Amish Volunteers Assist with Cabin Preservation

Date: March 15, 2013

Amish Volunteers Assist with Cabin Preservation at Catoctin Mountain Park 

See news release.

Twelve members of the Indiana Amish Anabaptist Service Program from Nappanee, Indiana, have volunteered to help with preservation and restoration of historic cabins at Camp Misty Mount in Catoctin Mountain Park. Eight young men and an experienced work leader will spend one month restoring rustic cabins constructed originally as part of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal program in 1937. The Amish group, working under the direction of Catoctin historic preservation carpenters Mark Hauver and Roger Pickett, will strip designated cabins to original components then restore, replace or re-create structural elements using historically accurate techniques and materials.

The group journeyed from Indiana by train and is staying in park housing. The work crew is accompanied by house parents who manage activities outside the work day. Approximately 20 Nappanee Community members will travel from Indiana to Thurmont to check on the group's progress and tour the area for at least one weekend during the project. The additional community members will stay in local motels and tour local attractions. The Catoctin Project is part of a larger program that provides Amish men ages 19-25, an opportunity to serve their country without joining the military. This service does not come without sacrifice as the participants must leave gainful employment and pay their personal expenses for the month long project.

Catoctin Mountain Park is one of nearly 400 units administered by the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. The park Visitor Center, located on State Route 77 three miles west of Thurmont, Maryland, is open daily from 10:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., and from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Correspondence should be addressed to: Superintendent, Catoctin Mountain Park, 6602 Foxville Road, Thurmont, MD 21788. Our website address is www.nps.gov/cato. General information can be obtained by calling the Visitor Center at [phone].