Collection number: MC 232
Size: 9 boxes
(3.68 cu.ft.)
About the AMC Trail Crew Association
Conservationists founded the Appalachian Mountain Club in 1876, but the Club did not hire seasonal trail crews in the modern form until 1919. That first gang, composed of Sherman Adams (the future Governor of New Hampshire and President Eisenhower’s Chief of Staff), Dudley Carleton, John Fuller, Cyril Fyles, Otto Hess, Paul Jenks, Carleton Reed, and Clarence Stilwill, cleared trails, replaced signs, constructed and repaired shelters, built log bridges over bogs and rivers, and removed stumps from pathways. The same trail work continues today nearly unchanged. The tools remain much the same from the early twentieth century, although helicopter drops have transformed the logistics of shelter construction and other transportation concerns. In 1972, moreover, the Trail Crew abandoned its long-time home at Hutton Lodge in Whitefield, New Hampshire, for new quarters at Pinkham Notch. Nevertheless, fresh air, exhaustion, splinters, dirt, mosquitoes, mud, flies, unpredictable weather, and great mountain vistas have remained an integral part of the trail crew experience.
Camaraderie and love of the outdoors inspired the creation of the AMC Trail Crew Association in 1952. It was certainly not the first time that alumni sat about and shared drinks and stories; after all, the first recorded trail crew alumni reunion was held at the house of Roy Bailey in November of 1948, and there were probably a few informal ones before that. Nevertheless, the Trail Crew Association was organized to foster a renewed sense of community and outreach amongst an otherwise scattered community. The founders of 1952 asked for annual dues of $1.00 to fund the mailing of their November newsletter, Chips and Clippings. Today, the Trail Crew Association asks for slightly higher annual fees, but their mission remains the same. The current Association maintains an addressee list of current and past trail crew members, holds an annual reunion in Boston and two weekend reunions in summer at Shelburne Lodge, and continues to publish Chips and Clippings. The Association’s main office lies in North Conway, but they also maintain a cabin for reunion use in Shelburne, New Hampshire. The state of New Hampshire recognized the Trail Crew Association’s application for incorporation as a non-profit in 1999.
About the AMC Trail Crew Association papers
The collection includes administrative and hiring documents, work reports from the trails, publications, correspondence, slides and photographs, maps, and even a few artifacts, audio cassettes, and CDs. The collection is divided into seven main series, with the first three containing documents that describe the three functions of the Trail Crew Association: administration, labor, and alumni relations.
The first series of the collection describes the structural makeup of the Trail Crew Association, while the second series is notable for its portrait of seasonal employees working in the White Mountain backcountry. The first subseries, “Trail Crew Applications,” reveals the ways in which young people thought about working and playing in the wilderness and what it would mean to them to be a steward of the mountains. Now and then, the applications have been marked with a pencil-scrawl of “Hired!” These items are of significance to the environmental historian as they capture the mood, spirit, and vocabulary of conservation from the 1960s to the 1980s. The second subseries, “Trail Crew Lists,” might be useful to trail crew alumni as well as historians. Also interesting is the last folder in the series, “Trail Crew correspondence, 1990s,” which includes mostly off-season cards and letters. “It amazes me how much more entertaining people are in the woods,” one trail crew member wrote to friends while working in the Rocky Mountains in an undated card. Another member even wrote about his experiences working on the trail crew to get him into college, and his essay is included in the folder.
The final subseries, “Trail Crew Work Reports and Schedules,” details not only the trail crew’s day-to-day labor, but also the group’s wit and character. Some of these documents deviate from their normal seriousness, especially in the years 1979-1984, when the creative, raucous, and assertive energies of the crew were in full bloom and on open display. Among the more moderate examples is a work schedule for June 27-July 1, 1980. The scheduler informs Rico, Murph, “Pandaman,” and Dave that “we’re going back in time, to the days when men were men and sheep were scared,” and that they will be constructing wooden ladders. Their housing: “one of the beautiful love nest bungalos of Tukermine Ravine. Have fun boys,” the supervisor closes, “and, remember, hold up the crow bar at the first sign of lightning.” In 1981, the work scheduler decided to add quotes of the week to his typewrites. For August 20-24, 1982, the quotes were “It’s a death pack, a suicide rap, we have to get out while we are young,” and “Long live tall trees, tall men, tall ladders, and naked dancing.”
