Category: Danielson Center

By Tom Metzgar Building Committee Back in 2009 when we bought our Blairsville headquarters complex, we knew it would require a lot of work. That’s a major reason why we got it for such a low price. Poor “curb appeal” made these buildings less desirable. During our first eight years of ownership, we focused on […]

By Dean Snyder The Alexander Caverns sign was discovered in a barn near Milroy. It was obtained by Todd Karshner, who brought it to a MAR field meet at Rupert Cave. It was on sheet metal and was mounted on plywood. There was no marking on the sign to indicate who painted it, or its […]

By Tom Metzgar It’s November 6th, and the caves are closed for bats. Dave Field had a hankering to go caving, so he suited up and slithered into the crawlspace under the downstairs bathroom. Here, he’s dumping a bucket of 1A gravel on top of the newly-installed vapor barrier over what had been a bare […]

MAKC will celebrate its 20th anniversary this summer, a few months in advance of the actual month, which is November. But the Fourth of July weekend should be alittle bit better for camping than any time in November. All persons attending must be current members of MAKC. Details can be had by going through the […]

By Kim Metzgar One day while at work I received a telephone call from the Blairsville Community Development Association. Since it is the town where we have our library, I was a bit excited. We were personally invited to attend their annual Knotweed Festival, a community event where they close off a street, have food […]

Cataloguing all of the books in the MAKC library was a challenge, a time-consuming challenge. If anyone has a specific research need, let us know. I think periodically, as time permits, I’ll write a little bit in the newsletter about some of our books. For fiction books and children’s books, we do permit lending to […]

MAKC is raising money for its library and education center in Blairsville by giving cavers the opportunity to buy a brick in honor of or memory of a friend, family member, favorite pet, loved one, grotto, or cave. We have had many benefactors thus far from all over the place. Board member Jeff Jahn has […]

The MAKC recently acquired a house in Blairsville, Pennsylvania, for approximately $28,000, paid in full with funds donated for an education center and library. Significant collections have already been donated to the conservancy, including an original postcard index created by the late Dale Ibberson; the Frank Mielcarek Collection of slides, which were saved from a […]

I wanted to take a few minutes to thank all the volunteers we had this past (August work) weekend for their help and participation. We accomplished removing all the rugs and carpets in the entire house. Two rooms were painted with primer and are ready for the next step. The two rooms downstairs have nice […]

The Mid-Atlantic Karst Conservancy has tossed around the idea of a headquarters for a number of years, ever since we’ve been given donations of books, slides and other material to develop an archive of caving in our region. Available space at the various members’ homes where the items are now stored is at a minimum, […]