Clarissa Krommes / Chris Muth

The Allentown Hiking Club is celebrating its 90th anniversary in 2021. A club history written for the 75th anniversary is on the club web site. For this anniversary, I am profiling some early club leaders.

Clarissa Ann Agnes Krommes was born March 30, 1907. She lived on North 19th Street in Allentown, graduated from Allentown High School, and in 1930 was employed as a stenographer in a machine shop. She must have enjoyed walking, because she attended the first meeting of new club in December 1931 and took an active role in establishing the club. At the end of 1932, when the club tallied attendance, she was recognized for having participated in the greatest number of hikes that year. She also led hikes and served as club vice-president for at least five years. But in the late 1930s, her name suddenly disappeared from the club records.

When I joined AHC, one of the club's active members was Chris Muth. She was a dedicated hiker and hike leader, helped organize social activities, and participated in the "litter crew" that kept the Club's Appalachian Trail section clean. In 1967 she had completed the club's series of hikes on the Pennsylvania Appalachian Trail and in 1969 the New Jersey Appalachian Trail series. She was awarded the Keystone Trails Association's Merit Award. During the winter of 1975, Chris was scheduled to lead two hikes, but she died unexpectedly on January 3, 1975. Her obituary described her as an "avid hiker".

What I did not know was that Chris Muth and Clarissa Krommes were the same person. Sometime in the late 1930s Clarissa married Bruce Muth and became the wife of a poultry farmer in Upper Macungie Township. Her first child was born in 1939; they had two more children in 1941 and 1944. At some point Clarissa adopted the nickname Chris, and when her obligations as a wife and mother permitted, she again became an active club member.

As far as I know, Clarissa is the only club member who was active in the 1930s and the 1960s and 1970s. Does anyone know if there are any other original members who remained active in the club in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s?