Lost River - Karst Information Portal

2007 NSS Convention Guidebook
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Welcome from the Convention Chairman
Welcome to the 2007 NSS National Convention!
The 2007 NSS Convention Staff welcomes you to this convention. We hope you enjoy your
stay in beautiful southern Indiana.
Hopefully, by the time you read this, I will be the 27th person to welcome you to the convention
and Indiana. We call that Hoosier Hospitality. If not, come see me 26 more times and I will
welcome you personally.
Crawford County and Harrison County are rich in history and caves, from the early explorers
and scientists like William Henry Harrison (9th U.S. President), Squire Boone (Daniel’s brother),
Cox, Blatchley, Collett, Owen, Addington, Mercer, Malott, Eigenmann, Cope, Hovey, and
Mumford, to the more recent, like Ash, Quinlan, Art and Peg Palmer, Hobbs, Lewis, Pearson,
George, and Richards. These are just a few fellow adventurers that you might have heard or read
about with a connection to this area in Indiana.
The Harrison Crawford area offers a vast contrast of caving sites to choose from. The caves
vary from the famous commercial caves, Wyandotte, Marengo, and Squire Boone; to one of
Indiana’s longest, Binkleys; to our most intense vertical caves, Two Bit Pit, Hanging Rock Drop,
and Heisers Well. And, of course, don’t forget the “gold” that is buried in a cave and has never
been found.
Volunteers staff all NSS conventions. This year is no exception. We have been working hard
for the past three years to put together what will surely be a convention to remember! We are
trying to get back to some of the convention staples that might be fond memories for you. If you
see a staff member, please thank them for volunteering and helping out the convention and the
NSS.
Landowner relations are very important in this part of the country. Please be courteous and
keep low profiles while on private property. Practice minimum impact on the caves and the cave
owners. Some of the caves you might have visited at a past convention or Cave Capers in this area
may be closed or have special requirements. Please do not assume that you just park and go. Check
out our Cave Kiosk at the campground for information about caving at this convention.
Finally, please remember to cave safe and come back alive. NSS member John Benton recalls
a tip Lewie Lamon gave him 30 years ago about caving, “… caves, yeah, I like to go in ’em … and I
like to come out!”
Welcome “Back Underground in Indiana!”
Dave Haun, NSS 24672 RL FE
2007 Convention Chairman