We’re approaching mid-September, and depending on your location, you may find that a few signs of fall color are on the trees along the Parkway.  This is just a reminder to a fall that’s display always arrives here in the mountains in about a month, the middle of October.

Generally fields on the Parkway are full this time of year with Black-eyed Susan, Joe-Pye Weed, Queen Anne’s Lace, Iron Weed, Goldenrod, and in some places you’ll see great displays of Cardinal flower, especially in moister wet areas.  The staff at the Peaks of Otter in Virginia is reporting Iron Weed, Jewel Weed, Woodland Sunflower, and Pink Turtlehead, in addition to the above species.

The meadows and agricultural land in the Rocky Knob/Mabry Mill area are showing nice displays of Joe-Pye Weed, Black-eyed Susan, Goldenrod, and a few early signs of fall color here and there.  If you’re in North Carolina around the Cone Estate, Spotted Jewel Weed is nicely in bloom around Trout Lake.  Yarrow is also common along with Bee Balm and Bellflower.  Look for nice Purple-Headed Coneflower just around the visitor’s center at the Linn Cove Viaduct.

From Linville Falls through Gillespie Gap at the Mineral Museum, Ox-eye Daisy, Phlox, Angelica, Jewel Weed, Yarrow, Iron Weed, Coreopsis, and Black-eyed Susan are all common.  Some purple Aster should be in bloom through the Craggy Gardens area and Mountain Ash is coming on.  Everything seems to be gearing for a splendid fall showing.  Tall Coneflower, Fleabane, Ox-eye Daisy, Asters, and White Snakeroot can be found on the Craggy Gardens trail as well.

As always, we will remind you to drive carefully while on the Parkway.  Keep your eyes on the road as you enjoy the view.  In a few weeks, more indications of fall color will be coming with the peak commonly coming mid to early October.

Regular updates for color reports will be posted to our web site home page. You can also use the National Park Service information line at 828-298-0398 to keep informed of what’s being reported on the Parkway.

For more nature and science information, visit our virtual resource center, http://www.virtualblueridge.com/parkway/general/nature.asp, which will provide you with much more information.

Have a safe Parkway visit! Enjoy the view, but watch the road.

This is the Blue Ridge Parkway Wildflower Report for the first week of August.  Beginning on the North end around the Peaks of Otter in Virginia, visitors will probably find Jewel Weed, Butterfly Weed, Common Milkweed, Yarrow, Black Cohosh, Woodland Sunflower, and Deptford Pink. All of these are common summer varieties here in the Blue Ridge.  Turks-cap Lily and Joe-Pye Weed are showing nicely now around the Peaks.

Throughout the plateau district which extends from Roanoke to the North Carolina state line, summer blooms are prolific with Black-eyed Susan, Queen Anne’s Lace, Coreopsis, and the bright orange Butterfly Weed common throughout.  Rosebay Rhododendron is still nice in a few places.

In the Grandfather Mountain area, moving into North Carolina, look for Yarrow, Queen Anne’s Lace, and lots of Rosebay Rhododendron blooming along the Parkway.  Spiderwort, Phlox, and Morning Glory are common in the Moses Cone area along with Turk’s-cap Lily and St. John’s Wort.  Joe-Pye Weed is nice around Trout Lake.  Look for Bellflower and Basil Balm around the figure eight trail at the Cone Manor,  Sundrop at Bass Lake, and  Coreopsis in many areas throughout this region of the Parkway.

In the high elevations north of Asheville, Rosebay Rhododendron is in bloom along with some displays of Bee Balm along the higher elevations around milepost 360-370.  Turk’s-cap Lily is common along the road from Mt. Mitchell heading down into Asheville.  There are nice displays of Butterfly Weed around milepost 380 and again close to the Parkway Visitor’s Center in Asheville.  Black-eyed Susans are becoming more noticeable along with Brown-eyed Susan, tall Coneflower popping up between milepost 350 and 370, and Coreopsis is noticeable between the picnic area and Craggy Visitor’s Center.

