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This grotto was chartered in 1946 as the Charlottesville Grotto. Formation of the group happened in a most unexpected manner. Karl 'Monk" Heinze was hitchhiking up the Shenandoah Valley one Sunday, headed nowhere in particular, and was picked up by some cavers from Washington, including Bill Stephenson. They were going caving, and invited Karl along. He returned to UVA after his trip, and related his experiences to two friends, Stew Lancaster and Terry Tarkington.
These three found other students interested in caving at the university and formed the grotto. During the formative years, Thorn Mountain, Sinnitand Breathing Caveswere favorites for sport trips, although the grotto engaged in a project to locate all the caves in Augusta County, VA. Much time was spent in Blue Hole, where they took a series of water temperatures and flow measurements, which were subsequently prepared as a paper given before the Virginia Academy of Sciences.
Terry Tarkington (now of Decatur, AL) served as Treasurer in 1946-47, and as Vice--President in 1947-48. Another well-known caver who had his start with the Charlottesville Grotto was Porter B. Echols, Jr., who served as the President for the group in 1953-1954.
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In May 1947, the Charlottesville Grotto was reported to be growing quickly. After starting with four members, the roster has already grown to twelve. One of the grotto's achievements has been a two-day trip to Breathing Caveduring which an extensive branch of virgin cave was explored and mapped. Sinnit Cavewas visited on March 22nd for the purpose of finding the reputed shortcut to the Hall of the Mountain King. The party succeeded in descending some 200 feet through one of three funnels in the room floor to a point near the Subway. The Grotto has also taken a special interest in Gibson's Hole (Blue Hole), VA. Says Karl Heinze, "The stream channel leading off to the north is in the form of a cleft ten feet wide and some sixty to seventy feet high, an impressive sight. It can be navigated by boat back about 200 feet, where it narrows to a width of one foot. Soundings in the rear portion indicate a depth of over 50 feet. The water level varies slightly, however, having been seen to drop about four feet in a few minutes." By virtue of a one man, homemade raft and a bit of chilly swimming, Martin Votaw, Terry Tarkington, and Karl Heinze reached the rear and climbed the walls. Near the top a heretofore unsuspected part of the cave was discovered. At one point, tree roots were discovered, indicating a possible second entrance, but no actual opening was found. Karl goes on to state that the grotto has set as its aim to complete a survey of Augusta County for caves and the exploration of such caves as they find them. --NSS NEWSLETTER May 1947.
In 1953, the grotto petitioned the NSS Grottoes Committee to become a student grotto. The February 1955 issue of the NSS NEWS reported that this petition was granted, and the group then became known as the University of Virginia Student Grotto. --NSS I/O Committee Files.
The Society page of the Richmond, VA, TIMES-DISPATCH featured an article concerning the engagement of Peggy Burnley and Earl Geil of the UVA Grotto. He proposed to Peggy 300 feet underground and three-fourths of a mile from the cave entrance. The couple was dressed for the occasion in old clothes, covered with dirt. They wore boots and helmets with attached carbide lamps. The only guest was a photographer, a friend of the couple, who recorded the unusual event with his camera. Undated.
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UVA. Photo by P. C. Lucas. |
In the years 1958-1962 the grotto was active in mapping Gilley Cave and in doing scientific studies in Sinnit-Thorn Mountain and Breathing Caves. (See articles elsewhere in this issue.) Cavers associated with WA Grotto at this time were Earl Geil, Bill Nelson, Bill Mauck, Mason Sproul, Roger Baroody, Warren P. "Doc" Brown and Joe Overman, Steve Gates was associated with the grotto in the early 1970's, and in the late 1970's, cavers think of Bill Klein as the UVA Grotto.
Gregg Harland, in the TECH TROGLODYTE, Vol. 1, No. 4, 1962. page 53, notes that the VPI Grotto corresponded with Earl Geil, editor of the CAVALiER CAVER to explain the viewpoint of the VPI Grotto. Among other things, the following was stated: "The NSS is a national organization with local chapters to unite interested cavers in a given area. There should be no reason for these areas ever to overlap, and grottos it would seen, should encourage their friends and affiliates in other localities to join with the groups prominent in those localities and to promote the purposes of the NSS....(we) feel that it would be indeed unfortunate for two Grottos to be organized in such a manner that they operated in direct competition with each other. ... it is The esteemed Dick Bishop, early West
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