Reported by John Shannon
Charlottesville Chapter activities on a warm December day
started with a short walk around Preddy Creek County Park by six humans and one
dog. However, the 16th annual Christmas party was the day’s major
activity.
At the Dunlodge Cabin venue, cabin overseers Thomas and Mary
Jorgensen, cabins’ supervisor Mel Merritt, and trail crew member Bill Downes
and family put up decorations. When the guests arrived, not only did Dunlodge
look plenty festive, but Christmas music was playing and a homey fire was
burning in the fireplace.
The first order of business: eating! Everyone brought a dish
to share, and we enjoyed the usual excellent meal. Afterwards, long-time member
John Shannon recognized volunteers who made major contributions during 2012. Honorees
were:- Andy
Willgruber for Little Calf Mountain summit clearing, assistance with AT
relocation, derecho damage cleanup, professional electrical work at
Dunlodge and other cabins, and hike leading.
- Don
Davis for many hours of work at Dunlodge and other cabins, AT relocation
and other trail work, and derecho damage cleanup.
- Iva
Gillet for leading new and novel hikes and organizing hikes associated
with other social events, as well as for her work on the Vining Tract
trails.
- Ken
Moss for upgrading the Chapter’s presence on the web, leading hikes, and
posting hike activities.
- Marian
Styles for contributions to reports on activities, storm damage assessment
and cleanup, and organizing Chapter participation in an invasive plants
workshop.
- New
hike leaders Marit Gay, Pete Fink, and Liz Lyons for keeping hikes going.
John noted that we would not have been having our party at
Dunlodge without PATC cabins officers Thomas and Mary Jorgensen and cabins
supervisor Mel Merritt. District Manager Don White also received accolades for
all his contributions.
Following the thank-you’s, the highlight of the evening—the
White Elephant gift exchange—commenced. Reactions of gift recipients ranged
from “I don’t deserve/want this gift” to “I hope I can take this home.”
Early on, Debra Fisher opened a box containing a bottle of
amaretto. Her appreciation was tempered by what else was in the box: the
historic portable urinal, making its 15th appearance at the party.
Debra proceeded to toss the urinal’s contents, which luckily consisted of
Snickers bars, around the room. She then read aloud the official history of the
urinal and flipped through the accompanying photo album that displayed pictures
of past parties.
Other gifts included a couple of survival kits, one for the
fabled imminent end of the world and one for survival on the trail (two bottles
of wine from the Jones Mountain area and a can of herrings). John Shannon, who
only occasionally drinks wine, opened four of the eight or nine packages
containing bottles of alcohol after all his previous picks were taken by others,
but in the end he went home with a box of tea. 
The bottles of spirits were heavily traded and included
amaretto, wine, ice wine, vodka, and moonshine. A framed print of van Gogh’s
Starry night was traded a couple of times, as was a humongous box of Whitman’s
chocolate. No amount of marketing by Geneviève Moëne enticed anyone to trade
for her box of cookies, nor did Brian Muszynski’s antics with a tape measure
spark any trades. In addition to the tape measure, practical items included a tire
inflator, clippers with a trail work report form, and a hiking pack. 
After all the wrapping paper settled, AT District Manager
Don White called Andy Willgruber, Don Davis, and John Shannon forward to thank
them for their volunteer work on the major Appalachian Trail projects this year:
relocating the AT on Little Calf Mountain and clearing heavy damage after the
derecho.
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