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Appalachian Trail Museum Announces First Major Sponsor For 2019 Banquet

12/19/2018

The Appalachian Trail Museum is pleased to announce the first major sponsor for its 2019 A.T. Hall of Fame Banquet.

Giant Food Stores has agreed to be a Myron Avery level sponsor for the ninth annual Banquet, to be held on Saturday, May 4, 2019, at the Army Heritage & Education Center, Carlisle, PA. Giant Food Stores is a supermarket chain that operates stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. The chain operates under the Giant and Martin's banners, and is based in Carlisle, PA.

"We’re thrilled to have Giant/Martin’s as a major sponsor of our Banquet” said Larry Luxenberg, president of the Appalachian Trail Museum, the organization that oversees the Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame. "Giant is celebrating its 95th anniversary this year. They started in 1923, the same year that the first section of the Appalachian Trail was opened.”

At the Banquet, the Museum will honor its ninth class of the A.T. Hall of Fame. Each year the Museum honors persons who have made a significant positive contribution to the Appalachian Trail. 36 individuals have been inducted into the Hall of Fame in the first eight years. Their names and biographies can be found on the Museum's website, www.atmuseum.org The Museum is accepting nominations for the ninth class through January 31, 2019. The 2019 class will be announced in April.

Tickets for the 2019 Banquet are available either from the Museum or by following this link to an online ticketing site: https://2019athalloffamebanquet.eventbrite.com/

About the Appalachian Trail Museum Society. The Appalachian Trail Museum Society, a 501-C-3 not-for-profit organization formed in 2002, organizes programs, exhibits, volunteers and fundraising nationwide for the Appalachian Trail Museum. The museum opened on June 5, 2010, as a tribute to the thousands of men, women and families who have hiked and maintained the approximately 2,190 mile long hiking trail that passes through 14 states from Maine to Georgia. Located in the Pine Grove Furnace State Park in Gardners, Pennsylvania, the museum is conveniently situated near Carlisle, Gettysburg and Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Additional information is available at www.atmuseum.org.

CONTACT: Jim Foster, Appalachian Trail Museum, 717-649-5505, Email: atmbanquet@gmail.com

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Nominations for 2019 Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame Accepted through January 31, 2019

12/2/2018

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Nominees for the Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame Class of 2019 will be accepted through January 31, 2019. The Hall of Fame recognizes those who have made a significant contribution toward establishing and maintaining the approximately 2,190 mile footpath that passes through 14 states from Maine to Georgia.

"The ninth class of the Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame will be inducted in 2019, and nominations are open for Hall of Fame nominees," said Larry Luxenberg, president of the Appalachian Trail Museum Society – the organization that oversees the Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame. "Nominees should be people who have made a significant positive contribution to the Appalachian Trail and who have unselfishly devoted their time, energy and resources toward making the Appalachian Trail a national treasure."

36 individuals have been inducted into the Hall of Fame in the first eight years. Their names and biographies can be found on the Museum's website, www.atmuseum.org "These pioneers played critical roles in building, maintaining, protecting and publicizing the Appalachian Trail", Luxenberg said.

Nomination criteria and the nominating and selection processes for the 2019 Hall of Fame are:

Criteria - Those eligible for inclusion include anyone who has made an exceptional and positive contribution to the Appalachian Trail or Appalachian Trail community. This could be by leadership, inspiration, service, achievement or innovation. This includes, without limitation, pioneers who conceived of and developed the trail; those who organized or directed major trail organizations like the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and Appalachian Trail clubs; maintaining clubs; longtime trail maintainers; leaders who promoted and protected the A.T.; hikers who have made significant accomplishments, and other persons who have enriched the culture or community of the Appalachian Trail by their association with it. Eligible persons can be living or deceased. The emphasis will be on persons who have made their contribution to the A.T. over a long period, whether or not they are still active. Eligibility and selection will be determined without regard to race, creed, color, gender, sexual orientation, or national origin.

