On the evening of Tuesday, September 6th, about thirty hardy souls braved the pouring rain to attend the annualFriends of Shenandoah River State Parkpicnic.
Park Manager Tony Widmer's Perch, caught on his recent fishing trip to Ohio.
Although it had to be moved indoors, a great time was had by all. Good company, new members, tons of delicious food and a wonderful guest speaker allmade the event a definite highlight of the summer.
Jeff Kelble, aka the Shenandoah Riverkeeper, gave a really informative presentation about the issues that are affecting the health of our beautiful river. Hehelped us to understand what we all cando to protect this precious resource.
In addition, Jeff told some humorousstoriesaboutphotographic moments during his river surveys which haveinspired his idea for a new coffee table book. For those who weren't there, you'll just have to wait for the book to come out to see what it is!
As forthe meal, no one could have asked for a better one! Especially notable was the fresh perch that the park manager, Tony Widmer, caught on his recent fishing tripto Ohio. He told us that he endured four foot swells and almost going overboard several times in orderto bring back these delectable fish for the picnic! We also enjoyed Brian and MaryBennett's London Broil, Jackie Labovitz's fried chicken and an amazing array ofyummy side dishes and desserts.
The Friends group is really growing and everyoneislooking forward to gettingbetter acquaintedwith our new volunteers, including Lisa Picardi, BobDinse, Laura Anderko-Dinse and Paula Conrow and family.Our volunteerseach have uniquetalents, whichcontribute to makingShenandoah River State Park oneof the best places to visit in the region.