Short Narrative/Description:
The July 2022 ASQ Section Meeting is a Ranger Outing Event (as was announced at previous ASQ Section Meetings).
Participating in it will require driving to the location and spending time there comparable in duration to regular ASQ meetings plus meal time if you stay for the meal and additional activities after the meal if you stay for those.
There will be no video streaming from this event, so you would have to come in person to participate.
This is an educational event, so it carries an award of 0.5 RU as any other ASQ Section Meeting.
The event is based on the tours and facilities offered by the Shenandoah Caverns, which offers guided tours since 1922 and celebrates its 100 years in 2022.
The Shenandoah Caverns' web site is here: https://shenandoahcaverns.com
The location is 261 Caverns Road, Quicksburg, VA, 22847, which is 1 mile from Exit 269 on I-81.
The caverns were discovered in 1884 when local farmer Abraham Neff agreed to let the railway quarry limestone from his property located alongside the Southern Railway line being built at that time.
Businessman Hunter Chapman purchased the property from the Neff family, including the caverns, and the caverns opened for tours in May 1922, two years after construction on the passageways began.
In 1930, Chapman installed an elevator, a 60-foot-deep hand-dug shaft, finished in 1931, and to date, it is still the only Virginia cavern with an elevator.
In 1950s, Chapman sold Shenandoah Caverns to H.B. Long, and in 1966, ownership transferred to Earl C. Hargrove, Jr. who owned a company that designed parade floats for every Presidential inaugural beginning with Truman's in 1949.
In 1996, Hargrove renovated the second floor of the Caverns Lodge and built Main Street of Yesteryear to showcase various parade float props and antique window displays he had collected.
In 2000, the American Celebration on Parade museum was added, and in 2007, the Yellow Barn was opened as an events facility and agricultural display.
Though Mr. Hargrove passed away in 2015, his legacy lives on through the new owner, his daughter Kathy.
Program
The ASQ Section Event will consist of the following:
Participating in the Shenandoah Caverns Tour
Optionally, attending the ASQ meal on the Shenandoah Caverns' premises
Optionally, staying for additional post-meal activities
The Shenandoah Caverns Tour, Meal, and Additional-Activity Schedule:
11:00 a.m. — 11:20 a.m. — Arrival, registration, and ticketing in or near the lobby.
Meet Carolyn or her delegate or ask for reservation by Carolyn Miller and ASQ.
11:30 a.m. — Tour of the Shenandoah Caverns, personally led by knowledgeable Guide who will highlight the features of the Shenandoah Caverns and answer questions.
The tour will start on time and will NOT wait for late arrivals.
Participation in Guided Tour required for .5 RU.
Geology of cave science, cave history, its early use.
Viewing the geological formations such as stalactites, stalagmites, columns, and flowstones.
17 rooms and passageways 200 feet below ground, accessible via stairs or elevator.
Total tour walk — one (1) mile in a year-round 56-degree temperature.
Bring a light jacket and comfortable walking shoes.
12:45 p.m. — ASQ Section 0511 Meal.
1:30 p.m. — Optional activities after the meal include:
Self-guided parade float museum (free for Guided Tour participants)
Gemstone mining sluice (at attendee's expense, with bags of rough/dirt priced from $9 to $40)
Post Office (possibly the smallest working post office in America)
Gift Shop (selling items such as clothing, geodes, jewelry, and other memorabilia)
If you have any photos of this event that you'd care to share, please add them to our Google photo drop folder