The Parkway is a beautiful and cool place to spend these very hot days of summer , but it’s not like most other roads. Please take some special precautions while driving.  Above all, slow down, take your time, and use the overlooks to let other traffic that backs up behind you get by.  As we often tell visitors, enjoy the view, but watch the road.

Regular updates for color reports will be posted to our web site home page. You can also use the National Park Service information line at 828-298-0398 to keep informed of what’s being reported on the Parkway.

For more nature and science information, visit our virtual resource center, http://www.virtualblueridge.com/parkway/general/nature.asp, which will provide you with much more information.

Have a safe Parkway visit! Enjoy the view, but watch the road.

“Our board is unanimous in expressing deep appreciation for Houck’s and K.B’s (his wife) perseverance over the years in creating and growing our foundation so that citizens and organizations can have a tax deductible conduit through which they can contribute in a meaningful way to enhancing the Blue Ridge Parkway,” Shepherd said.

In 1997, Medford and a group of civic leaders organized the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation in Winston-Salem after Medford retired from a successful dental practice. The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, under a cooperative agreement with the National Park Service and the U.S. Department of the Interior, is the primary private fundraising organization for the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Foundation has provided more than three-million dollars in endowments and direct allocations for projects and programs which enhance the visitors’ experience and help preserve the Blue Ridge Parkway’s scenic, cultural and environmental quality.

Over the past few years, the foundation has contributed to numerous capital improvements along the Parkway, including renovation of the North Carolina Mineral Museum, preservation of the Moses H. Cone Memorial Park, improvements at Graveyard Fields and other projects.

Parks As Classrooms is one of the flagship programs funded by the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation. This program instills values of Parkway protection, history, ecology and culture among students in all 29 Virginia and North Carolina Parkway counties where the program is presented.

Now in its third year, the Foundation’s “Kids in Parks” program is a special initiative to combat childhood obesity and to engage children and their families with our national parks. The sponsorship of special Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation license tags in North Carolina generates around a half-million dollars a year for the parkway’s benefit and is the most popular specialty tag in the state.

Dr. Ward joined the foundation in 2008 as the first director of the Kids in Parks program and became president and chief operating officer in March of this year. Before joining the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, The Wytheville, Virginia native taught at Humboldt State University in Arcata, California for nearly ten years. An award winning researcher and author, she is the editor of the National Association of Interpretation Journal for Interpretation Research. She received her master and doctorate degrees in outdoor recreation from Virginia Tech.

For more information:

• Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation
• Kids in Parks
• Virtual Blue Ridge Parkway Guide

Rough Ridge Celebration!

Twenty-five people representing numerous Blue Ridge Parkway partnerships met at one of the most scenic Parkway vistas to celebrate a new era of collaboration.

Stephanie Gemache called from North Augusta, S.C. the day before to make sure there would be enough parking, but also to tell Lynne Fletcher at the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, “I have only made one gift to the Blue Ridge Parkway, and it was for Rough Ridge.”  Stephanie stayed at a local hotel the night before so that she could be on hand for this special event.

The occasion was to celebrate the re-decking of the boardwalk  straddeling this fragile ecological landscape, but also to honor the Blue Ridge Parkway Corp, a formal association of student volunteers from Appalachian State University’s Outdoor Program who have been formally trained to monitor the area and offer advice to visitors on how to protect the locations fragile vegetation, but also to remind them to “stay on the trail” and limit rock-hopping to the newly accessible “view rock”.

Greg Brown, president of Friends of the Parkway, talked about the opportunity to the park of what so many volunteers could do … and the addition of new chapters being added to the quiver of many.  One of the most recent chapters is the Boone / Blowing Rock chapters was represnted by Mike Kebelbeck who is already working to engage volunteers to complete a handicapped access walk around the circumference of Price Lake.

