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Louise Burnett Marshall (May 7, 1915-August 24, 2005) was a wilderness and environmental activist who founded the Washington Trails Association in 1966. The same year, she authored "100 Hikes in Western Washington" (published by Mountaineers Books), the first widely-circulated hiking guidebook in Washington.

Biography

Early life. Louise was born on May 7, 1915, in Boston, Massachusetts. Her mother, Isabel Knowlton Morss-Thomas (1891-1955) was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. Her parents separated before she was born and she was raised by her mother until she married Harry Thomas when Isabel was 11, in approximately 1902. Her father, Louis Raymond "Ray" Burnett (1881-1968), was born in Iowa. He moved to Boston as a young man to attend Tufts College Medical School. He had a strong interest in sports and recreation, especially for women, who were enjoying new freedoms at the start of the 20th century (ref: women in the Victorian era). He became a colleague of Dr. Dudley Allen Sargent (reference), also a proponent of physical recreation for women. Dr. Sargent asked Ray to locate a large piece of land suitable for a residential summer camp where girls and young women could learn such things as swimming, canoeing, horseback riding, mountain climbing and other active pursuits that would augment the instruction program at the Normal School of Physical Training (later the Sargent School of Physical Education) (reference). Ray found 700 acres near Peterboro, New Hampshire, that met Dr. Sargent's specifications (ref ). After the land was purchased, Ray took on planning the facilities. In 1912, Sargent Camp for Girls was established, with Ray as the director. During the winters, when Ray lived in Cambridge and taught at Harvard, he lived in a rooming house run by Louisa Pelham Morss-Thomas (1867-1916). The landlady's daughter was Isabel, and in May 1914, when Isabel was 23 and Ray was 33, they married. They lived each summer at Sargent Camp, with Ray directing a busy village of campers and staff. Louise spent her first summers at the camp, living with her parents in the little cabin Ray had built. Rural camp life did not suit Isabel, however. In an unpublished reminiscence (2003), Louise recalled: "I learned much later that my father was more than once called upon by a bar or tavern in Dublin to come get my mother because she was drunk. These embarrassing incidents resulted in a rift between my father and Dr. Sargent, in spite of their long and close relationship to that point." Sometime after the summer of 1917, Ray joined the Army and served as a flight surgeon stationed at Mineola Field on Long Island, New York. (ref) By 1920, the family was living in Paterson, New Jersey, where Ray was Director of Health and Recreation. In 1925, Isabel and Ray divorced and Isabel moved into Manhattan with Louise and her younger brother Pelham. Louise attended PS 54 and PS 9, and then Wadleigh School for Girls (reference). Louise began attending Sargent Camp in the summer of 1924 (ref: memoir). Her parents required her to visit Dr. Sargent (who lived on the camp property) and express gratitude for being allowed to attend. Louise recalled this meeting in an unpublished memoir: "When, as an eight- or ten-year-old, I attended Sargent Camp, I was instructed to--without fail--go to Dr. Sargent's house and thank him for allowing me to attend the camp. I had no idea in the world why I was doing this. As I recall, it was not easy to do, but my parents insisted on it, and so I did too, and eventually got permission (and an appointment) to visit Dr. Sargent and express my parents' wishes. I remember only that the meeting was awkward, certainly not cordial, even to my young age." It was during these several summers at Sargent Camp that Louise experienced the joy of being outdoors. She rode horses, swam in lakes, learned to paddle a canoe, hiked on forest trails and climbed to mountaintops. These experiences formed the ground level for her ideas about the importance of spending time outside, and helped direct her to her life's work.

Education and Travel In 1932, Louise entered New College of Teachers College at Columbia University and in 1937 graduated with a Master's Degree in Education. New College required a summer spent at one of its "communities;" to that end Louise spent the summer of 1935 at the New College Community near Canton, North Carolina. The Community was run by two groups of students: the resident group, who stayed year-round and received financial credit toward their education, and the summer group, who spent three months at the Community at regular tuition rates. Louise expressed enthusiasm for life at the Community in letters home to her mother. On June 9, 1935, shortly after her arrival, she wrote: "I live in one room of a large cabin. The boys built it in about two weeks, of rough lumber gathered from the hillside nearby. It has three rooms downstairs and one upstairs. That's our loft … the cracks between the boards are so wide, that when we sweep, the dust falls through on our friends below, who object strenuously. … We're in the midst of farming country. And our own community is a farm. We run it for our vegetables and meat. When the summer program is well under way, each person will be expected to do two hours' work a day in addition to their studies. There are three or four classes required of everyone, and several optional courses. I'll tell you more about these when they start. …" New College also required students to participate in a Foreign Study course. With a group of New College classmates, Louise spent the summer of 1936 in Berlin. Louise returned to Europe in the summer of 1937 as the leader of an American Youth Hostel bicycle trip. Using her knowledge of the area gained from the previous summer, she took her group of ten through Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia and France. In 1938, Louise made a solo trip to Europe by bicycle. She toured Scandinavia, visiting friends from her 1936 summer in Berlin, then rode south through Germany and Czechoslovakia, again visiting friends made in Berlin. That turned out to be her last trip to Europe for many years.

