Bubble Cave LLC

John Pearson

Bubble Cave LLC was formed in 1999 to save and preserve caves in the State of West Virginia. A group of unaffiliated cavers, who call themselves The Gargoyles, were having their annual Memorial Day weekend of caving. This loose group of cavers had numerous members that belonged to the NSS, but were not affiliated with any organized NSS grottos. That year, they held their annual weekend at Seneca Shadows campground near Seneca Rocks. Three of them decided to look at some property in Greenbrier County WV that contained some small caves that appeared to be in jeopardy from possible housing construction.

After checking out the property, they went back and told the others about their find. Between them, they decided to try and raise the money to buy the caves. After all, doesn’t every caver want to own a cave? Between them, they pledged money totaling 60% of the purchase price.

The next weekend, one of them was meeting Tri-State Grotto in Martinsburg WV for Adam Stephens Day, an annual event. He happened to mention what he was trying to do to some of the members of that Grotto. They advised him to make an offer on the property, they would help raise the remaining money to complete the purchase. Over the summer, it was decided to meet during OTR and decide what type of organization should be formed to complete the purchase.

Those that were able to attend OTR discussed the various options and decided that a Limited Liability Corporation was the way that they wanted to go. They all put forth ideas of what they wanted out of the company and the final verdict was a Cave Preserve that would protect the caves on the property.

Since its inception, Bubble Cave LLC (“BCLLC”) members have worked to raise money for other cave conservancies. As BCLLC does not want to make a profit, any money its members raise in Bubble Cave’s name has been donated to other conservancies. Most of the conservancies that have received money are based in the east, where the majority of BCLLC’s members cave.

The first endeavor to raise money was a Potato and Ramp dish that was sold during the famous Front Royal Grotto pancake breakfast at the Fall VAR meet in 2000. For those of you who do not know what ramps are, they are an early spring green that is most like a cross between a wild onion and wild garlic that grows primarily in West Virginia. Early settlers to WV discovered the plants and added them to their diet because of their high vitamin content. The money raised went to the West Virginia Cave Conservancy (“WVCC”).

BCLLC then began roasting pigs for caver/landowner relations in Greenbrier County WV. Although no money was raised, the parties were enjoyed by all that came. This led to the roasting of a pig during OTR in 2001 for WVCC. The money that was raised was donated to WVCC, which gave BCLLC an Institutional Life Membership to its conservancy.

During this time, one of the members designed a micro-blasting rod, which was sold to cave diggers. This controversial endeavor donated all profits to cave conservancies. The rods were sold nation-wide and the purchaser was asked to pick the conservancy of his choice to donate money to. The primary benefactors of this endeavor were BCLLC, MAKC and SCCi, with some of the money going to WVCC, NCC and the NSS Tytoona Cave Preserve fund. Due to the controversy, it was decided to make no more rods.

BCLLC did not stop there. The next endeavor one of its members chose was to reproduce the extremely rare 1958 SpeleoDigest. The reason for this was due to the fact that this member had been trying to purchase one for years, to no avail. The project really took off when one of the Digests became available at the NSS Auction in Camden. Maine. Permission was received from the NSS to reprint 55 copies. The person doing the reprinting did not want to gouge fellow cavers, so the book price was set to raise $1,500 to be donated to the NSS Great X acquisition fund.

According to unconfirmed correspondence, the NSS bookstore had its largest sales ever the two days that the book remained on their shelves. The NSS acknowledged the donation with a plaque that was given to them during the Porterville CA convention. One of the other BCLLC members who helped with the Digest project, had her company donate an additional $500 to the Great X fund for all the time she had spent working and volunteering on the project.

The most recent project was the catering for the annual WVACS Fall Bash in 2003. Two members roasted a pig and catered the event, with all profits again being donated to the Great X acquisition.

BCLLC didn’t stop with their initial purchase, either. In 2002, some property was identified in cave poor Mineral County WV. There are only two veins of limestone in the county, with all the know caves located in these veins. Members visited the Nancy Hanks property and observed a one-square mile drainage system that just sank at the base of a sandstone hill. Some years before, the hill had a landslide, which prevented the water runoff from following its normal course. Eventually cave passage was formed at the base of the hill. The property was the original homestead of Abraham Lincoln’s mother.

It is BCLLC’s intentions to continue to preserve karst and caves in West Virginia and to continue to support any and all conservancies that cross paths with them. Bubble Cave LLC is proud to be a member of the Virginia Region of the NSS and to continue working within the region towards conservation oriented goals.