The Trail Crew Association news bulletin, Chips and Clippings, included in Series 3, contains valuable information about the organization’s reunion activities, trail maintenance highlights, and personnel news. It is also valuable for its coverage of the 1960s, a decade that is conspicuously lacking throughout the collection. Other notable items in the manuscript collection includes Series 3, Subseries 2, which document Trail Crew recollections from the first half of the twentieth century. “The Old Man’s Beard prank” (folder 1), in which trail crew members graced the Old Man with a stylish goatee in 1955, exhibits some of the most boisterous and fun-loving spirit of trail crew culture. Also noteworthy is the art of Victor “VJAM” Martineck and the miscellaneous information for White Mountain tourists in folder 9.
Series 5, “Photographs,” offers viewers a visual tour of the trail crew experience. The images, which date back as far as the 1920s, capture the rugged mountain scenery, the trails and trees, the camaraderie, the rough shelters and campsites, and the good humor of life in the White Mountains. It also includes photos of trail crew leisure time and reunions. The best documentation dates from the 1970s, when photographer George Bellrose unpacked his camera and created elegant and artistic portraits of trail crew work.
For more on the Trail Crew Association, interested researchers should also visit the official Trail Crew Association blog.
Note: Many of the photos contained in this collection are digitally preserved in the two DVDs in Series 7. Note that the iPhoto Library, which has organized the images into albums, can only be opened on Macintosh systems that have the iPhoto application. To work properly, the AMC Archives Library icon must be copied onto the computer’s desktop before trying to open it. Microsoft operating systems can get at the same individual photos in “JPEG” format, but they will not display the album sorting of iPhoto. Likewise, the CD-R holds more recent images, but none of them appear in hard copy in the collection. The photos in folders “D:\FUNGI2K1,” “PATROL,” “SHELBURNE,” “SIGNS,” and “TCA” must be opened with the software Package.
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
This collection is open.
Copyright Notice
Copyright is retained by the University of New Hampshire.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], [Folder], [Box], AMC Trail Crew Association Papers, 1914-2009, MC 232, Milne Special Collections and Archives, University of New Hampshire Library, Durham, NH, USA.
Acquisitions Information
Donated: Board of the AMC Trail Crew Association, 2009 (Accession number: 2010.16)
Collection Contents
Series 1: Administrative Documents, 1970-2008
| Box 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Box 1, Folder 1 | Administrative correspondence, 1970-2007 | |
| Box 1, Folder 2 | Shelburne Lodge campaign, 1975-1998 | |
| Box 1, Folder 3 | Trail Crew work counts and costs, 1994-1996 | |
| Box 1, Folder 4 | Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws, 1998-1999 | |
| Box 1, Folder 5 | Gift agreement with Milne Special Collections, 2008 | |
Series 2: Personnel and Labor Documents, 1919-1998
Subseries A: Trail Crew Applications, 1960-1989
| Box 1, Folder 6 | Trail Crew applications, 1960s | |
| Box 1, Folder 7 | Trail Crew applications, 1970s | |
| Box 1, Folder 8 | Trail Crew applications, 1980s |
Subseries B: Trail Crew Lists, 1919-1998
| Box 2 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Box 2, Folder 1 | Trail Crew membership by year, 1919-1976 | |
| Box 2, Folder 2 | Trail Crew lists, 1970s | |
| Box 2, Folder 3 | Trail Crew lists, 1980s | |
Subseries C: Trail Crew Work Reports and Schedules, 1953-1970
| Box 2, Folder 9 | Trail Crew petty cashbook, 1953-1969 | |
