Archive for the ‘General’ Category

Receiving the Rail Trail Champion award from Keith Laughlin, President of the Rails to Trails Conservancy

I am delighted to report that I have just returned from receiving my Doppelt Family Rail-Trail Champion Award from the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.

The 24 other national recipients and I were awarded at Kaiser Permanente’s state-of-the-art Center for Total Health in Washington, D.C. on October 1.  We received a commemorative silver-plated railroad spike and, most importantly, a pass-through grant to the trail or trail organization of our choice.

For my organization, I chose Friends of Anne Arundel County Trails, which continues to promote, protect and enhance the trails of Anne Arundel County in Maryland, where I first took a leadership role in developing rail-trails.

The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., whose mission is to create a nationwide network of trails from former rail lines and connecting corridors to build healthier places for healthier people.  I am thrilled that this organization has allowed myself and others to express our love for rail-trail projects while sharing our passion with other organizations who share similar goals.

With Steve Elkington, National Park Service Rivers, Trails and Conservation Office, Washington DC

We are enjoying this September weather here at Red Mountain. The air is crisp, and the leaves are crunching beneath our feet. I find myself wondering how the original miners of Red Mountain and their families responded to this time of year; perhaps their children played among the houses in the mining camps excitedly in the cool air as we all did as children. How will you and yours celebrate the arrival of fall?

Speaking of fall, it won’t be long before we can enjoy this type of scenery again:

Best wishes.

Red Mountain Park acquired a piece of land from U.S. Steel containing the old Oxmoor Cemetery.  Established in 1825, the cemetery rests on five and a half acres of land.  The area is enclosed by West Oxmoor-Shannon road and Oxmoor-Wenonah road on the northeast corner, and is less than a mile from what was Oxmoor Furnace.

Oxmoor Cemetery was in use until 1912, and over 300 residents of Oxmoor were buried there.  It is registered on the Alabama Historic Cemetery Register, and is one of only 14 on the list in Jefferson County.

Recently, our maintenance manger, Jeff Newman, led a cleanup of the area. We are excited that this beautiful cemetery is now clear of debris and that the markers of those buried here are visible.  Here are some views of the excellent work that was done:

Get ready, hiking and volunteer enthusiasts!  The American Hiking Society’s Volunteer Vacations will be here before we know it.

Day 1 of Red Mountain Park's first-ever Volunteer Vacation in March 2011.

The American Hiking Society describes Volunteer Vacations as “a week of building and maintaining trails in exciting and diverse locations across the country.”

The 2012 Volunteer Vacation at Red Mountain Park will take place sometime in March 2012.  Our staff has officially begun the application process!

According to the American Hiking Society, “The mission of the Volunteer Vacations program is to provide land managers with much needed assistance, maintaining and building hiking trails, while also providing our volunteers with a safe, organized and enjoyable vacation experience.”

For last year’s Volunteer Vacations at the park, volunteers built a trail to the highest point on the park property, leading to a breathtaking overlook of Birmingham’s downtown skyline at an elevation of 900 feet.   The project was a tremendous success.

Volunteer Vacations at Red Mountain Park are family friendly and fun so come join us in the preservation of America’s mining history through a meaningful volunteer project, and in turn, help build a beautiful trail system for future generations!  We will be sure to let you know when official registration begins.  For a better idea on the scope of last year’s project, you can view more information here.