Nominations – Nominations will be solicited from throughout the hiking and trails community. The easiest way to submit a nomination is by using the online site https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/B52YFMV Nominations also may be submitted using the paper nomination form. Copies of the form can be obtained at https://tinyurl.com/yd75hey2 or by requesting one from the museum. A nominator need not be a member of any hiking organization to submit a nomination. A nominator may only make one nomination per election cycle. Nominators will be asked to justify their nomination in a brief statement that describes the nominee and why he or she fits the criteria.

Deadline for nominations – Thursday, January 31, 2019.

Hall of Fame Committee; Election – An Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame Committee has been selected by the Appalachian Trail Museum Society Board of Directors to supervise the election process and to submit the finalists to the board. That committee is chaired by Jim Foster. Other members of the committee are Noel DeCavalcante, David Field (a 2013 Hall of Fame inductee), Tom Johnson, Brian King, Gwen Loose, Larry Luxenberg (a 2016 inductee), Bill O’Brien and David Sherman (a 2013 inductee). The Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame Committee will deliver the slate of finalists to the museum board in March, for subsequent review and elections. The Appalachian Trail Museum Society Board elected six people to the 2011 Charter Class, five to the 2012 Class, five to the 2013 Class, and four each to the 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 Classes.

Announcement and recognition of inductees – Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame inductees will be announced in early April and the induction ceremony will be on Saturday, May 4, 2019, at the Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame Banquet at the Army Heritage & Education Center, Carlisle, PA. The inductees will be enshrined on an Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame Wall of Honor at the Appalachian Trail Museum. Located in Pine Grove Furnace State Park and at the midway point of the Appalachian Trail, the museum is across from the Pine Grove General Store on Pennsylvania Route 233.

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A.T. Museum Celebrates 70th Anniversary of Thru-Hiking

9/4/2018

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Earl Shaffer on Katahdin, 1940s

On Sunday, August 26, the A. T. Museum celebrated “70 Years Of Thru-Hiking the Appalachian Trail”. The event was held at the picnic shelter at Pine Grove Furnace State Park, adjacent to the Museum. The event was co-sponsored by the Earl Shaffer Foundation.

The M.C. was Dan Shaffer, nephew of Earl Shaffer, the first person to hike he entire Appalachian Trail in a calendar year, often referred to as a thru-hike. Earl thru-hiked in 1948, in part to recover from his experiences in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Earl’s best friend, Walter Winemiller, was killed at Iwo Jima.

Other speakers included Larry Luxenberg, founder and President of the A.T. Museum; Sandi Marra, Chair of the Board of Appalachian Trail Conservancy; Ron Tipton, recently retired CEO of ATC; Maurice J. Forrester, co-author of “A Grip On The Mane Of Life”, the definitive biography of Earl Shaffer; David Donaldson, the other co-author; Jim Foster, Chair of the Museum’s Hall of Fame Committee; and Kimberly Shaffer, Dan’s daughter and Earl’s grand-niece, who is hiking the A.T. in 2018 to honor her great uncle.

All photos courtesy Dan Innamorato

A crowd of approximately 80 filled the pavilion. The speakers talked about how Earl’s thru-hike changed the whole dynamic of the A.T. Prior to Earl, it was felt to be impossible to hike the whole trail in a year. Sandi Marra said she would have loved to be in the room when Earl came into ATC’s headquarters and told Jean Stephenson he had just done the whole thing.

Larry Luxenberg said Earl’s hike eventually sparked a huge number of people to attempt to hike in Earl’s footsteps. For the first several years afterward, very few succeeded. Gene Espy became the second thru-hiker in 1951. But, after Ed Garvey’s influential book “Appalachian Hiker” was published in 1971, the numbers began to escalate. Over 15,000 men and women have thru-hiked the trail, with 3,375 attempting a thru-hike in 2017 and 489 succeeding.

