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The Significance of Lemon
Sherbet at Traditional RMC Social Events
The Annual Meeting. From its founding in 1910 the Randolph Mountain Club board has organized "the Annual Meeting [which] shall be held on the second Saturday in August." ii The agenda includes a business meeting with reports from the president, treasurer and committee chairs, and concludes with the nomination and election of board members and the president for the following year. Occasionally the treasurer's report, for years a nickel and dime affair, has been hotly debated. More often, under the catch-all of "New Business," members have discussed local issues, like the $2 per person admission fee newly imposed in 1984 by the Cog Railway at the Base Station or, more recently, the perceived need for expanded parking at Appalachia. The business meeting has been followed by an address, "prepared by some member at the president's request," that was intended to educate the membership about relevant topics. One of these was a talk by Louis F. Cutter in 1920, who reviewed J. Rayner Edmands' trail building career. iii In later years hot local topics have included Bruce Macleod, talking about the new Bretton Woods venture (1974 - this particular company went bankrupt the next year); Niels F. Nielsen, Jr. on preserving the Old Man (1984); or "Should we rebuild Gray Knob?" (1987). More recently, the presentation has featured a slideshow or multimedia event on a topic relevant to the area or mountaineering: Brad Washburn on his mountain photography (2002); Jeff Tirey on winter at Gray Knob (1982); Jack Stewart, "Weather and Your Enjoyment of White Mountain Tramping" (1978); Mike Pelchat on the Moose's Tooth (2001). The meeting also gives the audience a chance to socialize, before, after and sometimes during the event. The Fourth of July Tea. Pease does not give us much information about the origins of the tea. Private celebrations began in Randolph long before the Club was founded. Eldena Leighton Hunt wrote in her diary for July 4, 1904:
No one living knows the date of the first RMC tea, but it may have been following the Boothman's purchase of the Mt. Crescent House in 1923. The first written record I have found is from 1933, when treasurer Miss E. E. Jones listed among her expenditures: "John Boothman, supplies for 4th July tea, $9.07." This line item then recurs in the treasurer's records most years up through the end of the notebook in 1948, when the price of supplies had soared to $31.27. The Boothmans obviously donated their own efforts to the RMC for the event. Those of us who remember the post-World War II era recall that the tea, from 3 to 5 pm on the Fourth of July, was catered by the Boothmans on the Mt. Crescent House lawn. Did it ever rain? The official arrival of the summer season was celebrated by well-dressed members and their children (who behaved in a more-or-less decorous manner). Ladies ceremoniously poured the tea and ladled the punch. On the front porch elderly hotel guests rocked, and lemon sherbet was dispensed with great showmanship by Jack Boothman. Once the hotel had closed and was razed in the fall of 1971, the tea was held on the lawn of the Mt. Crescent Shop, adjacent to the old hotel site, or in the Playhouse (when the weather was inclement). In 1984, when the Shop's lawn was torn up because of renovations to the house, the tea was moved to its current location on the Hill road, the barn and lawn at Sky Meadow owned by Bob and Libby Kenyon, where it was organized for many years by neighbors Lydia Ogilby and John Mudge. Rampant black flies, if not the weather, generally drove the crowd into the barn. Becky Boothman Parker, famous for her lemon squares, mostly continued to cater the event and serve the traditional lemon sherbet. As many as 200 people have attended, including children who engaged in active play in the adjacent field. The event was satirized by the Midlands in their 1976 charade. In a reenactment of the tea, the entire dialogue consisted of "When dja get here?" and "How long ya up fer?" The word was "commonplace." The Rendezvous. As Dr. Pease describes, the original concept of the rendezvous was to satisfy the needs of the Club's "more active" clientele; it was held in the second half of July. Hikers arrived by noon to eat their lunches at an announced meeting place. The goal was to reach the rendezvous by the most innovative route possible, with a prize traditionally awarded for the most unusual approach. One year Miggy Arnold (Woodard) won when she arrived barefoot at Coldspur Ledges, having waded up through the brook. In an account of the opening of the Inlook Trail in a 1933 issue of Appalachia, Louis F. Cutter suggests that the rendezvous will probably be at Dome Rock on July 25th. v Only in the 1940s do line items specific to the rendezvous begin to appear in the treasurer's books, never recording expenses higher than $1.78. In the 1950s the members of the recently established trail crew were assigned tasks, helping the rendezvous leader carry firewood, a grate for the fire, large coffee pots, and punch makings to the site. Over time the event's location moved closer to trail heads, to be well within the abilities of all ages. The 1977 rendezvous, held at Hitchcock Falls, provided "a cool spot on a hot day [that] brought a 100+ turnout." vi In later years Upper Salroc Falls became the principal site, popular because of its easy accessibility on Snyder Brook and its slippery rocks that destroyed many pairs of pants as the young slid down over the wet mossy ledges into the pool at the base of the falls. The rising awareness in the 1990s of potential environmental harm from hikers became a topic that "all of the mountain clubs were struggling with -- this question of how much to enjoy the mountains without marring them...Research, as well as common sense, was showing that large groups tended to congregate in the most fragile areas, like alpine summits and the banks of streams." vii The RMC board first considered limiting group sizes in the backcountry in 1993, viii a discussion that continued without resolution and with considerable disagreement. The rendezvous, however, was doomed by these environmental concerns, which led to the abandonment of Salroc Falls as a site. For several years the gathering was held at the Ravine House pool, but in 2002, stripped of any pretense of adventure, the rendezvous was discontinued due to lack of patronage.
