[at-l] Boy Scout Debate

[rbenhameda@comcast.net (Rami)]

  At 01:24 PM 06/16/2002 -0400, rick boudrie wrote:

  >>I wonder why Ed advocated as much as he did for formal recognition.
  >>I'm also interested in the content of the letter sent to ATC in 2000. Was 
  >>it published, anyone? if so, which issue, I'd like to read
  >
  >If he was a strong advocate, that isn't so clear from his letter to the ATN:
  >
  >http://www.appalachiantrail.org/about/pubs/atn/archive/ATN00May.pdf

  Interesting.  It certainly doesn't sound like a campaign, just a letter 
  suggesting they be included.  The "Paper Trail" article in the March-April 
  2001 ATN makes it sound like more, especially the quote on page 8 of Vice 
  Chair Brian Fitzgerald saying (in regard to the question of removing the 
  names) "I suspect that if the names just 'disappear,' we'll be hearing from 
  Mr. Talone again."  That gave me the impression that there had been more 
  than just a single letter from him suggesting that the Boy Scouts deserved 
  to be listed.


[Rami:]
Your impression is correct as far as I have been able to determine.  Brian King from ATC has told me that this became quite a heated issue in 1999 and 2000 with the Earl v. Max camps.  

  The editors' note et the end of Ed Talone's letter states simply that the 
  names were added in response to his letter.  The ATC's argument has been 
  all along that "We are just not in a position now to verify claimed 
  hikes".  It is quite evident that the ATC simply wishes the whole debate 
  would just go away but as I said before, like it or not they put themselves 
  in the business of verifying the first thru when they demanded proof from 
  Earl.  An editor for the ATC (I assume the author of the article) is said 
  to have "investigated" Mr. Gordon's report which came up "when he contacted 
  the ATC on another matter".  Evidently he was not even looking to be 
  recognized as the first thru-hiker.


[Rami:]
In fact, no formal request for listing was ever made by Max or any of the other 5 boys or even Mr. Talone. (according to Mr. King)  The listing was because "A member (and AHS employee) was rooting around the archives and the 2,000-miler registry one weekend a couple winters back, "discovered" the article, and basically harangued the names into the registry.  I did approve that, in an unfortunate, distracted moment, and
then forgot about it."  and  "As you've seen from the May 2000 ATN on-line, in response to a letter from that member, we then listed Max and the others in the printed update of the registry.   This member then went to the ALDHA
newsletter editor with an article headlined "ATC Honors Scouts as First Thru-Hikers" or something like that.  The editor was told by the group's coordinator at the time not to doublecheck with me"




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