Ron Tipton said that while he was CEO of ATC, he often ventured out onto the trail to meet aspiring thru-hikers. Although there have been well-publicized accounts of misconduct by hikers, he has found the vast majority of them to be respectful and considerate.

Kimberly Shaffer began her hike earlier this year at Penn-Mar, on the border of Pennsylvania and Maryland. In 2018, she then hiked from Penn-Mar to Vermont and then went up to the Trail’s northern terminus at Katahdin, Maine. She completed about thirty percent of the trail in 2018 before returning to her job as a teacher in Arizona. Kimberly plans to finish the remainder of the trail over the next few years. Her dad, Dan has hiked portions of the Trail with her, and her mom, Ya-mai Shaffer, has met her several times along the way.

David Donaldson was one of a group of people to accompany Earl on his last thru-hike of the A.T., in 1998, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his inaugural hike. He became a close friend of Earl and was present when Earl passed away in 2002. David began work on an authorized biography of Earl following his death. He later asked Maurice Forrester to complete the work, and “A Grip On The Mane Of Life” was published in 2015 by the A.T. Museum.

Among many other honors, Earl was inducted into the Museum’s Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame in 2011, as a member of its Charter Class.

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A.T. Museum Announces Date, Venue and M.C. For 2019 Hall of Fame Banquet

8/20/2018

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The Appalachian Trail Museum is pleased to announce that the 2019 Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame Banquet will be held on Saturday, May 4, 2019. The 2019 venue will be the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center, located at 950 Soldiers Drive, Carlisle, PA. The evening will begin with a reception at 6 pm, with dinner to follow at 7 pm.

Complete information on tickets is available HERE.

The M.C. for the 2019 Banquet will be Sandra “Sandi” Marra.

Sandi Marra

Sandi has been Chair of the Board of Appalachian Trail Conservancy since 2013. Sandi is a past president and honorary life member of Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, and has been an A.T. maintainer for more than 30 years. She has been on the ATC Board of Directors since October 2008, previously served six years on the Board of Managers, and had chaired the membership and development and strategic planning committees. Sandi recently retired as chief operating officer of St. Coletta School of Greater Washington after a career in human resources and administration.

Larry Luxenberg, founder and President of the Museum said: “We’re so happy that Sandi has agreed to be the M.C. of our Banquet. Sandi and her husband Chris have been tremendous supporters of the Museum and Banquet since the very beginning.”

The 2019 Banquet will honor the 2019 Class of the Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame. The selection process will begin with nominations from the general public. The Hall of Fame selection committee will then select the class early in 2019 and it will be announced in April.

Jim Foster, Chair of the Hall of Fame selection committee, said: “We’re thrilled to partner with the Army Heritage and Education Center for our 2019 Banquet. The USAHEC is a resource of contemporary and historical materials that honors Soldiers, past and present. The 2019 Banquet will be special, because we’ll honor the 70th anniversary of Earl Shaffer’s first A.T. thru-hike. Earl hiked the trail in 1948, after serving honorably in the U.S. Army during World War II. Earl referred to his thru-hike as ‘Walking Off The War’”.

Earl Shaffer, first A.T. thru-hiker, on Katahdin

Tickets to the 2019 Banquet will be available later in 2018. Opportunities to sponsor the Banquet will also be available. Check the Museum’s website www.atmuseum.org or email atmbanquet@gmail.com for more information.

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Nan Reisinger and Jim Foster Appear on ABC27's Good Day PA

8/15/2018

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Nan Reisinger and Jim Foster appeared recently to publicize the Museum's event "70 Years Of Thru-Hiking on August 26. Nan holds the record for the oldest woman to thru-hike the A.T. Jim is a Board member of the Museum. HERE is a link to it online.

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Join Us On August 26 For "70 Years Of Thru-Hiking On The Appalachian Trail"

7/29/2018

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Please join us on August 26, 2018 as we celebrate "70 Years Of Thru-Hiking On The Appalachian Trail". This FREE event will be at the Museum, located in Pine Grove Furnace State Park, 1120 Pine Grove Rd., Gardners, PA 17324.

