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THE BAD PENNIES
A History by Paul Lamb
Chapter 1: The Beginning, Adventure 0 - Nashville
Ron Hamner holds the claim to being the Father of this
organization, whether he wants to admit it or not. But there
were several "fathers" and "mothers" who helped this unusual Club
get going.
It all started because of one of those rare conditions: a
weekend with no event within the Atlantic Region. A brand new
Nashville, TN, club was offering its first event that weekend.
Ron collected fourteen people into two vans to go on this
"adventure," driving down to Nashville to do that club's walk.
As planning developed, a visit to the Grand Old Opry was included
as part of this two day, fourteen hundred mile trip.
We left the South Parking lot of the Pentagon on Friday
evening, August 9th, 1991, seven people packed into each of the
two vans (and packed is the operative word). Ron Hamner was
principal driver of one van with Sherri McNeil, Mary Lou Benzel,
Sandi Cahill, Linda Bekemeier, Laurel Carlson, and Amy Fowler as
passengers. Paul Lamb was principal driver of the other van with
Nelson Cahill, Ken Wilson, Jim Pullum, Mary Seidl, Wendy Swanson,
and Diane Harker as passengers.
We drove all night and arrived early Saturday morning in
Nashville and at the walk. All fourteen van riders walked the
event, some did it twice, and all encouraged the new Nashville
club's efforts. (It was event SE91/102.)
Then it was off to the motel for a nap, then dinner and the
Grand Old Opry show. During the show Roy Acoff introduced an up
and coming young star named Garth Brooks; and we learned more
than enough about Little Debbie cakes. Back to the motel for
more rest for most, a night on the town for one [Sherri McNeil by
name].
It was on the trip home on Sunday that the harem van (Ron
driving) went wild and produced the concept of The Bad Pennies.
Some post travel discussion in the parking lot and the idea only
required being committed to action and paper to become a reality.
Some of the ideas that were being bounced around the harem
van, at least the printable ones, for this travel group were
"Simple. Any time, any place, wherever there is an event," "If
there's an event, we're likely to turn up," "Just like a bad
penny," "Bad Pennies!" "You never know where you will find one,"
"It takes a bunch to have fun," "They're all cheap!"
Before the week was out, the Application for a New Club and
the sanction requests for the first TWO events were in the hands
of our Regional Director, Mary Lou Benzel, and being processed
(it didn't hurt that the Regional Director had been in the harem
van).
The Charter says we became club number 725 on the 19th day
of August in the year 1991; we all know that we became a club ten
days earlier when the vans first left the parking lot of the
Pentagon.
The Club's bank account was established at the Second
National Bank; it just seemed appropriate that our unusual Club
would bank at an unusual Bank.
Approximately thirty people from the Atlantic Region had
attended the Nashville event; all were offered the opportunity to
become "charter" members of The Bad Pennies. And the Nashville
trip became known as Adventure 0 (zero) as it occurred before the
club officially existed.
It took a while for the club to settle into the slogan of
"you hold an event and we turn up" ... just like a bad penny. It
took longer to come up with the club emblem, a representation of
the obverse side of a penny showing the Lincoln Memorial. If you
look carefully, you can see the back side of Lincoln's head.
This emblem came from the folklore that a penny found on the
ground face up is good luck; thus, a penny found face down must
be ... a bad penny, of course.
That parking lot meeting also produced the club's "official"
meeting schedule as the fifty Friday of the month at one minute
past midnight in Aisle 6 of the South parking lot of the
Pentagon. As far as I know, we never had an "official" meeting
under these conditions. But it fit the style of the club.
There was a conscious decision to have as little
"organization" as possible. So, for the first year plus, there
was no such thing as articles of organization or bylaws. Those
rules that were needed were developed at the time of the need,
but never recorded in the nature of permanent rules.
Chapter 2 - Adventure 1 - Northeast Six; Events 1 and 2,
Connecticut and Rhode Island
With the Application for a New Club, we submitted sanction
requests for the first two events of this new club. It had been
decided in that parking lot meeting that our next adventure
should be over the Columbus Day three-day weekend and include the
six New England States. At that time there were no Year Round
Events in Rhode Island and Connecticut, no club in Rhode Island,
and only a small club in Connecticut. Thus, to provide for all
six New England states, The Bad Pennies would have to hold an
event in Rhode Island and an event in Connecticut.
