IAT NEWSLETTER

Summer, 1999

"IT'S ABOUT TIME WE BEGIN IT, TO TURN THE WORLD AROUND..."

Organization Information:
Co-Founder and Former President -- Marcelle Orswell  (morswell@earthlink.net)
Co-Founder and Secretary -- Theresa Shea (Tree1A@aol.com)
Co-Founder and Webpage Designer -- Sandy (IATMail@aol.com)
President -- Ann Schnitz (aerie01@sprynet.com)
Newsletter Co-Editor -- Ellen La Corte Quinn (elq@mciworld.com)
Newsletter Co-Editor -- Beth Briggs (ebbriggs@yahoo.com)

We would love to hear from you!!!  Drop us a line with your contribution to our next newsletter!!!

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LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
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Hi everyone!

Well, summer is here and I hope that this finds you enjoying all that it has to offer.  For me, summer means only one thing -- baby birds!  I volunteer at a local bird rehabilitation and rescue facility and the majority of our patients in the summertime are babies that have fallen out of their nests or have been abandoned or brought inside by someone's thoughtful cat.   And their hungry mouths have to be fed until 8PM, so they really keep us hopping!

No big surprise that a John Denver fan would choose to spend time at a place like this.  In fact, last year, when I was feeling the effects of our first summer without John, this place saved my life.  It gave me somewhere to go in the evenings where I could forget for a few hours how lost and alone I felt, while still doing something good.  So I encourage all of you who might have some time on your hands to get involved with a project you feel good about, whether it be volunteering somewhere or just spending quality time with people you love.  For me, this is the truest expression of John's legacy.  And speaking of which, please allow me to share with you some other thoughts on where we can make an important contribution toward furthering John's work and promoting his vision and his message.

No doubt, we've all felt some frustration (ok, a lot of frustration) at the way John was simply dismissed in the media as being a lightweight songwriter and an irresponsible human being.  Obviously, his good works were never publicized properly "out there" but footnotes that could have easily occurred in any life were blown way out of proportion and overshadowed the whole.  So this is our challenge as we go forth and take up his mantle.  And this is where education, or shall I say, re-education comes in.  Ultimately, knowledge of the songs by future generations becomes knowledge of the environment and knowledge of peace and so on....and it is this that is important, in my opinion, and transcends John as an individual, great though he may have been.

Some of you may know that I'm a board member of the John Denver Music Education Fund.  I feel that this is the strongest chance we have to make a difference because those songs are powerful teachers.  I myself am an environmental toxicologist and work toward remediating the ills in our world caused by pollutants BECAUSE of those songs and the chord they struck in me. How many others of you out there were similarly moved to take action in your own way as a result of those songs touching something deep inside?  Yes, surely it was John and his personality too and the way he had of articulating what was seemingly so personal and yet so universal.  In the end, it's the songs and the messages in those songs that must get through. John Denver was more than "Rocky Mountain High" and "Annie's Song".  He was also "I Want to Live" and "What Are We Making Weapons For" -- and I'm proud to say, he was "It's About Time".  The songs have to live, and the only way to do that is to design school curricula and promote concerts featuring those songs and encourage talented young people to explore the expression of these thoughts in their own compositions.  This is what the JDMEF is all about.

I would like to applaud two of our members who have dedicated themselves to this pursuit -- Paul Swanton and Natalie Yewshenko.  Paul and Natalie have written a beautiful song, "My Sister, My Friend", the proceeds of which will be donated to the JDMEF.  Thank you, Paul and Natalie, for your song and your spirit.

In the coming months, I'd like to hear from you as to what you'd like to see going on here.  My personal focus is the JDMEF, and I would like nothing better than to make this an organization-wide effort.  Several projects are already in the works, including an educational video that I will tell you more about as time goes on, but I want to know how you feel.  Where would you like to see our energies directed?  How would you like to contribute? You know that you already do just by coming here and opening yourself to what is being said.  You already do by allowing the music to make a difference in your life.  I encourage you to be a part of our journey.  It's about time.

My heart to yours,
Ann

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
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Dear Friends:

I'd like to introduce myself.  I am Ellen La Corte Quinn, the new editor for It's About Time's newsletter.  It has long been a wish of mine to do SOMEthing in SOME way that connected with John Denver's vision and helped to continue his work in some fashion.  After attempts at other endeavors that just weren't as fulfilling (and had nothing or little to with John), It's About Time found me in the right place at the right time, and here I am. I will do my best to keep It's About Time contacts informed and enlightened in an enjoyable way.

I come to you right now from Gaithersburg, Maryland; however, I will soon be moving to San Diego, California. Apparently, Fate has decided that "It's About Time" to show this woman another way to live! So, I will be transitioning this summer from one coast to another. But, through the craziness, I promise to make the time to create the newsletter for all of you to enjoy. Thanks for reading!

