Montour Trail-Letter

Volume 13, Issue 4

July/August, 2002

MTC President Peter Kohnke promised good weather for National Trail Day on June 1, and despite the horrific storms that blanketed the region the evening before, he was good to his word. Saturday offered nearly cloudless skies and dozens (perhaps hundreds) of Trail users took advantage of the warm and breezy day to show their support for the Montour Trail.

This year marked the 10th anniversary of the event originally begun by the American Hiking Society in 1993 as an effort to show regional support for conservation and awareness of hiking trails. Nearly every spur of the Montour Trail had volunteers hosting events and greeting Trail users throughout the day.

One of the most poignant of the events was hosted by the Cecil Friends Group, which held a dedication ceremony in memory of Don Berty of Cecil Township. The ceremony was part of an Eagle Scout Project by Steve Dristas (son of Cecil Friends' Secretary Joan), who helped add two bulletin boards, a memorial garden and a plaque commemorating Don. Don was a strong trail advocate for many years, serving as Vice President of the Cecil Friends group, in addition to being a supporter of the Boy Scouts. Don's widow, Joan Berty, did the unveiling at this touching ceremony.

Don Berty was further remembered by a $20 donation in his memory to the Fort Cherry Friends. The group set up an informational table and requested donations at the Giant Eagle in McDonald, where they collected over $230.

The Friends of the Montour Trail in Bethel Park took advantage of National Trail to hold a fundraiser to benefit the Clifton Road Pedestrian Bridge. About $500 was collected with promises of more checks to be mailed in later. Full color renderings of potential future bridges were posted in hopes of increasing community awareness of the project and to help find more people to drive the effort. Volunteers who helped included Bill and Roxanne Capp, Peter Kohnke, Bob O'Connell, Stan Olenn, Mike and Patti Pucci, Joe Goodwill, Clayton Olsen, Dan Stadler, and Jay Wells. Amy Reichman organized the effort. The participants were encouraged by the results and will soon decide when to host a similar event.

Other groups handed out 'freebies' that were generously donated by area businesses, along with handing out information about the Trail in general. Whether it was because of the friendliness of these 'meet and greet' stations or just the fine day, everyone on the trail seemed to be in happy moods for this year's National Trail Day.