Overmountain Victory Trail Assocation - 2014 Summer/Fall Newsletter
Subject: Overmountain Victory Trail Assocation - 2014 Summer/Fall Newsletter From: "Overmountain Victory Trail Association"
OVTA Newsletter
Overmountain Victory Trail Association Summer/Fall Newsletter
OVTA 40th Anniversary Celebration Begins!
This week marks the beginning of the 40th Annual March of the OVTA - HUZZA!!! Forty years ago the OVTA set forth two main objectives.
Firstly, to conduct an annual march that honored to the story, the sacrifice, and the VICTORY of the brave men who earned our freedom with their sweat and blood at the Battle of Kings Mountain. For many years, participants hiked the trail from Abingdon to Kings Mountain.
Secondly, to work with Congressional leadership, specifically North Carolina Senator James T. Broyhill, to carry legislation to Washington to have "The Story" become part of the National Historic Trails Systems. Five years later, in 1980, the OVTA volunteers - a group of 15 citizens - were successful in getting the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail signed into law by President Jimmy Carter.
OVTA members in 1975 displayed the same "we shall not fail" attitude of the men of 1780. Truly this was another example of what a determined group of volunteers can accomplish and remains true today. "Determination", "Resolve," "Teamwork," and "Inspiration," - these are the messages we will be conveying to Americans all along the trail corridor as we conduct this year's 40th Anniversary March across four states and 330 miles of the route.
Last year, 8,649 primarily 4th graders, heard "The Story" and the message of teamwork described above. To our new, existing, and renewing members - THANK YOU for sustaining the OVTA's mission "to preserve, protect, and interpret the route of the Campaign to Kings Mountain" for the past forty years.
Yours in history....to forge a better future for all,
The OVTA Leadership Team RG Absher - President Garrett Jackson - Vice President Marc Bowen - Executive Director 2014 Grand Marshal - Ronnie Lail Leigh Anne Suber - Treasurer Mary Bohlen - Secretary OVTA Board of Directors
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OVTA 40th Anniversary Commemorative Coin
Thanks goes out to OVTA Marketing Committee member and Past President Randell Jones who led the 40th Anniversary Commemorative Coin effort.
As you can see in the graphic to the right, the coins look GREAT and are in stock for immediate delivery while supplies last.
The March has not officially started and of the 500 coins in inventory, we have orders nearing 200 coins - so NOW is the time to get yours reserved.
Ordering is easy on the new OVTA e-Store where both credit cards and PayPal are accepted.
Many more items will be coming to the OVTA Camp Store in the near future so stay tuned on that front.
And congrats to OVTA Member Kenneth Luckey who was the "lucky" first recipient of this keepsake coin.
OVTA Hires First Executive Director
Earlier this year the OVTA Board approved the motion to hire the organization's first Executive Director. With his two year term completed, outgoing OVTA President Marc Bowen was tapped to serve as OVTA's first Executive Director on a part time basis.
Bowen states "the OVTA's mantra has been "To Keep the Story Alive" and the organization has had an amazing 40 year track record of success from it's all volunteer base. But we now find ourselves in the "business" of keeping the story alive which requires a focused effort on raising funds for the many exciting interpretative and preservation projects before us."
Under Bowen's leadership, the OVTA has earned over $150K in grants and Cooperative Agreements since Bowen joined the OVTA in 2008. Bowen also redesigned the OVTA member friendly website which has grown the OVTA Membership from a year to year average of 85 members to over 500 members in 2014.
Marc makes his home in Morganton, NC with his wife Marci and two dogs, Lakeland Terriers Max and Rita. When
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not working, Bowen enjoys cycling which includes his attempt this year to cycle the entire OVNHT Commemorative Motor Route - see article below about that effort.
Bowen is also in the bloodline of Rees Bowen, of the 28 men who paid the ultimate sacrifice for the fight for independence at the Battle of Kings Mountain.
YOUR Membership Dollars at Work
Below are two $5,000 checks that represent your Membership dollars put to use for Preservation purposes.
The first check is for the Town of Elkin where three miles of certified trail are at risk. These dollars were used to hire a surveyor who identified boundaries and required preservation easements for 11 different property owners. Special thanks to OVTA volunteer Theresa Howell for her tireless help on this project.
The second check went to Foothills Conservancy as part of an overall grant request that went to the American Battlefield Protection Program in Washington D.C. asking this federal entity to grant us a $40,000 award to perform archeology, mapping, onsite reconnaissance including metal detecting in order to locate the actual site of the Battle at Cane Creek, the prelude to the Battle at Kings Mountain.
