In Memoriam

We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Greg Hart, a beloved hiker and dedicated Florida Trail Association Hike Leader. Greg passed away unexpectedly yesterday evening, likely due to a heart attack.

Just last year, Greg embarked on an incredible journey, conquering over 670 miles of the Appalachian Trail, from Georgia to Virginia. This accomplishment speaks volumes about his adventurous spirit and love for the outdoors.

Shortly after his hike, Greg received a diagnosis of mononucleosis, followed by ongoing treatment for heart disease. Despite these challenges, his passion for the trails never wavered.

Greg’s absence leaves a void in the hearts of his fellow hikers and the Florida Trail Association community. He will be deeply missed.

In his memory, donations can be made to the Florida Trail Association:  floridatrail.org/hart-memory

Paul Mayo a long-time (20 years) friend and trail maintainer passed away May 2, 2024.  The TRAIL HOGS are a brotherhood of FTA volunteers that built and maintain the FNST for the Choctawhatchee Chapter.  The following is a letter to Paul from the HOGS.

Paul,

We Trail Hogs miss you as a friend, fellow trail maintainer, your commitment to doing it right, knowledge and personal initiative.  While some avoid and procrastinate over difficult task you never did.  Repeatedly you took the lead without being asked.  Your adoption of the Cimarron Section is the best example.  The footbridges and puncheon you designed and supervised construction made the Section a destination for hikers.  

You and Wallis have labored on the Florida Trail for over 20 years and you left a legacy of excellence and never cutting corners.   You were always there for the difficult and dirty projects and seldom missed a trail work activity.  In the early days you were instrumental in scouting the Yellow River floodplain and you appeared to enjoy the “WET BOOT” workdays exploring the swamp.  Your knowledge of the river and boatmanship made the task doable.  Because of this we now approach the possibility of a bridge over the Yellow River knowing what to expect. 

You have been an essential part of every major trail project from day one:

• Cutting and moving a Bald Cypress tree for the first Demon Bridge,
• The two-year construction of the current suspension bridge,
• Development of the trail on both Nokuse and Choctawhatchee River Sections,
• Repairing the Ranger House roof,
• The Blount Creek Bridge,
• Owls Head kiosk rehab,
• Shingling over one mile of puncheons on Eglin and Nokuse,
• Highest point on the FNST and creek routed signage,
• Hurricane Micheal clean-up and
• The Cypress Creek Boardwalk.

You could always be counted on to help with equipment maintenance, logistics for projects and routine trail maintenance.  Innovative problem solving and organizational skills were in your toolbox.  You used both skills frequently.  Your knowledge of the Eglin road system was priceless. 

Your care of the Trail was more than a hobby.  It was a genuine passion!  You had a love for the woods, the trail, hikers and those that maintained it.  In the all things trail related you exhibited very high standards.  Over the years you have passed those high standards on to new volunteers.  When you spoke, we listened.  It was more than a trail to you.  You truly cared for the trail and the hiker experience. 

Anne’s record showed you and Wallis have accumulated well over 13,000 recorded volunteer hours.  You, Wallis and Keith were always out on the trail chainsawing or some other project.  You were never good with the paperwork.  We suspect that if all the unreported hours are added in it would be much higher.  On the leisure activity side of the ledger, it would be impossible to count the hikes and float trips you led.  Especially memorable are night hikes at Bear Lake, the Thanksgiving activities, the overeating and being introduced to “Trash Can Turkey”.

Paul you are a unique person.  You will be in our thoughts until the last TRAIL HOG has passed.  The TRAIL and our memories of you are your LEGACY.  It has been and honor to have known and worked beside you.  Thank you for all the good times.  We love and miss you!  It’s been a good run.

Once a TRAIL HOG always a TRAIL HOG,

THE HOGS

Margaret Strahan Brabham
June 26, 1949 – December 29, 2023

Margaret Brabham was a longtime member of FTA (24 years) and for 10 years (2006-2015) lead the Loxahatchee Chapter as its chair. She was an Activity Leader and Trail Maintainer. Margaret was awarded the FTA Special Service Award in 2008, the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015 and in 2017 the Activity Leader of the Year Award.

She was a gentle and compassionate person and dedicated over 30 years of her life to helping others as a Registered Nurse at JFK Hospital in Lake Worth. Margaret was an avid lover of the outdoors and beauty of nature and never missed an opportunity to enjoy both. The world lost a very special person with her passing.

To give in Margaret’s memory to the FTA please click here. 

Obituary:
Click here

Wes Albright
Passed in 2016
Central Florida Chapter: Trail Maintainer

Wilhelmina “Willie” Angel
Passed April 2018
Indian River Chapter: Trail Maintainer

In Remembrance of Willie
by Doug Sphar

Willie and her late husband Bill became Trail Masters at Tosohatchee somewhere around 1981.  After Bill’s passing, Willie continued at Tosohatchee until her heart started failing in early 2017.  Willie and Bill also worked with the late Wylie Dykes to construct the trails at Wekiwa S.P. and they were Trail Masters there for a number of years.  They also  worked with Wylie on the trail through Deseret Ranch. They started to volunteer at Toso in the early 1980’s and became TrailMasters there.  Willie continued in the capacity after Bill passed in the early 1990’s.  They also worked on construction of trails at the Canaveral National Seashore and Ulumay Sanctuary on Merritt Island.