Susan McCracken, Vice-President of Community Relations at Appalachian State University, talked about the how the idea of a “Blue Ridge Parkway Institute” could provide the catalyst as well as the framework for managing so many collaborative relationships and opportunities to the Parkway.  Eric Furman added that funds could become available through federal assistance programs to compensate students for summer work.

The guest presentation was delivered by Randy Johnson - author, writer — who crafted the wilderness trail system for Grandfather Mountain and owner, Mr. Hugh Morton decades ago.  Randy was also on the team who designed the Tanawha Trail which stretches from Beacon Heights to near Price Lake, a part of which is the Rough Ridge segment.  Randy applauded what he saw was a new era of collaboration among many and more partners who could collectively and positively impact the health of the country’s most visited national park.

The event was hosted by the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation.

Kevin Adams, ascending into heaven at sunrise!

Kevin Adams workshop was the most informative that I have attended …  Joe Sikes

Kevin’s  presentation on “Concept Photography” really hits home the message that one can take outstanding pictures if one can open up their mind and let go of the so called “rules of photography”…Sai Chandrasekharan

The retreat is set in a magnificent area with grounds that are truly a part of the Blue Ridge Mountains…Skip Pudney

For schedule information and to enroll:

Vist us here!

To commemorate the event, Dr. Ward presented her with a watercolor painting of a sacred Cherokee location and a very special “soul tree” created by Houck Medford, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation.

He stated “this adds a whole other dimension to the Parkway experience. The Parkway is so visual but its rhythms can easily be conveyed in poetic language. We look forward to hearing and ‘seeing’ this new imagery as it becomes part of our Parkway visitors’ journeys.”

To learn more about Laura, her work and this exciting announcement please visit Virtual Blue Ridge.

Check out Laura’s book, The Soul Tree, at the Virtual Blue Ridge Bookstore.  Her collection of contemporary poetry is set to beautiful images of the Southern Appalachians by local photographer, John Fletcher.

Preview or Purchase The Soul Tree

Twenty seven of  my years as a National Park Ranger were spent working on the Blue Ridge Parkway and many of the tales have the Parkway as their setting.

What is a park ranger’s life?

• A wild bear who favors Kentucky Fried Chicken
• A fugitive wanted in eight states
• A dog that saves his owner’s life
• Wildland firefighters battling nature and fire
• A ghost haunting a colonial mansion
• Hikers who stay lost because they think searchers calling their names are wild animals
• Being willing to risk your life to make our parks safe and help preserve them for the future

These are just a few experiences you will read about in A Park Ranger’s Life. Drawn from the thirty-two-year career of National Park Ranger Bruce W. Bytnar, you will discover what it takes to be a park ranger, what threats to visitors and resources they deal with on a daily basis, and what you can do to help protect and preserve our national heritage.

Answer:
Founded in 1997 The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation is a non-profit fundraising organization dedicated to the protection and preservation of the Blue Ridge Parkways natural beauty.

The foundation recieves no government funding and relies solely on private contributions, grants, and corporate support. The Foundation is not a membership organization, nor does it engage in political activity or advocacy.

The foundation has been involved in restoration and preservation projects at the Moses Cone Manor, Camp Catawba, Grave Yard Feilds, Rough Ridge trail and many others.

If you would like to learn more or make a contribution visit The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, Foundation Executive Director Dr. Houck Medfords blog, or visit The Virtual Blue Ridge Bookstore where a portion of all proceeds go to support the foundation.

Cone Bass Lake Restrooms Are Priority Resource Provided Through Partnership of Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, Blue Ridge Parkway, Town of Blowing Rock and Generous Donors

What happens when well over 300 people come together with one single mission?

It’s spelled S U C C E S S for the project and R E L I E F for those who will benefit from its service.

On Thursday, October 8th, the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation will celebrate the completion and opening of the new Bass Lake comfort station. It is built as a miniature replica of the grand Flat Top Manor, the mountain home of Moses and Bertha Cone that overlooks the picturesque lake that is a recreation destination for thousands. The need for restrooms at Cone Bass Lake was identified by Parkway patrons as a priority for the park. It has become one of the busiest spots along the entire 469-mile national scenic highway that connects the Shenandoah in Virginia and Great Smokies in North Carolina.