Not everyone understands the process involved in having an
event sanctioned, particularly if the event is in a Region other
than your own. Our sanction requests had to be approved by our
Atlantic Region Director, Mary Lou Benzel, and, in this case, the
Northeast Region Director, Bill Jenkins.
Back to the events. There is a park which straddles the
border between Rhode Island and Connecticut with a bridge
crossing from one State to the other. The park is known as the
Pulaski Memorial State Park on the Rhode Island side and The
Quaddick State Forest on the Connecticut side. The bridge became
the start point for each event, one State event started at one
end of the bridge and the other State event at the other end.
These events set the pattern of The Bad Pennies away from home
events: a start point staffed by one person and self service
control points, truly a one person show.
Our Trailmaster (designate, there being no official
appointment) was Paul Lamb. On September 13th (Friday), Paul
took a late flight up to Providence, Rhode Island, rented a car
and headed in the direction of the park, looking for a place to
spend the night. One of the problems with being from the
Washington, DC, area is that you expect the rest of the country
to be like here. Paul figured that there would be at least one
motel at the exit off the beltway around Providence which he
needed to take to get to the park; not so in Rhode Island. And
he wound up driving several miles before he found the first one,
a small (9 unit) motel. The next day and a half, Paul spent
wheeling the woods in and around the pond and the bridge, trying
to find a reasonable route for these two walks.
The club agreed that we did not intend to be one of those
tour groups, with a so called start-and-run find-us-if-you-can
start point. So these two events were set up with a five hour
start period.
An advance trail team of three people [Sandi Cahill, Ken
Wilson, and Trailmaster Paul Lamb] traveled up on Friday, October
llth, 1991, to mark the trails in the rain and into the night,
and to be on hand at the announced beginning of the start period.
Adventure 1, tagged as the "Northeast Six" adventure,
started when the three vans, seventeen adventurists, left the
Pentagon parking lot Friday evening to drive all night and arrive
at the club's events on Saturday morning. After walking and
working the club's events, these vans, now including two of the
advance trail team [Sandi and Ken], headed off to Massachusetts
to provide the opportunity to walk in the other four New England
States.
The last participant on the Connecticut trail was a young
lady who had flown into the area to partake in a "tour groups"
walk in Connecticut. She had arrived at the designated start
point too late, the "hit-and-run" had already occurred. Someone
there remembered seeing our events advertised and provided her
directions. She arrived at our start point about two in the
afternoon, well after the advertised start window of 8 am to 1
pm. We let her walk with the trail sweep; and she got her
Connecticut State stamp.
The two events were successful. We had 67 participants from
Rhode Island (63 credit, 4 free; 1991 USA 13034) and 59
participants for Connecticut (56 credit and 3 free; 1991 USA
13035). The Club records show a NET of $77.64 for the two
events.
As was expected, the adventure lost money; the NET for
Adventure is carried as a MINUS $68.95. The accounting technique
used by the Treasurer was that any income or expense which
directly related to the events and that would have been incurred
if the event had been in our backyard was accounted for in the
event account.
The Adventurers paid for all the direct costs of the
adventure itself, the vans, gasoline, rooms, meals, plus an
"Adventure Fee" which was designed to help offset the other costs
of the adventure. In this case, the cost of establishing the two
walks including the Trailmaster's trip to the area to set up the
trails. It was understood that the Club would be subsidizing the
adventures, at least for a while.
Chapter 3 - We Actually Have a Meeting
The real first meeting of The Bad Pennies was held Saturday
evening, November 30th, 1991, at the (compri) Hotel in
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in association with the Hershey walks.
[The meeting room was provided at no charge.] Ron Hamner, our
organizing President, stated that he could not continue as he was
slated to become the President of the Virginia Volkssport
Association. The incumbents of the other three positions: Linda
Bekermeier, Vice-President; Sandi Cahill, Secretary; and Paul
Lamb, Treasurer, were elected for the following year. It was
determined that the position of President could not be filled at
this meeting, so Linda became the acting President. We never did
get a President; Linda "acted" for the whole term.
In January, 1992, the Club purchased an IVV Banner.
