History Notes of Skylake Trails
From Minutes of the NRC 1998 - 2004, Newsletters and Contemporary sources
- The initial Trail System (7.5 miles) was laid out and created in the late 1980's and early 1990's by Skylake volunteers. According to Susie Calhoun, daughter of Sid McKnight, the founders of the trail system were Sid McKnight, Chuck Stanfield and Joe Ferguson.
- The Natural Resources Committee (NRC) was instituted by the POA Board in late 1997 and given responsibility for maintenance and extention of the Trail System. Membership during the early history of the committee included Sid McKnight, Ted Newhall, Tinker Bachant, Ken Moffat, Bill Thomas and Doug Tanner.
- The segment named Sid's Slopes was completed by July 2001 and honored Sid McKnight, a key founder of the Trail System and the first chairperson of the NRC.
- The Ken Clark Memorial Trail already existed by October 1997 as it is mentioned in a letter to the NRC. Ken Clark served as President of the POA Board in the early 1990s and was an active volunteer in the trail crew. Tragically, his life was shortened by lung cancer.
- The Roz Klausman Memorial Trail is named for Rosalind "Roz" Klausman, the horse riding instructor of the summer Sky Lake Camp for children from 1950 through 1966. A bronze and masonry monument, placed in 1969, can be seen at the end of a short trail segment off of Sautee Trail Rd
- The Littleberry Trail is named for the person (probably a Cherokee) appearing on a deed transferring 490 acres to Jessie Monroe on Oct. 24, 1825 . Part of the 490 acres contained the front part of the future Skylake. It was apparently some kind of a swap deal, since another deed on the same date transferred another property from Monroe to Littleberry.
- The NRC Minutes of August 24, 2004 mention Harry Chastain was elected to replace Dick Johnson, who was Skylake's first Trail Crew Chief. The Chastain's Challenge trail was named in honor of Harry's 9 years of service as Trail Crew Chief.
- The Carla Lewis Trail is named for a property owner since 1996 and, as a child, a participant in the summer Sky Lake Camp. Carla was the niece of Roz Klausman.
- The poet who wrote the Creekside poem was Marilyn C. Hinson.