Complete Club History

Monadnock Mushroomers got its start, surprisingly enough, on Mount Monadnock! In 1982, Rick Youst was invited by the Harris Center for Conservation Education to lead a mushroom foray as a part of its regular fall set of programs. Dr. Meade Cadot was the Harris Center Director and knew Rick from previous naturalist programs he had given in the region. Mount Monadnock State Park was chosen as the best location since Rick had worked at the Monadnock Ecocenter in the summers of 1976 and 1977 and knew the trails and habitats well. Attending the foray, among the +/- 30 people who were at the gathering, was Al David, a resident of Keene and avid mushroom collector. After the walk & talk, Al approached Rick and said that it would be great to do these types of forays more often. Fast forward five years, one graduate degree in Mycology, and one name-changing marriage later, and Dr. Van de Poll returned to Keene and began attending forays offered by the NH Mycological Society (NHMS). He was also running forays for his Mycology Class at Antioch New England and often held forays on Saturdays for the general public in the Keene area.

Al David re-entered the scene on many of these forays and on Wednesday May 18, 1988 he, Carlene Skeffington, and Dr. Van de Poll officially convened the first meeting of the “ Keene Mushroom Club” in order to provide regular offerings in the Monadnock Region. The meeting took place at Antioch in Keene since it was centrally located. In attendance were Jim Craig, David Gregory, Mildred Jayne, Georgette Roberts, Margaret Sawyer, and Deb Donahue. The agenda included topics such as affiliation with NAMA & NHMS, membership dues & cards, the club name, decals, t-shirts, bumper stickers, and the creation of various committees. Of the 10 club names we considered, we all settled on “Monadnock Mushroomers Unlimited.” Within a year a great deal was accomplished wherein the club had officers (Rick an de Poll, President, Al David, Vice President, Bert Wingerson, Treasurer, and Margaret Sawyer, Secretary), a newsletter (mostly edited by Rick & Al), a bank account, the first Annual Fungus Fair at the Keene Recreation Center, and our first club hosting job for the Northeast Mycological Federation's (NEMF) annual foray at Franklin Pierce College.

The 1989 NEMF Foray put the MMU club 'on the map.' Carlene Skeffington of NHMS was Foray Chair and Rick by Van de Poll was Field Trip Chair. Roger Phillips was the Chief Mycologist and other faculty included Dr. Ernst Both, Dr. William Bridge Cooke, Dr. Bill Cibula, Ray Fatto, Dr. Jim Ginns, Dr. Roger Goos, Dr. John Haines, Dr. Dick Homola, Geoff Kibby, Gary Lincoff, Dr. Sam Ristich, Dr. Rod Tulloss, and Gene Varney. Other identifiers included Glenn Freeman, John Minot, Dorothy Smullen, Ron Trial, Rick Van de Poll, and James Worrall. We had forays to 26 different sites, as compared to an average of 12 at current NEMF forays. We collected over 428 species and added at least 67 to the 'new to NEMF' list.

By November of that year, MMU had a Mission Statement approved by the Executive Committee, which remains the same to this day:

"The Monadnock Mushroomers Unlimited is organized to:

Collect, study, and identify mushrooms growing in the Monadnock Region
Compile a catalog/checklist and keep it updated
Learn everything possible about mushrooms and their identification
Enjoy the companionship of other amateiur mycologists
Freely impart our knowledge to those interested in learning about mushrooms
Advise the general public of the vital role that fungi play in our ecology"

We continued to hold bi-weekly forays from the end of June to our annual Annet State Park Foray on Columbus Day weekend every year. We held our annual Mushroom Show from 1990 to 2000, after which it skipped a few years and was moved to Jaffrey. We co-hosted the NAMA-NEMF Foray at Mount Ascutney in 1996, wherein Al David and Ben Allison secured the ski resort as a good venue and explored 16 field sites in the area. Babs Eldering and Rick Van de Poll co-chaired the foray, entitling it “Conserving Mycological Diversity.” Several European ‘Red Listers’ from the IUCN came and talked about declining Nicodiversity and habitats in Europe.

Another great effort of the early club was the creation of a cookbook, “Monadnock Mushroomers Cookery.” We self-published this in 1991 and solicited great recipes from most of the then 60 members. Over 100 books were sold in the first year, and we quickly had to reprint it. After it was featured in the Keene Sentinel, we had to print another lot of 100. At this point it, like the early t-shirts, are somewhat of a collectors item!

Perhaps one of our proudest moments was the decision to sponsor annual scholarships to attend the Northeast Mycological Federation’s foray. Our first scholarship recipient was Noah Siegel, who had been actively attending MMU forays since May 1989. The scholarship recognized up and coming students of Mycology who may not have had the means to otherwise attend the regional foray. Noah’s attendance in 1997 quickly brought him into the world of professional Mycology, and, (according to him), introduced him to the idea of pursuing this as a career. Aside from publishing now three regional guides to fungi out west and traveling all over the world, Noah also served as a long-time President of MMU, and is currently the President of NEMF.

Monadnock Mushroomers did not elude the challenges of 2020, and as a result, there were no forays that year and limited forays in 2021. 2022 began with a new slate of officers, including Tom Delaney as President, Lori Sousa as Vice President, and Patrick Joyce as Treasurer. Aided by their board of directors Leo Goldberg and Gabriel Rabbioni, the club foray schedule was back at full force. In 2023, new leadership and talent were added to MMU board and officers, including author and childhood member Mellany Kahn joining the board of directors, longtime member Trish Twining joining as secretary, and George Caughey joining as toxicologist on the board of directors as well as foray chairperson.

The club officially became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2024, where, due to legal connotations, the name was changed to "Monadnock Mushroom Club". In 2025, Rick Van de Poll returned as a director of the club, Monadnock Mushroom Club increased its virtual presence by creating a website, and is co-sponsoring North American Mycological Association's annual foray in Vermont.

Finally, there have been many faces of the Monadnock Mushroomers over the years, and we have been honored to have had these avid mushroom enthusiasts in our midst. Most of them are no longer with us. Ben Allison, Al David, Pat Duprey, Pete Eichert, Babs Eldering, Leona Gordon, Mike Morrison, Reinhard & Olivia Loy, Bob & Mildred Jaynes, Alden Powers, Georgette Roberts, Margaret Sawyer, and Bert Wingerson are a few of the stalwart club members who made regular and abiding contributions to the club over the years. Without their support and steadfast volunteerism, the Monadnock Mushroomers would not the diverse and educational club it is today.