Well said, and well done, Geoff
Tuesday, July 5, 2022
This afternoon I received a heartfelt ‘farewell note’ from an old friend, fine teacher, and fellow wanderer, Geoff Goodenow. His note is very touching, and worthy of a minute of your time to read. Passing it along, in hopes that it provides you with some sense of the ‘giants’ upon whose shoulders we stand here in the Greater Susquehanna Valley:
“As I leave any official role in the Merrill Linn Conservancy (MLC) after 20 years on the board and 13 years as coordinator, although I am not quite a charter member, I am the last of the ‘originals’ serving Linn in official capacities.
In my opinion, remembering our roots is important, therefore, I want to share a couple reflections on our past.
Merrill Linn, local attorney, and known to many as a jokester, was perhaps best known as an enthusiastic and adventurous outdoorsman. About 10 years ago, his son Bob began sending me stories about his father. From those I learned of Merrill’s plan, at age 70, to paddle the Susquehanna from Jersey Shore to his Water Street home in Lewisburg. To comfort a worried wife and friends, Merrill told them that he always carried a note that read, ‘If you find me dead, I died happy doing what I love.’
Another of his adventures found Merrill and friends installing three masts on a canoe. Bob wrote that, even in the dark of night when the faintest hint of big wind, torrential rains and growling storm loomed from the western horizon, Merrill and friends would haul their craft to the bank of the river to test its mettle by launching into the teeth of a howling storm.
When he died at age 83 in 1987, two friends of his decided that planting a tree was not enough to honor Merrill’s love of his central PA homeland. They decided to build something greater that would protect the land and waterways where he played and found enjoyment throughout his life.
In our 34 years, MLC has protected or assisted in protecting over 1700 acres of land and waterways, and the work of our Buffalo Creek Watershed Alliance division has brought measured improvements to the largest watershed in Union County. And with assists from numerous partners, among them the Lewisburg Children’s Museum and Bucknell professors, we have provided many engaging activities in nature for folks of all ages.
Credit and thanks for these successes go to past and current board members, volunteers, members, donors, granting institutions, and many local governmental and non-governmental officials and agencies.
But none of this would have come about without the vision and hard work of those two friends of Merrill, our founders – June Hoyle and Jeannette Lasansky.
It continues to be the mission of this organization to protect these local resources and to engage the public – as Merrill immersed himself – in the natural world. For it is by engraining and maintaining that connection to place which will assure that the Vision of Our Valley as a sustainably healthy place/environment is preserved for generations to come.
I hope that everyone continues to consider the Linn Conservancy as a local vehicle for accomplishing these goals and that all will help promote, as broadly as possible, your Conservancy’s mission, work, and accomplishments.
Thank you,
Geoff Goodenow”