As has been the case in numerous projects along the most visited National Park in America, the first to step up to meet the need was the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation. In partnership with Parkway officials, the Town of Blowing Rock, and over 300 donors, the Foundation led the effort to design and construct a unique facility that will not only fill the need, but make it an architecturally appealing asset to the Moses Cone Park.

The Bass Lake Comfort Station will become an important resource for the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Moses Cone Estate, so important that a special ceremony is being planned to celebrate its opening.

“I’ve seen a lot of structures celebrate their completion with a ribbon cutting,” said a daily Bass Lake walker. “But I believe this is the first time I’ve heard about one to celebrate the opening of a restroom.”

“But I’ll be there,” she said. “It should be fun.”

Fun will be the emphasis on October 8th when dignitaries come together at 10 a.m. to lead donors and friends in a dedication ceremony that will feel more like a party than a serious and formal program of events.

For instance, you could be “King (or Queen) for a Day” by giving the comfort station a creative and funny name just for the day of the celebration, bringing a smile and a chuckle to those attending the ribbon cutting.

Norris Barnes of Blowing Rock, who has been a contributing patron of the celebration committee, put this part of the program into perspective.

The Aussies call it the “Thunderbox’”, he said. “Some call it the ‘Long Drop’, ‘Half Moon Mansion’, or even ‘Grandpa’s Office’. We’re hoping that our friends and neighbors will submit their creative name for the Comfort Station, one that will be for one day only, on October 8. The winner will claim their throne as the king or queen for the day, and the first to answer nature’s call at the brand new comfort station.”

Barnes said the rules are simple, just mail or e-mail the suggested name to committee member Jerry Burns (P.O. Box 1373, Blowing Rock, N.C. 28605), or email at burnsjn@bellsouth.net. The winner will be selected by the committee and announced at the October 8 ceremony.

The naming of the new comfort station is just one of the activities planned for the ribbon cutting. While at least one of the events will remain secret until the ribbon cutting, some of the other activities on the program include a number of local and regional dignitaries, including Harvey Durham, Vice-Chair of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation. Joining the Vice-Chair will be the Parkway’s Superintendent Phil Francis, the Executive Director of the Foundation, Houck Medford, Blowing Rock Mayor, J.B. Lawrence, and a number of other special guests from the Town of Blowing Rock, Watauga County, and the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Each person attending the event, to be held near the Bass Lake Parking area at the new Comfort Station, will be given a ticket making them the possible winner of a magnificent panoramic photograph of Flat Top Manor in Autumn by Foundation Board member David Combs and beautifully framed by Tim Miller of Blowing Rock Frameworks and Gallery.

Another framed print from the collection of artist Richard Tumbleston will go to a second winning ticket holder at the gathering.

Refreshments will be provided by the Blowing Rock Historical Society, and there will be special commemorative souvenirs for everyone present.

More detailed information about the ribbon cutting ceremony will follow. The event is open to all and those planning to attend should mark the date (Thursday, October and time (10 a.m.) on their calendars.

Many of you know Houck Medford the Philanthropist but are you familiar with Houck Medford the Photographer? This biography details Dr. Medford’s adventure with photography and how it has influenced his work as Executive Director of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation. Written by Greg A. Kiser with Four Forty Six Photography.

A short while ago, I went on a Trek to the Blue Ridge Parkway and spent a little bit of time on the trails of the Rough Ridge. While I was there, I had the opportunity to meet none other than the founder and executive director of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, Dr. Houck Medford. While we were talking, our conversation quickly turned to photography and I realized that he was a fairly serious shooter in his own right.

