Twenty-five Years Ago, Avon Trail Celebrated its 20th Anniversary
Excerpts from the Avon Trail Newsletter, Winter 1996.
The Winter 1996 edition of the Avon Trail News featured an account of the special Anniversary Hikes and barbeque held in the fall of 1995 at Wildwood Conservation Area. President Jim Fischer wrote “The past year has been a successful one for the club. Membership has been steady and there is some increased interest in our program activities. The club celebrated its 20th anniversary on Ontario Hiking Day, an event attended by 150 members, landowners, and friends of the trail….Over forty people arrived to go on the 18 km hike,….and another 70 or more arrived for the shorter 2:00 pm hike….Following the hikes,… all dug into a scrumptious pig roast…. The club was particularly pleased to have a number of ex-presidents attend the event, notably Dr. Crosby Kirkpatrick of St. Marys, who played a fundamental role in organizing the Avon Trail twenty years ago.”
The same edition included the Activities schedule. Every five years since 1975 at the club’s inception, the Hike Schedule has offered an ‘End-to-End’ hike This October 1996 edition of the Newsletter announced the Silver Anniversary edition of these hikes, the first of five to be led by Jack Nowack (now an Honourary Member).each covering a distance of 20 km.
In 1995, an Adult/Family membership was $10. The Year End Financial statement showed Revenues at $6447.16 and Expenses at $3420.57. The cost of Insurance in 1995 was $84.24, an interesting comparison with the current figure of over $800.
As the Avon Trail celebrates its 45th anniversary this year, in the midst of the COVID19 pandemic, plans for the End-to-end have had to be put on hold. Hopefully these events can be rescheduled at a later date.