NNeewwsslleetttteerr “On Foot in Potter County” Susquehannock Trail Club PO Box 643 July 2009 Coudersport, PA 16915 The purposes of the STC are to build and maintain trails, aid in the conservation of wetlands and wildlife, and promote good fellowship through the medium of hiking and nature study. SUSQUEHANNOCK TRAIL CLUB’S ANNUAL CAMPOREE JULY 17-19, 2009 Time rolls around, and soon members will be gathering for a weekend of camping, hiking and fellowship at Ole Bull State Park. As a member of the STC here is your chance to have free camping, meeting old and new members, and enjoying “God’s Country.” Bring your tent or small trailer and enjoy the great outdoors. We gather in the group camping area and have a free weekend of camping by the PA DCNR Bureau of State Parks. It’s their way of saying thank you to our club for the many hours of trail maintenance our volunteer members spend on keeping the Susquehannock Trail System in good condition for park users and the hiking public. When the group gets together, there are organized hikes for those who wish to join with others. Or maybe you want to go fishing or swimming in Kettle Creek, or just be lazy and sit by the campfire and relax. Saturday evening at 6:00 PM, we always have a great dish-to-pass dinner in the large pavilion reserved for our use, door prizes, a short business meeting, and an interesting guest speaker, and a slide—or more often, these days—a PowerPoint show. With prices going up every day in just about everything you do or buy, this could be a great way to vacation at low cost. Hope you plan to attend. We shall see you there. Wil Ahn, STC President. KTA’S WEEKEND WITH STC IN POTTER COUNTY By Wanda Shirk, Vice President, Keystone Trails Association Over 100 hikers from across the state converged on Potter The KTA business meeting on Saturday afternoon was Country on the last weekend of April 2009 as the followed by a dinner at Potato City. Dr. Paul Lenz hosted Keystone Trails Association convened its annual spring the premier showing of his 70 minute, digital video disc meeting and hiking program at Potato City Country Inn. filmed during his circuit hike of the Susquehannock Trail In its 53 years of existence, this was the first time KTA System. In addition to photos from the actual hikes, the had come to the Susquehannock Trail System. KTA video presented an overview of the geology and history of Executive Director Curt Ashenfelter indicated that the the area in which the STS is located. The DVD will be organization was delighted with its experience here and made available for a showing at a future STC club meeting. would welcome the opportunity for a repeat visit. The most strenuous treks on were led by Joe Allis and STC members, along with three foresters from the Chris Bell. Joe led the "Denton Hill Ramble," a twelve- Susquehannock State Forest District office, hosted a total miler that started at the door of Potato City Country Inn, of 28 hikes and tour opportunities for visiting hikers. We and Chris led a ten-miler in the Hammersley Wild Area on tried to feature as many of the interesting trails and sites in Saturday. Curt Weinhold had the distinction of leading the Potter County as possible. We offered town tours in most hikes: a Coudy-town-tour culminating at the Galeton and Coudersport, hikes to the Austin Dam and Historical Society museum on Friday; two five-mile Camp Moxie, a forest management tour, and several hikes Lyman-Lake area hikes on Saturday morning and Saturday on the Susquehannock Trail System. By fortunate afternoon; and a "photo hike" on Sunday morning, during coincidence, it was new moon weekend, so Cherry Springs which he gave professional tips on trail photography. State Park had some great astronomy programs that our Hikes on the Susquehannock Trail System itself were led visitors enjoyed. The weather was unseasonably warm, by Bill Boyd, Bob and Helen Bernhardy, Marty Quigley, and nature cooperated in every way." and Wanda Shirk. Newsletter printed by the Welfare Hollow Publishing Group, New Florence, PA 15944 1 Wayne Baumann and Bill Morey each led a hike to Camp GALETON: PIG’S EARS AND MURPHY Moxie, the site of a 1920s-era Boy Scout camp northeast By Beth Lounsbury, STC Member of Coudersport. The site features huge old hemlocks, the concrete foundation posts of the old camp's main building, On our walks around beautiful Galeton, I pointed out a pond and old cabin site, and an "ice-mine" cave where some unique features on Main Street. The theater on Main natural ice provides summer refrigeration for campers. Street called Whites Opera House, built in l906, was the only Wayne and Bill shared photos of a ceremony there with theater in the world, according to Ripley, where you went hundreds of scouts joining hearts with some Native downstairs to get to the balcony. This was made possible American "blood brothers" nearly a century ago. by it being built on a very steep bank. The building burned in September. 