Warmly,
Ellen
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"...IT'S ABOUT TIME WE START TO MAKE IT, THE DREAM WE'VE ALWAYS KNOWN..."

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FUNDRAISERS
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From IAT: Cyber Cookbook - The Sequel is done! We are now accepting orders for this wonderful compilation of recipes from all our friends. The original 1998 Cyber Cookbook fundraiser netted almost $500 for The Hunger Project. Let's try to beat that this year! Please order now and support The Hunger Project.   The cookbook is available for a small donation of $5.00.  The original Cyber Cookbook (from 1998) is also available again for an additional $5.00. To order, simply print out the order form from the website and send it along with your check, made out to The Hunger Project, to the address specified on the order form. If you cannot print out the form, please copy down the information and send it along with your check (made out to The Hunger Project) to the address specified. If that is too much to do....simply write down your name, address, e-mail address, preference of a PC or MACfile and whether you want Cyber Cookbook - The Sequel, Cyber Cookbook - The Original, or both.   Send that information, along with your check ($5.00 for each cookbook), made out to The Hunger Project, to:

And please remember, additional donations are always welcome!

PLEASE NOTE!!!!!

For our foreign friends who have the added expense of sending international money orders, help has arrived. If you would like, you may make a donation directly to The Hunger Project via their website, using your credit card.

Please go to: http://www.thp.org/fundrais/pledge.htm and pledge any amount (equal to or greater than $5).  Let us know about it (IATMail@aol.com) and we'll be happy to forward on your Cyber Cookbook.

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From Julie B in Texas: T-shirts commemorating the John Denver Nature Exhibit are now available.  Proceeds from the sale of the shirts will help build the memorial, which will be placed in the Birds of Prey Sanctuary at the Austin Nature Center.  For more info about the memorial, visit our site at:

The T-shirts are 100% cotton shirts by Hanes, color is stone-washed (light) green with (dark) forest green ink.  On the front left breast, are the words "Remembering John" with an etch of a mountain range and a flying eagle above the words.; On the back is a sketch of the image of the memorial (see our website for that image) along with the shadow of a flying eagle. The following words appear under this image:"John Denver 1943-1997 Musician-Poet-Humanitarian-Environmentalist - John Denver Nature Exhibit - Birds of Prey Sanctuary - Austin Nature and Science Center - Texas" Sizes are: Med 34-36, Large 40-44, and XL 46-48  Cost including shipping and handling: $25 each.  Checks should be made out to John Denver Memorial and mailed to:

Include number of shirts, sizes, your mailing address, and phone number.  Purchases in quantities of 5 or more are $20 (which includes shipping and handling).  Allow 3-4 weeks for delivery."

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NOTES FROM IAT FRIENDS
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IMPORTANT - OUR HELP IS NEEDED!!!

Hau kola, dear family,
Please excuse the long post, but I feel it needs our attention. We need to ACT on this now! Here is an excerpt from the Defenders Of Wildlife about the wolves of Yellowstone.... "Defenders of Wildlife will fight all the way to the Supreme Court a ruling on December 12th 1997 by a federal judge that wolves were reintroduced illegally in Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho and must be removed. Judge William Downes of the U.S. District Court in Cheyenne, Wyoming, ruled that the "reintroduced nonnative wolves and their offspring" must be removed from the reintroduction area, although he stayed the order pending an expected appeal.  The ruling is tantamount to a death sentence for these magnificent animals.

June 21, 1999: Defenders' appeal to the 1997 court decision to remove wolves reintroduced under the Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf Recovery Plan (Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho) is once again moving forward after an unexpected delay in the court date.

On Thursday, July 29, a panel of three judges will hear arguments at the Tenth U.S. District Court of Appeals in Denver, Colorado, with defendants set to speak at approximately 1:00pm. Upon completion of the testimonies, the judges will either make an immediate decision or postpone ruling to a future date if further consideration is necessary.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Visit the Defenders of Wildlife website (http://www.defenders.org/ynpdeci.html) to learn about any of the following actions:

• Make an emergency contribution to Defenders of Wildlife to help defray the cost of fighting this decision in the courts. Participate in our national call-in to the Farm Bureau.
• Sign and distribute an official petition to the American Farm Bureau Federation.
• Write or e-mail President Clinton and Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt at the following addresses:

E-mail Joseph R. Fields, Director of Public Relations at the Farm Bureau Federation.

John would want each and every one of us to do all we could do to stop this from happening, the destruction and mass slaughter of our brother, the wolf. Please take the time to write to Clinton or the Farm Bureau Think of it as a cry in the dark, for those that can't help....
With love in my heart for all who call the earth...Mother...
Your Sis, Yellowstone Wolf aka Diana

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Friends, All is well with those of us in the Sangre de Cristo range of Colorado.... Spring is here and we are enjoying the combination of green grass and wild flowers with the background of the snow capped peaks of the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness.... so beautiful it almost seems like an illusion....