Our celebration will begin at 11:30 am with a picnic lunch. At 1 pm, several guest speakers will be featured. Presenters will include Larry Luxenberg, Museum President; Sandra Marra, Chair of the Board of Appalachian Trail Conservancy; Ron Tipton, former CEO of ATC; David Donaldson and Maurice Forrester, Co-Authors of the Earl Shaffer biography, "A Grip on the Mane of Life"; and Kimberly Shaffer, grandniece of the Earl Shaffer, the A.T.'s first thru-hiker, who is currently thru-hiking the A.T. to commemorate her great uncle's 1948 hike and his 100th birthday.

At 3 pm, Andre Weltman will lead a guided tour of the historic Ironmasters Mansion, now a hiker hoster managed by the Central Pennsylvania Conservancy and other partners.

Additional speakers and details will be announced on the Museum's website and social media accounts. This event is also sponsored by the Earl Shaffer Foundation, www.atmuseum.org/earl-shaffer-foundation.html

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History Talk: Water Races of Pine Grove Furnace, August 12, 2 pm

7/12/2018

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Andre Weltman, local historian and chairman of the Friends of Pine Grove Furnace, will speak about iron company waterwheels & water races. Many of the old water supply channels are still visible in or near Pine Grove Furnace State Park, but are not recognized by visitors. Operation of the iron company’s water-powered grist mill -- today, the home of the A.T. Museum -- will be featured.

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Challenges and Rewards of the A.T. in Vermont & New Hampshire

5/17/2018

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Welcome to the North Woods - Challenges and Rewards of the A.T. in Vermont & New Hampshire, Sunday, June 10 at 2 PM - 3:30 PM

Presented by AT Museum Docent and hiker Lorrie Preston

The pulse quickens when you hit the trail in the North Woods. The fragrance of conifers, muddy bogs, mossy glades, signs of moose, remote wilderness, rocks that require climbing more than hiking, and breathtaking views of spectacular mountains and valleys for as far as the eye can see, all create a special magic on the trail. The Green and White Mountains, the Presidentials, the AMC huts, confronting Mt. Washington - known for some of the worst weather on Earth - all combine to create what feels like the biggest adventure yet along the trail. In this 7th in a series showcasing the A.T. through the 14 states, we'll enjoy the beauty of alpine meadows, rugged mountains, and everything in between.

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Appalachian Trail Museum Children's Festival, June 2, 2018

5/17/2018

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Unknown Founders: Women Who Built the Appalachian Trail

5/17/2018

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Thursday, May 31 at 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM

While Benton MacKaye and Myron Avery are widely recognized as the “founding fathers” of the Appalachain Trail, the women who contributed to the Trail project are mostly unknown – until now. Three women – Jean Stephenson, Ruth Blackburn and Margaret Drummond – will join the ranks of MacKaye and Avery as A.T. “giants” who carried their vision and work forward to preserve the trail we all know and love today. Presentation by Gwen Loose, Vice-President of the Appalachian Trail Museum.

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Appalachian Trail Museum Announces First Major Sponsor For 2019 Banquet

Nominations for 2019 Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame Accepted through January 31, 2019

A.T. Museum Celebrates 70th Anniversary of Thru-Hiking

A.T. Museum Announces Date, Venue and M.C. For 2019 Hall of Fame Banquet

Nan Reisinger and Jim Foster Appear on ABC27's Good Day PA

Join Us On August 26 For "70 Years Of Thru-Hiking On The Appalachian Trail"

History Talk: Water Races of Pine Grove Furnace, August 12, 2 pm

Challenges and Rewards of the A.T. in Vermont & New Hampshire

Appalachian Trail Museum Children's Festival, June 2, 2018

Unknown Founders: Women Who Built the Appalachian Trail

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