Willie was was a blaze painting virtuoso and took great pride in that skill.  Short in stature, Willie talked to her dying days about barely keeping her nose above water on some of Tony’s famous wet trail hikes.  Willie was a conservation activist and a champion of wild places and the creatures that inhabit those places.  In her younger days Willie took on high-power attorneys for developers of wild lands and was steadfast in confronting their attempts to muzzle her with lawsuits. Willie was co-founder of the Turtle Coast Sierra Club.  She and another woman petitioned the National Sierra Club for a chapter in Brevard.  She was a bulldog in some early environmental battles (saving some beach properties from condos) and was threatened by lawsuits by various developers.  She retired shortly after her husband’s death.

Ernest “Ernie” A. Baldini
July 8, 1926 – March 4, 2019
Former President of the Florida Trail Association
Indian River Chapter: FTA President (1982-1989), Cartographer
FTA Awards: Cornelia Burge 1984, Special Service 2002 & Lifetime Achievement 2005

Ernest Baldini, 92, a retired aerospace executive, died on March 4, 2019 in Rockledge, FL. Baldini, born in Detroit, Michigan, July 8, 1926. He was a veteran of World War II in the U. S. Army Signal Corps, was an electrical engineering graduate of Illinois Institute of Technology. He started his career at Detroit Edison Co. and later was Supervisor of Electrical Operations, General Motors Corporate Engineering Staff. He came to Brevard County in 1957 and became a General Dynamics Corp. Launch Conductor leading the first Atlas-Centaur launch in May, 1962. Later in his career he directed Defense Dept. satellite launch operations for The Aerospace Corporation.

He served as President and Cartographer of the Florida Trail Association and as District Com-modore, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary.

An active radio amateur, K4RBD, he served the Brevard Emergency Amateur Radio Services (BEARS) as one of its founders, as Treasurer and Director. He belonged to the Indian River Amateur Radio Club and was a founder of the Launch Information Service & Amateur Television System (LISATS) which has supplied thousands of tourists with Cape Canaveral launch countdown soundcasts.

He is survived by daughter, Anita Simpson, husband, Richard and granddaughter, Ashley; son, Marcus Baldini; wife, Pamela and grandson, Matthew. He was preceded by his wife, Jean.

From Doug Sphar, Indian River Chapter Member & Section Leader of Tosohatchee WMA

Jean Baldini
Passed in 2015
Indian River Chapter: Activity Leader
FTA Award: Lifetime Achievement 2005

Don Bottomley
Passed in 2017

Big Cypress Chapter: Trail Maintainer & Activity Leader

Ashby Box
Passed in 2003
Indian River Chapter: Trail Maintainer (Trail Blazer & Coordinator for Kissimmee Section), Activity Leader
FTA Award: Cornelia Burge 1984

J.J. Brasington
FTA Board Director
Sandhill (formerly Florida Crackers) Chapter: Trail Maintainer

Ken Carpenter
Happy Hoofers Chapter: Trail Maintainer, Activity Leader
FTA Awards: Cornelia Burge 1994, Special Service 2000

Thelma Carpenter
Happy Hoofers Chapter: Trail Maintainer, Activity Leader
FTA Awards: Cornelia Burge 1994, Special Service 2000

Nancy Christensen
October 10, 1922 – April 16, 2019
Happy Hoofers Chapter: Founding Member (1983), Activity Chair (1984), Chapter Chair (1985),  Activity Leader

Sherry Cummings
June 6, 1936 – September 3, 2017
Loxahatchee Chapter: Board Director, Trail Maintainer, Activity Leader (participated in the first Big O Hike)
FTA Award: Lifetime Achievement 2005

Sherry was an outdoor activity leader with the Audubon Society, the Florida Trail Association, the Palm Beach Pack and Paddle Club, and was extremely knowledgeable about Florida wildlife and wildflowers. She also led many bird watching activities at the Green Cay Nature Center and Wakodahatchee Wetlands. She will be greatly missed.

Passed 2014
FTA Board Director
Black Bear Chapter: Member

Franklin Carl Dunnam
February 6, 1934 – July 2, 2018
Suwannee Chapter: Trail Maintainer
FTA Awards: Special Service (2002), Lifetime Achievement (2005)

Franklin Carl Dunnam, 84, born in Boynton Beach, Florida on February 6, 1934, and a resident of Live Oak for the past 32 years, passed away on July 2, 2018 after a brief illness. A celebration of Carl’s life will take place this fall.

Carl’s company and conversation was open to everyone, his heart beat for the honest, simple and wholesome. His humor put everyone at ease and he made friends wherever he went.  He was a kind man who enjoyed working with his hands, especially transforming wood into beautiful porch swings. Carl will be remembered for travels within the US and abroad, time spent camping, hiking and canoeing, the lingering smell of wood chips in his workshop, his love for old western films and country music, storytelling, occasional colorful language, handy pen and notebook in his left pocket always at the ready, and the ever present measuring tape, functioning as his third arm.  He took fashion cues from no one. His signature daily look was all his: well worn blue work shirts, boots, dungarees and a ball cap. His stubbornness, pride, enormous heart, simplicity, empathy and love for family and friends will be missed. He loved red shouldered hawks, Florida State University Seminoles, grits, Sylvia’s sour cream pound cake, and sweet tea.

Carl served in the U.S. Navy and retired from the phone company after 32 years of service.  Since 1973, alongside many volunteers, he and Sylvia actively built, maintained and supported the Florida Trail – most recently shuttling hikers traversing the trail within the region of the Suwannee River.

Carl is survived by Sylvia; his beloved wife for over 60 years.   He leaves behind three brothers and two sisters along with two children, Dawn (John) Griffin, Tallahassee, and David Dunnam, Palm Beach Gardens.  Carl is also survived by four granddaughters whom he adored; Christina (Eddie) Ortado (Wellington), Jess (Charlene) Dunnam (Port St Lucie), Megan Griffin (London, England) and Sara Griffin (New York City) and one great-grandson, Kenny Ortado (Wellington).

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a contribution in Carl’s name to the Florida Trail Association at floridatrail.org.  Daniels Funeral Homes & Crematory, Inc., Live Oak handled the cremation.  

Wiley Dykes Sr.
1931 – 2012
FTA Board Director
Central Florida Chapter: Founder, Board Director, Trail Maintainer, Activity Leader
FTA Awards: Cornelia Burge 1986, Lifetime Achievement 2005

Write-up on Wiley by Sandra Friend

Davida “Pete” Gates
Western Gate Chapter: Trail Maintainer

Paul Guyon
Passed in 2014
FTA Board Director
Loxahatchee Chapter: Board Director, Trail Maintainer, Activity Leader (Big O & Ocean-to-Lake Hike Leader)
FTA Award: Special Service 2008

Write-up about Paul by Sandra Friend

Willy Hannemann
1936-2015
Highlanders Chapter: Trail Maintainer

In Remembrance of Willy
by Bobbi Keenan

Willy joined the Florida Trail Association in late 2002 and went on his first work hike with the Highlanders Chapter in January 2003.  Over the years Willy lopped and mowed for the Florida Trail, volunteering in excess of 510 hours.  Being an outdoorsman, Willy participated in many FTA activities with both the Central Florida and Highlanders Chapters. Some of his favorite events were the Winter Wednesday Hiking Series, kayaking, and camping. He had other favorite activities: photography, beekeeping, traveling, and biking, to name a few.  You could call on Willy any time for any event and he was always ready and willing to go.

For several years he participated in the annual 110-mile Big “O” Hike around Lake Okeechobee; and he also completed the Panhandle Trace Hike, a 9-day hike from the Alabama State line to the Gulf of Mexico.

Willy will be greatly missed by many whose lives he touched; especially his family and friends and all of his Florida Trail family.

Tropical Trekkers Chapter: Trail Maintainer & Activity Leader
FTA Awards: Special Service 2005

Fare Thee Well, Jack…
by Lori Burris

Jack P. Hailman is a man who will be well remembered. Indeed, he’d be hard to forget. A principled man with little fear of expressing himself. He and Liz lived life to it’s fullest, seeing much of the world and sharing their adventures with us. We knew Jack mostly through his efforts as an FTA volunteer and avid hiker, so his other many and varied endeavors will be left for others to chronicle. Jack saw the Florida Trail through the eyes of a backpacker and was a great advocate for the thru hikers, few as they were. While others were focused on day hikers and membershipnumbers, Jack maintained his purpose of making the trial hospitable to thru hikers. When theS65 D was closed to hikers after 9/11, Jack started scouting the route through Chandler South and Chandler North, removing a great deal of road walk. We take those sections as given today, but it was Jack that made it happen – for the thru hikers. The move to the East side of the Kissimmee River was also put in place by Jack. Bluff Hammock and Boney Marsh could be avoided by day hikers at times of high water, but not thru hikers. The East side , while mighty wet this season, is much drier. In addition to the high water problem, there was a great deal of maiden cane grass that created a maintenance problem. Perhaps most significant, there were 30 bridges and boardwalks in various stages of disrepair and no means to obtain permits to replace them (FTA had already removed two bridges with no plan for replacement, leaving hikers to ford river sloughs) Jack was passionate about moving the trail and his enthusiasm was infectious. Jack and Liz lead many work hikes from No Name slough to US 98 at Micco, get-ting many Trekkers on board with the plan. Prior to the actual move, there were blue blazes across about half of the East side trail.

Jack’s hiking was certainly not limited to the Florida Trail, or even the US. Jack and Liz hiked in more countries that I can begin to remember. Many of us had the good fortune to hike on the Appalachian Trail with Jack and Liz. Between them they could identify most of the birds and most of the plants. I still have a booklet Jack put together arranging the flowers we were like to see by color to make it easy for us (novices) to ID them. Jack was like that, thorough in his research and presentation. An excellent photographer, Jack put together many Power Point pro-grams that he shared with us. Machu Picchu and Australia come to mind as my favorites. We may not be able to hear him speak now, but we’ll remember what he had to say for years to come.

Patricia Morganstern Hutto
Passed March 5, 2018. Aged 91
Suncoast Chapter: Board Director, Activity Leader
FTA Member: 1984 – 2012

In Remembrance of Patricia

Patricia spent summers at her home with cherished views of Grandfather Mountain and a much-loved community of friends in Linville Land Harbor, Newland, NC. She was an avid hiker, tennis player, and naturalist volunteer on the board of the Florida Trail Association. A great cook, no one can compete with her famous strawberry jam and raisin jack. She had a wonderful sense of humor with a sharp wit and an eternally positive outlook on life.

Pat was much loved by all and will be sorely missed.

