Early History of the Montclair Hiking Club
By Helen Lore
The Montclair hiking Club started in April, 1969, when I was Center Director of the Montclair recreation Center.
I got the idea from a similar weekday hiking group in Marin County led by Nancy Skinner for the Sierra Club. I had led hiking and camping for teens and children at the center, and thought an adult hiking group might be a great idea. I envisioned it including carpooling from the center; this would allow hikes of 6 – 8 miles and could cover Bay Area parks including Mr. Diablo and Mt. Tamalpais, and all the trails and beaches in between. And I had Tuesday free!
So we started! The first hike was on the French Trail in Redwood Park, an easy close-by trail. Fifteen women showed up and off we went. To our good fortune two women, Gwen Mayne and Lois Kline, were wildflower experts and led us on an enthusiastic search for Giant Trillium and Zigadene (an early blooming lily). Yes, we found both.
I led and planned all the hikes. The group expanded rapidly and eventually included several men, who were retired Sierra Club members with strong hiking skills (much appreciated).
Hikers began asking for overnight trips, adding a whole new dimension to the group. We planned one overnight three times a year: fall, winter, and spring. We stayed in Asilomar, Bolinas, Mendocino, Bear Valley, and Yosemite to name a few. This group did not meet in the summer. Instead I had a family hiking day which included children.
In the summer of 1977 I left Montclair Rec. Center to be a city-wide supervisor. I almost didn’t take the promotion because it meant leaving the hiking group!
I am very proud of the Montclair hiking Club. It exposed people to the joys of hiking and to the many parks and trails in the Bay Area. I remember all of us sitting on top of Mt. Tamalpais one very clear day having lunch and looking out toward the Farallones: a bit of magic in the middle of a Tuesday! Many friendships were made during these years. Small groups were formed who hiked on their own.
Paul Boero replaced me as Center Director. Fortunately, he was a hiker, and was able to continue the program for about 3 years. Bernice Ratto replaced him, and supported the hiking group but wasn’t able to actively lead it. At this point, Jack Hughes, a member of the group, volunteered to take charge of the scheduling and called upon the other hikers to help. He even closed his downtown Oakland business on Tuesdays, so he could do this! After 19 years, he and his wife Dolly moved to Boston. The hikers regrouped, split up the administrative jobs, as is done today (September 1, 2009), and shared leading the hikes.
It is heartwarming to see the Montclair Hiking Club flourishing today with a regular influx of new members and leadership. Thanks to Lucille and John Serwa for being in charge of the hiking schedule now and to those in the past who did this. Vivian Golden (and dog ) come to mind. Perhaps someone can write a history for this period in the group’s history.
Thanks also to the Montclair Rec. Center for continuing to sponsor the club.
I got the idea from a similar weekday hiking group in Marin County led by Nancy Skinner for the Sierra Club. I had led hiking and camping for teens and children at the center, and thought an adult hiking group might be a great idea. I envisioned it including carpooling from the center; this would allow hikes of 6 – 8 miles and could cover Bay Area parks including Mr. Diablo and Mt. Tamalpais, and all the trails and beaches in between. And I had Tuesday free!
So we started! The first hike was on the French Trail in Redwood Park, an easy close-by trail. Fifteen women showed up and off we went. To our good fortune two women, Gwen Mayne and Lois Kline, were wildflower experts and led us on an enthusiastic search for Giant Trillium and Zigadene (an early blooming lily). Yes, we found both.
I led and planned all the hikes. The group expanded rapidly and eventually included several men, who were retired Sierra Club members with strong hiking skills (much appreciated).
Hikers began asking for overnight trips, adding a whole new dimension to the group. We planned one overnight three times a year: fall, winter, and spring. We stayed in Asilomar, Bolinas, Mendocino, Bear Valley, and Yosemite to name a few. This group did not meet in the summer. Instead I had a family hiking day which included children.
In the summer of 1977 I left Montclair Rec. Center to be a city-wide supervisor. I almost didn’t take the promotion because it meant leaving the hiking group!
I am very proud of the Montclair hiking Club. It exposed people to the joys of hiking and to the many parks and trails in the Bay Area. I remember all of us sitting on top of Mt. Tamalpais one very clear day having lunch and looking out toward the Farallones: a bit of magic in the middle of a Tuesday! Many friendships were made during these years. Small groups were formed who hiked on their own.
Paul Boero replaced me as Center Director. Fortunately, he was a hiker, and was able to continue the program for about 3 years. Bernice Ratto replaced him, and supported the hiking group but wasn’t able to actively lead it. At this point, Jack Hughes, a member of the group, volunteered to take charge of the scheduling and called upon the other hikers to help. He even closed his downtown Oakland business on Tuesdays, so he could do this! After 19 years, he and his wife Dolly moved to Boston. The hikers regrouped, split up the administrative jobs, as is done today (September 1, 2009), and shared leading the hikes.
It is heartwarming to see the Montclair Hiking Club flourishing today with a regular influx of new members and leadership. Thanks to Lucille and John Serwa for being in charge of the hiking schedule now and to those in the past who did this. Vivian Golden (and dog ) come to mind. Perhaps someone can write a history for this period in the group’s history.
Thanks also to the Montclair Rec. Center for continuing to sponsor the club.
By Vivian Golden
My name is Vivian Golden; I have been hiking with the Montclair hiking group since 1990 and coordinated the group for five years before Lucille and John Serwa took over in 2004. The club works because of the volunteer leadership of all of the membership and the support of the Montclair Recreation Center as an adult activity. I would like to add some additional insight about the Montclair hiking group.
The club has offered so much in the way of experiences on the trail -- the unpredictability of what each hike might have to offer in the way of fauna, flora, and friendships. We have seen a newborn calf get up for the first steps on Mission Peak, have been followed and gobbled at by wild turkeys in Briones Park, have been slipped a trout from Lake Chabot as it was being stocked, and have heard the hyenas howling through UC Berkeley open space. We have enjoyed SF Bay Area wildflower hikes from San Bruno Mountain in San Mateo County, to Mt. Tamalpais in Marin County, and on to Mt Diablo in Contra Costa County. We make new friendships, forming additional groups outside of the hiking club related to travel plans, music, museums, alternative hikes. We network for other volunteer community service activities. Our flexibility allows for drop-in membership -- teachers join just for the summer, a professor hikes the quarter that his schedule has a free Tuesday, we attract people that are unemployed between jobs, to the newly retired. New East Bay residents find themselves getting tips to acclimate to our area while longtime residents share restaurant, movie, home repair, and travel tips.
7/09
The club has offered so much in the way of experiences on the trail -- the unpredictability of what each hike might have to offer in the way of fauna, flora, and friendships. We have seen a newborn calf get up for the first steps on Mission Peak, have been followed and gobbled at by wild turkeys in Briones Park, have been slipped a trout from Lake Chabot as it was being stocked, and have heard the hyenas howling through UC Berkeley open space. We have enjoyed SF Bay Area wildflower hikes from San Bruno Mountain in San Mateo County, to Mt. Tamalpais in Marin County, and on to Mt Diablo in Contra Costa County. We make new friendships, forming additional groups outside of the hiking club related to travel plans, music, museums, alternative hikes. We network for other volunteer community service activities. Our flexibility allows for drop-in membership -- teachers join just for the summer, a professor hikes the quarter that his schedule has a free Tuesday, we attract people that are unemployed between jobs, to the newly retired. New East Bay residents find themselves getting tips to acclimate to our area while longtime residents share restaurant, movie, home repair, and travel tips.
7/09