A couple of months ago I wrote about a trip to Ohiopyle in Pennsylvania. During that visit, we happened to go to the Ohiopyle State Park Visitor Center. It was nice to see the display in there honoring the work done by Linda McKenna Boxx.
Linda served as board president and volunteer executive director of the Allegheny Trail Alliance (ATA) that over the years brought together different trail groups to create the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP). My friends and I rode the GAP on our bicycles in 2016 from Pittsburgh to the Washington, DC, area.
My first interaction with Linda happened in 2009 when she reached out to me for permission to use one of my pictures in the Trail book that was being prepared for that year. She wanted to use a picture of Riley’s Lock that I had taken. I said yes, and the only thing I requested was that they send me a copy of the trail book when it eventually came out. There was no other form of payment involved.
She reached out to me once again in 2016, before my bike ride on the GAP. This time they ended up using two of my pictures. After seeing the book, I decided that I wanted a few more copies of the book to share with my fellow riders before the ride because there was a lot of useful information in it. I was going to pay for these copies, but Linda would not accept any payment. She also shipped the books to me for no cost. You are now one of us, she said. And she wished me a good ride, and requested that I take lots of pictures.
That was the last time I interacted with her. It appears that she has now stepped down from her positions in the ATA.
I have started supporting the GAP with regular donations.
Splattered Brains 