Gordon Johnson
Passed Dec. 15, 2017
Loxahatchee Chapter
FTA Awards: Special Service 2009

Five Million Steps and More: Gordon Johnson’s Legacy
by Sandra Friend

“So you’re hiking around the lake?” The lone customer at Old Habits, an Okeechobee watering hole, perched on a quaking barstool. “I’ve heard they’ve got a committee working on putting a paved trail on the dike, for bicycles and horses.”

Gordon Johnson, leading a group of hikers through a rare November heat wave on a 109-mile walk around Lake Okeechobee, looked at the fellow and said “the trail has great potential. It was hot out there today and there are no trees. You should go out there and build some shelters and plant some trees. We need shade.”

The man scratched at his chest. “You don’t need trees. Just find a partner who is taller and bigger than you, and make her walk on the sunny side.”

Awed by Okeechobee
Some people just can’t sit still, especially in retirement, and so it has been for Gordon Johnson. We’d see him pop in at regional and annual conferences, at special events, and of course at his beloved Big O Hike. So it was a surprise and a bit of a concern to the regulars, especially our friends from the Loxahatchee Chapter, when this long-time Florida Trail Association volunteer, who’s been actively involved since the late 1970s, didn’t show up in Okeechobee this November.

At the Big O Hike kickoff, past FTA President Paul Cummings shared his memories of how FTA’s longest-running annual group hike began. “It started with two old folks…who used two cars to hike around the lake.” The couple, Hank and Irma McCall, did their hike in 1991 to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. Paul’s wife Sherry, a long-time volunteer with the Loxahatchee Chapter “read it in the newspaper, and said ‘why don’t we do that?’ Next time we had a meeting, Gordon said ‘I saw that article, why don’t we do that?’ The next thing we knew we needed someone to lead it, and Gordon was the one.”

Gordon led Paul, Sherry, and 18 other hikers around Lake Okeechobee in 1992 as a series of long day hikes, and the Big O Hike was born. Eight people made it all the way around the lake. Within a couple of years, 150 people showed up for the Big O Hike kickoff. “A lot of people were impressed with being able to have such a rugged adventure, yet still swim in the pool and sit in the hot tub at night,” Gordon said. It didn’t hurt that he and other volunteers organized group activities, including pontoon boat rides, agribusiness tours, and meals out at local eateries.

Gordon acted as trip leader for the first three years, but continued to play a supporting role, arranging activities, doing promotion, and eventually overseeing an annual talent show. Over the years, regulars for the hike came and went, but Gordon and Paul kept walking around the lake, until closures by the Army Corps of Engineers made it no longer possible to walk a complete circle safely. By 2011, the 20th anniversary of the Big O Hike, both Gordon and Paul retired their records of 20 consecutive circuits of the Okeechobee section of the Florida Trail. That’s roughly 2,180 miles, about the same distance as the length of the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine, or five million steps.

Granted, the Florida Trail around Lake Okeechobee is much flatter than the AT, but as many have learned, it’s no easier on the feet. “You need good boots and thick wool socks,” said Gordon, to walk the 9-day, 109 mile route.

Why walk around Lake Okeechobee?  For one, it was in his backyard. It had great views from the dike. And it made a loop. “Where else,” said Gordon, “on what trail, with trail map in hand, can you view with the naked eye where you were two days ago and where you will be” in two more days?

The culture around Lake Okeechobee also intrigued him. “I planned we would go around town and country and interview locals,” said Gordon “and I’d make a program on it.” As it turned out, “We were too tired to do that. However, I did get some good interviews.”

The beauty of this little-known Florida landscape beckoned as well. His most glorious morning in Florida came along one of the treks. “Between Clewiston and Belle Glade, the fog was as thick as oatmeal. It didn’t dissolve for two hours. Everything was smothered with glistening dew.”

It was the type of moment that Gordon would capture with his camera and with words, with the hopes of sharing its joy with his next audience.

Life Inspires Art
Growing up in Embarrass, a Finnish enclave in the Mesabi Range of Minnesota, Gordon Johnson was the youngest of a family of eight. “We were Finnish youngsters with radiant faces that glowed from a summer of sun and a lifetime of saunas,” he wrote in his memoir, Life Was Good: Voi, Voi. It was on the family farm where he learned to love the woods, where “tall majestic spires of jack pine, birch and poplar trees brushed the sky.” He would find a place where he could “crawl into the hollow of a charred stump…and wonder if Chippewa children had played in that same stump.”

While attending business school in Minneapolis, Gordon was inspired by the way visiting Finnish students were amused at American life. “Since I spoke Finnish, they were quite open to talking about the good and bizarre aspects of life in the United States,” said Gordon.” One student remarked ‘It’s hard to understand why girls wear curlers and look ugly all day so they can be beautiful at night, when it’s too dark to notice them anyway!’” Using a Nicormat 35mm slide camera and Sony tape recorder, Gordon photographed and choreographed a multimedia show he called “Minnesota Finns.” He toured the presentation to Finnish cultural centers throughout the United States before knocking on the door of the United States Embassy in Finland in 1969. They sent Gordon packing—right across the Finnish countryside on a lecture tour.

