Four new inductees into the Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame were honored at the A.T. Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, held on September 21, 2024. The venue for the event was the Army Heritage Education Center in Carlisle, PA. Emcee for the Induction was Brook Lenker, Executive Director of Keystone Trail Association.
The 2023 Hall of Fame class is the late Edward B. Ballard of Washington, DC; the late Arno Cammerer of Arlington, Virginia, the late Raymond Hunt of Kingsport, Tennessee, and Ronald S. Rosen of Poughkeepsie, NY.
The 2023 Hall of Fame class is the late Edward B. Ballard of Washington, DC; the late Arno Cammerer of Arlington, Virginia, the late Raymond Hunt of Kingsport, Tennessee, and Ronald S. Rosen of Poughkeepsie, NY.
Although not as well-known as other founders of the Trail, Edward Ballard played a critical role in its design. He was a field coordinator for the National Park Service during the pivotal 1937 Appalachian Trail Conference meeting. With the backing of his close associate Myron Avery, Ballard proposed what became the Appalachian Trailway Agreement among ATC, NPS, the U.S. Forest Service and the thirteen states through which the Trail passes. In that Agreement, he proposed “an Appalachian Trailway”—a buffer strip of land within which the Trail and its surroundings would be protected. We now know this as the A.T. corridor. Although it would take many decades before his dream of a corridor for the Trail became reality, the essence of that agreement continues to this day. He also proposed the chain of overnight shelters or lean-tos roughly a day’s hike apart along the length of the footpath. That system of Trail shelters also continues to this day.
Ballard later served in the Pacific during World War II, then as an official with several state park agencies, and finally as a prominent landscape architect. He passed away in 2000.
Arno Cammerer has been described as the best friend that the A.T. had in the federal government during its early days. By the 1930s, Cammerer had been at the National Park Service for more than a decade and had recently become its Director. Prior to becoming Director, he worked with Myron Avery to lay out the route of the Trail from Pennsylvania to Georgia. As Director, Cammerer was instrumental in making the Smoky Mountains a national park. He secured funding from his good friend John D. Rockefeller Jr. to acquire land for the park, which secured the route of the Appalachian Trail through that area.
When, in 1933, the Civilian Conservation Corps was created and began building Skyline Drive, Cammerer tasked the CCC with rebuilding the trail in places where the Drive obliterated the original Avery routing. After the Blue Ridge Parkway's construction required the Trail in that area to be rerouted, Cammerer directed the CCC to help with this work as well. When the administrators of Great Smoky Mountains National Park prohibited shelters on the A.T. within that park, Cammerer intervened and got them restored. Arno Cammerer died of a heart attack in 1941. In his honor a mountain in the Smokies is named after him – Mount Cammerer.
Dave Startzell, long time Executive Director of ATC, said this of Raymond F. Hunt: “Ray was not a large man, but he was a giant within the A.T. management community.” Ray was the first editor, in 1977, of the annual Appalachian Trail Data Book, a role he continued to perform until his election as ATC Chair. A highly active Trail volunteer with the Tennessee Eastman Hiking Club, he served a long term on the ATC Board of Managers beginning in 1979 and was especially involved in the publications and land-acquisition programs. His three terms as ATC Chair from 1983 to 1989 were significant ones for building support within congressional appropriations subcommittees for funding to secure a buffer of land around the footpath against development.
ATC’s partnership with the National Park Service was also formalized during this time, including the 1984 delegation by that agency to ATC of day-to-day responsibility for managing the Trail lands. This meant that ATC was given most of the same conservation responsibilities that park staff have at other National Park units. Mr. Hunt completed a section-hike of the whole Trail in 1988. He passed away in 2005.
Ronald S. Rosen is widely recognized as one of the most effective volunteers in the history of the A.T. He began his involvement in the mid-1970s when he became a maintainer with the New York New Jersey Trail Conference. In 1981 Ron formed and chaired the Dutchess Appalachian Trail Management Committee. Later this Committee’s role was expanded to supervise all of the A.T. in New York east of the Hudson River. Ron led the effort to move the A.T. off the roads in this area to a true trail. Ron developed one of the first Local Management Plans which has become a model for other clubs up and down the AT. Another huge task Ron immersed himself in was the cleanup of a radioactive spill at Nuclear Lake near the path of the Trail.