Chapter 4 - Adventure 2 - Going South; Events 3 & 4, South
Carolina and Alabama
Adventure 2, tagged as the "Going South" adventure, was set
for the Presidents Day three-day weekend; it would be heading
south to find better weather. Walks in Winston-Salem, North
Carolina; somewhere in South Carolina; Roswell, Georgia; and
Cheaha State Park, Alabama, were the plan. Once again, South
Carolina did not have a Year Round Event and the club, located in
Greenville, South Carolina, was not interested in putting on an
event to match our schedule. But they had no objection to The
Bad Pennies holding an event. So in went the sanction request,
via our Regional Director and the Southeast Region Director,
Duncan Brantly.
With the approval came the information that the Year Round
Event in Alabama was not being renewed and would not be there
when we came. So, an emergency sanction request was processed so
that The Bad Pennies could hold an event in Alabama.
This adventure became expensive when the word of no Year
Round Event in Alabama was received; our Trailmaster had already
flown down to check out Greenville, South Carolina, and this
required another trip to check out an Alabama trail.
The club's third event was held on Saturday, February 15th,
1992, in Greenville, South Carolina, and the fourth event was
held on Sunday, February 16th, in Cheaha State Park, Alabama.
The official adventure party arrived in two vans, but several
club members attended one or both events on their own. [The
advance party for South Carolina was: Jim and Nancy Geith, and
Trailmaster Paul Lamb. Advance party for Alabama: just Paul
Lamb.] [In the vans were Matt Pernick, William Harris, Paul
Redmer, Pat Astill, Yvonne Astill, Sandi Cahill, Carl Cordes,
Jackie Spangler, Judy Floy, and Ingrid Rockett.]
The events made money; we had 34 participants in the steady
light rain at South Carolina (1992 USA 1356) and 48 participants
in the sun at Alabama (1992 USA 1387). The books show that the
two events netted $23.08.
The adventure resulted in a loss of $286.92 due to the
significance expense of two trips to establish the trails, an
expense which the Club accepted for this adventure but looked for
ways to eliminate from future adventures.
Chapter 5 - Helping a New Club - Event 5
There was an interest in forming a club in the Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, area. The Bad Pennies' fifth sanction request was
for the initial event of this new club, the West Penn Club. A
van load of The Bad Pennies members drove up to help get this
Saturday, May 2, 1992, event started out right, along with a
handful of other club members who just "happened" to be in the
neighborhood. It was sanctioned by us as AT92/141.
Listed as The Bad Pennies members in attendance were: Sandi
Cahill, Paul Lamb, Nelson Cahill, Ken Wilson, Madeline Chavis,
Mary Lou Benzel, Lynette Reagan, Nancy McCabe, and friends: Steve
Arnett, John Ehmer.
Chapter 6 - Adventure 3 - Holy Toledo; Event 6, Michigan
The plans for Adventure 3 for the 1992 Memorial Day three-
day weekend (May 23-25) were being developed. The Year Round
Events at Maumee (Toledo), Ohio; Muncie, Indiana; and Covington,
Kentucky, made a workable travel route. Now, if we could work in
Michigan, it would be a great adventure. Nothing to do but to
hold a club event in Monroe, Michigan, just across the State line
from Toledo. And we had the club's sixth event and Adventure 3.
tagged the "Holy Toledo" adventure. The sanction request went
through our Region Director and the Mid-America Region Director
Elaine Holobough; it got lost and some emergency action was
required to get this event made official.
Our Trailmaster drove up to check out the area and establish
a trail; by driving, the cost of the adventure was significantly
reduced. [Advance trail party: Yvonne Astill, Jan Roberson, and
Trailmaster Paul Lamb.] Three vans of adventurists plus a few
camp followers participated. [Adventure Coordinator: Judy Floy.]
We had 61 participants (53 credit, 8 free; 1992 USA 3044) at
our Michigan event, and it made $20.25. The adventure showed a
plus of $147.70 to the Club's bank account.
Judy Floy made a significant contribution to the Club by
putting together the "Interim Procedures for Setting Up Trips for
The Bad Pennies," the first set of guidelines set down on paper
for the Club's operation, at least for the adventures.