| Box 2, Folder 10 | Trail Crew checkbook, 1959-1969 | |
| Box 2, Folder 11 | Report on Guyot Shelter, 1970 | |
| Box 3 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Box 3, Folder 1 | Trail Crew status reports and schedules, 1968-1971 | |
| Box 3, Folder 2 | Trail Crew work schedules and reports, 1972 | |
| Box 3, Folder 3 | Trail Crew work reports, 1975 | |
| Box 3, Folder 4 | Work reports, 1977 | |
| Box 3, Folder 5 | Work reports, 1978 | |
| Box 3, Folder 6 | Work reports, 1979 | |
| Box 3, Folder 7 | Work schedules, 1980 | |
| Box 3, Folder 8 | Work schedules and reports, 1981 | |
| Box 3, Folder 9 | Work schedules and reports, 1982 | |
| Box 3, Folder 10 | Work schedules and reports, 1983 | |
| Box 3, Folder 11 | Flaglines and Trail Program reports, 1983-1993 | |
| Box 3, Folder 12 | Work schedules and reports, 1984 | |
| Box 3, Folder 13 | Work log tally sheets, 1988 | |
| Box 3, Folder 14 | Work schedules and reports, 1989 | |
| Box 3, Folder 15 | Potential work projects, 1990 | |
| Box 3, Folder 16 | Work reports, 1990 | |
| Box 3, Folder 17 | Status reports and schedules, 1991 | |
| Box 4 | ||
| Box 4, Folder 1 | Work completed, 1992 | |
| Box 4, Folder 2 | Out of state work reports, 1966-1992 | |
| Box 4, Folder 3 | Out of state trail publications, undated | |
Series 3: Alumni Relations, 1924-2008
Subseries A: Chips and Clippings, 1958-2008
| Box 4, Folder 4 | Chips and Clippings, 1958-1974 | |
| Box 4, Folder 5 | Chips and Clippings, 1958-1980 | |
| Box 4, Folder 6 | Chips and Clippings, 1975-2008 |
Subseries B: Alumni Correspondence and Recollections, 1924-1979
| Box 4, Folder 7 | TC recollections from 1924, 1990 | |
| Box 4, Folder 8 | Kent Eanes recollections, 1950-1979 | |
| Box 4, Folder 9 | Kent Eanes’ 1936 AMC White Mountain Guide, 1936 | |
| Box 5 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Box 5, Folder 1 | “The Old Man’s Beard” prank, 1955 | |
| Box 5, Folder 2 | TC recollections, 1955-1978 | |
| Box 5, Folder 3 | TC Alumni Correspondence, 1975-1984 | |
| Box 5, Folder 4 | 75th Anniversary, 1994 | |
Series 4: Miscellaneous Documents and Publications
| Box 5, Folder 5 | Newspaper clippings |
| Box 5, Folder 6 | Magazine publications |
| Box 5, Folder 7 | Periodical articles |
| Box 5, Folder 8 | Victor J.A. “VJAM” Martineck’s art |
| Box 5, Folder 9 | Miscellaneous White Mountain tourist information |
Series 5: Photographs, 1926-2006
| Box 5, Folder 10 | Trail Crew photos, 1920s (mostly by Charles Bradford Mitchell), 1926-1928, 20 photos, black and white, 3.5 inches by 2.5 inches | |
| Box 5, Folder 11 | Trail Crew photos, circa 1940, 42 photos, black and white, 3.5 inches by 2.5 inches | |
| Box 5, Folder 12 | TC Crew and vehicle photos, 1940-1949, 20 photos, black and white and sepia, 7.5 inches by 5 inches | |
| Box 5, Folder 13 | Tercentary Hike photos, 1942, 15 photos, black and white, 3 inches by 4.25 inches | |
| Box 6 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Box 6, Folder 1 | Yellow scrapbook (held in box 8), 1940s | |
| Box 6, Folder 2 | Trail Crew slides, 1949-1962, 24 color slides | |
| Box 6, Folder 3 | Black Album (held in box 8), 1950-1954 | |
| Box 6, Folder 4 | Bob Watt’s TC photos, 1952, 67 photos, black and white, 3.5 inches by 3.5 inches | |
| Box 6, Folder 5 | Red Album scrapbook, 1952-1954, 26 photos in black and white or sepia; 7 photos in color, 5 inches by 3.5 inches | |
| Box 6, Folder 6 | Building Great Gulf Bridge, 1953, 13 photos, color, 8.5 inches by 11 inches | |
| Box 6, Folder 7 | 7 Trail Crew photos, 1950s and 1960s, 7 photos in black and white, 7 photos in color, 8.5 inches by 11 inches | |
| Box 6, Folder 8 | Trail Crew photos, 1970s, 134, mostly color, most are 3.5 inches by 5 inches | |