While presenting his American show in Finland, he photographed the beauty of his ancestral land to develop his next multimedia show, “Song of Finland.” Traveling and developing visual presentations – and the live storytelling to go with them – became his passion. He called Finland his home until 1976. “It was a great experience to look at America through Finnish eyes,” said Gordon. He acted as a tour guide for Finnish groups flying to New York; gave private English lessons to doctors, singers, and actors; had bit parts in movies by director Mikko Niskanen; and attended the premiere of Ingmar Bergman’s “The Magic Flute.” He also remained outdoorsy and athletic, skiing in Lapland regularly and running marathons, and hiking through the Nordic countryside.  

Finding Loxahatchee
In 1976, Gordon Johnson arrived in Fort Lauderdale in the middle of winter – when the sun never rises in parts of Finland – and zeroed in on the Finnish-American community of Lake Worth. Because of his success with presenting slide shows and working on commercial photography projects in Finland, he signed up for courses at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. By day he worked as a court reporter, transcribing a constant stream of almost-unbelievable stories. Evenings were spent in studies. He joined the Loxahatchee chapter of FTA “to get away from the scandals of criminal court. The woods were my outlet.”  

He quickly became a busy FTA volunteer, using his creativity for the benefit of the organization. He got involved in special events like regional and annual conferences—and the Big O Hike, of course. His “Prairie Home Companion” takeoff “A Trail Home Companion” was a hit back in the day when FTA conferences often had humorous skits as entertainment. With experience on the flute and the bowed psaltery, a type of dulcimer played with a bow, he played to an appreciative crowd at many events. He led hikes, gave presentations about the Florida Trail statewide to civic groups and other FTA chapters, and promoted the trail on radio and television. In 1989, writing lyrics that spoke of respect for the earth, he found fellow musicians to add their instruments and voices. The result was “Song of Florida Trail,” a fundraising album featuring “The Florida Trail Song,” an anthem for FTA for many decades.

One of the first hikers in Florida to use Nordic poles for walking, Gordon also brought that tradition from where they were invented, in Finland. Today, the collapsible poles – found under brand names like Leki and Komperdell – are a mainstay for backpackers and day hikers who want to put off worrying about knee replacement in the future. “Look at how a baby starts to walk, moving forward in jerky steps,” said Gordon. The Nordic poles “are an offshoot of that motion, mimicking a child’s first steps.”

Completing the Circle
We kicked off the 26th annual Big O Hike this November on a sad note, for Sherry Cummings had passed away earlier in the year, and we were there to be there for Paul. It was Paul Cummings who tracked down Gordon, no longer in his home in Oxford but in a nursing home in his Finnish-American community in Lake Worth. He was able to visit. When two more of Gordon’s old friends from FTA stopped in to see him on December 16, they were told that Gordon had passed away the day before. He was 82 years old.

“It was just before dark, and I was walking alone,” said Gordon, of one morning on the Big O Hike. “Clyde (Hopkins) walked up next to me just as the sun started coming up, reflecting in the Rim Canal. I started noticing a rainbow that made a complete circle, and in it was Clyde’s shadow. It followed us for a little while.”

Gordon’s circle was the beauty of nature, the friends he’d made through FTA, and the lake that called his name every year until this one. “I will always count it my privilege to have walked the entire 109 miles of the Big O with Gordon, on the dike, before the construction began,” said Clyde, when we shared the news. There are many of us statewide who are proud to say we’ve walked with Gordon on his journey.

View Sandra’s published writeup about Gordon and more photos of him in the Footprint Fall 2017 Edition.

Cecil Kirkham
Passed in 2001
FTA Board Director
North Florida Trail Blazers Chapter: Trail Maintainer, Activity Leader
End-to-End Florida Trail Thru-Hiker

Albin “Al” Kisarewich
April 22, 1926 – May 22, 2012
Sandhill (formerly Florida Crackers) Chapter: Activity Leader (Over 80 Across Florida Hike participant)

John Krickel
Sandhill (formerly Florida Crackers) Chapter: Trail Maintainer, Activity Leader

Dorothy Laker
Passed in 2007
FTA Board Director
Suncoast Chapter: Trail Maintainer (Pioneer Trailblazer), Activity Leader

Bob Lawrence
Central Florida Chapter: Board Director, Trail Maintainer, Activity Leader

Del Loyless
Passed in 2017
Central Florida Chapter: Board Director, Trail Maintainer
FTA Award: Special Service 2004

Susan E. Mika
1945 – 2013
Highlanders Chapter: Trail Maintainer, Chapter Officer

In Remembrance of Susan
by Bobbi Keenan

Susan E. Mika, age 68, of Mount Dora, Florida, died Thursday, October 3, 2013.  Susan was born in Elmhurst, Illinois and attended Roosevelt University in Chicago, where she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting. Susan went on to DePaul University in Chicago to receive her Master’s Degree in Taxation. She received her CPA in 1976.

Susan moved to Florida in 1994.  I first met Susan in 1996 after I joined an exercise class at the local hospital’s wellness center.  She was my inspiration to keep attending the class.  I was her inspiration to join the Florida Trail Association in 1998 to get her exercise outdoors.  Susan hiked with the Highlanders Chapter, rode bikes and helped with lots of trail maintenance not only for the Highlanders but also helping build the trail on the Cross Florida Greenway.

She became the treasurer for the Highlanders Chapter in about 2000 and remained our treasurer until March 2013.  She was a good Florida Trail friend.

