|
OFF THE BEATEN PATH |
|
|
Friends of |
December 2009<=
/span> |
UPCOMING MEETING:
Remember there will be no December
meeting. Our next meeting will be
Thursday, January 21, =
FROM FoDC PRESIDENT: 2009 Events in Review
First off (and on=
ce
again) thank you to all who participated in our four major events in
2009. Our mission is to preserve, protect, and promote Dunbar Cave St=
ate
Natural Area, and we have certainly done that this year. Secondly,
welcome to all of our new members. Our group has grown=
in
size this year, and we look forward to working with fresh faces and new
ideas.
Here is a recap of the
highlights of 2009:
We began the year with
Trees to Trails, and spread some gigantic mulch piles along the dam in
record time. We accept used Christmas trees at the
Spring Fling began a bit
precariously with some rough weather, and despite having to cancel the cano=
eing
we had a successful day with great events and decent attendance. Spri=
ng
Fling is our annual educational event with raptors, snakes, hiking, plant a=
nd
animal identification, and a whole lot of fun. Thanks to coordinator
Steve Hamilton for all the hard work before and during the event.
Cooling at the Cave was
again a great success with music and games at the mouth of the cave. =
It
is an amazing thing to feel the chill of the cave on a blistering hot
summer day. It is interesting and fun to keep adjusting one's
position to find the right temperature, without air conditioning. The
refreshments and music were really great. Thanks go to Sally Schiller=
and
Barbara Wilbur for another successful year.
Finally, Haunting Histo=
ry
was again a big hit for the 500+ people who learned about bats, the memories
of
Also, thanks to our med=
ia
support - The Leaf Chronicle, WJZM Radio, and Clarksville Online continue to
support our events. Finally, thank you to the park staff for making us
look good: Bob Wells, Amy Wallace, Adam Neblett, Teresa Campbell, Mic=
hael
Fulbright and
We have much to do in t=
he
upcoming year. Please join us at the January 21st meeting where we wi=
ll
discuss our 2010 plans. Our group has grown in size in 2009, and in
addition we have a bounty of enthusiasm and dedication within our
group. Where do we go next?
Remember: there is no
December meeting, see you in January!
Dave
Boen
NOVEMBER’S MEETING:
This meeting evaluated =
our
2009 projects. Everyone agree=
d 2009
has been a great year for FoDC activities. Attendance seemed to be up a=
t all
events; even Spring Fling, which had to contend with the threat of storms a=
nd
flooding, had a great turnout. A
big, BIG, REALLY BIG THANK YOU goes=
to
everyone who helped!!!
We, also, discussed new
elements which we hope we can continue in 2010. Co-coordinating parking with
the golf course for Haunting History was a great idea. Expanding parking for other even w=
ould
be wonderful, too. Usin=
g more
tiki torches improved lighting and the aura for HH. Having a donation bucket
instead of charging a set price for refreshments at Cooling at the Cave sav=
ed
time and brought in more money.
No matter how great thi=
ngs
are there is always room for improvement.&=
nbsp;
Thoughts for next year include:&nbs=
p;
Having a port-o-potty near the cave or in the parking lot for HH,
Obtaining a professional quality amp system for Cooling at the Cave to solve
the music sound problem, Trying to coordinate high interest activities for
Spring Fling so as not to diminish attendance at more specialized activitie=
s, Getting
group volunteers to fill out volunteer forms early to speed up the start of=
the
Trees to Trails Mulching Day. Bringing in more volunteers, partic=
ularly
to Cooling at the Cave, is a high priority. Members are encouraged to voluntee=
r, but
also to invite friends, relatives, and co-workers to participate as
volunteers. That will ease the
burden on our regular volunteers and may garner FoDC more new members.
The meeting concluded with comments from our special guests of=
the
evening – Nancy Dorman and Nancy Schelin from
Of course the evening w=
as
not really over then. Being
November, we had refreshments and conversation. After all, Friends of
Meredith Gildrie
November has flown by. The ca=
ve
is closed for the season; the staff is catching up on projects such as trail
work, sign installation, research, and cleaning.
Dunbar Cave was included in the pro=
gram
BEAUTIFUL TENNESSEE: PARKS & PRESERVATION,
the third installment in Nashville Public Television’s Beautiful
Tennessee series, which “explores the majesty of Tennessee’s pa=
rks,
from sacred sites revered by ancient cultures for their beauty and mystery;=
to
battlefields sanctified by those who fell fighting for their beliefs; to mo=
re
recent additions facing the challenges of preservation in the new
millennium” (quote from the NPT website). If you didnR=
17;t
get to see it, it will be repeated several times in December. This is
well worth watching, with beautiful scenery and great stories of several
parks. You will see some of the cave art and several nice cave format=
ions
at
Amy
and Adam met with John Froeschauer, Regional Interpretive Specialist, and R=
yan
Forbess, Parks Planner (formerly ranger at
Now is the time to see the animals =
of the
park – deer, squirrels, chipmunks and others are active and more easi=
ly
seen without the leaves on the trees and underbrush. It’s=
also
a good time for fungi – these puffballs were almost covering a fallen
tree along the trail. If you don’t know the puffballs, you can =
see
where they got the name in the second photo. We can also hope for some
snowy weather, even though we seem to be stuck in the warm stuff right
now. Something to look forward to – see photo! If you are too impatient to wait, =
the anglepod
seeds are making a fine show now.
Amy Wallace
![](3D"2009December_files/image001.jpg")
![](3D"2009December_files/image002.jpg")
![](3D"2009December_files/image004.jpg")
puff balls on trees =
puff balls urns emitting spores
=
snowy day
![](3D"2009December_files/image005.jpg")
=
![](3D"2009December_files/image007.jpg")
![](3D"2009December_files/image008.jpg")
angelpod<=
/span>
vine pod =
anglepod seeds floating free<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> =
“grounded” angelpod seeds =
&nb=
sp;
=
2010 EVENTS:
COLLECTION OF CHRISTMAS
TREES - Through January
![](3D"2009December_files/image010.jpg")
TREES TO TRAILS=
– April 17th,
SPRING FLING – May 1st (This is usually an 8am to 4pm eve=
nt.)
![](3D"2009December_files/image011.jpg")
NOMINATIONS of Friends of Dunbar Cave officers – the month of May (I=
t’s
not too early to let any of the present FODC officers know that you’d
like to serve on the board.) =
COOLING AT THE CAVE – July 31st
=
=
![](3D"2009December_files/image013.jpg")
=
![](3D"2009December_files/image014.jpg")
=
HAUNTING HISTORY – mid October
☼☼☼☼=
;☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼a=
88;☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼&#=
9788;☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼=
☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼
F=
riends
of
President - David Boen, Secretary -
Treasurer - Ronnie Hunter, Historian=
- Deborah Hamilton
Members-at-large (2009-2012) - Sally Schiller, Beth Robinson <=
/span>
Members-at-large (2008-2011) Jim Hancock, Meredith Gildrie
Members-at-large (2007-2010) Steve Hamilton, Barbara Wilbur
☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼a=
88;☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼&#=
9788;☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼=
☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼ϒ=
8;☼☼☼☼
F=
or
more information about
<= o:p>
If you missed t=
he
link to the BEAUTIFUL TENNESSEE: PARKS &
PRESERVATION be sure to go back to Amy’s