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Managing the Randolph Mountain
Club The Randolph Mountain Club, nearing its 100th anniversary in 2010, has been a mostly volunteer operation from the very beginning. Rather casually organized at first, the Club has evolved in response to the needs of the time. Let's take a look at several periods in the RMC's history, beginning with the highly structured outfit of today. The RMC in the New Century: Support for Ongoing Operations. Since 2000, the RMC has enlarged its presence in the Randolph valley, constructing its first buildings to support its activities and staff. The Goetze Trails Workshop was erected in 2000 to be used in trail crew operations and to store camp supplies. The following year, tent platforms were built to house crew members next to the Jones Cottage, where a kitchen, bathrooms and living room were made available by the Tuckers. Construction of a permanent facility for crews and caretakers began in the fall of 2006, and the Stearns Lodge will be completed this spring for use this coming summer.
There are many others who are not listed formally -- from trip leaders to work party participants to picnic and charade organizers. The Club could not run smoothly without their participation, or that of the Club's 16 to 18 workers who are compensated for their time -- trail crew, summer and winter caretakers and the summer field supervisor, a position first created in 1998 to assume the major burden of managing the summertime operation of both trails and camps. The 2006 budget was more than $100,000,1 with over $33,000 allocated to camps and nearly $43,000 for trails. The Board of Directors had 15 members, 10 of whom reside in the North Country. There were 973 members in 2003. An adult single membership now costs $25 a year or $50 for a family. The Early Years: 1910s-1920s. In its early years, the RMC was far simpler. Founded in August 1910, at the instigation of Town Selectman John Boothman, the RMC was established in response to the destruction of much of the pre-RMC trail system by widespread lumbering on the Northern Peaks. Randolph's hotels depended upon their summer clientele, many of whom came to walk on Randolph's paths. The Club’s original mission was to rebuild this devastated path system, using both volunteer labor from its members and hiring local woodsmen for the heavier tasks. Early RMC activities, which occurred exclusively in the summertime, consisted of the annual meeting (on the second Saturday in August), an August or early September picnic, and work parties to clear or sometimes cut trails. In September, 1912, the picnic was held at Cascade Camp in Cascade Ravine, where 38 men and women assembled to celebrate newly completed repairs to the old birchbark camp of J. Rainer Edmands, who had died in 1910:
Attendees also worked, both coming and going, to clear various trails to the camp. A similar clearing party was organized about the 1913 picnic at Cascade Camp, to which over 80 men and women hiked. For many decades the organization was managed and supported by the summer hotel guests and "cottagers" of Randolph. The Club’s business was accomplished in one or two meetings during the summer season. The president and board of directors (with the exception of local families like the Boothmans, the Woods, and the Lowes) were all summer residents. Many of these individuals served until infirmity or death rendered them incapable. The first president, the Reverend Dr. Edward Y. Hincks, held the office from 1910 until 1922. Arthur Stanley Pease, his successor, served for 11 years. Louis F. Cutter was an officer in the RMC from 1910 continuously until he died in 1945: 30 years as vice president, and 5 (from 1931-32 through 1935-36) as president. Another indomitable volunteer was Miss Elizabeth 'Lizzie' E. Jones, who, from the Club's inception until 1949, acted as secretary or treasurer (and for at least 10 years as both). For many years she painted all the trail signs as well. In the summer of 1945, when I was ten, my brother and I scouted and cut a short trail on the Hill to Glover Spring before the new road was put in, and I remember going to Miss Jones' cottage to consult about making signs. I believe she helped us paint a set of signs to mark the path. The Club’s financial records from 1913 to 1948 were succinct enough to be all contained in a 4" x 6" leather-covered loose leaf notebook, now housed in the RMC archives.3 The board had only 4 officers, all summer people. In 1910, there were 131 members. Dues originally were $1 per person. Two new categories, contributing ($2) and sustaining ($5) members were added in 1920. There was no change in membership fees until 1952. Treasurer’s reports reported basic facts in the early days. The first annual accounting of income and expenses (which we have in George N. Cross' hand