Limberlost Trail—June 6

By Sue Daniels

As one of many accomplishments during his long and productive career with the National Park Service, ESJ member Marc Malik had laid out and flagged the Limberlost Trail in Shenandoah National Park. On June 6, he was joined by other UU Blue Ridge members and friends on the trail. He spoke of its history and pointed out natural and geologic features along the way. Marc told us it was the first trail in the National Park system intended to be accessible for persons with disabilities, and—on this day—he traversed it in his own wheelchair, assisted by other UU members. 

The massive hemlock trees that once dominated the forest were wiped out by an insect pest a few decades ago, but oak and other trees (including some hemlocks) have made a new canopy to shade the path—much appreciated on this warm day! Dead hemlocks, felled years ago, now host interesting mushrooms and other fungi that were pointed out and identified by participants. We enjoyed the flowering plants along the trail and the stands of mountain laurel beginning to bloom.

Other groups and families also were using the trail, including some individuals with disabilities. The people we encountered were interested in meeting Marc, and even lingered a few minutes to thank him for his efforts.

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Juneteenth

The bill creating the first federal holiday since Martin Luther King Day in 1983, Juneteenth National Independence Day, to be held annually on June 19, was signed into law by President Biden on June 17. It had been unanimously approved by the Senate and passed the House by a vote of 415 to 14.

According to Smithsonian Magazine, Juneteenth commemorates the date in 1865 when Union General Gordon Granger, accompanied by more than 2,000 Union troops in Galveston, Texas, publicly stated: 

“[I]n accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.”

In amazement and disbelief, the 250,000 former slaves in Texas learned that they had been freed by the Emancipation Proclamation [of 1863], which could not be enforced until the war was over. …Their moment of jubilee was spontaneous and ecstatic, and began a tradition of marking freedom on Juneteenth. 

In his remarks, the president said, “Juneteenth marks both the long, hard night of slavery and subjugation, and a promise of a brighter morning to come. …A day in which we remember the moral stain, the terrible toll that slavery took on the country and continues to take[.] …I also remember the extraordinary capacity to heal, and to hope, and to emerge from the most painful moments and a bitter, bitter version of ourselves, but to make a better version of ourselves.”

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Free Market Fridays

“Free Market Fridays” are being held at the community gardens in the Page County towns of Luray and Stanley through August 20. While volunteers (including ESJ member Will Daniels) worked in the Luray Garden on June 18, food and information were distributed by County Extension Agent Molly Beardslee (wearing sunglasses at left in photo below at left).