AMC Outdoors, December 2002

By Katharine Wroth

For Bob and Mary Harrington, the outdoors is more than a place to play. For decades, the couple has farmed a 150-acre plot of land in Laconia, N.H., complete with apple orchard and maple sugar bush. Now the two are "working toward retirement," says Bob, 68, who grew up on the farm. But they are far from idle.

Though they have slowed production on their own land, they've found a new place to till soil: the Shaker Village museum in nearby Canterbury. As volunteers for three years, they have planned, planted, and weeded the gardens there. "It's a relief to have someone tell you what needs to be done after so many years managing the farm ourselves," says Bob, who also has joined a chorus that performs Shaker music.

Just as when the farm was a full-time proposition, the frozen days of winter offer the best chance to glide away from work. The two long-time skiers — Mary, 69, plunged into the sport growing up in New Mexico, and Bob remembers "making ski runs in the back field" in grade school — have shared their expertise at the New Hampshire Chapter's Winter Workshop for nearly 25 years. Satisfaction comes, says Mary, "when people say, 'I learned a lot.' That's what you hope for."

And the pair hope to teach members about more than skiing. Both have led the chapter's conservation committee, with Mary the current co-chair; Bob also has served as chapter treasurer and is its current vice chair. They first joined AMC in 1962, when they married and moved to the Granite State after meeting in Washington, D.C., where she was working for the State Department and he for the Navy. They've helped organize Mount Washington summit cleanups, a series of conservation hikes and paddles, naturalist trainings, and trail-work events.

After 40 years with AMC, the Harringtons place great faith in young leaders. "It's getting harder for us to carry that heavy leader pack," says Mary. "But we'll go out as long as we can."

—Katharine Wroth is Senior Editor of AMC Outdoors.