoming Events
Please respond
if attending an outing to: wcnewsletter@comcast.net
Saturday,
October 11th: Autumn Color Walk at Laurel Summit
Trails, finish at Ligonier Days. Meet at Panera Bread/Murrysville at
9AM.
Wednesday,
October 22nd
: Monthly meeting 7:30 PM at the Murrysville Library Municipal Room.
Special Guest Speaker: Bill Powers/Pix Controller
Saturday, November 8th: McGinnis Trail Walk. What is there to see in the reserves in winter? Let’s find out! McGinnis parking lot, 10 AM.
Wednesday, December 17th: Monthly meeting 7:30 PM at the Murrysville Library Municipal Room.
Wednesday, January 28th : Monthly Meeting, 7:30 PM at the Murrysville Library Municipal Room.
Westmoreland Conservancy
An all volunteer, non-profit, 501c-3 Corporation dedicated to acquiring and preserving rural and rustic lands for the public good.
Westmoreland Conservancy
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P.O. Box 446
Murrysville,
PA 15668
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