Dr. Medford grew up in the mountains of Western North Carolina which for those unfamiliar is some of the most unspoiled landscape to be found in the state. By the time he graduated from Tuscola High School in Waynesville, NC, Dr. Medford and his Dad had hiked all of the trails in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. Of course, this wasn’t actually their goal at the time, it was just a natural thing to do. When he looks back at his childhood he recalls always being outside. The beauty of the North Carolina Mountains is infectious and will send anyone’s creative side into overload.

Read the full story

Picnicking on Rough Ridge near the Linn Cove Viaduct

The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation has annouced the call for its prestigious Blue Ridge Parkway 2010 photography competition with this year’s new theme in the “Share the Journey” category — Picnicking on the Blue Ridge Parkway. For the traditional Parkway “Vista” category and the “Share the Journey”, cash prizes of $200 and $350 are being offered respectively for the Parkway categories.

The Blue Ridge Parkway categories are part of the 7th Annual Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition, held each year to support Appalachian State University’s Outdoor Programs.
“We wanted to announce the specialty category now, because of the large number of inquisitive calls ‘what will it be this year?’ and to give all those shutter bugs time to collect their photographs during the height of the Parkway season,” stated Mari Jo Turner, the Foundation’s director of development.
2010 is the 75th Anniversary of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

7th Annual Competition Calendar

• Friday, September 18 Competition opens for registration and submissions
• Friday, January 29, 2010 @ 5pm Registration and submissions close
• Friday, February 5, 2010 Notification of selected works for exhibition (Due to the large number of submissions, only those with works selected for exhibition will be notified)
• Friday, March 5 – Saturday, June 5, 2010 AMPC Exhibition at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts in Boone, NC
• Friday March 5, 2010 – 7 to 9pm Exhibition opening reception and start of People’s Choice Voting Friday
• March 26 @ 5pm People’s Choice Voting closes

Links:
Appalachian Mountain Photo Competition
2009 Winners
2008 Winners
2007 Winners
2006 Winners
2005 Winners

Chris White of Kernersville sent us the first photo of this historic occasion ...

We have received reports of their receipt in the mails today. The first twenty-five people who send to us their pictures with you, your bike, and your tag will receive a free T-shirt.

Please include your shirt size and mailing address!

Houck Medford
hmedford@brpfoundation.org

A real red letter day!

I remarked in one of my last columns that I almost hate to hear the phone ring.

The Foundation is perennially the bearer of good news; please consider what follows next as nothing but good news.

Our design team received new color proofs from the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles on Friday afternoon, March 20; the team called us this morning with their “final selection” on the correct color and we share the event with you today, Monday, March 23. They are now on their way back to Raleigh to get the presses rolling.

This many-month process has all been accomplished without medication prescribed for my pain. Thank every one of you for your patience and understanding!

(l-r) my dad, Phil Medford; Edward LaFountaine, retired major general of the U.S. Air Force and one of my closest friends from high school; George Ivey, a very successful former director of development for the Friends of the Smokies; myself; and Ken Wilson, former editor and publisher of the Waynesville Mountaineer and former chairman of the board of trustees, Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation.

I have always promoted the Parkway as a place where memories can be created and sustained, but it was not until a recent experience that I discovered for myself that they can be significantly amplified.

The occasion was a recent speaking engagement with the Waynesville Rotary Club (March 20, 2009) from an invitation by Ken Wilson, who is actually a former chairman of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation’s board of trustees. I have perhaps spoken to over 50 Rotary Clubs in the last 10 years and none have had an audience as large as this one — 80 ; and another superlative is that presentation was in the town in which I grew up. It seemed appropriate that I take my dad, too, who will be 84 in July.

I always paint my presentations with local stories and embellishements of my personal knowlege of people from the audience who have been connected to the Parkway in their own personal histories. As I began to weave these threads in the 15 minutes that had been allowed, I was emotionally overwhelmed by the close connections that I had to the people that became part of the story. The moment and the people are captured in the photograph above.

The Parkway, indeed, is no ordinary road but a timeline of personal mileposts which can span a lifetime.

