Mary Young

 

Mary_001

September 8, 2014

It is with great sadness I report that today we lost one of the founding members of the hiking club, a leader of so many of our outings, and dear friend. Mary suffered a slight stroke this spring, and has been in a local nursing home since mid May. Mary’s son, Jeff, asked that I advise her hiking friends.

Donald

 

Mary and her late husband, Harold Wilkey, were long-time fixtures in all kinds of Chattanooga Hiking Club activities, as well as doing outings of their own. I remember how impressed I was when I found out that they had hiked the AT from Springer Mountain to well up into Virginia by doing only dayhikes - quite an amazing accomplishment when you stop to consider the logistics! In 2004 Mary was honored for having led 100+ hikes!

John

 

Above is a picture of Mary receiving a T-shirt in appreciation of 50+ hours of trail maintenance in the Ocoee Ranger District of the Cherokee National Forest; that says a lot about Mary's love of hiking trails!

 

Below is an article Mary wrote for the club's 12th anniversary. It provides a wonderful insight into how Mary and others formed the club and helped it grow.



Happy 12th Birthday to Us!!! When I brought in my mail that late spring day in 1989, little did I realize that the advertising circular I held in my hand would change my life forever. The circular was a sale advertisement for Rock Creek Outfitters, then located on Hixson Pike near Northgate. Of course, I was interested in the sale, but what really caught my eye was an announcement that, on May 22, at the Chattanooga Nature Center, Rock Creek was hosting a meeting to determine the interest in forming a hiking club in the Chattanooga area.
I had been hiking some in the last year with a loosely structured hiking organization at TVA, just enough to let me know that this was something that really appealed to me. Expecting 10 to 15 people, Dawson Wheeler and Marvin Webb from Rock Creek were really surprised by the forty who showed up for the initial meeting. By the middle of June we had published the first issue of a newsletter, with the following hike schedule: June 24, Lookout Mountain Bluff Trail Dayhike, and Jacks River Falls Overnight; July 8, Springer Mountain Overnight; July 15, Lost Cove Cave Tour; July 22, Fiery Gizzard Dayhike and John Muir Dayhike; July 29, Standing Indian Overnight. A rather ambitious schedule for a brand new club!
At the June 12 meeting, we decided we would meet every other month (the even-numbered ones) at the Chattanooga Nature Center at 7:00 p.m., unless changed for some special function, such as a Christmas party, or August picnic. This practice continues today, and we've had some fantastic programs, from equipment demonstrations, trail cooking demonstrations, wildflower talks, slide shows of the Appalachian Trail, as well as of other areas, and lectures on the right way to hike, backpack, or administer first aid.
By August 7, we had elected officers: Stan Johnson, president; Ellis Walters, vice president; Rita Willson, treasurer, and Katie Walters, secretary. The following agreed to serve as committee chairs: Bobbie Steffner and Dawson Wheeler, outings; Susan Seay, bylaws; and your writer, newsletter editor. Membership grew very quickly and by the end of our first year, totalled more than 100. Of the 40 at the initial meeting, only four are still members: Bob Butters, Karen Dale, Lynne Finnell, and Mary Young. By April 1991, membership was at 185.
It's impossible to mention everyone who has served and helped to build our organization into the fantastic club we have today. Hundreds have contributed, many of whom have moved on to other locations, and/or to other interests.
However, presidents of the club have included Stan Johnson, 1989-91; Ellis Walters, 1991-92; Lynne Finnell, 1992-94; Brenda Ellis, 1994-95; Clint Strohmeier, 1995-96; Eric Skrivseth, who now serves as newsletter editor, 1996-98; Betty Petty, who designed and maintains our web page, and who was destined to lead us into the twenty-first century, 1998 - 2000 and our current president, Donald Box who is leaving his own distintive mark!
Some highlights over the years: August 1989, first trail maintenance trip - between Snoopers Rock and the Natural Bridge in Prentice Cooper State Forest; December 1989, adopted the club name, The Chattanooga Hiking Club, March 1990, formal instruction in trail maintenance conducted by Bob Campbell of the Tennessee Division of Forestry; April 1990, adopted our official club logo; April 1990, adopted the 12-mile Pot Point Loop in Prentice Cooper as our official trail maintenance project; May 1990, built the side trail from the Pot Point Loop to the Raccoon Mountain Overlook; November 1990, built the side trail from the Pot Point Loop to the Ransom Hollow Overlook; August 1991, took orders for club T-shirts; May 1992, adopted Making Tracks as the name of our newsletter; Spring 1991, built the Blue Blazes Trail on Moccasin Bend; November 1992, helped build section of Benton MacKaye Trail in Rough Creek area of Big Frog; March 1995, completed the Scenic Spur Trail in Little Frog area; June 1995, added the footprints to Making Tracks; May 1997, added pictures to our otherwise perfect newsletter; June 1997, Chattanooga Hiking Club web site up and online; September 1998, began rebuilding project for Licklog Ridge Trail in Big Frog Wilderness.
We've planned outings to accommodate hikers with varying abilities: one-to two mile hikes, 5 milers, our most widely attended weekend hikes, those of 10-12 miles; death marches, 18-24 miles (in one day); backpacks, carcamps, our very popular Wednesday dayhikes, coordinated by Che Carico since 1993; and joint hikes with other clubs. Hiking destinations have included Lookout Mountain, Raccoon Mountain, the Chickamauga Battlefield, Signal Point, Prentice Cooper State Forest, South Cumberland, the Savage Gulf, the Bowater Pocket Wildernesses, the Great Smoky Mountains, the Appalachian Trail from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mount Rogers, Virginia, the Citico Wilderness, the Chatooga River area (Ellicott Rock Wilderness) in South Carolina, the Walls of Jericho, the Cherokee National Forest, the Cohutta Wilderness, the Chattahoochee Wilderness, state parks in Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and North Carolina, Big South Fork, Mount Mitchell, the Nantahala National Forest, Shining Rock Wilderness, Bald River area, Joyce Kilmer/Slick Rock Wilderness, the Pinhoti Trail, the Benton MacKaye Trail, the John Muir Trail, the Bartram Trail.
Several of our members are section hiking the Appalachian Trail, and we've had one member, Lin-Fa Lee, and one former member, Clayton Pannell, through-hike the AT. We've had at least two weddings of members who met in the club: Jane Anne (Taylor) and Bob Seale; and Pat (Gibson) and Ken Heck. Margaret (Whittaker) and Jeff Newton were both members of the Club when they met, but they actually met on a canoe trip. There may be others -- let us know!
So now, we're more than 200 strong, with active participation every weekend and every Wednesday. We have from 15 to 20 come out for trail maintenance. We have Christmas parties, and annual New Year's Day hikes. And most importantly, we have an enthusiasm about hiking that permeates the club, that not ever, in my wildest imagination, could I have predicted that spring day in 1989!
- Mary Young UPDATE ON TEN YEARS OF HISTORY! - Since April we need to add updates to our HAPPY BIRTHDAY article. We noticed in the membership section that Ellis and Katie Walters, founding members of the Club, had renewed their membership. And, probably since she now lives in Knoxville, and we don't see her that often, we omitted Ann Wykle's name. My sincere apologies. Also, we've been informed that new members Fred Pittman and Jeremy Ditto have both through-hiked the Appalachian Trail. Congratulations! - Mary Young


   

Last updated: September 8, 2014

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