Our Community of Westcliffe, Colorado is about to start a Visioning process, led by the folks from the Sonoran Institute who will help us plan the future of this area.  We will be doing our best to help our Community evolve while preserving the things that drew all of us to this area...

Arthur Vyn Boennighausen@ http://sangre-de-cristo.com

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ADOPT-A-HIGHWAY
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FYI Here is a list of states (and countries) that have participated in the National John Denver Highway Adoption project: AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, NC, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, TX, VA, WA, WI, WY, and Germany.  Several states have more than one group adopting highways.  We're up to about 37 participating groups, with over 200 people across the country...what a wonderful way to remember John!  Our goal is to have all fifty states involved - a Coast-To-Coast JD Highway network! Please contact Evelyn at evepin@csn.net or Carole at Ckenney194@aol.com for more information.

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ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
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MORE BALD EAGLES BUILD NESTS ALONG CONNECTICUT RIVER

ASSOCIATED PRESS/SPRINGFIELD, Mass., June 24 - There's a bald eagle housing boom along the middle stretch of the Connecticut River, with six active nests reported this spring from northern Connecticut to southern New Hampshire.

The eagles, which had disappeared from southern New England by the turn of the century, are not only making a comeback in rural areas, they are edging into the cities. "They've managed to settle just about every bit of protected green space along the river in Massachusetts," Tom French, who heads the state's endangered species program, said recently. "The problem is there is just not that much cover left along the river."

In West Springfield, a pair of bald eagles is happily raising three chicks in a three-year-old nest behind an auto transmission shop.  The eaglets are the second generation to be hatched along the river since a state reintroduction effort produced its first chick in 1986.

Neighboring states are also benefiting. Eagles now nesting on the river just over the Connecticut and New Hampshire borders were chicks hatched in Massachusetts, French said.

Eagles usually add to the same nest year after year, but sometimes they seem to like a change. A pair in Hadley, for example, also has a nest on the Northampton side of the river that they used last year. And one pair at the Quabbin Reservoir has six nests. The state has counted 11 active eagle nests, up from nine last year, including five pairs at Quabbin Reservoir.

While bald eagles are flourishing along the Connecticut River, a popular pair of peregrine falcons that tried a downtown Springfield bridge apparently didn't fare as well.

Biologists have been unable to locate the nest or chicks. "This site is very marginal. It's really not safe for the birds," said French, after using ropes to climb underneath the Memorial Bridge and check the girders.

It would be easy for a chick to tumble from the nest and drown, he said. "And I fear that's what happened."  It's the first time in 11 years that a pair of peregrine falcons has failed to raise chicks in downtown Springfield.  For eight of those years, they nested on a 22nd-floor ledge of an office building where their activities were televised by the local cable channel.

Biologists suspect it was an April 1997 blizzard that prompted the birds to seek the uncertain shelter offered by the low bridge.

Copyright, 1999 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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TREE PLANTINGS
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KIDS' CAMPAIGN TO PLANT TREES
Melissa Poe and Tara Church together have created a campaign called, "One In A Million". It's goal? To have one million kids planting one million trees by the year 2,000. Inspired by a challenge issued at the President's Summit on America's Future in 1997, these young environmentalists undertook this incredible project.  To date, there are over 600,000 tree plantings and youths registered. The plantings are entered in a database and a certificate is sent to those who register with their tree planting sequence number.  If you are interested, you can register at: http://www.kidsface.org at the One In A Million registration site.

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UPCOMING EVENTS
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JOHN DENVER MEMORIAL BEACH CLEANUP
AND TRIBUTE CONCERT PLANNED FOR PACIFIC GROVE

The John Denver Monterey Bay Memorial Project is planning a Second Annual Beach Clean-up and mini-concert to be held October 10, 1999, in Pacific Grove at the two year date of John's death.  Music will be provided by singer/songwriter Phil Christie from Los Angeles, and possibly Jerry Kooyman from Holland.

There will also be quiet memorial services at the crash site at Acropolis and Ocean View on both Sunday, October 10th, and Tuesday, October 12th, surrounding 5:28pm, the actual time of the accident.  Details are pending and we hope to report more information soon.

In addition, we're looking into scheduling another Phil Christie concert on Saturday night, October 9, 1999.

We will have information and maps available regarding John Denver-related activities in the area, including the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Friends of the Monarch Butterfly Grove.

