Volume 6, Number 5 - Fall 1977
Quarterly Meeting
December 11
It is announced that the fall quarterly meeting of the Society will be held in the cafeteria of the Good Memorial College Center at The School of the Ozarks on Sunday, December 11, 1977 at 1:15 P.M. The revised constitution and Bylaws will be given a second reading for adoption, special Christmas music will be presented by Miss Merideth Mizell and her dulcimer, and Ron Martin, Science teacher, author and geological consultant will speak on caves and cave development in Southwest Missouri. Mr. Martin graduated from The School of the Ozarks in 1967 and received a Master of Science Degree from the University of Oklahoma in 1972. He is presently teaching science at Hillcrest High School in Springfield. He has been associated with Marvel Cave at Silver Dollar City for 10 years as a cave guide where he works on cave tour improvement and tour interpretive talk.
Mr. Martin is a charter member of the Museum of the Ozarks, president of the Ozark Highlands Grotto, a director in the Missouri Speleological Survey, and a member of the Missouri Pilots Association, the National Science Supervisors Association, the Heart of the Ozarks Grotto and the National Speleological Society. He is also the co-editor of Missouri Speleology and has written 2 books. "Cave Development in the Bull Creek Drainage Basin of Southwest Missouri," and "Official Guide to Marvel Cave."
In 1956 a 2-year exit project was begun at what was then known as Marvel Cave Park. For several years it had been apparent that some means of handling the crowds seeing the cave would have to be devised. The many steps to be climbed up on the way out made the tour long and difficult for small children and elderly people.
The difficulties of this task were tedious and trying to the Morrison-Knudson Construction Company who engineered the project and the several mining companies who were consulted on the equipment for the railroad.
Finally, on May 11, 1958, Marvel Cave Railroad was put into service -- the only train in the world that has its "station" and the first part of its regular run deep in the bowels of the earth.
Altho this achievement is only 19½ years old it was a major historical happening, not only for the White River Valley but, for the entire nation.
Hope to see you all at the meeting!
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