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Mount Crescent Trailhead Project
Underway
When the option was announced, Becky spoke gratefully of the time and effort John Scarinza, chair of the Randolph Community Forest Commission and the Planning Board, has spent trying to make her dream a reality. He has spent months talking with various members of the community, trying to iron out all the wrinkles and bring the project to life. Fundraising to exercise the option has already begun. While we will certainly pursue various possible grant sources, support from individuals demonstrates the community's commitment to potential donor organizations. Donations for this project can be made to the RMC, the Randolph Foundation, or directly to the Town of Randolph whose Town Meeting established a conservation fund (The Mt. Crescent Conservation Land Trust Fund) specifically for this project. RMC and the Foundation are non-profit 501c(3) organizations so donations are tax-deductible. The town can also accept tax-deductible donations. All donations should indicate that they are for the Mt. Crescent Conservation Land Trust Fund. If you want to donate stocks or other securities you should contact the Randolph Foundation. Becky knows the Randolph area intimately from hunting and trapping with her father, Jack Boothman. She has spent decades of days in the woods, running a muskrat trapline, hunting deer, coming to know the woods and its creatures well. Her knowledge and love of these woods, hills and streams come through in the stories she tells. When asked why she chose to provide this opportunity to the community at this time, Becky said simply, "It's my back yard. Randolph has changed a lot over the years, but I'd like to think we could hang onto some of the old traditions." I'd like to think so, too. Thank you, Becky, for reminding us.
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Becky
Boothman has continued her family's legacy of involvement with
and concern for Randolph's hiking community by making a 10 acre
parcel on Randolph Hill available for purchase with the intent
that it be added to the Randolph Community Forest and provide
a permanent trailhead for access to the Mount Crescent Range
trails as well as an access to the Community Forest from the
eastern end of town. Becky's association with hikers goes back
to her earliest childhood memories at Coldbrook Farm, "Our
family hosted the trailhead there, and we took care of things
that happened (in the mountains nearby) just because we happened
to be the ones that were there. It was also important to have
a place where hikers could park off the road [at all times of
the year]." In addition, the Boothman farm was the staging
place for search and rescue missions on the north side of the
mountains. When Becky was born, Elizabeth Jones, at that time
the RMC's oldest member, gave Becky's parents a birthday gift
of an RMC membership for Becky, making her that year's youngest
member. She has felt a special connection to the club ever since.