Nature Enthusiasts Honor Esther G. Allen

Wissahickon Nature Club
President, Chuck Tague 

Our outing of September 27 to Raccoon Creek State Park concluded with a deserving celebration. At least 60 nature enthusiasts met at the Park Office on Route 18 to hike the Valley Picnic Trail. The sky, in its finest cerulean blue, embraced the hikers as we delighted in the glories of nature. Esther Allen and Chuck Tague identified the wonders of autumn on the trail.

Afterwards, we convoyed to the Wildflower Reserve on the opposite side of the Park to honor one of our most beloved members, Esther G. Allen. Several months ago, the Wissahickon Nature Club requested that the Park re-name a trail in her honor. Park authorities quickly complied. The Deer Trail is now known as the Esther G. Allen Trail.

Well known botanist, naturalist, and excellent photographer, Esther G. Allen has won numerous awards for her work. She was the 2000 recipient of Audubon's W. E. Clyde Todd Award. She took many of the photos in The Wildflowers of Pennsylvania. She has taught classes at Phipps Conservatory, at Audubon, and at Allegheny County Community College.

The Esther G. Allen Trail in the Wildflower Reserve is certainly a fitting memorial to the life of someone who has done so much and inspired so many. The dedication was kept secret from Esther until she reached the Esther G. Allen Trail, escorted by Park Ranger Patrick Adams. Dave Allen, her husband and loyal chauffeur, greeted her at the trailhead.

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A note from Jack Solomon:  For longer than I can remember, and that's a long time, Esther Allen has been a treasure to the area's natural history enthusiasts of all types, botanizers, birders, insect studiers, herp lovers, you name it. 

Following is a Limerick I composed for, and recited at, the trail-naming ceremony:

There's a wondrous naturalist named Esther,
And at botany no one can best 'er,
In height she is small,
But her knowledge is tall,
For the Spirit of Nature has blessed 'er.