Beyond his work on the Trail in New York, Ron has served in various volunteer administrative roles within ATC. He has served for decades on the Mid-Atlantic Regional Partnership Committee, including terms as its Chair. More recently, Ron served on the committee that developed the A.T. Vista concept, as the successor to the Biennial Conferences. Ron was a leader of the first very successful Vista held in 2023. Ron has been named an Honorary Life Member of ATC.
Ballard later served in the Pacific during World War II, then as an official with several state park agencies, and finally as a prominent landscape architect. He passed away in 2000.
Arno Cammerer has been described as the best friend that the A.T. had in the federal government during its early days. By the 1930s, Cammerer had been at the National Park Service for more than a decade and had recently become its Director. Prior to becoming Director, he worked with Myron Avery to lay out the route of the Trail from Pennsylvania to Georgia. As Director, Cammerer was instrumental in making the Smoky Mountains a national park. He secured funding from his good friend John D. Rockefeller Jr. to acquire land for the park, which secured the route of the Appalachian Trail through that area.
When, in 1933, the Civilian Conservation Corps was created and began building Skyline Drive, Cammerer tasked the CCC with rebuilding the trail in places where the Drive obliterated the original Avery routing. After the Blue Ridge Parkway's construction required the Trail in that area to be rerouted, Cammerer directed the CCC to help with this work as well. When the administrators of Great Smoky Mountains National Park prohibited shelters on the A.T. within that park, Cammerer intervened and got them restored. Arno Cammerer died of a heart attack in 1941. In his honor a mountain in the Smokies is named after him – Mount Cammerer.
Dave Startzell, long time Executive Director of ATC, said this of Raymond F. Hunt: “Ray was not a large man, but he was a giant within the A.T. management community.” Ray was the first editor, in 1977, of the annual Appalachian Trail Data Book, a role he continued to perform until his election as ATC Chair. A highly active Trail volunteer with the Tennessee Eastman Hiking Club, he served a long term on the ATC Board of Managers beginning in 1979 and was especially involved in the publications and land-acquisition programs. His three terms as ATC Chair from 1983 to 1989 were significant ones for building support within congressional appropriations subcommittees for funding to secure a buffer of land around the footpath against development.
ATC’s partnership with the National Park Service was also formalized during this time, including the 1984 delegation by that agency to ATC of day-to-day responsibility for managing the Trail lands. This meant that ATC was given most of the same conservation responsibilities that park staff have at other National Park units. Mr. Hunt completed a section-hike of the whole Trail in 1988. He passed away in 2005.
Ronald S. Rosen is widely recognized as one of the most effective volunteers in the history of the A.T. He began his involvement in the mid-1970s when he became a maintainer with the New York New Jersey Trail Conference. In 1981 Ron formed and chaired the Dutchess Appalachian Trail Management Committee. Later this Committee’s role was expanded to supervise all of the A.T. in New York east of the Hudson River. Ron led the effort to move the A.T. off the roads in this area to a true trail. Ron developed one of the first Local Management Plans which has become a model for other clubs up and down the AT. Another huge task Ron immersed himself in was the cleanup of a radioactive spill at Nuclear Lake near the path of the Trail.
Beyond his work on the Trail in New York, Ron has served in various volunteer administrative roles within ATC. He has served for decades on the Mid-Atlantic Regional Partnership Committee, including terms as its Chair. More recently, Ron served on the committee that developed the A.T. Vista concept, as the successor to the Biennial Conferences. Ron was a leader of the first very successful Vista held in 2023. Ron has been named an Honorary Life Member of ATC.
John "Bodacious" Beaudet Museum Founder & President Larry Luxenberg presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to John Beaudet. Beaudet, known as Bodacious, has carved the hiking sticks for each inductee into the Hall of Fame. A two time A.T. thru-hiker, Bodacious lives in Flag Pond, Tennessee.
Additional information about each inductee can be found at the Museum’s website, www.atmuseum.org.
The Induction Weekend also featured informal interviews of the 2024 honorees and representatives, along with a guided tour of the Museum.
The Induction ceremony and interviews were all recorded. Links to them are available below:
Induction: youtu.be/L0pMIcbPdTw
Interviews: youtu.be/wIloDIHau4M
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