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 The "Spontaneous" Happening  A TRADITION IS BORN
Despite barely a week's notice, eighteen cavers gathered at the camping area in Hungry Mother State Park near Marion, VA on August 15, 1952 to make the first VAR Summer Camporee a satisfactory success. Headquarters and information center was at the summer home of Mr. & Mrs. M.S. Sanders.
Cavers started arriving at the park on Friday evening. Saturday noon, after moving their camp to the property of Herbert Poston to avoid the annoyance of a 12:00 PM curfew and fees at the park camping area, the cavers split into two groups. One group explored the spectacular Dead Air Cave which features a large room 450 feet by 108 feet by 130 feet high. The second group checked Roberts Cavenear Sugar Grove in an unsuccessful attempt to locate a rumored second entrance.
Sunday, the main group made a descent into Tilson's Saltpeter Cave. The end of this cave has not yet been reached. A second cave on the Tilson farm was also investigated and proved to be small.
The following attended the Camporee, although not all went caving: Ackie Loyd, Earl Thierry, Bill Cuddington, David and English Showalter, Ed Maiden, Bill Arnold, Charles Coppedge, Roy Charlton, Betty Jo Thierry, Virgil Sharitz, Dick Sanders, Jean Lowry, Jack Clements, Betty and Larry Sabatinos and Floyd Foster.
Plans are already underway for a winter camporee, probably in the James River Valley. Betty Sabatinos and Robbie are in charge of the planning, with Dick Sanders taking charge of publicity. Tentative plans put it for Washington's birthday weekend at either Eagle Rock or Salt Petre, VA. Richard Sanders, NSS NEWS, October 1952.
The 1972 VAR project hosted by Holslten Valley Grotto in Sneedsville, TN. Photo by R.E. Whittemore |
ABOUT THOSE
BUSINESS MEETINGS At the Rocky Mount fall meeting in 1971, the partiers were treated to a five-man streak. T. Vigour was heard to exclaim: "My goodness; they're all naked!"
At the VAR fall meeting of 1969 in Kingsport, TN, a swimming pool was adjacent to the meeting/banquet room. Cavers took great delight in jumping into the pool with their clothes on, and Jim Hixson was forced to take refuge in it (wearing his dress suit) when another caver threatened to break a chair over his skull.
During the 1964 fall meeting at Endless Caverns, Ed Bauer and R. E. Whittemore stayed at Alan Armstrong's house Saturday night in a spare bedroom. They sneaked in a case of beer, and after consuming most of it, they became quite hot. They decided to cool down by turning down the heat and opening a window. Ed relates that thousands of cats began jumping into the room causing his allergies to flare up. Whitt and Ed spent the rest of the night throwing beer cans at the cats, hoping not to wake the remainder of the household!
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