| Box 6, Folder 9 | George Bellrose photos, 1970s, 145 photos in black and white, 8.5 inches by 11 inches | |
| Box 7 | ||
| Box 7, Folder 1 | TC and SCA slides, 1973-1996, 191 slides | |
| Box 7, Folder 2 | Trails Committee meeting, circa 1980, 11 photos in black and white, 3.5 inches by 5 inches | |
| Box 7, Folder 3 | Trail Crew photos, 1980s, 137 photos, with some negatives | |
| Box 7, Folder 4 | Trail Crew photos, circa 1990s, 3 photos in color, 3.5 inches by 5 inches | |
| Box 7, Folder 5 | Trail Crew photos, circa 2000s, 18 photos in color, 3.5 inches by 5 inches | |
| Box 7, Folder 6 | Summer reunion, 2003, 40 color photos, 3.5 inches by 5 inches | |
| Box 7, Folder 7 | Reunion Photos, 2003, 15 color photos, 3.5 inches by 5 inches | |
| Box 7, Folder 8 | Undated Trail Crew photos, 1950s?, 2 photos, 8.5 by 11 inches and 4 by 6.5 inches | |
| Box 7, Folder 9 | Undated TC photos, 1970s?, 28 photos, both black and white and color, with negative prints | |
| Box 7, Folder 10 | Undated TC photos, 1980s?, 7 photos, mostly color, 3.5 by 5 inches | |
| Box 7, Folder 11 | Various or undated TC images18 pen and ink sketches, 9 other various | |
| Box 7, Folder 12 | White Mountain scenery, undated,17, various, | |
| Box 7, Folder 13 | White Mountain postcards, undated,7, mostly color, 3.5 by 5.5 inches | |
Series 6: Artifacts
| Box 8 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Box 8, Item 1 | Photo of crystal cascade, Mt. Washington, NH, 1914 | |
| Box 8, Item 2 | Yellow scrapbook, 1940s | |
| Box 8, Item 3 | Black Album, 1950-1954 | |
| Box 8, Item 4 | AMC shelter wall hanging, cloth | |
| Box 8, Item 5 | AMC Mahoosuc trail sign, wood | |
| Box 8, Item 6 | AMC Meader ridge trail sign, wood | |
| Box 8, Item 7 | AMC Lawn Cut-Off side, metal | |
Series 7: Multimedia Materials
| Box 8 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Box 8, Item 1 | Letter from Bob Watts to Ben English concerning DVD donation, November 17, 2009 | |
| Box 8, Item 2-7 | 6 audiocassettes entitled “Trail Crew, 1994” | |
| Box 8, Item 8 | Audiocassette, Shannon Byle’s interviews with Aldie Jenkins and Jack “Stretch” Hayes, 1950-1955 | |
| Box 8, Item 9 | Audiocassette, Trail Crew of ’53 and Great Gulf Bridge | |
| Box 8, Item 9-10 | 2 DVDs entitled “AMC Trail Crew Archives,” including iPhoto Library | |
| Box 8, Item 11 | CD-R from Bailey, photos 2000s | |
Series 8: Maps
| Box 9 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Box 9, Item 1 | White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire and Maine, 1937, 34 by 33 inches | |
| Box 9, Item 2 | White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire and Maine, 1940, 34 by 34 inches | |
| Box 9, Item 3 | White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire and Maine, 1940, 34 by 34 inches | |
| Box 9, Item 4 | White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire and Maine, 1942, 34 by 34 inches | |
| Box 9, Item 5 | Appalachian Mountain Club Trails in New Hampshire and Maine, 1947, 30 by 28 inches | |
| Box 9, Item 6 | Appalachian Mountain Club Map of the Mount Washington Range, by Louis F. Cutter, 1960, 23.5 by 15 inches | |
| Box 9, Item 7 | Appalachian Mountain Club Map of the Franconia Region, White Mountain National Forest by Robert T. Holloran, 1972, 21 by 16 inches | |
| Box 9, Item 8 | Appalachian Mountain Club Map of the Mount Washington Range by Louis F. Cutter, 1972, 23 by 15 inches | |
| Box 9, Item 9 | Hiking Trails of New England by the New England Trail Conference, circa 1973, 20.5 by 16.5 inches | |
| Box 9, Item 10 | Appalachian Mountain Club Carter-Mahoosuc (on reverse side: Rangley-Stratton), 1976, 23 by 17 inches | |
| Box 9, Item 11 | The Appalachian Mountain Club Map of Mount Desert Island, Acadia National Park (on reverse side: Weld), 1976, 17 by 14 inches | |