1976. Donna Batterson led two hikes to the former Clark Farm northwest of Galeton where the old tepee site of “Fatty Two levels below Main Street is Cornelius” and the sand spring from which he got his Eggler Alley. During the heyday of water can be found. Two impressive stone quarries, one lumbering, this was the home of of which is a current source of white sandstone blocks, are several Pig's Ears, the local name also located on the Clark Farm. Beth Lounsbury led two for the sleazy, cheap, dingy and short hikes around Galeton's Berger Lake. unlawful saloons frequented by the woodhicks, the men who Here and there patches of spring leeks could be seen, and worked cutting trees. A hog's some of the hike leaders made it easy for hikers to gather head was a barrel that held 60- leeks, by providing plastic bags or trowels for collectors. 120 gallons of liquor. Therefore, The pungent delicacy was especially abundant in Bucksel- a Pig's Ear held a smaller ler Run, where Tom Leete conducted "The Leek Hike." amount. At least fifteen hikers were still putting miles on their By far our most interesting character was Murphy. He was boots in their ninth decade of life. Susquehannock Trail a wood hick who came to Galeton, and died of pneumonia Club President Wil Ahn, who is 85 years old, led a group at the Hotel Edgecomb on January 5, 1913. He was in his on woods roads and trails around the head of Big Fill early 40’s, about 5 feet 8 inches tall, but had no Hollow and down a side branch of Commissioner Run on identification, and no one claimed his body. Normally the north side of Route 6. They met four spring gobbler unidentified corpses were sent to medical schools, but Earl hunters, one of whom demonstrated a small accordion-like White, the local undertaker who embalmed the corpse, turkey call for the group. It was very realistic. took a liking to him and named him, “Murphy.” White The staff of the Susquehannock State Forest District set dressed “Murphy” in a tuxedo and stood him in the corner up a large display in the Potato City Country Inn lobby. of the funeral parlor along with an embalmed bulldog to Forester Dan Smith led a wildlife and timber management keep him company. Galeton folk would drop in and give demonstration hike on Friday afternoon. Ranger Paul Murphy a pat on the stomach. Tubbs led a hike Mount Brodhead Hike on Saturday The funeral home was just south of Galeton's only traffic afternoon, and Service Forester Stan Hess volunteered his light, in an area of the borough that was completely time to lead an interpretive walk behind the Pennsylvania destroyed in the great fire Lumber Museum on Sunday. Retired forester Paul Lilja of 1916. That was the end gave what one hiker reported to be "an excellent historical of Murphy. He only lasted summary" of the 1911 Austin Dam disaster and took four years in the funeral hikers to the dam ruins and the E. O. Austin museum on home. Saturday. The next morning, Paul and a group of KTA members joined the Susquehannock Forest District’s When Pine Creek was annual forest management bus tour which this year visited dammed and the small five sites in the Ole Bull area and provided lunch to the lake was formed, Galeton participants. The only hike with no takers was Charlie folks wanted to name it Kern’s North Link Trail hike. The apparent reason: too Murphy’s Pond, but that did far to drive to reach the starting point. Charlie joined Wil not fly with the state Ahn’s Commissioner Run hike. bureaucrats, and it became Berger Lake after the state Murphy The planning and coordination of the KTA Weekend was senator who was the largest and most elaborate project in the 42-year instrumental in securing history of the Susquehannock Trail Club. Our local STC funding for the project. members were up to the challenge. They and the Photo from: Miss E. Leeta Kelly Susquehannock State Forest District staff did a fantastic job in making it a weekend to remember for our guests. Newsletter printed by the Welfare Hollow Publishing Group, New Florence, PA 15944 2 MULTIPLE USE FOREST HIKE While passing the cabin in the upper part of that valley, I noticed that someone was home.