In 1981 the Lion’s Paw Alumni Association formed the Mount Nittany Conservancy to acquire additional land with community and Penn State alumni support. As the Conservancy reaches its 30th Anniversary in 2011, we are honoring those leaders that paved the way for our present as well as the future that we write each day.
Mike Lynch: Linchpin of Mount Nittany’s First Stewardship was published in the June 2007 Mt Nittany News. It states in part:
This much is clear: before there was a conservancy, another body was steward of the mountain, and his name was Mike Lynch. “He loved that mountain,” recalled John Black, a 1962 graduate of Penn State. “He was synonymous with the mountain.”
Mike was a frequent climber of Mount Nittany, even before Lion’s Paw bought its tract in 1946. Later, Mike would serve as chair of Lion’s Paw’s Mountain Committee. In that capacity—and he held the post for decades—Mike would organize mountain cleanups.
Mike was awarded the prestigious Lion’s Paw Medal in 1980, for, among other things, “his constant glorification of Dear Old State,” and “his reverent watch over Mt. Nittany.” In the pamphlet written for the occasion, Mike described his work on Lion’s Paw’s Mountain Committee: “Our main objective there is to keep Mount Nittany free from construction and ruin, so that old grads can see the symbol of Penn State like it was when they were in school.”
On November 7. 2010, a large group of Lion Ambassadors volunteers assisted the Conservancy with a number of trail projects. One group of Ambassadors (Vinnie Amendolare, Brian Edling, Gary McMillen, Katie Perugini) were asked to be the ones to install a memorial rock with an inset plaque in honor of Mike Lynch.
The plaque reads:
The Mike Lynch Overlook
Dedicated to the memory of Michael Lynch,
whose reverent watch over this Mountain
helped keep it a pristine landmark and a
proud symbol of Penn State.
Presented by the Mount Nittany Conservancy
2010
The memorial is on the left side of the trail as you approach the Lynch Overlook. It was placed to allow visitors to read the dedication to Mike and catch a first glimpse of the view to the valley floor below.