FTA Board Director
Big Cypress Chapter: Board Director, Trail Maintainer, Activity Leader
End-to-End Florida Trail Hiker
FTA Awards: Special Service 2004, Lifetime Achievement 2005

Ray Morgan
Passed October 14, 2019
Western Gate Chapter: Trailmaster in Blackwater River Section and Yellow River Ravines Section
FTA Awards: 2014 John Weary Trail Worker Award

In Remembrance of Ray Morgan
written by Ed Williamson

On October 14, 2019, Western Gate Chapter lost one of its most valuable and productive Trailmasters.  “Blackwater Ray” Morgan, as he was known to his fellow trail volunteers, worked on the trail from 2010 until his passing in 2019.  Ray loved the trail and dedicated countless hours to its upkeep and enhancement. He was assigned trail segments in two different FNST Sections at the same time and did an excellent job of keeping them in top shape.  Using his considerable skills, he built bridges and benches and made trail signs. He put his welding experience to good use in repairing equipment such as mowers and trailers.

In addition to maintaining his own assigned trails, he spent many hours helping other Trailmasters with theirs, always being quick to respond when help was requested.  He was well known for refreshing and adding blazes to many miles of FNST trail throughout Blackwater River State Forest, sometimes accompanied by a friend, and often with one of his “trail dogs”, one of which was aptly named “Blazer”.  While more than 550 volunteer hours were logged for Ray, the real total was much higher, because unfortunately, much of his time working on his own was not reported.

Ray’s contributions were not limited to the outstanding work he has done.  When a new tool shed was needed, he stepped up with a significant donation to help purchase it.

Ray was recognized in 2011 by Western Gate Chapter as “Trailmaster of the Year”.  In 2012, he received the “Trail Leader Award” from Western Gate. FTA awarded him with the “John Weary Trail Worker Award” for his “extraordinary efforts as trail maintainer” in 2014.

Despite a near-fatal motorcycle accident in 2015, Ray was back out on the trail in a short time.  Although complications from the injuries and rheumatoid arthritis resulted in progressive physical limitations and pain, he continued to push through it all to pursue his passion for trail work.

Ray’s dedication to the trail continued into the last weeks and days of his life.  After his condition had deteriorated to the point that he could barely walk, he continued to do prep work at his home for a badly needed bog bridge on one of his assigned trail segments.  Cutting and drilling pieces for the bridge, his efforts were instrumental in finally getting this bridge constructed. As a longtime advocate for more and better signage along the trail, right up until his last days, he was asking other Trailmasters and Section Leaders what trail signs he could make for them, a task he felt he could still perform.

Blackwater Ray was truly a one-of-a-kind trail volunteer whose contributions to the trail inspire us all and will not be forgotten.

Jack Murnan
Passed in 1998
Loxahatchee Chapter: Board Director, Trail Maintainer, Activity Leader

Passed in 2017
Indian River Chapter: Trail Maintainer
End-to-End Florida Trail Thru-Hiker

Gloria Paul
Indian River Chapter: Member

Ben Pickard 

Sandhill Chapter: Trail Maintainer 

Remembering Ben Pickard
by Ed Wolcott

Ben Pickard was a military veteran who became an English professor at  the University of Florida.   The Florida Trail’s Suwannee section was one of his favorite areas, and he was the trail master of it from about 1975 through 1982.   He carried the “1976”  bicentennial Florida Trail staff through the Suwannee Section  after the trail person who volunteered to do this became lost and could not do the job. He and Ray Maxwell pioneered the use of the Suwannee sling.  He was active  until his wife, Suzanne died around 1990, and then he left Gainesville for North Carolina.

Sunny Piskura
Passed in 2002
FTA Board Director
Loxahatchee Chapter: Trail Maintainer, Activity Leader (Big O Hike Leader)
FTA Award: Cornelia Burge 1993

Howard Pospesel
Jan 25, 1937 – Sep 21, 2019
Highlanders Chapter: Chapter Chair, Trail Master, Activity Leader
FTA Awards: Special Service Award 2016

In Remembrance of Howard Pospesel
written by Bill Milton

Some years ago, Mary Ellen and I were advised that two members of the Florida Trail Association had moved to Grand Island; not far from our home. MaryEllen contacted them and made an appointment for a visit to their home. We were welcomed into their home as though we were long time friends. We could tell immediately that they were “our kind of people.” We learned that they had been members since September, 1975. As the years went by, we visited, car pooled to our Chapter meetings, hiked, camped, did trail maintenance, traveled together, and we became very close friends with two remarkable people.

As years passed, I realized that Howard was very intelligent, pragmatic in his approach to problem solving, but made every effort to allow others to voice their opinions without criticizing them or trying to up stage them with his superior knowledge of the subject. I think that I can safely say that Howard accomplished more in his two year term as Highlanders Chapter Chair, than any Chair that we have had during my years as a member; and I speak as a former Chair.

Among Howard’s contributions are the following:
He was eager to involve as many members in leadership roles as possible; thus, he established many Committee Chairs that did not exist before his tenure; he did not attempt to micro-manage; he instituted monthly Board Meetings that were hosted at the various “Chairs” homes; he urged the Chapter to play a larger role on the State level; he appointed a committee to develop a newsletter; a logo, T-shirts and caps bearing our logo. Howard’s signature contribution was the appointment of a committee staffed by four women who would not take “no” for an answer; their task was to gain permission from the State and Federal authorities, that we might be allowed to install a permanent State Historical Marker at what had originally been the the beginning of the “Florida Trail” at Clearwater Lake; this was to be accomplished by the time of our 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Florida Trail; the Committee of “the four women who would not take no for an answer”, did a great job; they succeeded. This was one of the highlights of Howard’s tenure, in addition to his serving as an Activity Leader and Trail Master; it was his idea to plan Warm Up Hikes in November/December to prepare for Lou and Rachael’s Winter Wednesday Hiking Program. His many innovative ideas and successes should never be forgotten. His role as a father and grandfather should be an example for all men; he loved taking his children and then his grandchildren on hikes in the mountains of North Carolina and Florida. He set an example that should be a lesson for all of us.

