Very well done report, Preston. I'm envious, especially for the "four hour Salts Cave Trip led by Ranger Rick Olson". I've been all over that cave and find it fascinating. I'm sure that the skinny wooden pole, set in place thousands of years ago by Woodlands Indians, is still leaning where they left it to climb up to an upper level.
It was in the cave in 1971 with cave archaeologist Patti Jo Watson when I learned what the word "coprolite" means. We were on our way to the back of the cave to look for them and on the way I finally asked what they are to chuckles. We turned over rocks where some minerals had been scraped from the wall and found some. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coprolite Bill Steele Irving, TX speleoste...@aol.com Sent from my iPhone > On Nov 10, 2014, at 11:37 PM, Preston Forsythe via Texascavers > <texascavers@texascavers.com> wrote: > > The focus of the weekend was the Lee Family and their contribution to Mammoth > Cave. It was a pleasure talking with Mr. Dan Lee, 87 and members of his > family. Coy Hansen, 93, was also in attendance. Coy is a brother of the very > famous Pete Hansen. Friday evening one of the area's historians and > genealogical experts, Norman Warnell, presented a program on the Lee Family. > Not only was Dan Lee born in what became Mammoth Cave National Park, but he > was a guide in the cave for many years. Mr. Lee was then a ranger at > Shenandoah National Park. Next Mr. Lee was superintendant of Custer > Battlefield National Monument and he ended his career in the park service as > superintendant of Vicksburg National Military Park. Mr. Lee and his wife, > Alice, then moved back to Cave City and volunteered eight years in the > offices of MCNP. > > Park Ranger David Kem gave a program Saturday evening on the Lee Family. > David, who has been at MCNP for 5 years, is the author of a new book The > Kentucky Cave Wars. > > Another new book is out, The Legacy of Archibald Miller, by Eileen Gonzales. > Mr. Miller was the first manager of the cave. In 1808, Fleming Gatewood > brought Archibald to Mammoth Cave "to manage the mining and processing > operations of the petre-dirt for the manufacture of gunpowder." Shari and I > hope to participate in the restoration of the Archibald Miller Family Burial > Plot at Holton Cemetery on the northwest corner of Flint Ridge in the park. > > A brief summary of other weekend events include: A four hour Salts Cave > Trip led by Ranger Rick Olson. A three mile round trip hike to Holton > Cemetery led by Ranger Johnny Meridith. And a three stop tour led by Ranger > John Davis to the entrance of Long Cave. Next was a stop at the site of the > Homelike Inn, birthplace of Dan Lee. This is close to the present day cave > elevator. And last, Mammoth Cave Baptist Church Cemetery on Flint Ridge. > > Next year, 2015, will be the 75th anniversary of Mammoth Cave National Park. > It will also be the 200th anniversary of operation as a commercial cave. > > A longer Roots in the Park recap may be available soon. This annual event > occurs the second weekend of November and is hosted by the Park Service, Greg > Davis and Karen Phillips. There were around 50 in attendance. The next annual > Mammoth Cave event is the Christmas Singing in the Cave the first Sunday of > December. > > > Preston at Browder, KY, 55 miles west of MaCa > _______________________________________________ > Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com > Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: > http://www.mail-archive.com/texascavers@texascavers.com/ > http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers
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