Strides have been made at all levels to further our steady progress. The most evident is the attention from the Division of Parks and Recreation, a partner that has been quiet too long.
Elizabeth Chesnut replaced Alan Eakes in the Planning Department, and met with association staff twice already in developing a park general management plan. Being addressed is location of a parking area, bathrooms, picnic shelter, educational displays and demonstration gardens.
In 2003, 883 people visited Rock Cliff Farm, staying for a total of 1,332 hours, or two months! This data helped justify a proposal to Park Superintendent Bryan Dowdy for the rental of a Port-a-John. This is one small step towards the future!
New professionally done displays are finished to replace the existing ones at the farm. Jayme Bednarczyk is creating the template for a tri-fold association display. And a self-guided tour and brochure is being revised for the Zeagle’s Rock loop trail.
Read about what the Education, Grounds and Buildings Committees are up to on page 2.
Public Relations and the Archiving Committee are continuing strong. The Membership Committee has been set back by the loss of Bill Williams, but a new treasurer is in the works!
Ways and Means quietly gets the official stuff done, with the approval of the new Mission and Vision statement, page 3, and legal review of by-laws.
Educational Activities
Jimmy Ray, who grew up on the farm, inspired these activities, based on games that B.W. Wells had Jimmy and his siblings play as he taught them about the ecology of the farm they lived on.
The “what’s coming time” was a game of ecological clues, which led you around the farm to a treat at the end, a 3 musketeers bar. We may not be able to afford the amount of candy bars needed to teach all visitors to the farm, but the game is designed to get you thinking ecologically.
Another game for younger participants is the “how would you describe it?” game. In this activity, kids describe a pine cone, twig, insect gall, etc., and by their description they learn about it and its place in the environment.
Jayme Bednarczyk is creating an outreach program game for adults, where they each become a plant or animal, and must find others that exist in the same habitat. This teaches them about the different plant communities in the state.
Hopefully, these games will be in place for the March 28 Heritage Day, if you want to come give them a try!
The survey will produce a map of Rock Cliff Farm and all of its features, which will be used by the Buildings and Grounds Committee, as well as be an instrumental tool in creation of a management.
The map will also be used in productions of brochures and pamphlets, such as the self-guided tour.
Shown on the map, all to scale, will be all buildings, rock walls, cemeteries, trailheads, trees, wells, roads and other structures and farm features.
The last map by John Lawrence showed all structures and surrounding forest, but can not be updated or adapted. The new map will be in a format that text and drawings can be added in and be usable on the web or in various publications.
Thanks to Jeff Adolphsen, the one-man buildings committee, for pursuing this project.
An Eastern Red Cedar at Rock Cliff Farm was nominated and accepted in 1992. The tree is over 120 years old, and has outlived three owners.
Four additional trees at Rock Cliff Farm were nominated for the 2004 review year: Green Ash, 66 years, this landmark tree was a favorite for picnics and evening shade; American Holly, 120+ years old, which gave the farm its early name of Holly Hill; Hackberry, 80+ years, large in size and statute; White Oak, 100+ years, the last of three huge oaks which graced the front corner of the house, the other two fell across the rock wall, the last still stands.
All four were nominated for historical and/or meritorious significance.
After review, trees which are accepted receive a bronze plaque honoring their significance.
See Rock Cliff Farm Self Guided Tour for pictures of some of these trees.
The moral of the story: plan it; advertise it; and they will come! A larger scale Heritage Day/Open House was always desired out at the farm, but until that spring day, there wasn’t the confirmation of public interest.
March is the slowest spring month, as many other groups have festivals and events in April and May. The weather is usually pretty nice that time of year in the afternoon, and people with “cabin fever” come out in droves.
The hikes currently offered, and booths set up this year, will only be a fraction of the potential. As we grow in partner organizations and membership support and interest, the Heritage Day will continue to prosper. Although it will not reach the grandeur of the Eno River or Umstead Festival, in its own right and scale, it will be quite an event.
Hike leaders and booth helpers are still needed. If you are interested contact Brian Bockhahn at 528-1690 or cbockhahn4@earthlink.net. If you would like to post flyers in your area, please contact Brian; or refer people to the BW Wells Association web site: bwwells.org.
With a lot of planning and a little bit of hope for good weather, this year’s inaugural event will hopefully bode well for future years. Please join us for this event, and invite your friends and family along!
Mission Statement
The B.W. Wells Association will strive to educate the public about B.W. Wells, North Carolina's first plant ecologist, and promote his conservation ethics. The Association will achieve its mission primarily by assisting the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to preserve, restore and interpret the unique cultural and natural resources at Rock Cliff Farm, the site of Wells' retirement.
Vision Statement
The B.W. Wells Association will be the leading resource for educating the public about B.W. Wells and his philosophy of "man living in harmony with nature." The Association will play a major role in restoring Rock Cliff Farm so that it becomes a living legacy of the environmental ethics of B.W. Wells and a source of inspiration to future conservationists.
Thank you all for your donations.
Anne Lewis, Julie Moore, H. Lee Swanson, Tracy & Fred Woodward, Robert and Rebecca Allen, Renee Gledhill-Early, Donna Wright, Ray Noggle, Robert Rabb, Jeff Adolphsen, Jacquelyn Williams, Pearson Stewart, Sue and Allan Eure, Molly Waters, Elizabeth Ried Murray, Elsie Eads, Jane Richardson, Marian & Thomas Jerdee, George Stronach, Alexandra Reigh, Ed & Janice Swab, Anne Anderson, Donald Anderson, David Suwala, Stephen Boyce, Kathryn McGaw, Agris family.
**Special mention to Margaret Pridgen who donated to the Association one of B.W. Wells’ paintings, some textbooks and a map of North Carolina from 1934.
Immediate past president Benson Kirkman was hospitalized early this year with the flu. Keep him in your thoughts throughout his recovery.
Lena Gallitano
Henry Hammond
Sig Hutchinson
Donna Wright
If you have any information about the following please contact Brian Bockhahn at 676-1027, or email Brian.Bockhahn@ncmail.net
Naming of Ziegle’s Rock
Moonshine Trail rock markers
History of John Davis
History of Wyatt Mangum
Lowery home sites
Pet Cemetery information
PO Box 1901
Wake Forest NC 27587