Last year the Parkway Foundation had its own learning camp with it’s Lodging and Learning Program at the Mt. Pisgah Inn. Our first year success gained us a reputation and soon we were receiving a call from Phil Blumenthal (Blumenthal Foundation) and Mike House, general manager of Wildacres. Would you like to join in a partnership with Discovery Place to make this something bigger?

Saying “yes” was easy and we learned early in our covenversations with the Discovery Place staff – John Mackay, Robert Corbin, Mary Bures, Karen McCall, Lisa Hoffman – that there ideals were as lofty as ours.

What has been assembled is an experience where every moment will be connected to the next and an agenda that is facilitated by an overly competent staff.

I am so proud of what this weekend will be that I am making sure that my elderly parents will be there, too, to be kids again.

Parkway Foundation contract designers have made selection from sample run by the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)

Today is Tuesday, February 26. For the last two weeks, any time the phone has rung, I have winced … for we have been flooded by calls … where’s our tag?

Expectations of the state we don’t take seriously but we did receive today a color proof demonstrating the State of North Carolina’s new flat-plate printing process which will be used for all new motorcycle specialty tags and some automobile specialty tags. When our designers saw our company car tag printed with the same new process, they said ‘this needs to be better.” I agreed, but having never plowed the ground before with North Carolina DMV by asking the question, “Can you do better?”

We supplied DMV with a color test mockup file three weeks ago which they printed and finally returned to us in the mail today. It was obvious that there were some color preferences which our keen-eye designers have selected. These will be communicated to Raleigh tomorrow on the opening of their business day.

We expect DMV to provide us a timeline and you will be first to know. It will be posted on all of our social network sites simultaneously so you can bookmark your favorite.

Here are the links to our other social sites: Twitter, MySpace, Facebook Address1, Facebook Address2, Facebook Address3.

After this is all over, I will buy a round a beers at Tuggle’s Gap Restaurant at Milepost 165.2

Count on me! I have already told Cheri we are coming!

Jonathan Burton, Parkway photographer, wins competition with "Revenge of the Baysitter."

It is not the Blue Ridge Parkway, but Jonathan Burton of Jonathan Burton Photography in Boone, was honored for an exceptional photographic image, titled “Revenge of the Babysitter”, entered in the Miller’s Professional Imaging Baby & Child Contest. The portrait placed first in the humorous category out of over 10,000 entries coming from professional photographers located throughout the United States.

Jonathan has been photographing children, families, and weddings for 17 years, winning numerous awards for his creative talent and exceptional photographic quality. Jonathan sponsors every year “Children at Moses Cone”, his portrait program which benefits the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation. The program usually occurs in May. When the event is posted, it can be found at found on the Foundation’s events page.

James Coman, III, (L) the founding executive director of the Blue Ridge Rural Land Trust; and Dr. Bill Herring (R), chairman of the conservancy's board of trustees. Photo courtesy of Miles Tager.

The first time that my wife and I met James Coman was at his personal request for us to meet him on a mountain top. It was a blustery day in January of 1998. He was working then to acquire Bullhead Mountain in Alleghaney County for a bird sanctuary and to protect one of the grand views from the Blue Ridge Parkway. The project took him two years and a half millions dollars (we made our gift; his personal request was too compelling); it is now in the hands of the State of North Carolina and managed by the North Carolina office of the National Audubon Society. Two words are on the back of James’s name tag – persistent determination.

In 2008, he was named “Conservationist of the Year” by the Governor of North Carolina.

The last time we saw James was on his farm at Piney Creek just before Christmas; we called ahead and he graciously encouraged us to please come by. “Do you remember how to get here?”, he asked. “As long as the driveway is still marked by bluebird houses”, we replied.

As we arrived, he appeared on his porch, as was his custom for all arriving guests. He immediately took us downstairs to the “conservation office” and ebulliently related his progress on a joint project we were engaged with him at Doughton Park.

Ten days ago, we received a message from the land trust board chairman. “James can no longer get down the stairs”.

Over the weekend, we received another message, “James is no longer with us.”

