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President's Letter This past winter was a relatively snowless one for Randolph and the RMC paths. While not great news for winter enthusiasts, the conditions did help the RMC with its base camp efforts. Surveying and clearing the lot proved much easier without four feet of snow on the ground. The permitting process is now completed, and construction will begin in late summer or early fall.
In March, the Board of Directors had a meeting during which we made several important decisions about the Stearns Lodge. In what I think is a first, we had several board members participate using conference calling-- including Mike Pelchat who called in all the way from the summit of Mt. Washington where he works as State Park Manager. The board decided to use a conventional contractor, as the additional cost of using the N.H. Timber Framers Guild was substantial. We selected Bowman Builders, who had the most attractive and thorough bid, and whose excellent reputation is well known in Randolph. Dave Fontaine and Ray Cotnoir constructed the Goetze workshop for the RMC and have built fine structures in the area for many years. Ray has also served on the RMC Board. They will now be working closely with the building committee to finalize plans and build the Stearns Lodge. I think it is great to be using a small, local outfit; they will better understand the needs of the RMC and make sure we get the best building for the best price.
A big thank you is in order to the citizens of Randolph, who voted at Town Meeting this past spring to abate the current use tax on the land which the Tucker Family is donating for the Stearns Lodge. All these people working together serve to remind me why we are erecting the Stearns Lodge. One of the things I remember from my summers as a kid in Randolph is the weekly club hikes. It was there that I met people like Anna Stearns, Klaus Goetze and many others. Normally, as a kid, I would have not had any contact with many of the adults -- besides a quick, forced introduction and a hasty retreat to the safety of my family. However, on one of the club hikes, I suddenly found myself hiking with some unknown adults. As the hike progressed, it was fascinating to listen to these adults. I saw them as real people, not just distant authority figures. I learned about foreign countries, botany and other subjects from experts in their respective fields. By the end of the hike, I realized I shared a bond with this group. Together we had conquered some peak and also shared experiences. That, to me, is the RMC. By coming together as a club to build the Stearns Lodge, and, through this project, expressing our stewardship of this magnificent region, we have shared another such bridge-building experience. Further, the Lodge will play a role in helping the RMC work on its well-maintained paths and cabins, perhaps allowing that the next impressionable kid on an RMC hike to see adults as people, share in their knowledge, and learn something about himself. Building Stearns Lodge has already brought club members together and allowed people to get to know others that they would not normally meet. Such projects are a great way to create bonds. We will have other opportunities, as the project gets underway, to enlist the support of volunteers. Even if you do not end up volunteering on a lodge project, I hope you'll consider going on a RMC hike or a work trip. The RMC is a diverse group, filled with many interesting members who have much to share. See you on the paths or at the camps,
Jamie Maddock |
Importantly,
we now also have a name for our building! It will be the Anna
B. Stearns Lodge. This will recognize the contributions that
Anna made to the RMC over many decades and it also honors the
generous challenge grant from her Foundation – a grant which
provided needed support at a critical juncture.
The
process of designing and starting to build the Stearns Lodge
has been very interesting. Such projects are never without stresses
and differences of opinions, but it has shown how members have
brought their individual talents and ideas to the meetings and
then somehow merged them all into one building. Now that we are
moving into the construction phase, the building committee's
work becomes a task of keeping the project on track and attending
to dozens of small but important details.