Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 18, 1994 TAG: 9403180208
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By MELISSA DeVAUGHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Construction was just being completed on the east wing of Burress Hall and Squires Student Center.
The student population in 1970 was 12,043 - less than half of what it is today. And of those students, only 2,629 were women.
But one thing has remained steady at Virginia Tech - the campus YMCA program.
Chartered as an official organization in 1873, the YMCA at Virginia Tech has adapted to the changing needs of its students and the community. However, the YMCA Outings Programs, started in 1970 by then-director Emily Stuart, is holding its own after 24 years.
"When we came to Tech my husband and I wanted to go hiking, but everywhere we went, the signs said 'private property, keep out,'" Stuart said.
After calling around and talking with some of the private landowners, Stuart received permission to lead hikes on their land.
The hikes were different in the '70s, Stuart said. Often, the landowners would greet the hikers with cider and cookies. Sometimes one of Stuart's friends, Hoot Gibson, who was a wildflower expert, would lead the hikes and identify the area flowers for the hikers.
"Sometimes there would be 35 people sitting around someone's living room eating cookies and having something to drink," Stuart said of the earlier hikes.
John Cairns a university distinguished professor of biology, and his wife, Jean, entered the picture in 1973. Eager to do some hiking of their own, the Cairnses began organizing and leading the Sunday afternoon hikes.
"Jean and John have been faithful leaders through the years," said Stuart, who is retired from the YMCA, and no longer leads hikes. "I was 50 years old when I [led hikes] and I couldn't understand why those college students couldn't keep up with me. Now when I go on the hikes, I can't figure out why I can't keep up with them."
Even the Cairnses, who have been active in the organization for more than 20 years, no longer lead hikes. Now they are content to be in the background, as participants.
"As hike leader, you're supposed to be up front," John Cairns said, laughing. "That's too much pressure."
They are still in the foreground, though, when it comes to organizing the hikes. Jean Cairns is in charge of scheduling and securing hike leaders for each Sunday hike, and for getting permission to hike on private land.
Over the years, the hike sites have changed and while some are still on private land, many of the sites have been moved to National Forest public lands, particularly on the Appalachian Trail which runs through part of Giles County. Other hikes are held on parts of the trail in Craig and Roanoke counties, and some of the longer hikes are even held as far away as Floyd County on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
"One of the most popular hikes is to the Mountain Lake Scenic area," Jean Cairns said, "because it's an easy three-mile loop trail."
One of the harder hikes is to Barney's Wall, near the Cascades in Pembroke. That's a hike "where you have to pull on trees to get all the way up," she said.
All YMCA hikes are held on Sunday afternoons. Participants should meet at the YMCA parking lot at 403 Washington St. at 1:30 p.m. unless the hike is longer. Those hikes require special arrangements.
For further information, call the YMCA at 231-6860.
Memo: ***CORRECTION***