OFF THE BEATEN PATH

OFF THE BEAT= EN PATH
Friends of Dunbar Cave Newsletter	October 2007

OFF THE BEAT= EN PATH

Friends of Dunbar Cave Newsletter

October 2007

UPCOMING MEETING:

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 15^TH, AT 6:00M,= DUNBAR CAVE STATE NATURAL AREA VISITOR CENTER. POT LUCK AT= 7PM

SPEAKER INFORMATION:

We will be having a potluck= . Please bring a dish and join us.

NEWs from dunbar cave:<= /span>

We want to congratulate the many Friends, actors and others in the community w= ho volunteered for the Halloween event. We are always impressed with how well this event comes together each year. Shirley did a wonderful job of organizing EVERYTHING this year, as we= ll as getting donations of items, all with the help of several others. As you will no doubt read el= sewhere in the newsletter, you had almost 600 people tour the cave this year - all within three hours each night! I would personally like to thank Suva Bastin, Adam Neblett, David Britton and Nathan Smith for their help with carving the jack-o-lanterns, and Adam and David for helping= me to place them in the cave.

Some of our winter birds have arrived - White-throated Sparrows, Juncos, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Am= erican Coots, Pied-billed Grebes - all have been spotted this month. The trees are finally beginning to change color - fall is here!

We are doing many scho= ol field trips, and continue our weekend cave hikes.

We want to= thank Larry Matthews for the donation of another copy of the "Dunbar Cave - Showplace of the South" book, and the anonymous gentleman who donated two nature books.

Next month’s meeting:

THERE WILL BE NO MEETING IN DECEMBER BECAUSE OF CHRISTMAS, SO OUR NEXT MEETING WI= LL BE THURSDAY, JANUARY 17TH, AT 6:00M, DUNBAR CAVE STATE NATURAL AREA VISITOR CENTER.

Friends

By a= ll accounts, Haunting History 2007 was a smashing success. We had around= 575 paid attendees and brought in over $3000. Many thanks to the voluntee= rs, including Shirley Berardo for the promotion and organization, Bill Larson for getting the many donations and making sure the actors were fed and watered. Thank you Ellie Ellis and the wonderful group of actors! Thank you Suva and Jack for the refreshments and the Tiki Torc= hes, and Gloria and Elaine for collecting money and tickets. Thank you Beth and Katherine for being gatekeepers! Thank you Am= y and Debbie and Adam and Bob and Nathan for going way beyond the call of duty in helping to make our event successful. Also, thanks to the tour leaders! A list of all of the volunteers is on our website, along with several photographs showing Haunting History in action.

Many smaller kids were part of the tour groups, and someday they might= be the actors and tour guides of the next generation, in part because of our efforts. Also I'd like to thank Murray Crow, the Regional Director for Middle and West Tennessee State Parks, and Nancy Schelin, the Volunteer Coordinator for TN State Parks= for coming up from Nashville<= /st1:place> to see the show.

Thur= sday November 15th will be our final meeting of 2007. We will plan out Tre= es to Trails, begin the planning for Spring 2008 (S= teve Hamilton has volunteered to head this up again), and talk about our future plans. And, of course, we will eat. Please bring a snack to share, and bring a friend.

See = you soon!

Dave=

Notes From Last Month̵= 7;s Meeting:

Dunbar Cave<= /st1:PlaceType> Notes

October

Members Pr= esent

David Boen
Amy Wallace
Barbara Wilbur
Ron Hunter
Jack Bastin
Suva Bastin
Debbie Boen
Bill Larson
Bob Wells

Minutes were approved f= or September 20^th meeting

Treasurer = Report

There is $17,773.53 in the bank.

Business

All is being set up for Haunting History

New Business

· Keith Politi, Montgomery County Commissioner District 2, has asked that we speak to the County Legislative Liaison Committee regarding potential state funding. Ron Hunter and David Boen will follow up.

· &n= bsp; Group agreed to allow up to $500 to be spent= to replenish our stock of T-shirts. Barbara Wilbur will place the order.