for the 1912-13 season) showed a balanced ledger amounting to $469.87. The largest single expense, $154.70, covered the improvements to Cascade Camp. Other labor expenses, presumably mostly for trail maintenance, were $150.82. The year ended with a surplus of $160.45. The minutiae of income and expenses were meticulously recorded, as illustrated by a much later income item from 1929: "T. Lewis, selling blueberries, Mt. Hayes . . . .15 cents." Tom Lewis (who was later killed in WW II) was probably about ten years old at the time, although it's unclear if he picked and also marketed the berries on the summit of Mt. Hayes, or carried them down for later sale. In 1915 the first formal legal step by the Directors of the Randolph Mountain Club was to incorporate the Club under the laws of the State of New Hampshire, for which Articles of Agreement were drawn up and signed by a group of its members. Incorporation mandated that one officer, the clerk, reside in New Hampshire, raising the number of board members to five. The document was filed with the Secretary of State in Concord, NH, on September 8, 1915, under the signatures of Edward Y. Hincks, Louis F. Cutter, George N. Cross, Eldredge H. Blood, Wm. O. Pray, John H. Boothman, Frank H. Chase, L. M. Watson, and F. C. Wood.4 Article 2 of this brief document reads:
Contributions above and beyond dues have always been welcomed, and often requested for special projects, the first of which was for the Log Cabin in 1922. Forty-one individuals contributed $221.50 to help defray the costs of rebuilding under the supervision of Irving W. Crosby. Funds contributed in memory of Eugene B. Cook and J. Rayner Edmands were used in 1924 to build Memorial Bridge, which was dedicated to all the early pathmakers at the centennial celebration for the town of Randolph in 1924. War bonds in memory of Alfred Hubbard, who lost his life in World War I, led to the building of the Hubbard Bridge over the Moose River. By 1924 the board saw the need for setting aside enough cash for the following year's expenses, guaranteeing that there was money to pay woodsmen to clear the trails of winter debris in June before the hiking season began. At the 1924 annual meeting, George N. Cross reported total assets and expenses of $990.51, $425.73 of which was used to build Memorial Bridge, and $452.63 for labor on paths and camps. There were 5 members of the board, including Randolph native Francis Wood, the clerk. Cross tallied 328 members: 83 at $1; 46 at $2; 22 at $5; and 177 delinquents who hadn't paid dues by August 9th. The 1940s: Imposition of Organizational Structure. Let's jump now to the 1940s, when World War II forced the RMC's directors to seek new solutions to maintaining trails because the local supply of labor had gone to war. Louis F. Cutter, indomitable at age 78, marshaled volunteers to clear trails in a scheme very like recent "Adopt-a-Trail" programs,5 while the rest of the Club's activities continued as usual. Change was in the cards, however. At the annual meeting in August, 1943, Charles W. Blood was elected as a director of the Club, and the following year he became president.6 Born in 1878, Blood was a prominent Boston lawyer who had come to the White Mountains every summer since childhood. Around 1903, once he had begun his professional career, he became interested in trails and spent many years scouting and cutting new paths as a member of the AMC. He was active in the AMC, serving as Councillor in various AMC departments, as president, and from 1930 to 1952 as treasurer.7 No stranger to Randolph, Blood had first stayed at the Ravine House in 1926:
"C. W. B.,” as he was known by his friends, was a systematic and well-organized man. Although most of his trail work during the 1920s and 1930s was devoted to places other than Randolph, he wrote that while he boarded at the Ravine House, “My son Henry ...and I also started putting in a few water bars on the Air Line."9 World War II, with its gasoline shortages, forced Blood to work closer to the Ravine House:
As a board member, Blood turned the same precision to the RMC's structure. He was more than ready to whip the RMC into shape. He described the Club as:
And so, the RMC's operation had structure imposed from above. In the annual letter written12 and sent in May 1945 by Charles Blood, he tactfully claimed that, because he was not able to be in Randolph all summer, "It is quite impossible for me to supervise everything as our former presidents have done."13 The new committee system assigned specific chairmen (or women) to the Crag Camp, Excursions, Signs, and Trails committees. The president was initially responsible for hiring the summer caretaker, but day-to-day supervision of summer workers and activities was vested in these committee chairs. In the 1948 annual financial statement, the Club's assets and expenditures balanced at $2,174.58. Trails cost $1,097.18; Crag Camp, $195.34; the Log Cabin, $124.87. The board had 16 directors, of whom only John Boothman was a New Hampshire resident. There were 330 members: 2 Honorary; 176 Active; 63 Contributing; 19 Sustaining; 13 Juniors; and 60 "as yet unpaid." (14 of these will be "outlawed if their dues are not paid in '48"). Dues remained at $1, $2, $5 with $.50 for children. The 1970s: Environmental Concerns. In the 1970s, hiking became incredibly popular and a steadily increasing wave of backpackers assaulted White Mountain trails. New, lightweight tents enabled hikers to camp at will; at favorite sites the vegetation was destroyed, sanitation ignored, and trash strewn around. Trail surfaces were being damaged by lug-soled boots, and paths were eroding. The RMC's solution to overuse of trails had long been relocation, but, as shown by the cutting of a new section of the Spur Trail in the early 1960s, this resulted in two eroded trails instead of one.14 Controlling the degradation by installing waterbars or steps, as the AMC then did, was a labor-intensive activity, requiring far greater skills with tools and engineering know-how than the RMC crew had previously commanded. Klaus Goetze, the benevolent despot who had run the trail crew for many years, lobbied to have the RMC crew trained by the AMC before they started their work. In the summer of 1974 Bill Arnold was hired to construct more than 100 waterbars on the Spur Trail, a path that was being heavily damaged from overuse. In 1974, President John Eusden's annual letter contained the first mention of environmental concerns in a "spring newsletter," which was almost completely devoted to conservation matters. Two years later Jack Stewart wrote the membership in his 1976 presidential letter:
USFS supervisors controlled everything that happened on federal land. They mandated that RMC trails be rebuilt, and if not, they threatened to close paths.15 By 1979, the RMC had signed a co-operator's contract with the National Forest, agreeing to maintain trails to minimum USFS standards and to hold annual consultations with the USFS. All of this activity demanded much more involvement by the Club's board members. At the same time, RMC camps were often abused by hikers when summer caretakers were not present. Winter use burgeoned, aided also by improvements in cold-weather equipment, and in the fall of 1971, a weekend caretaker was deemed necessary. By 1975 a full-time winter caretaker was in place at Gray Knob.16 The RMC had become a year-round operation. The Club needed a board that could support their staff year-round, a task that fell heavily upon the few board members who were winter residents -- Bill Arnold, Jack Boothman's daughters Sally and Becky, Sandy Harris, and Barbara and Don Wilson. Within a few years, winter caretakers had assumed positions on the board, and with the guidance of Jeff Tirey, Mikes Johnson and Pelchat, John Tremblay, and Peter Rowan, the RMC had successfully weathered the transition to a year-round Club. In 1978, income and assets totaled $14,288.91, although only $9,040.95 was spent. Camps cost $5,115.71, and trails, $3,277.11. There was over $5,000 in the bank. The board had 15 directors, 4 4 of whom were year-round residents. The RMC had 351 members (a total including only those who had paid dues). Dues were $10 adult, $15 a couple, $3 student, and $1 junior. The 1990s: Rebuilding for the Future. The decade from 1985 to 1995 saw an enormous increase in RMC activity. The camps, all nearing physical collapse, were thoroughly rebuilt: the Log Cabin with memorial funds for Jack Boothman, at a cost of $3,926 (1985); Gray Knob at a cost of $63,800 (1989); and Crag Camp at $84,400 (1993). With the installation of continuous composting toilets between 1994 and 1998, costing about $12,000 apiece,17 the camp system was ready for the 21st century. A similar surge occurred for trails. The need for major erosion control demanded a larger crew of skilled workers capable of engineering trail reconstruction. To attract these crew members, salaries needed to be competitive. While dues and member contributions continued to fund trail work, much of the funding for erosion control now came from contracts with the WMNF, which inspected the construction to ensure that it met Forest Service standards. By 1995, the 4-person crew had doubled, providing a second crew from the Student Conservation Association who performed more of the routine maintenance on the paths. How did the board manage the Club's growth? By spending hours and hours as volunteers.18 The rebuilding projects were organized by Burt Dempster (Log Cabin), Jeff Tirey (designer for Gray Knob, and co-designer for Crag), with John Tremblay as principal builder for both Gray Knob and Crag. Helicopters were first used extensively