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continued
The May 1944 issue of the GROTTO GRAPEVINE tells of an initiation of ten new members into the Grotto. The ceremony took place in Tawney's Cave. Following the presentation of the neophytes to president, Ackie Loyd, all lamps were extinguished and the Lamp of Speleology was lit. Larry Burns gave a brief talk on the advantages of being a member in the VPI Grotto and in the NSS. Standing before the Flame of Speleology initiates took the oath of membership administered by Gordon Jones. President Loyd then welcomed the new members into the Grotto. He then lit his lamp from the Flame, and gave each new member as he came forward, the Light of Speleology.
In 1947 a new constitution was adopted that admitted to membership only NSS members from the Blacksburg area. This restriction probably led to the formation of the VPI Cave Club on campus in 1948. Throughout 1949 and 1950 the Grotto held program meetings in conjunction with the Cave Club. NSS members lectured the club on safe caving practices, and helped to orient club members toward the NSS. Sometime in this period, the VPI Grotto of the NSS and the VPI Cave Club became one organization By 1951 they had published ten different training bulletins dealing with caving fundamentals, rigging and leadership practices. These bulletins were made available to all NSS Grottos.
The GROTTO GRAPEVINE continued into the early 1950's with Earl Thierry, Bill Cuddington, R.J. Wagner and Larry Sabatinos as frequent contributors. The biggest project at this time was the exploration and mapping of the New- berry-Bane'ssystem in Bland County. "--Frieders/Barlow.
Stan Carts stated that when he came to the VPI in 1952, the grotto had three members. They would not go caving, because they considered it too dangerous. The club revived in 1953,--- Personal interview with A. Whittemore
John Harshbarger writes: "Jim Quinlin served as president of the Grotto in 1957-58 and I was president from 1959-60. The period of 1957-1960 represents about the end of body rappelling with 5/8-inch diameter manila rope and the switch to smaller, nylon rope with brake bars. We did try numerous rappelling devices as I assume others have done. We met each Friday night at the SAB, and went on trips Saturday afternoon from 1:00 PM to way past midnight. We used Clover Hollow Caveand Pig Holeas training caves and spent much of our time looking for unexplored pit caves. We practiced belaying, rappelling and rock climbing at Maybrook Sink Hole, and also had rappelling practice from Castle Rock in Pembroke."
"The VPI Grotto swung into the swinging sixties with a new constitution, adopted in May 1961, which contained the controversial amendments dealing with a trip leader classification system. The new constitution divided all club members into groups of horizontal or vertical cavers, and leaders into groups "A" or "B" according to their abilities.
"Two opposing viewpoints developed in the club over the leadership system. The two factions supporting these viewpoints threatened to destroy the club. One faction, led by George Fairer, was in favor of the system; the other faction, led by Gregg Marland, was against it because they felt that the code was too stringent and did not allow new members to learn the basics of caving and caving safety. Many meetings were the scene of heated debate over the code."
"The grotto began to publish a new newsletter in February 1962 under the editorship of Gregg Marland, who for a number of issues was the sole contributor.
"The creator of the apelike troglodyte emblazoned on the masthead of VPI Grotto's newsletter was John Danner. Gregg Marl posed for the emblem so that correct proportions could be obtained. --THE TECH TROGLODYTE, April, 1962.
"Another split in the ranks of the club almost occurred in 1962 when part of the membership wanted the grotto to become an outing club associated with IOCA.
| Ed Day, Rick Nolting, R. E. Whttemore, Jimmey Charlton, Wayne Elliottesting manila rope., VPI campus, 1964. Photo by R.E. Whittemore |
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The grotto rose to national prestige in 1963 when, under the chairmanships of John Holsinger and Gregg Marland, the grotto hosted the 1963 NSS Convention at Mountain Lake. In this year the grotto set itself up as the "World's Most Active Caving Organization" boasting an average of four trips per week, and 2000 to 3000 hours per quarter. Much of this growth was contributed to by the trainee system which was incorporated into the club In 1961. Another new constitution in 1963 did away with the leadership system. "--Frieders/Barlow.
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