On a personal note, Howard Pospesel and Bob Schultz were like the brothers that I never had; I will always treasure the lunches of the “Three Amigos” and the exchange of ideas on many subjects; Howard was always the calm voice of reason in our discussions; more than once he had to say to me: “now Bill, you don’t really mean that”; and he was right. He knew how to steer you back to reason, just before you let the pot boil over. We have lost a good man; our Country and Community has lost a great man, whom I am sure influenced many lives for good during his nearly forty years as a Professor of Philosophy and Logic at the University of Miami; I became one of his students, but only after he retired. He could be serious but also had his humorous side which shows in some of the pictures of our hiking adventures. I will always remember one of our hardest and last hikes together at Hanging Rock State Park in North Carolina. As we began the arduous hike up the mountain, we came to a fork; someone had put a “like new” John Deere cap on a post; Howard looked at it; on our way down, he stopped, looked at the cap again and took it, placed his Florida Trail Cap on the post and put on the John Deere Cap. I wish I had a video of that exchange. I like the picture of Howard climbing over the gate at the Carr Cabin (we had permission from the Ranger); I love the sketch of Howard and Me hiking on the trail at Saw Grass Island Preserve; I think that would be a good way to end this little memory of Howard hiking away from us; I hope to catch up with him someday.

Charles (Chuck) M. Russakov
1942-2009
Central Florida & Highlanders Chapter: Trail Maintainer, Activity Leader

Remembering Chuck
by Bobbi Keenan

A math teacher and a former assistant and head coach in the sports of soccer and football in Miami-Dade and Seminole counties, Chuck began helping with trail maintenance for the Highlanders Chapter of the Florida Trail Association in 2002 while also volunteering for the Central Chapter.  With the Highlanders Chapter he logged over 320 hours of trail maintenance. Chuck volunteered to become a section leader in the Ocala National Forest and led many recreational activities, camping trips, and paddle trips.  He was a lead hiker for the Central Chapter’s Winter Wednesday Hiking Series. He spoke often of his grandchildren.  One of his great pleasures was introducing them to the “wilds” of Florida and taking them camping at Fort Wilderness/Disney World.

Ralph Sigler
November 18, 1944 – October 8, 1986
Loxahatchee Chapter: Member

Kenneth Smith
Passed in 2013
FTA Board Director
Sandhill (formerly Florida Crackers) Chapter: Board Director, Trail Maintainer, Activity Leader
FTA Awards: Special Service 2000, John Weary Trail Worker 2001, Special Service 2007, Lifetime Achievement 2008

Founding FTA Board Director
Big Cypress Chapter: Trail Maintainer

IGFA Remembrance of Dade

Mary Ann Twyford
June 6, 1932 – October 21, 2013
FTA Board Director and Past President
Central Florida Chapter: Trail Maintainer, Activity Leader
FTA Award: Cornelia Burge 1984

From the 2015 Winter Footprint:

Remembering Mary Ann Twyford
by Elizabeth Kunkee

The Florida Trail Association had a special place in the heart of my mother, Mary Ann Twyford. The roots of her love of trails probably started in the late 1950’s, when Margaret Scruggs inspired the young and then unmarried Mary Ann to become one of the adult leaders for Girl Scout backpacking on the Appalachian Trail. Every summer, a group of central Florida girls would backpack for a week. I can assure you the stories of those trips were still being told decades later.

Our family’s first FTA annual meeting was at Highlands Hammock State Park, and even though I was then only 8 years old I can still remember the camaraderie and electric sense of purpose. The FTA only had about a few hundred miles built at that point. Mary Ann got involved, leading canoe trips for the FTA and then joining the Board of Directors.

I recall an exceptionally remote annual meeting on the Peace River in 1974. There was no running water; instead there were ‘water buffalo’ trailers. The exhibitors were in a big rented party tent, the Board members shivered through an outdoor board meeting, and we all had a great time at the many seminars and activities, as well as camping, day hiking and canoeing together.

The FTA kept growing. By now trail work and loading the car with camping gear were a regular part of my life. Mom continued to organize canoe trips, including one on the Missouri River in Montana in 1976, and she helped to organize a 10-day trip on the exceedingly remote Yukon River in Canada’s Yukon Territory.

Her service on the FTA Board had led to her becoming President, and my jobs now included loading both camping gear and several file boxes full of paperwork. She was passionate about the FTA mission and spent many hours on the phone with other FTA leaders. I can’t begin to remember all the names, but these pop into my mind: Montoya, Eichorn, Kern, Scruggs, Baldini, Dunnam, Palmer, Dykes, Fryer, Mulholland, and Pickard.

Well, mom was always organized, and that’s what happened to the FTA once she was elected President. The state was divided up into Chapters. The Vice-President job turned into VP Trails, VP Membership, and VP somethingelse.
Board meetings moved indoors and the Footprint started to evolve into a magazine.

