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Progress Report 2011

Continued Growth
The Appalachian Trail Museum continues to grow, exceeding everyone’s modest hopes of only a couple of years ago. New exhibits are being made ready to occupy the planned new physical space as it becomes available. Publicity is spreading the word about the Museum, attracting an international audience. The challenge now is to maintain a growth rate in funding that meets the Museum’s ambitious needs.

New Exhibits
AT Hall of Fame. An Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame was established, and at a banquet held June 17 in the Allenberry Resort, and attended by 150 people the first class of six was an-nounced: Benton MacKaye, Earl Shaffer, Myron Avery, Arthur Perkins, Gene Espy, and Ed Gar-vey. A special award was given to Thurston Griggs, who died a few months later at age 95.

Traveling Exhibit. The Museum’s new traveling exhibit was unveiled this March at the Mathers Museum of World Cultures in Bloomington, Indiana. It then traveled to Trail Days, the ATC Biennial Meeting, and the Museum Festival in June among other venues. It will continue traveling through the summer of 2012 to several youth-oriented nonprofits in Maine. The traveling exhibit was funded by a grant from the Quimby Foundation.

Sign Exhibit. In the spring the Museum opened a historical sign exhibit which included a sign that had braved the weather at Katahdin for ten years; a sign showing the distance from Wallace Gap to Mt. Oglethorpe (the original southern terminus of the AT); a replica of the original Springer Mountain sign; and the original Center Point Knob plaque.

Deans Gap Shelter. In late summer volunteers began the difficult task of disassembling the stone Deans Gap Shelter in Pennsylvania, which was built by Earl Shaffer. Work was discontin-ued before the start of the state’s hunting season, and will resume in the spring. Eventually this historic shelter will be reassembled on the Museum’s grounds.

Virginia CCC Shelter. Preliminary discussions are underway regarding the possibility of saving a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) shelter in Virginia.

Polaroid Project.With the launching last spring of the <athikerpictures org> web site, the Po-laroid Project was brought to a successful conclusion. This involved the digitizing of nearly 30 years worth of Polaroid pictures of through-hikers that had been taken at Harpers Ferry. A Quimby grant also funded this project.

Events
Hammock Hang. Among an extensive schedule of programs presented throughout the 2011
season perhaps the most unusual was a “hammock hang,” which was a display of many different
styles of hammocks and their potential use by hikers.
Building and Grounds

Park of the Year. Pine Grove Furnace State Park was designated “Park of the Year,” thanks in
no small measure to the success and popularity of the Appalachian Trail Museum.

New Construction. The Museum Society’s architect expects to have final plans completed and
submitted to the state this winter, in time for construction of outside ramps to be started by late
spring and completed by a year from now as required by terms of the South Mountain grant.

New Exhibit Areas. In addition to new exhibits planned for the 2012 season, our hope is to
open the basement exhibit area by Memorial Day 2013 and the upper floor by a year later, at
which time the upper level will provide the main entrance.

Lease Extension. The Museum’s lease was extended to 25 years, allowing us to proceed with
our future building plans.

Information Kiosk. Volunteers from the Norfolk Southern Railway built a kiosk outside the
Museum for the display of information relating to the Museum, the park, and the AT.
Public Services

Visitors. The year’s total of visitors came in at about 7,500 which included a contingent of hikers
from Germany who had learned about the Museum from German television.
Open Every Day but Two. A remarkable achievement in the Museum’s two-year history is that
its doors were open every scheduled day but two: one because of Hurricane Irene and the other
the result of a premature October snowstorm. This record is owing in no small part to the dedication
of 50 volunteer docents, including one who came from California to serve for a full
month. These volunteers gave us a total of 1,589 hours during the 2011 season.

Funding
Two Major Grants. Major new funding was provided this year, including $30,000 from the
South Mountain Partnership, $10,000 from the Hershey Corporation, and a $50,000 challenge
grant from an anonymous donor.

Future Needs. Although 2011 was the Museum’s most successful fund-raising year thus far, the
awesome cost of our plans for the future is daunting—notwithstanding the tireless efforts of our
dozens of volunteers. More than ever we will be depending on our members and friends for as
much financial support as they can provide.

Thank you for your help,

Larry Luxenberg
President, ATMS

                       Katahdin Art Project

There is now another way to donate to the A.T. Museum. It is called the Katahdin Art Project and is a collaboration between the Earl Shaffer Foundation and Crest Photography Inc. It combines Earl Shaffer’s poetry and Bart Smith’s photography to create a moving and lasting tribute to Mount Katahdin. It includes a picture of Mount Katahdin along with a poem composed by Earl.

The poem "Katahdin" came to Earl upon waking from a dream in the wee hours of the morning of his final ascent up Katahdin. He wrote it while still in his sleeping bag using light from his head lamp.

Bart photographed Mount Katahdin from the Appalachian Trail along Abol Bridge in the latter half of October 1998. The previous day a passing storm yielded thunder, lightning, rainbows and the year’s first snow on Mount Katahdin. The dawn broke, sparkling clear with wisps of clouds, and it was captured by Bart in the above photo.

We believe you will appreciate the scope of this endeavor. The Katahdin Art Project is a lasting tribute to the mountain that represents the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail and to Earl Shaffer. If you are excited about the artistry of the Katahdin Art Project, as well as the concept of win, win, win fundraising please tell a friend, so the word can spread. It is a one of a kind gift which will be treasured through out the years. Best of all, your purchase will help carry on the spirit of Earl Shaffer’s legacy, a man who gave so much to the Appalachian Trail.

Follow the link:

katahdinartproject.com

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