The exact schedule of events will be posted as the event gets closer. We will be sending out notices via email, and also have two websites up with information about our group and the scheduled beach cleanup. The url addresses are: http://tahoe.sbinet.com/~roegners/ (The John Denver Monterey Bay Memorial Project - this site will change addresses in June) and http://members.aol.com/PixieDmyr/JohnDenverPacGrove.index.html (The John Denver Monterey Bay Memorial Beach Cleanup Page). For more information, or to sign up to volunteer, contact Debra Sanderson at pixiedmyr@aol.com.
Peace, The John Denver Monterey Bay Memorial Project Committee

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MISCELLANEOUS
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JOHN'S LYRICS TO PROMOTE TOURISM?

CHARLESTON, W. Va. (AP) -- West Virginia wants to use its unofficial anthem -- John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads" -- to promote tourism. The state bureau of commerce plans to pay $85,000 for the rights to use the song in promotions for three years. The plan is subject to approval by the attorney general.

SOME SCOOPS ON WEBSITES .....

A TERRIFIC WEBSITE DEDICATED TO JOHN DENVER:
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Mezzanine/7341/denver.html. (Website maintained by Stephen S. Kwak.)

  TWO CURRENT WEBSITES NOW LINKED: The popular websites for Rocky Mountain National Park and the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness are now bridged at a single url to encourage peopleto explore both of these magnificent Alpine areas.  The "Bridged" url is at: http://sangre-de-cristo.com. Currently, we are experiencing an increased workload from two projects that compliment the Websites we publish. We appreciate your patience when waiting for a response from us.

From the website - "As the new Millennium approaches, many of us find ourselves attracted to potent places on Earth as a path of Awakening. The Sangre de Cristo mountain range is one of these places. Join us on a Journey of self-discovery as we experience the Spiritual properties of the Sangre de Cristos. Enjoy the companionship of Friends amidst the exquisite beauty of the Alpine surroundings."

We founded our own school of "Mountaineering" so that you have the opportunity to physically join us on some outings in the mountain ranges that are the subject matter of our popular Websites.  The course schedules for the Sangre de Cristo Mountaineering School are published on the Web at: http://sangre-de-cristo.com/westcliffe/cms.  Also, we bought a 1640 acre ranch at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness in central Colorado. The ranch is evolving into a 41 home residential Community.  We are the owners and principal engineers of this project.

The Sierra Mojada project as we call it is an opportunity to live and work in one of the most beautiful mountain ranges on Earth.  If you enjoy visiting the Sangre de Cristo mountain range via our Websites, we thought you might have a desire to actually live in one of the magnificent alpine areas that are the subject matter of our Websites. The marketing presentation for Sierra Mojada is published on the Web at: http://sangre-de-cristo.com/westcliffe/sierra_mojada.

"Some routes to Happiness are easier than others.... Carefully follow the path that seems like the most fun!"? (Website maintained by Arthur Marty Vyn Boennighausen)

PLEASE CONTACT YOUR LOCAL IAT REPS!!!!
We would like everyone to make themselves known to their state (or country) representatives.  Please email and introduce yourselves so that we can begin to really be the family of man!

Don't know who your rep is, you say? Go to:

to find out. If you don't have internet access, please write (see address above for cookbook) and we'll be happy to let you know who your regional reps are.

JOHN'S MUSIC ON THE RADIO

It was a double JD day for IAT friend Richard Holmes on Friday June 11th. First, his request for a John Denver song was answered on country station WOKQ (Dover, NH).  He had e-mailed WOKQ with his request, along with a press release regarding the cleanup and barbecue to be held in conjunction with the National John Denver Adopt A Highway Cleanup Week.

The station takes listeners' requests each Friday and has played John's music before - usually "Country Roads" or "Rocky Mountain High".  They always mention his CMA entertainer of the year award in 1975.  So, Richard requested "Back Home Again".  They talked with Mike Geary, fellow JD fan andweatherman for the station.  Talk and song combined, John Denver got about ten minutes of air time.

The same day, Richard was interviewed on station WEIM (Fitchburg, MA). Fellow JD fan, Claire Smith, called to say that WEIM of was looking for someone to talk to about the National Highway Cleanup.  Richard volunteered. He spoke to Ray the DJ, who plays John's songs upon request, for about ten minutes. He had been talking about the event for a couple of days and seemed quite interested.

In addition, Richard has recently communicated with Larry Bear at Y107 (New York) and thanked him for playing John's song.  He says Larry seems sincere in keeping John's music alive.

Richard has decided to send his John Denver bumper stickers as a token of appreciation for the stations' efforts and says he is willing to mail any other station a bumper sticker as well.

"Inch by inch, row by row, we'll get John's music back on the air," says Richard.

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POEMS, QUOTES AND INSPIRATIONAL THOUGHTS
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"You've got to dance like nobody's watching, and love like it's never going to hurt."
--author unknown
 

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"IT'S ABOUT TIME WE START TO LIVE IT....THE FAMILY OF MAN, IT'S ABOUT TIME, AND IT'S ABOUT CHANGES

                AND IT'S ABOUT TIME....."