But this mountain of a man’s spirit will always be with us. He has single-handedly left his mark on more conservation easements than any other land conservancy in the state of North Carolina.

Typing that number just now it sort of feels like such a miniscule number, and doesn’t even come close to reflecting the major efforts put forth by individuals, businesses, and good old fashioned “word of mouth” news that there was major interest from motorcyclists to display their support of the Blue Ridge Parkway with motorcycle tags.

“It is all in their hands now,” said Bob Henard, one of the tag’s volunteer champions, with a sigh of relief. Foundation executive director Houck Medford and Bob Henard presented a full three-ring binder and a check for more than $11,000 to Kay Hatcher, head of the specialty license tag unit at the North Carolina DMV office in Raleigh last week.

So now we wait . . . let’s just hope we can get the tags in time for some spring rides!

Parker the Bear, the Bear That Shares - trademarked

My earliest memory of giving for a cause was as a sixth grader when I collected nickels, dimes, and pennies to save the USS North Carolina battleship from the scrap yard. The Save Our Ship campaign was conceived by Governor Terry Sanford and led by campaign chair, Hugh Morton. Over 700,000 children participated, demonstrating one of the most marvelous aspects of this campaign — the many small, heartfelt contributions of thousands school children adding up to save something so large.

Their contribution established a perceived “ownership” of the Battleship. No matter that the donations were small — a nickel, a dime, a penny — those youngsters in 1961, who are adults today, feel “ownership”. And that ownership translates into long term stewardship. When I return to Wilmington and see the great ship secured at its berth, I experience a surge of pride, although it is forty-seven years later. I would give again.

The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation wants to build the same kind of loving attachment for our national park. Parker the Bear introduces children to the wonder of nature and teaches children about park stewardship. A bear bank that is mission based; Parker’s purpose is to build a lifelong connection to the Blue Ridge Parkway. And, the Parkway needs the love. Long term budget constraints have made their mark. And without intervention, parts of the Parkway may eventually have to close.

This great national park site could be helped by a child’s investment of nickels, dimes, and pennies. And, when they “Journey” there 47 years from now, they will experience the thrill of being a part of something grand built upon generosity that came from the heart. Save the Journey.

(L-R ) Houck Medford, executive director of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation; Marla Stellpflug O'Byrne, executive director of Friends of Acadia; K.B. Medford, Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation (photo by Mike Stagg)

When the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation was incorporated in the spring of 1997, its leaders examined two existing partner groups to serve as models for its creation — Friends of Acadia and the Yosemite Fund. These were two of the most successful park partner organizations in existence, and remain so to this day. I quickly established relationships with the model group leaders, Ken Olson and Bob Hansen — both of which have recently retired after many years of serving their organizations. The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation was successful in its second year to reach a threshold of $100,000 which qualified it to become a member of the Friends Alliance — an ad hoc group of park partner professionals who met annually to discuss mutual issues of concern from fund raising to national park service policies. Both Ken and Bob have remained true to this day, available at any time for advice and counsel. I am grateful to you both for your continued availability in your new life.

Maine and California, where these organizations are based, have not exactly been an easy access to us because of their locations. During the tenure of Ken Wilson, then chairman of the board of trustees of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, a jointly sponsored trip was actually planned to Acadia National Park for the constituency of the Friends of the Smokies and the Parkway Foundation, but had to be scrubbed because the travel agency which was arranging the trip needed solid commitments from its travelers months before the actual excursion. Sound familiar? People were just as busy then in their daily lives as they are now.

This fall, a long-term dream became a reality with a visit to Acadia National Park, as a component of a necessary personal trip with my wife – K.B. The organization was everything that I had expected it to be. Park partner types always carve out the time to compare notes on our successes and “modi operandi”. It was gratifying to both of us to compare our notes as we learned as much from Acadia as did Acadia from the Blue Ridge. And yes, Ken Olson is still omnipresent in Bar Harbor making whatever group he is serving the best it can be. Thank you Ken Olson and Marla for your hospitality

Bob Henard working the show ...

