Five Receive
National Recognition for Cultural History Event
Sonora, CA (June 7, 2008) ... The Forest Service today announced that
three Stanislaus National Forest (NF) employees and two Tuolumne County
community leaders have been selected to receive the prestigious national Windows
On The Past Award. The five are being recognized for outstanding leadership in
organizing the well-attended “Home on the Range” cultural history event held
last September at the historic, 1870’s era Fahey Cow Camp, located on the
Forest’s Mi-Wok Ranger District.
Those named for the national award are District Public Service Program Area
Leader Beth Martinez, Interpretive Specialist Phyllis Ashmead, and District
Archaeologist Stacy Lundgren. The award is also being received by Foothill
Farmlands Arts Festival Director BZ Smith, and Festival co-director and Farms of
Tuolumne County President Sasha Farkas. The five will receive the award in a
noontime ceremony on June 14, at this year’s family-oriented Pinecrest Lake Fish
Fair in the Pinecrest Amphitheatre. Event Information is available by calling
the Summit Ranger District at (209) 965-3434.
“Heritage professionals across the agency implement a complex program of
cultural resource stewardship, public outreach, and support to Forest Service
programs. These five have been nominated and are receiving this national award
because they have gone above and beyond the call of duty to employ creativity
and demonstrate exemplary leadership in the Heritage Program,” said Acting
Forest Supervisor Kathy Hardy.
Last September’s Fahey Cow Camp “Home on the Range” event, deemed by several
hundred attendees to be a shining success, celebrated the rich heritage of our
public lands, local farms, and ranches. Tucked in the pines, the iconic Fahey
Cabin was carefully restored in 2005 by Forest Service “Passport in Time”
project volunteers. It served as the key center piece of the event, conducted in
partnership with the larger “Foothills Farmlands Festival.” Visitors and local
families enjoyed local art, cowboy demonstrations, home grown foods, story
telling, spoken history, educational activities, and music scheduled throughout
the day.
The Forest Service Windows on the Past award recognizes extraordinary
accomplishments in heritage public outreach such as interpretation,
volunteerism, tourism, or other educational or recreational use or enhancement
of cultural resources. Forest Service employees or private citizens are eligible
for this award. Each nominated recipient of this special recognition receives a
national award with a plaque and a letter of congratulations.
Last September’s success will be carried forward and expanded at this year’s
upcoming “Head to the Hills through Aspen Meadow” event, scheduled for Sunday,
September 7th from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Aspen Meadow Pack Station,
located off Highway 108, on the Stanislaus NF’s Summit Ranger District. The
free-admission, family-oriented event will celebrate the “western way” on the
Stanislaus National Forest. Featured will be high-Sierra and western Americana,
music, food, stories, hands-on art demonstrations, Plein Air Painters, horse
back rides, and more.
In the future, Fahey Cow Camp, including the cabin, barn, and coral, will
continue to serve as a center-point for interpreting the rich heritage of the
Stanislaus NF. Plans are currently underway to restore the historic horse barn
next to the cabin. Members of the public interested in helping with the project
may contact Stacey Lungren at (209) 586-3234 on the Mi-Wok Ranger District for
more information.
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