Chapter 7 - We're In the Papers
The American Wanderer - May-June, 1992 (page 19)
The Bad Pennies are on a roll
When a Club has the name "The Bad Pennies" a slogan that
goes "you hold an event and we turn up" you just know that this
is a fun group. The Club is organized on the basis that not only
is participating in volkssport events suppose to be fun, getting
together to go to and from the events should be part of the
adventure of volkssporting.
And "adventure" is the key word in the operation of this
Club. The Club was "minted" in the back seat of one of the two
vans filled with volksmarchers who had just had an "adventure."
Here's the story.
Six o'clock Friday night, August 9, fourteen people piled
into two vans in the parking lot of the Pentagon, Washington,
D.C., for a trip to Nashville, Tennessee, and the Nashville
Volkssport Club's first walk. We arrived Saturday morning,
participated in the event, discovered another dozen or so
Atlantic Region walkers were there, took in the Grand Old Opry, a
few minutes of sleep, and the trip back. Arriving at the
Pentagon about 6 p.m. on Sunday, the concept of The Bad Pennies
Club had been "coined". Something had to come out of a 48-hour
1,500 mile trip to attend ONE volksmarch.
The Club was chartered on August 19, a short 10 days after
the beginning of what we call Adventure #O. And we started to
roll.
Plans for Adventure #1, to cover the six New England states
over the Columbus Day holiday weekend were started; plans which
included the Club's first and second events, walks in Rhode
Island and Connecticut. Nineteen people started out on Friday
night, October 11, traveled in three vans from the Pentagon
parking lot to the Club's events, then on to Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont and back to the Pentagon Monday
evening. More than 30 other volksmarchers enjoyed the two walks
from a single start point that the Club sponsored, set-up, and
operated.
When you consider that we held our first two events less
than two months after we were chartered and in a location 400
miles from home, having 67 participants in Rhode Island and 59 in
Connecticut is not a bad start. Lots of people helped get us
started; particularly our Regional Director Mary Lou Benzel (who
participated in both Adventures) and Northeast Regional Director
Bill Jenkins (who took part in our events).
The Bad Pennies are on a roll; where's the next stop?
Adventure #2 included the states of North Carolina with one of
the year-round events in Winston-Salem; South Carolina with a TBP
Club event at Greenville; Georgia with the year-round event at
Roswell and Alabama with a TBP Club event at Cheaha State Park.
This happened over the President's Day holiday weekend, February
15-17. Our thanks to Duncan Brantley, Southeast Regional
Director, for his help and attendance at the two The Bad Pennies
events.
Where to next? Well, The Bad Pennies are helping get a Club
started in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area and worked the first
event there on May 2nd.
Then there is Adventure #3 which will cover Michigan, Ohio,
Indiana, and Kentucky. Set for the Memorial Day weekend, this
adventure will use year round events at Muncie, IN; Dayton, OH;
and Covington, KY. And we are working with the Maumee Valley
Volkssporters in Toledo, Ohio, for an event in Monroe, Michigan.
As with all events sponsored by The Bad Pennies, the event
at Monroe will operate as a standard volksmarch: start time is 8
a.m. to 1 p.m., finish by 4 p.m. This will be a credit only event
but "B" awards from the Toledo Club will be available.
Our future plans include an event in the Washington, D.C.,
area (with an "A" award). And Adventure #4 will take us to
Niagara Falls in October.
So the next time you hold an event, look out: The Bad
Pennies just might turn up.
The June, 1992, issue of the Peninsula Pathfinder's
newsletter carried the following article:
THE BAD PENNIES KEEP ROLLIN' AND STROLLIN': Did you read the
article about the "Bad Pennies" Volksmarching Club in the last
issue of the WANDERER? Sounded like a neat Club. Well our very
own Jim and Nancy Geith are also members of that very same Club
and they participated in the Clubs 4th 'adventure'. The Geiths,
along with our esteemed Club Vice President, Jan Roberson, drove
up to Washington DC on May 22 where they met up with 20 other
equally wobbly pennies (I mean club members). Then they drove to
Maumee, Ohio (that's almost as neat a sounding name as Paduka Ky)
where they walked Saturday morning, then on to Monroe, Michigan
for a Saturday afternoon walk (that's two states). They stayed
overnight in Ft Wayne, Indiana so they could walk in Muncie,
Indiana Sunday morning (three states), next it was off to
Covenington, KY for the fourth walk - fourth state. Then finally
back to the Pentagon parking lot and then home to Hampton. What
a great weekend - would you like to go on the next "adventure"?