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These are but a few examples of the ongoing efforts that most folks are not aware the OVTA, with your Membership Dollars, and not only "Keeping the Story Alive" but also "Protecting the Lands" where our great story occurred. We hope these examples will encourage you to show your support of the OVTA and, with your Membership dollars, answer the fundamental question, "Do YOU think what we are doing is important?" If so, the join/renew your Membership - we can not achieve the needs of the story, or the trail, without YOU!!! DO IT TODAY, JOIN THE OVTA!!!
Battle at Cane Creek Delineation Project
As mentioned above, the OVTA in partnership with the Foothills Conservancy, is working with archeologist Ken Robinson on what has become a popular project. The picture shows a packed audience at the Marion Public Library where Andrew Kota, Foothills Conservancy described the overall project, and Ken Robinson(pictured right) gave his initial findings. Stay tuned for more updates on this exciting project and how OVTA Members may be able to participate in the on-site research. Note: The $5,000 check pictured above reflects your Membership dollars in action with regard to this project.
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National Park Service Management Changes
Earlier this year, the OVTA learned of a NPS Management Efficiency Study that recommended the elimination of all Superintendents of four Southern Revolutionary War National Parks in favor of a singe "General Superintendent" where each Park would have "Chief" positions reporting to the General Superintendent.
As is widely known, Superintendent Paul Carson has served as a trusted partner working alongside the OVTA in the true spirit of doing what is best for the trail and the many stakeholders throughout the four state region. Needless to say, the idea of Superintendent Carson's position being eliminated was a "call to action" and the OVTA responded vigorously, and we prevailed, at least in part.
With assistance from the Partnership for National Trails System, the OVTA drafted a letter of opposition to NPS Regional Director Stan Austin voicing our opposition to both the idea of Superintendent removal as well as the idea of placing a still developing linear trail into a management scheme of "round" parks to include Kings Mountain, Cowpens, and Ninety-Six.
We also cited a "Director's Order #45" from NPS Director Jon Jarvis which states under Section 3.5 Staffing "Each national scenic and historic trail will be administered by a trail superintendent..." (emphasis added).
OVTA President RG Absher and Executive Director Marc Bowen appreciate the outpouring of concern about these changes where we continue to voice the official statement of "the OVTA has enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship with the NPS even since the OVTA led to the creation of the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail in 1980. The OVTA seeks to continue our outstanding level of cooperation and building the trust with the new leadership including new General Superintendent John Slaughter (pictured above right) but also a new Deputy Regional Director Barclay Trimble."
Change is the operative word with the NPS and with change comes opportunity. To our members, and to the souls of the men who fought at Kings Mountain whose bones are buried in these lands we call home, trust that the OVTA leadership anticipates our long standing tradition of partnership and trust will endure.
Easily the biggest question that remains unanswered as of this writing, what do these changes mean with regard to the OVNHT Headquarters project in Morganton and in addition to the Superintendent position, what about the full time employees that were promised?"
These are unanswered questions and there is reason for concern since all three of the site based Parks, Kings Mountain, Cowpens, and Ninety Six are facing budget shortfalls. Superintendent Carson has managed the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail responsibly and is fiscally secure.
As was recently asked by one of our members "will the NPS raid the Overmountain budget to fill the deficit spending of the other Parks?" Good question. Stay tuned, the OVTA leadership remains hopeful that we will receive favorable answers to these and other questions in the near future.
FYI, General Superintendent Slaughter will be appearing at select venues during this year's march as well as Deputy Regional Director Trimble who will be at both Cowpens and Kings Mountain. Let's give them both a warm welcome and congratulate them on their new positions.
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A Mighty FORTress - Three of Them!
During this year's Annual March, we will be celebrating THREE official National Park Service Certifications of three important Forts that existed in 1780 and played an active role in the Campaign to Kings Mountain.
On Thursday, 9/25, the Fort Womack Site outside of Bluff City, TN will be certified with nearly 75 members of the public, elected officials, NPS representatives, and the OVTA Marchers will be present. Special thanks to OVTA Member Ambre Torbett for her tireless efforts as well as NPS Superintendent Carson for his guidance and enthusiasm.
Most especially, thanks to property owners John and June Childress. The Childress's are excited that the Fort Womack site will be preserved for future generations to learn about "the story" and Fort Womack.
Pictured left to right, OVTA Member and Assistant Grand Marshal Tom Vaughan, OVTA ED Marc Bowen, OVTA Board Member Mel McKay, Mrs. June Childress, OVTA Board Member and Grand Marshal Ronnie Lail, and OVTA Member and tireless project leader, Ms. Ambre Torbett.
Then, on Saturday, 9/27, we have not one, but two Fort certifications starting with Fort Crider (a.k.a. Fort Gryder) in Lenoir, NC followed by the Fort Defiance certification in Caldwell County. Thanks go out to OVTA Members Lane Bailey, Becky Phillips and RG Absher for arranging these two events.
Taken together, this is a most fitting way for the OVTA, our partners, and the public to celebrate the OVTA's "FORT"ieth Anniversary. HUZZA!!!
Attention Millennials - A Smartphone App is Headed Your Way
Rusty Painter, a great OVNHT advocate affiliated with the Conservation Trust of North Carolina, called to say they wanted to know if the OVTA would assist with a project to create a GPS enable "app" that would work on today's smart phones.
Partnering with Colorado based TravelStoriesGPS http://www.travelstorysgps.com/ the OVTA and Superintendent Carson met at Heffner Gap on the Blue Ridge Parkway to begin work on this exciting project. Imagine your phone narrating the history, the landscape, the flora, the geology, the
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viewscapes, all from a phone that gives you relevant information based on your location as detected from satellites hovering hundreds of miles into the air? Now that is what John Denver would have really called "far out"
The project team includes members pictured above left to right, NPS Minerals Museum and OVNHT historian extraordinaire Jonathan Bennett, OVTA Executive Director Marc Bowen, College Intern Guthrie Stanback, NPS/OVNHT Superintendent Paul Carson, and OVTA Member, OVTA Past President and noted author Randell Jones.
OVTA Wins Another Round of National Park Foundation "Ticket To Ride" funding for the 2014 Annual March
For the third year in a row, the National Park Foundation, with support from the Disney Corporation, has awarded the Overmountain Victory Trail Association with an $8,000 "Ticket to Ride" grant for 2014. Out of the 401 eligible National Park Service units who can compete for these funds, the OVTA is the ONLY Park to receive year over year funding for three years. To quote Carolyn Hill from the Foundation "You guys (the OVTA) just keep hitting it out of the park!" Last year, despite the Government shutdown that closed both Cowpens and Kings Mountain Parks, we programed to over 8,000 school children. Compared to the "big gun" Parks like Yosemite and Yellowstone, who put on outstanding programs, but when you see their numbers of 2,500 or 3,500 and then the roll call for Overmountain Victory to offer up our numbers and like flintlock firing 100 grains of black powder, 8,649 was our reported number for 2013. Pictured left to right is NPS OVNHT Superintendent Paul Carson, new OVTA Treasurer and Abingdon Muster Grounds Manager, Leigh Anne Suber, and OVTA ED Marc Bowen each holding some bags and calendars from the National Park Foundation additionally supplied to the OVTA. The OVTA also received a $20,000 award from the National Park Service through a Cooperative Agreement for the 2014 Annual March. Special thanks to Superintendent Carson for his recognition of the work the OVTA does and the quality of programming that just gets better each year. These monies have been distributed to historic sites, organizations, and school systems throughout the region enabling them to transport the school children to/from the resource and put on one heck of a learning experience. Pictured below are a group of Exploring Joara campers in Morganton NC who heard "the story" as part of their Archeology Summer Camp that included a visit to the Charles McDowell House in Morganton, NC. Exploring Joara is an exciting partnership with the OVTA - check them out here: http://exploringjoara.org/
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"Liberty Mountain - A Revolutionary Drama" Kings Mountain Little Theatre
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With the apparent demise of the "Horn in the West" drama, a new play is about to raise it's curtain at the town of Kings Mountain, NC - Joy Performance Center....and the OVTA will be there on Opening Night as an official event on this year's March. The play premiers the first two weeks of October, 2014 under the direction of theater professional Caleb Sigmon. The first month-long summer production is scheduled for June 26, 2015. Go here for more a great article on the play: http://www.appalachianhistory.net/2014/07/11087.html
"Backwater String Band" Led by OVTA Presdient RG Absher
Speaking of performances, we have not one, but two excellent opportunities for you and your family to enjoy an evening of music and Storytelling during this year's Annual March. OVTA President has formed the Backwater String Band as a group of musicians who play 18th century, backcountry music of Appalachia. These are the songs and sounds that filled the forests as the gathered sang and danced and this time of year, the unmistakable smell of fireplace smoke scenting the air, filtering across the self-coloring leaves. Come relive this musical celebration at 7:00 PM on 9/30 at Lake James State Park in North Carolina or at Cowpens at 5:00PM on 10/6.
OVNHT Commemorative Motor Route Update - Exciting News
The term "partner" or "friend's group" is often used to describe the relationship between the OVTA and the National Park Service as it relates to what we all deeply care about - the trail, preserving it, and interpreting it especially to newcomers to "the story."
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There may never be a better example of how the OVTA can roll up it's sleeves and help the National Park Service move a stuck project forward....and not only did we move it forward, we went from 48 signs initially offered to the eventual 195 signs across 220 miles of the OVNHT that crosses through North Carolina.