The "gourmet hike" began informally in the early 1970's, first suggested by some "proto-gourmet" trips in which more-or-less by chance hikers had brought food to share that far exceeded the normal trail-lunch fare (Sandy Malcolm in 1972 brought ripe mangoes fresh from the Caribbean to Baldpate.) But the first RMC trip advertised as "gourmet", and encouraging participants to bring exotic cuisine to share, was led by Chips Muehl on July 28, 1976 around the Baldface circuit. The gourmet hike, although occurring on a regular Tuesday or Thursday climb, was not an official RMC function. Each year over the next decade a "gourmet" hike, advertised as such by its leader, took place. Chips led most, while Bill Knight and Kate Hudson took the odd turn. In 1978 Chips led a group of 35 to Mt. Eastman and Baldface Knob, to which the Risings brought lemon sherbet packed in a container insulated with popcorn. In the spirit of the early rendezvous, the hikes visited various locales, including Blueberry Mountain, West Royce and the Basin Rim, the ski trails on Wildcat D (with some folks coming up on the gondola, some over the Kittens, or via the Nineteen-Mile Brook Trail and Wildcat), Webster Cliffs (in the rain, but with a pretty good turnout), and Mt. Willard. In 1985 Bill Knight led the first of many gourmet hikes on Mt. Success Ledges. The informal gourmet hikes were so popular that around 1988 the RMC board declared it an official RMC activity to be encouraged. It was suggested that the gourmet trips should be made a bit less strenuous, so that more individuals would be able to participate (by now a familiar refrain for social events). And so the gourmet hike was brought under the organizational purview of the Trips Chair, who for almost a decade recruited leaders to run the events. Although the hike had always been held on Tuesday or Thursday, it was later moved to a Saturday so that working stiffs or weekenders could attend. Between 1988 and 1997 trips went to a variety of low-stress destinations: Middle Sugarloaf, North Sugarloaf, Mt. Willard, and, of course, Mt. Success Ledges. The popularity of the hike gathered momentum. Lemon sherbet became a staple, and crowds of eager gourmands and chefs converged on the chosen summit. Some dishes were even cooked or assembled on site. An all-time high of about 80 people assembled in 1994 on the ledgy summit of Black Cap Mountain near North Conway. In 1995 the gourmet hike was dropped from the list of RMC-sponsored hikes, killed by environmental concerns engendered by its popularity; the board agreed that the club was setting a poor example by running a trip that attracted such a large group of climbers. Between 1997 and 1999 the gourmet hike reverted to unofficial status, with Bill Knight and Chips Muehl alternating in advertising private "gourmet" trips on Fridays to the mostly unfrequented ledges on Mounts Success and Surprise. In 2000 the RMC board again took over sponsorship, but with the proviso that the hikes occur outside the White Mountain National Forest. Responsibility for the hike was passed to the Events Chair. To reduce crowds that had assembled on Saturdays, the first Thursday in August was selected. Diehards Bill Knight and Al and Judy Hudson were recruited to lead the officially designated "Gourmet Hike" at the dawning of the new century. As the number of participants declined, so did the enthusiasm of the gourmands. Sound ecological practices will probably lead, like the rendezvous, to the disappearance of the gourmet hike, and it will become a bittersweet memory of lemon sherbet consumed on a scenic mountaintop.
A few years thereafter, charades xi were introduced into the picnic, and in the early 1920s the picnic was moved to a site on Cold Brook near Cold Brook Lodge. The order of the picnic was set and has been perpetuated to the present day: an outdoor picnic on the brook at noon for all comers, followed by entertainment in a natural amphitheater nearby with charades presented by the Hill, the Midlands and the Valley (and sometimes the Mountains), and lastly, the singing of rounds and "Auld lang syne." Because the relocation of Route 2 in 1965 obliterated the Cold Brook site, the picnic was moved, first to the field next to the former Hincks-Nelson Smith house in the Midlands. The following year the Horton family graciously invited the Club to use the natural amphitheater in Mossy Glen on Carlton Brook. In 1977, so that working people could attend, the day of the picnic was moved from the Tuesday after the annual meeting to the third Saturday in August. Guy Shorey led the singing of rounds during many of the Cold Brook years. His successor was Klaus Goetze, who over time succeeded with consummate grace and good humor in teaching most members a variety of rounds, obscure (The Ghost of Tam, Little Jack Horner) and familiar (Row, Row, Row Your Boat; Scotland's Burning). At the 1991 picnic Klaus was celebrated with a dove-shaped cake (representing Dona Nobis Pacem), and the baton was passed to Heywood Alexander. Heywood stepped down in 2003, and since then various people, including Barbara Wysessions, Betsy Rising Segura and Al Hudson have conducted the audience in song. Traditionally, coffee and punch were both served (participants brought their own lunch and a cup), but beginning in 1994 only punch was offered, eliminating a great deal of work and the peril of carrying scalding liquid about on Mossy Glen's steep hillside. Over the years the RMC had been lucky with the weather for the picnic, and only occasionally was it postponed to "the next good day." However, postponement of the picnic has recently metamorphosed into assigning a rain site on the same day: in 2003-2005, the Beringers' barn on the hill, and in 2007, the new Randolph municipal building. Four out of five rainy years in a row? Maybe our luck with the weather has been sabotaged by global warming!