Talk to Jim and Nancy - they'll convince you it's the only way to
roll (along by car) and stroll (on foot).
[This is exactly how it appeared, spelling, punctuation, and
all.]
Chapter 8 - Event 7 at Fairlakes, Virginia
The club had been started on a loan and it seemed to the
officers and members that our debt should be eliminated. The
best way to do that was to hold an event in the northern Virginia
area, the home area of the club.
So, August 1st and 2nd, 1992, found most of the club members
working an event held in the Fair Lakes development off of
Interstate 66 just outside [west] of the City of Fairfax,
Virginia.
This two-day, rather standard event, did include its own
mini-adventure. Two of our female participants arrived at the
finish table carrying a dainty pair of black lace panties which
they, reportedly, found on the trail.
This was the club's seventh event, the first that was held
in our home area, and was the club's first with an "A" award.
The circular hat pin depicted the backside of the Lincoln
Memorial [of course] set beside one of the lakes of Fair Lakes,
the lake with the fountains.
Over fifty percent of the Club members provided their time
as workers at this event.
The event was successful with 498 participants (151 took the
"A"-award, 271 were credit only, and 76 walked free) and the club
was able to become debt free. The books show a NET of $471.82.
In addition, the club made a significant donation ($350.00)
to the National Headquarters. We were informed by David Stewart,
Executive Director, that our donation was used to help furnish
his office; and that our help was recognized on a plaque in that
room.
Sandi Cahill evaluated the start cards from the event and
found the following:
Category Free Credit Award Total
only
Live within 5 miles of start 15 23 19 57
Live 5 to 20 miles away 43 140 72 255
Live 20 to 50 miles away 9 50 20 79
Live 50 to 100 miles away 6 44 24 74
Live more than 100 miles away 3 14 16 33
By the end of this first year, The Bad Pennies had held or
sponsored seven events, five located more than four hundred miles
from the club's home; coordinated four adventures (counting
Adventure 0); and provided a new element of volkssport fun to the
sport.
Chapter 9 - Adventure 4 - To the Falls
The Niagara Frontier Volkssport Club had plans for two one-
day events over the Columbus Day, 1992, weekend. These plus the
Year Round Event at the falls formed the basis for Adventure 4,
tagged the "To the Falls" adventure. As the plans developed,
there was a van-load of adventurists who wanted to and could
leave earlier in the week and travel to the Niagara Falls area
vis Ottawa, Canada; there were at that time five Year Round
Events in the Ottawa area.
So Adventure 4 became two adventures: the long-trip van
adventure which left the Washington, DC, area on Wednesday,
October 7th, made stops at a couple of New York Year Round
Events, included all five Year Round Events in the Ottawa area,
participated in the two club events and the Year Round Event at
the falls, and managed to get another walk in [at West Point] on
the way home. The short-trip van left Friday morning, October
9th, and took in the three events at the falls. Each van carried
six adventurists. [Long-Trip: Ken Wilson, Sandi Cahill, Mary
Horner, Shirley Ponse, Nelson Cahill, and Paul Lamb. Short-trip:
Ron and Fran Looper, Diane Harker, Madeline Chavis, Mary Seidel,
Judy Floy.][Adventure Coordinator: Linda Bekermeier, who didn't
get to go because of her work schedule.]
This adventure added to the Club's checking account the
amount of $268.02.
Chapter 10 - Another Meeting
The Financial Statement of November 14, 1992, showed a
Checking Account Balance of $1,154.77 with NO DEBT.
November 22, 1992, the club held its annual meeting in
association with the Seneca Valley Club's event at Glen Echo. We
met at the end of the room used for the start/finish; and we
elected officers. Linda Bekermeier was very pleased to past the
baton to Matt Pernick as President and Paul Redmer as Vice-
President. Sandi Cahill remained as Secretary and Paul Lamb
continued as Treasurer.
Articles of Organization for The Bad Pennies were written
and signed on January 1, 1993; this was to allow the Club to come
under the IRS 501(c)(3) tax exempt, not for profit, umbrella.
