the john muir exhibit - stamps - bsa troop 239 1964
BSA Troop 239/Post 239 John Muir 1964 First Day Cover
The text reads:
First Day of Issue
Scouts on John Muir Trail
Sierra Nevada Range, California
Commemorative Cover
Sponsored by
Boy Scout Troop 239
Explorer Post 239
John Muir District
Boy Scouts of America
Accompanying card, inserted in the First Day Cover, reads:
John Muir: Early Scout
The Scouts and Explorers of John Muir District, Mount Diablo Council, Boy Scouts of America take pride in joining the tribute to John Muir, conservationist and naturalist.
John Muir came to California in 1868 as a sheep-herder. Appalled at the destruction caused by grazing, he began to write about the need of conservation in the wilderness areas. He said: "going to the mountains is going home ... wilderness is a necessity ... and mountain parks ... are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life." He is credited with being the primary motivating force that influenced Congress and the American people to think in terms of National Parks. Today many natural features bear his name.
The cachet pictures a group of explorer scouts resting at the summit of Donahue Pass, elevation 11,125, on the John Muir Trail. Donahue Pass, on the boundary of YOsemite National Park, is well above timber line. The John Muir Trail starts in Yosemite Valley, traverses 212 miles of high-country wilderness and ends at Whitney Portal. The trail which closely follows the Sierra Nevada Ridge passes through three National Parks, Yosemite, Kings Canyon, and Sequoia.
Muir has subsequently been honored with a 32 cent postage stamp in 1998.
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