With the turn of the new century, the year-'rounders have added a few new events, mostly in fall and winter. These now annual socializers have included: beginning in 2003, "Flatbreads Day" (a percentage of profits at the North Conway restaurant contributed to the RMC); in 2004, the annual "Cabin Fever Reliever" Square Dance occurring at the Town Hall in the dead of the winter; and in the fall a benefit banquet at Libby's Bistro in Gorham, catered by its owner Liz Jackson. The members of the RMC continue to seize any opportunity to enjoy socializing with their compatriots. Thanks to Doug Mayer for his contributions to my draft, and to Carol Sandin Woodruff and Eric Sandin for the illustrations I have drawn from George A. Flagg's sketchbooks. 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, 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.
ii. As described in the Club's Bylaws, Article 4. iii. Louis F. Cutter, "The Edmands paths and their builder," Appalachia: 15; 134-140 (Aug 1921). Other than Cutter's address, I have not found any information on either early speakers or their topics. iv. Eldena Leighton Hunt's diaries from January1896 to the end of May 1910 have been transcribed and published by Al Hudson for the Randolph History Project. A copy of these will be placed in the Randolph Public Library in June 2008. v. "Gordon Ridge," Appalachia: 19(3), 485 (June 1933). vi. Al Hudson in our family logbook for 21 July 1977. vii. Doug Mayer, personal communication, April 2008. viii. Minutes of the August 28, 1993 board meeting. ix. See Cutter's article, "The Randolph Mountain Club," in Randolph Old and New, by George N. Cross, Randolph, NH: Town of Randolph, 1924, pp. 188-191. x. See a photo of the crowd and the camp, probably taken by Guy Shorey, from the 1913 event in my earlier article, "Managing the RMC," RMC Newsletter, Summer 2007, p. 7. xi. For the history of charades in Randolph, see my article in the Winter 2004-2005 RMC Newsletter. xii. Doug Mayer, personal communication, April 2008.
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Arthur
Stanley Pease, who delivered these remarks at the fiftieth Annual
Meeting in 1960, was a founding member and second president of
the RMC. A uniquely qualified guest speaker, he talked about
the Club's summer calendar from his own personal experiences
over fifty years. In his description, the traditional events
were the annual meeting, the picnic, the rendezvous, and the
Fourth of July tea. More recently the gourmet hike, the winter
square dance, a dinner at Libby's Bistro and other social gatherings
have been added.
The
Flaggs continued their July 4th celebration for some years, as
sketched by George A. Flagg in 1907, showing the detonation of
rockets against the familiar backdrop of Madison and Adams.
The
Gourmet Hike. RMC members have
always been interested in good food, and there had long been
events that that offered gourmet food as an incentive to participation.
Who can forget Erika Goetze's plum cake mit schlag, Al
Hudson's "Royal Dutch Cocoa Cream Cake" consumed on
the shores of the Pond of Safety, and, at the highest level of
RMC culinary workmen's compensation, a complete lobster dinner
served by Peg Grant and her con-soeurs at Gray Knob to help pay
for its 1964 renovation? (The dress at the latter event was "formal,"
and guests included Hank and Peeko Folsom who arrived in tux
and gown - they had hiked up and changed near the Quay.)
The
Annual Picnic. Soon after the Club's
founding in August 1910, the first picnic was held. In 1924 Louis
Cutter noted five easily accessible locations where it had taken
place: Pine Mountain, Triple Falls, Rollo Fall, Bumpus Basin,
and Cascade Camp. Two picnics at Cascade Camp, in 1912 and 1913,
are described in detail in letters that Cutter wrote, probably
to his mother. ix In 1912 Cascade Camp had been given to the RMC
by J. Rayner Edmands' niece, Mrs. Southard. The camp had just
been refurbished, and the goal of the picnic on September 5th
was a work party to clear logging damage on the trails that led
to the camp. There were 38 attendees. George Flagg sketched a
few individuals: Dr. Judson, spilling his hot coffee out of a
tin cup; his wife, primly sitting, clad in ankle-length skirt
and blouse with big bows around her neck, at the back of her
head, and at the end of her long braid; and Edward Young Hincks,
"the birth day child." The following year, on August
19, 83 hikers made the trek to help to clear the "pleasure
paths" in Cascade Ravine. x Cutter wrote:
Other
Events. RMC crews and caretakers
have held a number of regular RMC-driven informal get-togethers
"that were a bit under the radar," and not advertised
to the general public as all other RMC events are.