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Cleveland Grotto's Hank Substelney: Stillhouse Cleanup

PostPosted: Jan 12, 2017 4:07 pm
by ohiocaver
Hank Substelny, Cleveland Grotto, died January 9. He was 85. Cavers will remember the cleanup of Stillhouse Cave, WV in 1990. Hank was the man who coordinated the cleanup of Stillhouse Caveā€¦to this date, one of the most massive, successful environmental programs either underground or in the state of West Virginia. The project won the Governor's Award in 1991 for outstanding work on behalf of West Virginia's environment. It was featured in the NSS NEWS in June 1991. With the help of multiple NSS Grottoes and several boy scout troops, the project removed 1800 cubic yards (337,500 pounds) of appliances, car parts and litter from a cave that had been trashed since the late 40s. When the job was finished, Hank and his wife Carol planted native wildflowers on the above-ground areas of the site disturbed by the cleanup. It remains a memorial to a man who took actions on his beliefs. He is survived by several children, including his son Michael, also a Cleveland Grotto member.