Tom Altwies and Club President Tim Webb
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Perpetual Easement on Jakk’s Glade Finalized
Jack Longacre Award
The Jack Longacre Award (the award was earlier named the “Highpointer Cum Laude Award”) is the highest award the club has. It is devoted to a lifetime of service to the club.
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Hey, Delta, “Keep Klimbin'” Was Our Catch Phrase for 20 Years Before You Thought Of It
Since 2010 the catch phrase for Delta Airline is “Keep climbing.” Nice phrase that Widen+Kennedy came up with. We liked it when our club founder Jakk Longacre made it our club motto in the 1980s with his spelling, “Keep Klimbin'”
Jakk Longacre “Last 50 Steps” Tour of Highpoints
Highpointer Club Founder Jakk Longacre recorded the “Last 50 Steps” probably in the late 1990s in which he told his experiences of climbing each of the 50 states. Members could get the VHS tape. Many thanks to Paul Light, who takes care of Jakk Glade on Taum Sauk, for transferring this to a DVD. The recording has lots of glitches but that is all part of the charm of our founder.
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Jack Longacre (1938-2002) – Highpointer Club Founder, Guru, President, Friend
Jack Longacre was the Highpointer Club Founder, “Guru”, President and Friend to many.
- Jack Longacre’s “The Birth of the Highpointers Club“
- Interview with Jack from Apex to Zenith – An interview conducted by Roger Rowlett from Jakk’s hospital bed in the Sping of 2002
- Jakk in Photos – Jakk was able to attend the 2002 Highpointers Konvention in Black Mesa, Oklahoma
- “Today” (His Favorite Song – Sung to him with much emotion by Highpointers on a September 2002 night at Camp Billy Joe at Black Mesa, Oklahoma led by Diane Winger and George Vandersluis)
- Highpointers Club press release/obituary on Jakk’s passing.
- Memorial Services – Oct 25 in Indiana and Nov 16 in Missouri
- Donations in Lieu of Flowers for Highpointers Club Zumwalt Fund
- Memorial Services photos – Nov 16, 2002, Taum Sauk, Missouri
- Missouri Life Profile of Jack Longacre
- The “Jack Ash Project” – Jakk’s final wish was to have his ashes scattered on the state highpoints.
- Jakk Longacre “Last 50 Steps” Tour of Highpoints.
- Longacre Memorial in Jakk’s Glade on Taum Sauk, Missouri
- Jack Longacre posts on highpointers.org.
Jack Ash Project – Scattering Schedule
Jack Longacre’s final wish was to have his ashes scattered on the high points of all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Jean Trousdale, a close friend of six years, took the responsibility of making sure it happened. After Jack died of cancer in October 2002, Trousdale spent the next year coordinating a nationwide set of memorial ceremonies for him.
More than 600 people have taken part in scattering Jack, but Trousdale was the only person who had the job of putting Jack’s remains into 51 separate film canisters, which Jack had marked with the names of each state. She didn’t know if it was going to freak her out or not, she says, but a man’s last wish is a man’s last wish, so she sat down with the canisters, a roll of bubble wrap, 51 Ziploc bags, 51 boxes, and a box of ashes that used to be her friend.
“I just scooped them out,” Trousdale says. “Just took the little canister, dipped the ashes out and wiped the canister off.” Before he died. Jack had shown her how he wanted her to seal each canister before mailing it. “I’ve dealt with ashes before,” Trousdale says. “They’re just calcium.”
The following is a tentative list of persons responsible for scattering Jack Longacre’s ashes on the state highest points as part of the “Jack Ash Project”. All dates are in 2002 unless explicitly specified.
State | Date | Lead |
Alabama | April 10 | Gary White |
Alaska | May 31 | Rick Hartman |
Arizona | June 21 | Bob Packard |
Arkansas | May 25 | David & Brenda Young |
California | Sept 10 | Penelope May |
Colorado | June 22 | M. Maurer and G. Vandersluis |
Connecticut | April 26 | Leon Barkman |
Delaware | May 11 | Joe Snoha |
District of Columbus | April 4 | Robert Hyman |
Florida | Mar 22 | Jon Mann |
Georgia | June 29 | Craig & Mary Jane Noland |
Hawaii | May 26 | David & Debbie Fees |
Indiana | April 12 | Nikki Hemphill and Wayne Stitt |
Idaho | early Aug | Vince Golbeck and Charlie Lutomski |
Illinois | Aug 2 | Paul Zumwalt |
Iowa | Aug 3 | Wendy Hecht |
Kansas | March 22 | Diane & Charlie Winger |
Kentucky | April 26 | Aaron & Anna Daniel |
Louisiana | May 22 | M. Luke and R. Scott |
Maine | June 14 | Carl Rosenthal |
Maryland | May 10 | Gene & Lillian Elliott |
Massachusetts | May 24 | Peter Anderson |
Michigan | April 25 | D. Whitehead and G. Johnson |
Minnesota | July 29 | Jan & Ray Nelson |
Mississippi | May 3 | Fred Dale |
Missouri | Nov 16 ’02 | Faith & Paul Light |
Montana | Aug 5 | Larry Baker |
Nebraska | March 23 | John Mitchler |
Nevada | Sept 17 | Rick Hartman |
New Hampshire | June 21 | Rick Moore |
New Jersey | April 27 | Al Welenofsky |
New Mexico | July 5 | Rich Small |
New York | Sept 6 | Roger Rowlett |
North Carolina | June 28 | Sherm Stambaugh |
North Dakota | July 17 | Carol Emlen |
Ohio | April 12 | Mark & Wendy Comstock |
Oklahoma | Dec 6 ’02 | Jean Trousdale |
Oregon | June 22 | Dave & Beckie Covill |
Pennsylvania | May 10 | Sam & Sue Snyder |
Rhode Island | July 5 | Chuck Bickes |
South Carolina | Mar 29 | Bob Failing |
South Dakota | June 6 | David Gwinn |
Tennessee | April 11 | Tim Webb |
Texas | Sept 27 | Buddy & Tresa Gilchrest |
Utah | June 15 | Alan Bean |
Vermont | June 14 | Norm & Kip Smith |
Virginia | May 17 | Jean Sumner |
Washington | ’04 | Will Mokszycki |
West Virginia | May 11 | Jean & Jerry Wagener |
Wisconsin | July 30 | Jim Sutton |
Wyoming | July ’04 | Don Holmes |
[Ed: The introductory text is paraphrased from pages 19-20 of Brendan Leonard’s thesis “Because it is there“. You can read his full article on the “Jack Ash Project” (pages 19-33) for more information.]
Jack Ash Project – Wyoming
[Ed: This is an excerpt (pages 30-31) from Brendan Leonard’s thesis “Because it is there“. You can read his full article on the “Jack Ash Project” (pages 19-33) for more information.]
Jack Ash Project – Texas
[Ed: This is an excerpt (pages 30-31) from Brendan Leonard’s thesis “Because it is there“. You can read his full article on the “Jack Ash Project” (pages 19-33) for more information.]
Jack Ash Project – Ohio
[Ed: This is an excerpt (pages 26-28) from Brendan Leonard’s thesis “Because it is there“. You can read his full article on the “Jack Ash Project” (pages 19-33) for more information.]
Jack Ash Project – Michigan
[Ed: This is an excerpt (pages 28-29) from Brendan Leonard’s thesis “Because it is there“. You can read his full article on the “Jack Ash Project” (pages 19-33) for more information.]