A small stretch of the Appalachian Trail runs through a tiny town in Pennsylvania by the name of Duncannon. It runs along High Street, which is where my Dad grew up and where, until her passing a few years ago, my Grandmother still lived. I have memories of my grandmother stopping whatever she was doing whenever she saw a hiker pass by her house. She would run out (or, later in life, wheel out) to the front sidewalk, sodas and snacks in hand, and offer her refreshments to the weary hiker. Sometimes they’d stop and stay for a chat with her on her porch.

The Appalachian Trail Museum is currently accepting nominations for inductees into their newly established Hall of Fame. Likely nominees are those who have been somehow involved with the trail–volunteers who helped build and maintain it, pioneer hikers, or people in communities along the way. Nominations are being accepted through March 31 and six winners will be announced in June. To submit a nomination, click here.

I doubt my Grandma’s name will be engraved on an Appalachian Trail Museum Hall of Fame plaque. But I like to think that there are a few Appalachian Trail hikers out there who still remember the woman with the quick wit and tasty root-beer and chocolate chip cookies who periodically turned her porch into an Appalachian Trail rest stop in Duncannon, PA.

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette