Nestell Kipp Anderson
Encyclopedia
Nestell Kipp "Ned" Anderson (1885–1967) was an American
farmer who spearheaded Connecticut
's leg of the Appalachian Trail
, which currently runs for 50 miles through the northwest corner of the state. In addition to creating and maintaining other area trails for the Connecticut Forest & Park
's (CFPA) Blue-Blazed Trail System, he also organized Sherman, Connecticut
's first Boy Scout
troop in 1931, as well as the Housatonic Trail Club in 1932, for amateur and avid hikers.
, a member of CFPA's Connecticut's Blue Blazed Trails Committee, who introduced Anderson to Myron Avery
. These two men were drumming up interest in Benton MacKaye
's vision of a 2,000-mile contiguous footpath from Maine
to Georgia
—The Appalachian Trail. Most people with whom they met were interested but few were committing to it; Anderson took an immediate interest.
Taking on dual roles as Chairman of CFPA's Blue Blazed Trails' Housatonic Section (officially – 1932), and as a member of the Appalachian Trail Conferenc's (ATC—now Appalachian Trail Conservancy
) Board of Managers (he was the ATC's 49th member), Ned mapped and cleared, cut, hacked, and blazed the state's trail from Dog Tail Corners in Webatuck, NY, (coming from Bear Mountain
across the Hudson River) which borders Kent, CT, at Ashley Falls, all the way up to another Bear Mountain
at the Massachusetts
border. Anderson spearheaded and maintained the Candlewood Mountain, Schaghticoke (SCAT-uh-coke) and Housatonic Range trails as well.
Ned Anderson organized Sherman's first boy scout troop in 1931 (Troop #48), and the boys earned badges by trailblazing. To spread the interest in hiking, nature and the trail, he organized The Housatonic Trail Club (HTC,) in 1932, which gave a portion of its annual dues to the ATC. Anderson and his volunteers maintained upkeep of his trails for nearly twenty years (1929–1948). In between, members piled in his bus (see biography below) and were treated to hikes all over New England
.
Anderson drew the first official maps for the statewide Blue Blazed Trail System, which were made available to hikers in individual booklets. A comprehensive map was soon published in the 1933 issue of the Telephone News. CFPA's 1934 proposal to publish a complete trail guide finally came to fruition in 1937, with the first edition of the Connecticut Walk Book. It featured Ned's Candlewood Mountain Trail. This and Ned's Schaghticoke and Housatonic Range trails were also highlighted in a smaller publication, Walk Around New Milford.
The entire Appalachian Trail was completed in 1937 and by 1939 the National Park Service
and U.S. Forest Service were working to formalize and protect the trail as a “scenic trailway.”
Anderson officially retired from trail management in 1948 at age 63, whereupon the ATC board passed a formal resolution expressing their gratitude and sincere appreciation for his labors and accomplishments and distinguished service on behalf of the Appalachian Trail.
(AMC) took over maintenance of Connecticut's portion of the AT. In 1968, the National Trails System
was created, and the Appalachian Trail was the first trail so designated.
In 1979, a portion of Connecticut's Appalachian Trail was rerouted. (The ATC has worked over the years to move more of the trail off public roadways and to allow for protected “corridors.”) This was a combined effort between the Naromi Land Trust of Sherman, CT, and the Appalachian Trail Conference. Along this new leg at the confluence of the Ten Mile
and Housatonic
rivers north of Sherman, CT, a bridge now spans the waterway. In an unprecedented move by the ATC, it bears a plaque in dedication—to Ned K. Anderson.
Today, volunteers from the Appalachian Mountain Club
maintain the whole of the Appalachian Trail. In fact, over 5,500 volunteers log over 200,000 hours of service annually.
The ATC has expanded its role to include education, science and awareness in addition to trail maintenance and protection.
Connecticut Forest & Park Association continues to be a strong advocate for trails and conservation efforts throughout Connecticut and continually updates and publishes the Connecticut Walk Book, which is now done in two volumes—East and West, and features over 800 miles of trails. The Blue Blazed trails Anderson created and oversaw as a section manager have long since been delegated each to individual leaders and teams and continue to thrive.
and Cornell (studying geology
) for a time.
In 1906, his father retired and purchased Brae Burn farm (a poultry operation) in Sherman, CT. Ned (at 20) went along to work it. He continued to hike and camp. In 1914 he met and married Lena May Clark. The couple had four children. Anderson worked for the Long Island
-based Sperry Company
and lived in Brooklyn
during World War I
. It was there that Lena died of the flu epidemic in 1919. Anderson took his children back to the farm, soon met and married Edna Holstein, a city girl visiting family. They were married in 1921, and had one child together. The farm switched from poultry to dairy and the couple opened their 1840 farmhouse as a country bed and breakfast. Guests came from all over the world.
When their oldest son was ready for high school, Anderson bought a bus to ensure that Clark would get home in time to do his chores. And for the next thirty-three years, most of the children in Sherman went to and from school in a punctual, orderly and, by all accounts, adventurous fashion. On Sundays, Anderson used the bus to fetch area children for Sunday school and return them all home again. He asked no compensation for this “good deed” and provided his services faithfully for twenty-five years.
Ned and Edna shared an avid interest in and enthusiasm for young people. Their home was always open to and often filled with their children's friends. They also believed firmly in upgrading the educational experience in and out of the classroom. While Edna was instrumental in organizing Sherman's first PTA and bringing much needed services to the school district and into the schools, Anderson, who thought the world—especially the outdoors—a most worthy classroom, sought to bring their bus-riding passengers an education on the way to and from school and via an array of entertaining class trips. Since the bus was privately owned, the Andersons could take their view of education on the road—and so often did.
Over the years, the Andersons suffered setbacks, such as the Great Depression
, when the price of a gallon of milk dipped to that of a 3¢ postage stamp. And there were devastating tragedies: the death of a child and a catastrophic fire that destroyed their barn, equipment, supplies, and much of their herd. Although the HTC hikers and the Sherman community rallied to raise moneys for the Andersons, it was a financial loss from which they never fully recovered.
Edna became an artist and well-respected jewelry designer. She showed at Society of Connecticut Craftsmen (SCC) fairs, sold in NYC's fine department stores, and at the artist co-op she and Ned ran at Brae Burn Farm. He often collected and polished the stones she would use in her gold and silver designs.
In addition to hiking, Anderson also had a love for exploring nature underground as well. In the late '20s and '30s, he accompanied and assisted author, Clay Perry
, to map and explore (and discover) caves. Their investigations of—and treks and crawls through—caves, abandoned mines, gorges and other subterranean finds across New England
, were chronicled in Perry's 1939 book, Underground New England.
The National Speleological Society
was organized in 1941 in Washington, DC. The first chapter or “grotto” formed of the NSS was the New England Chapter of Middlebury, CT. Co-organized by spelunker and author, Clay Perry and Ned Anderson, who was also its V.P.
Anderson officially retired from trail management in 1948 at age 63. He avidly continued hiking and spelunking for a number of years. Even as he got older and less sure-footed, he was known to take a jaunt with walking stick or cane, down the lane to visit with neighbors. Edna said that when her husband's legs gave out, so did he. Anderson died in 1967 at age 82.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
farmer who spearheaded Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
's leg of the Appalachian Trail
Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply the AT, is a marked hiking trail in the eastern United States extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. It is approximately long...
, which currently runs for 50 miles through the northwest corner of the state. In addition to creating and maintaining other area trails for the Connecticut Forest & Park
Connecticut Forest and Park Association
The Connecticut Forest and Park Association , established in 1895, is the oldest private, nonprofit conservation organization in Connecticut. The organization is credited as an important early pioneer of the national land conservation movement and as an early advocate of long distance trail building...
's (CFPA) Blue-Blazed Trail System, he also organized Sherman, Connecticut
Sherman, Connecticut
Sherman is the northernmost and least populous town of Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 3,581 at the 2010 census. The town is named for New Haven's Founding Father, Roger Sherman....
's first Boy Scout
Boy Scout
A Scout is a boy or a girl, usually 11 to 18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split this age group into a junior and a senior section...
troop in 1931, as well as the Housatonic Trail Club in 1932, for amateur and avid hikers.
History
While hiking in 1929, Ned Anderson met Judge Arthur PerkinsArthur Perkins (Connecticut Judge)
Arthur Perkins was an American lawyer and judge from Hartford, Connecticut who, during his retirement, spearheaded the effort to make Benton MacKaye's vision of the Appalachian Trail—a proposed 2,000-mile contiguous footpath to run through fourteen states—a reality.Perkins appointed himself acting...
, a member of CFPA's Connecticut's Blue Blazed Trails Committee, who introduced Anderson to Myron Avery
Myron Avery
Myron Haliburton Avery was an American lawyer, hiker and explorer. Born in Lubec, Maine, Avery was a protégé of Judge Arthur Perkins and a collaborator and sometimes rival of Benton MacKaye. He was president of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club from 1927 to 1941 and chairman of the Appalachian...
. These two men were drumming up interest in Benton MacKaye
Benton MacKaye
Benton MacKaye was an American forester, planner and conservationist. He was born in Stamford, Connecticut; his father was actor and dramatist Steele MacKaye. After studying forestry at Harvard University , Benton later taught there for several years. He joined a number of Federal bureaus and...
's vision of a 2,000-mile contiguous footpath from Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
to Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
—The Appalachian Trail. Most people with whom they met were interested but few were committing to it; Anderson took an immediate interest.
Taking on dual roles as Chairman of CFPA's Blue Blazed Trails' Housatonic Section (officially – 1932), and as a member of the Appalachian Trail Conferenc's (ATC—now Appalachian Trail Conservancy
Appalachian Trail Conservancy
The Appalachian Trail Conservancy is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of the Appalachian Trail, which runs from Maine to Georgia...
) Board of Managers (he was the ATC's 49th member), Ned mapped and cleared, cut, hacked, and blazed the state's trail from Dog Tail Corners in Webatuck, NY, (coming from Bear Mountain
Bear Mountain State Parkway
The Bear Mountain State Parkway is a part of the New York State highway system. It was built in 1932 but, unlike most other parkways in Westchester County, New York, it has barely been constructed upon since. It currently stands as an incomplete highway, with a western portion of and an eastern...
across the Hudson River) which borders Kent, CT, at Ashley Falls, all the way up to another Bear Mountain
Bear Mountain (Connecticut)
Bear Mountain, is prominent peak of the southern Taconic Mountains. It lies within the town of Salisbury, Connecticut, in the United States, and is the highest mountain summit in the state of Connecticut. The highest point in the state, however, is located on the south slope of Mount Frissell to...
at the Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
border. Anderson spearheaded and maintained the Candlewood Mountain, Schaghticoke (SCAT-uh-coke) and Housatonic Range trails as well.
Ned Anderson organized Sherman's first boy scout troop in 1931 (Troop #48), and the boys earned badges by trailblazing. To spread the interest in hiking, nature and the trail, he organized The Housatonic Trail Club (HTC,) in 1932, which gave a portion of its annual dues to the ATC. Anderson and his volunteers maintained upkeep of his trails for nearly twenty years (1929–1948). In between, members piled in his bus (see biography below) and were treated to hikes all over New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
.
Anderson drew the first official maps for the statewide Blue Blazed Trail System, which were made available to hikers in individual booklets. A comprehensive map was soon published in the 1933 issue of the Telephone News. CFPA's 1934 proposal to publish a complete trail guide finally came to fruition in 1937, with the first edition of the Connecticut Walk Book. It featured Ned's Candlewood Mountain Trail. This and Ned's Schaghticoke and Housatonic Range trails were also highlighted in a smaller publication, Walk Around New Milford.
The entire Appalachian Trail was completed in 1937 and by 1939 the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
and U.S. Forest Service were working to formalize and protect the trail as a “scenic trailway.”
Anderson officially retired from trail management in 1948 at age 63, whereupon the ATC board passed a formal resolution expressing their gratitude and sincere appreciation for his labors and accomplishments and distinguished service on behalf of the Appalachian Trail.
After Anderson's resignation
In 1949, volunteer members of the Appalachian Mountain ClubAppalachian Mountain Club
The Appalachian Mountain Club is one of the United States' oldest outdoor groups. Created in 1876 to explore and preserve the White Mountains in New Hampshire, it has expanded throughout the northeastern U.S., with 12 chapters stretching from Maine to Washington, D.C...
(AMC) took over maintenance of Connecticut's portion of the AT. In 1968, the National Trails System
National Trails System
The National Trails System was created by the National Trails System Act The Act created a series of National trails "to promote the preservation of, public access to, travel within, and enjoyment and appreciation of the open-air, outdoor areas and historic resources of the Nation." Specifically,...
was created, and the Appalachian Trail was the first trail so designated.
In 1979, a portion of Connecticut's Appalachian Trail was rerouted. (The ATC has worked over the years to move more of the trail off public roadways and to allow for protected “corridors.”) This was a combined effort between the Naromi Land Trust of Sherman, CT, and the Appalachian Trail Conference. Along this new leg at the confluence of the Ten Mile
Ten Mile River (Connecticut)
The Ten Mile River is a river that flows through Dutchess County, New York into westernmost Connecticut. The river is formed in the town of Amenia, New York, at the confluence of Webatuck Creek, which forms in Connecticut, and Wassaic Creek, which forms in New York...
and Housatonic
Housatonic River
The Housatonic River is a river, approximately long, in western Massachusetts and western Connecticut in the United States. It flows south to southeast, and drains about of southwestern New England into Long Island Sound...
rivers north of Sherman, CT, a bridge now spans the waterway. In an unprecedented move by the ATC, it bears a plaque in dedication—to Ned K. Anderson.
Today, volunteers from the Appalachian Mountain Club
Appalachian Mountain Club
The Appalachian Mountain Club is one of the United States' oldest outdoor groups. Created in 1876 to explore and preserve the White Mountains in New Hampshire, it has expanded throughout the northeastern U.S., with 12 chapters stretching from Maine to Washington, D.C...
maintain the whole of the Appalachian Trail. In fact, over 5,500 volunteers log over 200,000 hours of service annually.
The ATC has expanded its role to include education, science and awareness in addition to trail maintenance and protection.
Connecticut Forest & Park Association continues to be a strong advocate for trails and conservation efforts throughout Connecticut and continually updates and publishes the Connecticut Walk Book, which is now done in two volumes—East and West, and features over 800 miles of trails. The Blue Blazed trails Anderson created and oversaw as a section manager have long since been delegated each to individual leaders and teams and continue to thrive.
Personal life
Born in Hartwell, Ohio, in 1885, Ned Anderson spent his youth in Mt. Vernon, NY, while his father worked for his wife's family's renowned, NYC-based Kipp Wagon Works. Anderson enjoyed the outdoors and developed an early love of nature and hiking. He attended both ColumbiaColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and Cornell (studying geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
) for a time.
In 1906, his father retired and purchased Brae Burn farm (a poultry operation) in Sherman, CT. Ned (at 20) went along to work it. He continued to hike and camp. In 1914 he met and married Lena May Clark. The couple had four children. Anderson worked for the Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
-based Sperry Company
Sperry Corporation
Sperry Corporation was a major American equipment and electronics company whose existence spanned more than seven decades of the twentieth century...
and lived in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. It was there that Lena died of the flu epidemic in 1919. Anderson took his children back to the farm, soon met and married Edna Holstein, a city girl visiting family. They were married in 1921, and had one child together. The farm switched from poultry to dairy and the couple opened their 1840 farmhouse as a country bed and breakfast. Guests came from all over the world.
When their oldest son was ready for high school, Anderson bought a bus to ensure that Clark would get home in time to do his chores. And for the next thirty-three years, most of the children in Sherman went to and from school in a punctual, orderly and, by all accounts, adventurous fashion. On Sundays, Anderson used the bus to fetch area children for Sunday school and return them all home again. He asked no compensation for this “good deed” and provided his services faithfully for twenty-five years.
Ned and Edna shared an avid interest in and enthusiasm for young people. Their home was always open to and often filled with their children's friends. They also believed firmly in upgrading the educational experience in and out of the classroom. While Edna was instrumental in organizing Sherman's first PTA and bringing much needed services to the school district and into the schools, Anderson, who thought the world—especially the outdoors—a most worthy classroom, sought to bring their bus-riding passengers an education on the way to and from school and via an array of entertaining class trips. Since the bus was privately owned, the Andersons could take their view of education on the road—and so often did.
Over the years, the Andersons suffered setbacks, such as the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, when the price of a gallon of milk dipped to that of a 3¢ postage stamp. And there were devastating tragedies: the death of a child and a catastrophic fire that destroyed their barn, equipment, supplies, and much of their herd. Although the HTC hikers and the Sherman community rallied to raise moneys for the Andersons, it was a financial loss from which they never fully recovered.
Edna became an artist and well-respected jewelry designer. She showed at Society of Connecticut Craftsmen (SCC) fairs, sold in NYC's fine department stores, and at the artist co-op she and Ned ran at Brae Burn Farm. He often collected and polished the stones she would use in her gold and silver designs.
In addition to hiking, Anderson also had a love for exploring nature underground as well. In the late '20s and '30s, he accompanied and assisted author, Clay Perry
Clay Perry
Clair Willard Perry , called Clay Perry, was an American writer and outdoorsman. He coined the term "spelunker".-Biography:Born in 1887 in Waupaca, Wisconsin, Perry moved to western Massachusetts as a young man. A novelist, short story writer, and journalist, in the 1930s he worked for the Federal...
, to map and explore (and discover) caves. Their investigations of—and treks and crawls through—caves, abandoned mines, gorges and other subterranean finds across New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, were chronicled in Perry's 1939 book, Underground New England.
The National Speleological Society
National Speleological Society
The National Speleological Society is an organization formed in 1941 to advance the exploration, conservation, study, and understanding of caves in the United States. Originally located in Washington D.C., its current offices are in Huntsville, Alabama...
was organized in 1941 in Washington, DC. The first chapter or “grotto” formed of the NSS was the New England Chapter of Middlebury, CT. Co-organized by spelunker and author, Clay Perry and Ned Anderson, who was also its V.P.
Anderson officially retired from trail management in 1948 at age 63. He avidly continued hiking and spelunking for a number of years. Even as he got older and less sure-footed, he was known to take a jaunt with walking stick or cane, down the lane to visit with neighbors. Edna said that when her husband's legs gave out, so did he. Anderson died in 1967 at age 82.
External links
- Appalachian Mountain Club
- Appalachian Trail Conservancy
- The Connecticut Walk Book
- Doris Tomaselli, author of "Ned Anderson: Connecticut's Appalachian Trailblazer – Small Town Renaissance Man"
- History of the Appalachian Trail in Connecticut
- Naromi Land Trust of Sherman
- National Park Service Appalachian National Scenic Trail
- National Speleological Society
- Sherman Historical Society of Sherman, CT
- Trail Years: A History of the Appalachian Trail Conference