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 D C Grotto
...where it all began continued
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Alden and Francis Snell
getting ready to enter Starr Chapel Cave, 1940. Photographer unkown. |
By 1946 many cavers returned to the Washington area, and on May 8, 1946 the Washington Grotto was formed. A BIG membership drive began at once with much publicity. The secretary of the grotto sent a letter to known cavers who did not attend the first few meetings of the new grotto to advise them of the grotto business, activities and to urge them to participate.
An annual report, dated March 1949 lists 129 members. During this year Jack Wilson served as chairman, John Meenehan as vice chairman, Nancy Rogers as secretary, and Howard Watkins as treasurer.
Initially no annual dues were charged by the grotto except a subscription to the club newsletter of $1.00 per year. Originally, the newsletter was a single sheet forecasting coming meetings and trips. It wasnt until 1947 that the DC SPELEOGRAPH was organized to a format similar to that of today. The group met in All Souls Church at 16th and Harvard, NW until 1950, when it moved to Georgetown Library at R Street and Wisconsin Avenue to gain additional space. It was also in 1950 that annual dues were started at $2.00. In addition, the grotto arranged a rental charge for the use of club equipment, payable in advance. Either a charge of $1.00 per item borrowed or 10% of the value, whichever was less, was charged, plus $1.00 deposit for cleaning.
Nancy Rogers early bat banding scientist from D. C Grotto. Photo by Ken Perry in early 1950s |
In the period 1949-1950, no club projects were organized. Members worked on personal projects of various members, including: locating, exploring and mapping caves of Maryland with Bill Davies; systematic excavation of shelter caves in Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia with Bob Hackman; research into saltpeter workings of nearby states with Burton Faust; cave mineralogy with Bill Foster; bat banding and a study of bat migrations with Nancy Rogers.
Sometime between 1950 and 1952, the Washington Grotto changed its name to the DC Grotto. In 1952, the Grotto rented a cabin on the Bullpasture River from a Mr. Marshall of Williamsville. The cabin was to be used as a campsite for cavers working in that area, and as a vacation spot for DC Grotto members and their families.--DC SPELEOGRAPH, May 1952.
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An editorial by Marguerite Klein in the July 1954 DC SPELEOGRAPH opens with: What is the DC Grotto doing to further the cause of speleology? At this time the grotto held no meetings during the summer months which was a time when most of the caving was being done. She suggests later in the editorial that someone who can direct such an operation pick up the lost Virginia Cave Survey which was supposed to have been a grotto project. Finally she writes: If we would join the Virginia Region, as we have been invited to do, it would not only strengthen the Region, but would give us a larger and more extensive working personnel for the Virginia Survey. The Virginia Region, by the way, is very shaky at this writing, due to the drainage of a large number of Virginians by the DC Grotto. They are in a possible state of collapse, unless the DC Grotto adds to their membership. It would certainly be a shame, if one of the original regional organizations had to disband through the lack of cooperation by the DC Grotto.
In August 1954 the grotto received a letter from Earl Thierry, then chairman of the VAR, welcoming the DC Grotto into the regional organization. --DC SPELEOGRAPH, September 1954.
The February 1955 issue of the NSS NEWS proclaims the new officers of the DC Grotto as being:, chairman; Kenneth Perry, vice-chairman; Marilyn Bozeman, secretary; Felix Peckham, treasurer. On the Executive Committee were Henry Douglas, Bob Lutz, Carolyn Bartlett and Marguerite Klein [Miller].
continued
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