Will Thrall Peak

26 June 1965

Although Steve has written up the account of the Will Thrall Dedication for the SOUTHERN SIERRAN, a few more words can be added herein.

First of all -- it was a lovely day and a very touching ceremony. We wish you all could have seen how very proudly Mrs. Will Thrall stood during the proceedings. With her, and standing erectly and also proudly, was Col. C. Burton Thrall of Crestline, Will Thrall's cousin. Members of the Thrall family and their friends were there for the occasion. The Native Sons of the Golden West decked out in their ribbons and regalia lent color to the occasion. The Forest Service in Angeles National Forest was represented by Angeles National Forest Supervisor William Dresser, and also by Valyermo Dist. Ranger Charles Beardsley. Robert Marshall, Chairman of the Executive Committee, Angeles Chapter, Sierra Club was present as were all the HPS Central Committee members.

There was a short dedicatory ceremony before the hikers carried the plaque and mortar to the summit. The Native Sons of the Golden West had gathered water from the 21 missions of California with which to mix the mortar, the latter which was obtained from 5 different cement mills throughout the state. The mortar was mixed with appropriate dedicatory phrases in honor of the occasion. Some of this mortar was taken to the summit and mixed with the rest to prepare a foundation for the very nice plaque, donated by the Native Sons of the Golden West, on which were engraved the following words:

Then the long hike to the summit was undertaken. The following HPS-ers helped carry cement, water, and tools to the summit: Bill Schuler, Gene Andreosky, Bob Schull, George Gorgura, Ben Romero, Bob Marshall, Elizabeth Cohen, Steve Molnar, Bob Hawthorne, Miriam Myrhe. All these people also took turns carrying the plaque. A great deal of thanks goes to Clyde C. Wood, 2021 So. Monterey St., Alhambra, San Antonio Hiker's Club, who not only helped tote supplies to the top but also along with HPS-ers helped mount the plaque in place. Wally Henry was there with his Antelope Valley YMCA group which had taken the Burkhardt Trail from Lewis Ranch. His group consisted of the Y'S HIKERS: Byron Lowry, Jim Collins, Mike Ritchie, David Ritchie, Ann Henry, and Mike Powell. Old timers in the HPS -- Paul and Everette Schooley, Les Gampp and Laura Oard, all in their 70s!! made the climb. Thirty-seven people signed the register. All in all, it was quite a day, one to be long remembered. We arrived at the summit about 2:30 or 3:00 so we had to hustle to secure the plaque and get back to the cars. It's worth a trip up Will Thrall Peak to see it. Steve Molnar is deserving of special praise for a job excellently done. Steve engineered and provided fine leadership for the whole project.