I am convinced that if the Lord was remaking this man’s blood today, he would replace his hemoglobin with the Blue Ridge Parkway. The oxygen molecule would be substitued for a Parkway view.

Bob live’s in Raleigh and of the thousands of miles that were put on his Goldwing last year, most of them were accumulated driving from Raleigh to the Blue Ridge Parkway and back home. “Once I am on the Parkway, I feel like I am at home.”

Bob’s wants his Parkway motorcycle license tag in the worse way but also in the best way – he volunteered to man a booth for the entire weekend of the Goldwing Regional Rally this past weekend in Asheville. I would check in with him by cell to see “how he was doing.”

I arrived in the late afternoon of the last day to pick up our gear and supportive accoutrements that kept Bob happy and hydrated for three days. I overheard him give the presentation to the couple in the photograph. It could not have been better presented.

Thank you, Bob, for the 18 new tag applications and the ones that dribbled into the office over the weekend bringing our total to 258 of the needed 300.

Anyone else want to man a booth at your favorite rally? We will do what we did for Bob — pay for your room and gas.

My opening question: “Do you know about the new Blue Ridge Parkway license tag for motorcycles?” His response: “Do I know about it? I have distributed over a thousand of your applications and I just finished talking to those two guys over there asking them the same thing. By the way, who are you, anyway?” Well, I had to tell him.

I knew Bob only from the telephone conversations that I had overheard with Lynne Fletcher (our director of donor services) when he was asking her to send him more tag applications, almost on a monthly basis. Our Doughton Park conversation was the first that we had ever had in person.

Thank you Bob, you are a real champion for the Blue Ridge Parkway. Your very praising word-of-mouth referrals make you one of the best missionaries we could ever have. Thank you!

Dr. Jolley in 1985

The first time that I met Harley Jolley was in 1985 at the 50th birthday party of the Blue Ridge Parkway, celebrated at the Parkway’s birthplace — Cumberland Knob near the North Carolina and Virginia line. I was there then just an average Parkway visitor who had driven up from Winston-Salem to see what was going on. What struck me most about Dr. Jolley was his navy blue blazer with its smartly sewn embroidered Blue Ridge Parkway logotype insignia. When I first saw him, my reaction then as it is now is that “this guy must be official”. He was official because he was regarded for years on end as the Parkway’s historian and author of the book called nothing else but simply the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Dr. Jolley with CCC Veteran Petro Kulynych in 2008

My wife and I had the distinction in pre-Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation days to serve as volunteers in the Blue Ridge Parkway’s Volunteer-in-Parks program. We must have done something right because our boss lady asked us if we would like to attend staff training at Crossnore — the North Carolina Forest Service training facility just north of Linville Falls where all newbie and returning seasonal Parkway employees went to be indoctrinated.

The curriculum was basically four days with outside speakers – most motivational, some not. Dr. Jolley was the guest lecturer whose responsibility was to give the audience a sense of history about the Blue Ridge Parkway. Well, half-way through his presentation, he stands upon the desk to dramatize the famous to this day controversy about the location of the Parkway in North Carolina vs. Tennessee. In Patrick Henry fashion, Dr. Jolley exclaimed nearly at the top of his lungs and with animate arms waving “Taking the Parkway into Tennessee would be like taking a sinner to the gates of heaven, turning them around and then sending them into Purgatory” — not exact, but close…

Share the Journey!

The North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles has favored the three number position with the suffix BR. Tags would be numbered like 123BR.

Four positions allows more options for vanity combinations. A copy of the letter will be posted as soon as it is available. We will meet with DMV soon to get their commitment to the design.

This decision will be important to the success of the program.

More later … we are appreciative of your patience.

Carolina BMW of Greensboro has promoted the tag from the very beginning, and if you happen to be in the area this Saturday, March 8 — stop in because they are having one of their famous open-houses which features great BBQ and rides of their new machines.

Ride safe!