This was only the second piece of paper giving any appearance of
the Club having some organization.
Chapter 11 - Adventure 5 - All 'Round VA
The February, 1993, adventure, Adventure 5, tagged the "All
'Round VA" adventure, was planned to cover the six Year Round
Events in the Tidewater area of Virginia, specifically the walks
at Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Yorktown (both the short and the long
trails), Jamestown, and Williamsburg. The van load of seven
adventurists [Ken Wilson, Carl Cordes, Matt Pernick, Paul Redmer,
Judy Floy, Sandi Cahill, Paul Lamb] not only had the opportunity to
participate in these six events, one did the Williamsburg
Volksswim [Judy Floy], and all enjoyed a play by the Williamsburg
Players [Don't Shoot the Tenor(?)] as part of this adventure.
[Adventure Coordinator: Paul Lamb.]
This adventure added to the Club's bank balance $46.05.
Chapter 12 - Event 8 at Fairlakes, Virginia
The club officers decided it would be useful to have a
treasury large enough for the club to finance the adventures, and
that another event in the northern Virginia area would be
appropriate. So, August 7th and 8th, 1993, found the club
members staffing another event in the Fair Lakes development.
This event, the club's eight, was the second with an "A"
award. This time the circular hat pin depicted the backside of
the Lincoln Memorial [of course] nestled in the trees which are
plentiful in Fair Lakes.
The event [1993 USA 2285] was successful, with 399
participants (106 purchased the "A"-award, 7 took a "B"-award,
213 walked for credit only and 73 walked for free), and provided
the club with the funds to support another venture, the banquet.
[The Treasurer's report indicates a NET of $488.23.]
Chapter 13 - The Banquet
The banquet was set for Saturday, August 7, 1993, at 6 pm,
following the Volksmarch at Fair Lakes. Paul Lamb had arranged
for the AFCEA meeting room which was only a couple of blocks from
the Start/Finish point of the walk. The catered menu was: German
and Italian Sausages, Brotchen, Sauerkraut, Potato, vegetable,
and pasta salads, Homemade applesauce, Chocolate Cake and Carrot
Cake. There was enough food to serve far more than the few who
attended.
Paul Lamb takes the blame for the idea of a volkssport
banquet, an opportunity for the volkssport community of the
Washington, DC, area to get together for fellowship over a
catered buffet. The banquet did not get the publicity needed to
attract enough people to break even. The few who attended
enjoyed the company and the food, but the idea was a bust. Oh,
well. [The Treasurer's report indicates a LOSS of $204.00.]
Chapter 14 - Adventure 6 - Atlantic City or Bust
It had been in the minds of several members that there
should be a way to walk the boardwalk in Atlantic City. In
discussions with the New Jersey club, a way to do it was devised
and that event became the center-piece of Adventure 6, tagged the
"Atlantic City or Bust" adventure. The Bad Pennies would help
the Garden State Happy Wanderers by using the vans to shuttle
people from one point on the boardwalk to the finish table at
this Sunday, October 10th, 1993, event. Adding in events in
Baltimore, Maryland; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; and the Year Round
Events at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Valley Forge, Pennsylvania;
and Dover, Delaware, made for a typical The Bad Pennies
adventure. Some on the road adjustments eliminated the trip to
Dover on the way home, but all in the group had an enjoyable
time.
Financially, this adventure cost the Club $2.09.
Chapter 15 - Annual Meeting
November, 1993, was annual meeting and elections time for
The Bad Pennies. Matt Pernick was re-elected as President, and
Jackie Spangler was elected Vice-President. The positions of
Secretary and Treasurer became appointed offices. Sandi Cahill
continued as Secretary and Paul Lamb, our Treasurer from the
beginning, turned the books over to the new Treasurer, Mary
Horner.
Chapter 16 - Adventure 7 - Walkin' Route 81
The Club's Adventure 7, tagged the "Walkin' Route 81"
adventure, included a visit all the new Year Round Events along
Interstate 81 in Virginia over the Presidents Day weekend in
1994. [Adventure Coordinator: Carl Cordes.]
Adventure 8, tagged just "Europe," was a fourteen day, nine
country trip to Europe in October, 1994. [Adventure Coordinator:
Matt Pernick.]
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"you hold an event and we turn up"
