rails
to
trails
winter.16
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members network
We’d like to hear from you.Write to “Members
Network,” Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, 2121
Ward Ct., NW, 5th Floor,Washington, DC 20037.
Or email:
. Letters
may be edited for publication.
After the Storm
On Sunday, Aug. 2, a severe storm with
60–70-plus mile-per-hour winds (the
highest recorded was 100 miles per
hour) came through Michigan. It passed
through Leelanau County and Traverse
City. At the time, more than 400 rid-
ers were doing the weeklong Shoreline
West Bicycle Tour; we were lucky that
the main part of the storm stayed north
of us.
On Tuesday, we rode from Frankfort
to Traverse City via a revised route that
avoided most of the impacted areas
until we got near town. On Wednesday,
the layover day, one of the options was
to ride the Leelanau Trail (LT) up to
Suttons Bay and back. I decided to take
my own route out from Traverse City
and then take the LT coming back. I
was astonished to find that Traverse Area
Recreational Trail (TART) organization
volunteers had come out in force to
clear the 17-mile LT and the TART in
Traverse City of
all
downed trees.
I was amazed at the number of
trees that had been blown down. On
the last couple of miles or so of the LT
approaching Traverse City, the downed
trees seemed almost continuous, but all
had been cleared.
I think this Herculean effort by
the TART volunteers is well worth
acknowledgement.
Susan Feldman
KIRKWOOD, MO.
Thank you, Susan, for this poignant
example of the impact of volunteerism on
America’s trails.
Remembering
Our Heroes
The cover photo of the Fall 2015 issue
of
Rails to Trails
magazine (linked to the
story “The Rabbit Revolution”) was taken
in Cleveland Park in Greenville, South
Carolina. The memorial in the back-
ground of the photo is dedicated to U.S.
Air Force Major Rudolf Anderson Jr., a
native son of Greenville who was the only
person killed by enemy
fire during the Cuban
Missile Crisis of October
1962; he was shot down
while flying a U-2 aircraft
on a high altitude recon-
naissance mission over Cuba. Major
Anderson was the first recipient of the
Air Force Cross, the U.S. Air Force’s sec-
ond-highest award for heroism. As there
were no surplus U-2 aircraft available
for the memorial, originally dedicated
in 1963, an F-86 jet fighter aircraft (like
the ones he flew in combat during the
Korean War) was chosen instead. That
F-86 is the aircraft pictured in the cover
photo’s background.
Lt. Col. Ed Sienkiewicz USAF (Retired)
BONAIRE, GA.
Thank you! We appreciate the information
on this wonderful trail memorial honoring
Major Anderson, which demonstrates the
power of trails in reminding us of impor-
tant moments in America’s history.
Remembering Our Roots
The article about the Lehigh Gorge Trail
in the Fall 2015 magazine [“Destination
Pennsylvania: The Beautiful Lehigh
Gorge Trail”] brought back many a
memory for me. I was born in White
Haven, Pennsylvania, and spent many
summers in Rockport, where my family
owned an old building that had once
been a hotel. We had no running water
or electricity, but it was wonderful. The
state bought the property some time ago
and demolished it. I do try to ride each
year from White Haven to Rockport and
always enjoy it very much. The scene is
much different than it was 50 years ago.
Interesting to see mention of the
Molly Maguires restaurant. My grandfa-
ther owned 400 acres of land and an old
house outside White Haven. The house
was reportedly a headquarters of the infa-
mous Molly Maguires Gang, who alleg-
edly escaped through a window when
tracked down by a Pinkerton detective.
The bullet holes in the windowsill (there
until at least the late 1950s) are said
to have been from shots he fired
at the escapees. It makes a good
story.
David Magagna
GRANTHAM, N.H.
Trails definitely have the ability to
take us back to our childhood. They often
serve as windows into the colorful pasts of
our communities.
RV 2T
I would like to second Jan Lincoln’s
request in her Fall 2015 Member’s
Network letter, “Trail Travelers by RV.”
I am sure that there are more than two
of us interested in [learning of ] good RV
sites near rail-trails. And I would like to
follow that up with a recommendation
for the Lehigh Gorge State Park Trail
featured in that issue.
I stayed at the Hickory Run State
Park campground, and they have full
hookup sites for RVs of any size. The
campground is 10 miles from White
Haven or 25 miles from Jim Thorpe.
The state park has numerous hiking
trails that are suitable for mountain bikes
and the famous 15,000-year-old boulder
field that is barely suitable for walking.
Looking forward to more suggestions for
RV campgrounds near biking trails as I
plan some serious cross-country RVing
from biking trail to biking trail.
John Back
WEST CHESTER, PA.
Noted—again! We appreciate the many
types of trail users in our national com-
munity, and we will continue to encourage
everyone to get out and use their favorite
trails—in their favorite ways.
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