Below is an article that appeared in the Morganton Herald News with the details:
Overmountain Victory Trail Signage
If you travel the roads in and around Morganton, you have likely noticed the brown signs for the National Park Service (NPS) Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail (OVNHT) - Commemorative Motor Route. The effort to get these signs established can be traced back to 1975 when a group of private citizens formed the Overmountain Victory Trail Association (OVTA). The OVTA’s primary mission in the early years with was to obtain Congressional Recognition of the OVNHT. Five years of persistence paid off, and in 1980, North Carolina Senator James Broyhill sponsored the bill that President Jimmy Carter signed into law the 330-mile OVNHT that traverses four states - Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
OVTA Executive Director and Morganton resident Marc Bowen says “many people are surprised to learn that the 1980 legislation actually led to the creation of two routes - one being the result of a two years study to estimate the route the men traveled on their campaign to Kings Mountain. This route is termed the “certified route.” The other route that was established is called the OVNHT “Commemorative Motor Route” (CMR) which relates to the new brown highway signs.”
Bowen added, “for many years the CMR was fully marked along the scenic roads of VA, TN, and SC through Cooperative Agreements with the National Park Service but the majority of the route, specifically 220 of the 330 miles that traverses NC, had reached an impasse with the NC Department of Transportation (DOT). The OVTA sprung to action making inquiries to Ms. Anna Henderson in the NC DOT Asheville office whose assistance led to a series of meetings and discussions with Mr. Kevin Lacey and Mr. Ron King in the Garner, NC DOT main office.”
Supporting Bowen with the escalation were OVTA members Albert Dale of Dysartsville and Chivous Bradley of Rutherfordton in close partnership with OVNHT Superintendent Paul Carson. Working together, the various groups were able to reach an agreement to deploy 195 signs across 220 miles of North Carolina highway.
Bowen added, “the signage puts the OVNHT on the map, literally and highlights to residents and visitors the importance of the Overmountain men who left their homesteads in present day Wilkes Surry region as well as the Watauga, Nolichucky, and Holston areas. For Burke County residents, we are thrilled that the motor route signage highlights present day Highway 126 also known famously as the Yellow Mountain Road.”
Completion of the Commemorative Motor Route demonstrates what a citizen led group of volunteers can get done by working with diverse groups as in this case, both the federal and state government officials who were brought to an accord by OVTA volunteers.
OVTA President RG Absher states “completion of the OVNHT CMR is a game changer. Our interpretation and preservation efforts will be enhanced due to the increased recognition of the trail by local residents, donors, as well as visitors to our region which in 2013, estimates are that over 1 million Americans visited the OVNHT. Cultural tourism will benefit as well as the many visitor’s to our federal parks can travel the OVNHT and also experience the Appalachian Trail, Blue Ridge Parkway, W. Kerr Scott Dam and Reservoir, Kings Mountain National Military Park, and Cowpens National Battlefield as well as the numerous state parks such as Sycamore Shoals in TN and Lake James State Park in NC.”
OVTA planning is already underway for a “Liberty Ride” cycling event as well as numerous “Poker Runs” with motorcycle, automobile, and historic car clubs. In each of these cases, Morganton will be
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a stopover town leading to increased restaurant and hotel revenues. For more information, write to [email protected] or meet with OVTA representatives at the upcoming Historic Morganton Festival and Revolutionary War Weekend.
Overmountain Victory Trail Challenge - 4 States - 400 Miles
With reference to the above article, the OVTA is busy pedaling (literally) "the story" in a new and different way made possible by the completion of the Commemorative Motor Route.
Both the OVTA ED Marc Bowen and President RG Absher are avid cyclists and they know that if you give the cycling community a scenic and safe route that is well marked, provide them with ample rest stops, and a cool t-shirt, the cyclists will come and they spend money which dovetails into the cultural tourism push that exists in everyone of our trail towns today.
This year, during the OVTA's 40th Anniversary Annual March, OVTA's ED Marc Bowen is attempting to cycle the entire OVNHT Commemorative Motor Route traveling 400 miles across four states in honor of the men and women of "the story" as well as long time OVTA member Blair Keller who is honored on the special event jersey.
Bowen stated, "when I'm climbing up Roan Mountain (and the few other hundred hills) I need inspiration to give me strength and my motto will be, C'mon Blair, Get Me There."
Marc is off to a great start - pictured above at the Elkin trail head, this past Sunday, Bowen completed the 75 mile distance from Elkin to Morganton with over 5,000' of total climbing and a strong headwind.
Next up, Abingdon to Rocky Mount and points in between that offer a chance to stop and meet the public, hand out NPS OVNHT Trail maps, and invite members to join the OVTA.
This is a scouting trip with anticipation of possible single day cycling events in eligible trail towns of Abingdon, Morganton, Elkin/Wilkesboro, and Gaffney in 2015.
Check out the OVTA facebook page for Marc's planned itinerary and updates. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Overmountain-Victory-Trail-Association/139757199421578
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