for reconstructing Gray Knob. Behind the scenes were board members who raised funds, sought foundation grants, and ran the show. For trails Doug Mayer (both singly and together with co-chairs Steve Snook, and Mike Micucci) worked to upgrade the trail crew to a new level of professionalism, as well as raising funds through new sources. By 1998, the RMC's finances had taken a quantum leap upwards. Income was $137,094; expenses, $111,764. It was, of course, the year of the great ice-storm, which stimulated $18,000 in additional funds through contributions and grants. Many hours of volunteer labor had kept expenses for the emergency trail clearing down to about $16,000. The total expended for trails in 1998 was $51,000; for camps, $33,500. Board membership held steady at 15, as specified in the by-laws. Eight directors were year-round North Country residents. Club members numbered about 550, more than 100 of whom had yet to pay their dues. Membership was set at $20 for an individual, and $40 for a family. The beginning of the new century saw the Randolph Mountain Club strong and active, and ready to meet the management challenges as it approached its own centennial in 2010. I am interested in any additional comments, corrections, anecdotal materials, or relevant photographs that my readers might have. Please contact me at 111 Amherst Road, Pelham, MA 01002; (413)256-6950; in the summer at 603-466-5509; or by E-mail. Judith Hudson has been coming to Randolph since the age of four or five. Her parents, the Drs. Stephen and Charlotte Maddock, first visited Randolph in 1923 or 1924 at the invitation of the Cutter family. Active members of the RMC, Judy and her husband Al have served in a variety of RMC jobs, including the presidency. Al is currently the Club’s Archivist, and Judy is working on a history of the RMC. 1 This excludes the more than $300,000, raised by 2006 and expended in 2006-07, for the construction of Stearns Lodge. 2 Louis F. Cutter, quoting a letter written on September 4, 1912, in his "The Randolph Mountain Club,” in George F. Cross, Randolph Old & New, pp.188-9. 3 This notebook also contains membership lists from 1910 through 1925. 4 The signature of the secretary, Miss E. E. Jones, the fifth officer of the Club, is missing, perhaps because women did not generally participate in legal matters at this time. 5 Tom Barrow, in an interview some years ago, recalled that his father and Anna B. Stearns were assigned to the Beechwood Way. 6 Annual Letters to the membership sent in the springs of 1944 through1947 list Blood as a Director during 1943-44, President for the following two years, and then again as a Director for 1946-47. 7 Howard M. Goff, "Charles W. Blood, 1878-1966," Appalachia: 36;545-7 (June 1967). 8 Charles W. Blood, "The Evolution of a Trailman," Appalachia: 35;438 (June 1965). 9 Blood, p. 440. 10 Blood, p. 441. 11 Blood, p. 442. 12 Annual letters had heretofore been sent by the secretary and/or treasurer. From 1929-1939, both offices were vested in the person of Miss Lizzie Jones. Only in 1942 had a short note been included from President Bert Malcolm together with a statement from the secretary, Miggy Arnold. 13 When the new highway forced relocation of trailheads at Appalachia and Randolph East in 1965-6, Charles Blood, at age 88, is credited with having helped relocate and cut the new connecting trails. 14 The "New" Spur Trail, on the east side of Spur Brook, was closed in 1974. 15 In 1977 the WMNF's unit plan contained one alternative which was to close specific "redundant" trails, among them the upper Howker Ridge, Brookside, King Ravine Trail, part of the Spur Trail, and the upper Amphibrach. After much protest by the RMC, this alternative was discarded. 16 I've discussed the management of camps much more extensively in earlier articles in this Newsletter. See the RMC website for more details. 17 The fourth of these facilities was installed at the Log Cabin in 2005. 18 It is impossible to give credit to everyone who
participated in these projects. Their numbers are legion.
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A substantial
undertaking, the Stearns Lodge was conceived, financed, and finally
erected under the supervision of RMC volunteers. Who comprises
this group? The Board of Directors, as listed in the winter 2006-07
newsletter, consists of five officers and ten additional members.
There are twelve committees, some permanent, some ad-hoc, whose
personnel include another 17 non-board members. There is also
a webmaster, an archivist, an historian, a cartographer, and
a radioman (the only board member). It is these volunteers who
run the RMC today -- establishing policy, helping raise funds,
editing newsletters and Randolph Paths, publishing maps and archival
papers, hiring summer trail crews and year-round caretakers,
and running summer activities.