Her greatest passion while serving the FTA was probably the Florida National Scenic Trail. I recall her enthusiasm when she was invited to give a speech to a congressional committee in Washington, DC. I also remember that she reached out to the Appalachian Trail Conference for advice on how to bring about the FNST. And perhaps as an offshoot to collaborating with the ATC, she became convinced that the FTA needed a salaried executive
director. This last vision was controversial and I remember it as a turbulent time for mom and probably others in FTA leadership.

After five years as FTA President, Mary Ann returned her focus to her job as a teacher and proprietor of the 110-pupil Leesburg Montessori School. Then, in 1986, with her eldest daughter Elizabeth ‘launched’, and daughterDottie going into High School, Mary Ann took a new direction in life, selling the Montessori School and taking a job for the State of Florida as the state’s first “Trails Planner” for the Department of Natural Resources.

In Tallahassee, Mary Ann threw herself into bringing Rails-to-Trails to Florida, helping convince the State Parks that, yes, they could manage a linear recreational property with unfenced boundaries; and thus she helped pave the way for the St. Marks Rail-Trail. She also managed publishing brochures and other concerns related to Florida Canoe trails and provided support to the Florida National Scenic Trail.

Mary Ann retired from the Department of Natural Resources after four years and lived in a woodsy house on a large lake north of Tallahassee until Alzheimer’s disease necessitated a move into town; later she lived with mein Manhattan Beach, California.

Mary Ann passed away as a hospice patient on October 21, 2013, her death caused by Alzheimer’s. She was a Florida native, born in Cocoa, Florida on June 6, 1932, and is survived by her daughters Elizabeth Kunkee and Dottie Bawek, seven grandchildren, and one great-grandson.

Selmer Uhr
Passed in 2016
FTA Board Director
Central Florida Chapter: Pioneer Trail Blazer/Maintainer

Big Cypress Chapter: Trail Maintainer

John Joseph White
Passed in October 2017 in Ocala, FL
Sandhill Chapter: Trail Maintainer, Activity Leader

In Remembrance of John White
by Sandy Hubbard

John White was a Trail Maintainer and Activity Leader for many years.  His Ocala National Forest hikes tended to be quite lengthy and often strenuous.  Fl Crackers members knew…there were hikes…then there were John White’s hikes.  He so loved the Trail and ONF.

Donald Winchester
Passed June 19, 2004
Sandhill Chapter: Trail Maintainer

In Remembrance of Donald (Uncle Don) Winchester
by Ted Kmet

Uncle Don was one of the most colorful and memorable character figures to ever join the FTA. He became active with the Cracker Chapter (Sandhill Chapter) in 1986 when he began to do trail maintenance along the Suwannee River. He was then a permanent figure in all of the chapter’s activities until his death in June, 2004. He was best known for his country style humor and was most remembered for his fireside tales and humor. The members of the Central Florida Chapter were especially fond of him for the color he added to their annual New Years Eve camp outs at Doe Lake.

Bill Craig

He was on the board of directors from about 1969 to 1974.  He was Recreation Planner for the US Forest based in Tallahassee and spent many hours clearing trail.  He led hikes in Western North Carolina for FTA events.  

Sydney Francis Jackson, 99, died September 22, 2021 at Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center in Lakeland, Florida. He was born October 16, 1921 in Paterson, New Jersey.

Syd enlisted in the Navy in 1943. He was selected for the V-12 program, which sent him to college at Western Michigan College and then Marquette University, from which he graduated in 1946 with a B.S. in Naval Science. He stayed in the Navy Reserve until 1950 when he was reactivated for the Korean conflict. He was honorably discharged in 1957.

Syd married Mary Belle Taylor in 1946. They lived in Kalamazoo, Michigan and raised four sons there. He worked at the Upjohn Company as an analytical chemist. Upon his retirement in 1980, Syd and Mary moved to St. Petersburg, Florida. Mary died in 1982.

In 1990, Syd married Phyllis Baker Fisher. They lived in Pinellas Park until 2003 when they moved to Ocala. They moved to Lakeland in 2014.

He and Phyllis have been members of the Suncoast Chapter of the Florida Trail Association for more than 25 years. He helped build the hiking trail in Upper Hillsborough Preserve in Pasco County and served as its first Section Leader.

A celebration of his life was observed on October 16, 2021, on what would have been his 100th birthday. His family scattered his remains at his favorite spot in Upper Hillsborough Preserve.

Virginia Margaret (Rasmussen) Barton, 93, of Ocala Florida passed away at home on May 31, 2023. She was born on December 30, 1929, and grew up in Des Moines, Iowa. She lived in Iowa, Missouri, and California, before settling in Orlando, Florida with her husband, Paul in 1962. She moved to Ocala in 2014.

She spent over thirty years as a teacher, primarily for children with special learning needs. In her retirement she volunteered as a Master Gardener, and enjoyed many outdoor activities.

She was an avid biker and camper. She was especially involved with the Florida Trail Association as a hiker and trail maintainer. She spent many a Winter Wednesday Hike with her daughter—in-law Beth and youngest grandchild, Stephanie. Her “Feet” cookies were a common donation to meal events, and always advised to “leave no bench un-sat.”

FTA donation page in memory of Virginia floridatrail.org/LeaveNoBenchUn-Sat