New York to Seattle in 1951 In 1940 Louise married William Robert Marshall Jr (1912-1993), of New York City. The couple lived in Queens: Jackson Heights, then Bayside and Glen Cove. In 1951, with two small children, they moved across the country to Seattle, looking for a land of more opportunity and lower taxes. Bill Marshall found work with Alaska Airlines and, later, United Airlines. In 1952 the family bought a farmhouse in Alderwood Manor. Louise worked as a lifeguard in the summers, and taught physical education in Seattle and Redmond schools. Bill and Louise also found creative ways to support their family. Their farmhouse came with 5 acres and a large chicken house. For many years they raised chickens and sold the eggs, Louise delivering them to customers in the local area. Bill, who had studied photography in New York City with Mary Eleanor Browning, ran a portrait photography business. The family explored their new state, beginning with the forests and beaches in Snohomish County and expanding to camping trips on the ocean and in the Cascade Mountains, canoeing in many lakes, and bicycling in the San Juan Islands. They discovered the outfitter Recreational Equipment Inc (REI), a co-op located in a small upstairs space in downtown Seattle. Down the hall from REI was the office of The Mountaineers Club. Both of these entities would figure prominently in Louise's life. Louise and Bill joined both the Co-op and The Mountaineers.

Signpost Magazine After joining the Mountaineers in 1958, Bill and Louise were active in club outings. Within a few years, Louise also became a club trip leader. Hiking guidebooks, like she had used on the east coast and in Europe, were not available in Washington. Louise realized she could put together her hiking notes and provide the same sort of guidebook. Her first little book, printed in 1965 by a friend who ran a printshop, contained 40 hikes and was titled "Trail Trips: an introduction to hiking near Seattle." The same year, the Mountaineers club's literary fund committee (which published the popular instructional book "Freedom of the Hills") discussed the publication of the same sort of hiking guidebook. Louise submitted the manuscript of her "Trail Trips" book to the committee and it was accepted. Under the literary fund committee, the scope of the book changed from "an introduction to hiking near Seattle" to the wide-ranging "100 Hikes in Western Washington." Released in the summer of 1966, "100 Hikes in Western Washington" was a bestseller, and became the first in a long line of hiking guides published by the Mountaineers. Also in 1966, Louise began a newsletter for outing leaders of the Mountaineers club. On Sunday evenings, she telephoned other trip leaders to ask about their weekend hikes: what were the trail conditions, how was the trip? On Monday she wrote up the newsletter using the

Expanded description. Signpost Magazine Early years More than a magazine First trail work outings in Washington Washington Trails Louise hires executive director Board of directors WTA stands on its own

Marriage and children. William R. Marshall (February 25, 1912-October 3, 1993) Ann Marshall (July 15, 1948-) Elizabeth Marshall Stewart (March 25, 1951-)

Death and Afterward

Philosophical views Protect natural landscapes and wildlife Support outdoor recreation, maintain recreation facilities, and plan/fund new ones Encourage all people to participate in outdoor recreation and to volunteer to keep facilities open through trail maintenance (Washington Trails Association) Share information: distribute information about Washington's backcountry (Signpost/Washington Trails magazine)

Published works "100 Hikes in Western Washington" "High Trails" "Packrat Papers, Vols 1 and 2" (ed.) "Winter Walks near Seattle and Everett" (with Fred Darvill)

Awards and distinctions First woman to serve on REI's board of directors. Author of first hiking guidebook in Washington, "100 Hikes in Western Washington." Also updated "High Trails," an early guidebook to the Pacific Crest Trail in Washington. Served on board of trustees for The Mountaineers Club, as well as trip leader Lifetime Achievement Award from Pacific Crest Trail Association. Forest Service Award, check on title of award and date

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