Tribute to Maurice Blackburn

The CCC has lost a friend, paddler and long-time volunteer. Maurice Blackburn passed away March 29 at the age of 88. Maurice served as CCC President for two terms and at nine terms as Membership chair. He was influential is securing many of the paddling benefits we all enjoy today on the Nantahala and Tuckasegee. He and his wife Mottie were a presence at our Week of Rivers event. Maurice will be remembered not only for his commitment to the CCC but also for his kindness and good humor.

You can read his obituary at this link – https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/maurice-blackburn-obituary?pid=195846296

Please read the tributes from Larry Ausley, Bob Brueckner and Frank Ohrt:

Larry Ausley

We were sad to learn of the passing of a CCC friend, paddler and long-time volunteer with the Carolina Canoe Club. We lost Maurice Blackburn in March of this year. Maurice was the CCC President 1995-1996, the CCC Membership Chair 1999-2007, and CCC's official designate to Duke Power (Energy) FERC licensing commission deliberations for the Nantahala, Tuckasegee, Catawba/Wateree Rivers for many years. You can believe me when I say that many of the paddling benefits we have on the Tuckasegee and Nantahala are the result of Maurice's hard work and tenacious representation of our interests. It was an honor to have Maurice on my Board of Directors during my two terms as CCC President and cherish having the opportunity to get to know him if only this little bit. His British accent always seemed to give his voice authority and knowledge. He would've projected both in any language. It was an honor to paddle with him and his wife Motty on his 80th birthday; them, still in their familiar tandem canoe.

Maurice was a vocal advocate for all things paddling and for getting and keeping access to paddling through his work with the FERC relicensing boards. Maurice felt "ownership" and passion for the CCC. In 2006, at Week of Rivers, CCC publicly awarded him a certificate of appreciation for the significant volunteer work he had done for the Club. If you ever get a chance to read back through the old issues of CCC's newsletter The Paddler, you'll soon see the institution that Maurice and Motty were in CCC paddling trips of that era. Most past participants in Week of Rivers will know his face and his kindness. We can all aspire to do for paddling what Maurice did. He will be missed.

Bob Brueckner

Maurice Blackburn had a knack for finding me as I set up my tent and rainfly in the field for Week of Rivers. As I pounded a stake into the ground at Smokey Mountain Meadows, I’d turn around to find him with a big smile, a hearty laugh and his wife Motty. It turned into an annual ritual even after he and Motty stopped paddling their tandem canoe.

Sadly, Maurice passed away March 29 at the age of 88.

Maurice served as president of the Carolina Canoe Club for two terms and at nine terms as membership chair. During his stint as president, he would inject a little humor in his Paddler columns. In 1995, it was very important make reservations for Appletree Campground.

“I called the Forest Service at 30 seconds past 8:00 a.m. on Jan. 3, which was the first working day of the year, and was told that I was the fourth caller!”

He was able to secure all four sites but had to break the news that camping fees would rise significantly to $2 per person per night. “This is still a bargain compared to commercial camp sites,” he wrote in the May/June 1995 issue of The Paddler. “I’m glad I didn’t get elected to be Club President on the base of ‘no new taxes and no price increases,” he wrote.

Aside from handling campground arrangements, he also met with Duke Energy officials in 1995 concerning releases on the Green River in Western North Carolina. In the July/August issue of The Paddler, he discussed “the importance of the Green river as a recreational and education resource.”

The Tuxedo Power station was not regulated by a federal license (then or now) so Maurice put his negotiating skills to good use. He would later serve as the club’s representative on two relicensing projects: Catawba-Wateree and the Nantahala-Tuckasegee rivers.

I still find it hard to believe that he served nine terms as membership chair, four of them while I was club president.

His good humor and hard work will be missed.

Frank Ohrt

I met Maurice 14 years ago, at my first Week of Rivers. I didn’t know anyone, but Maurice and his delightful wife Mottie were camped nearby. They invited me to join them for a glass of wine, and I was immediately charmed by his and Mottie's friendliness and generosity of spirit. The CCC could not have presented a finer first impression.

They had "aged out” of paddling the last few years, but still came up for WOR, and I was able to have dinner with them, at least, and talk about the books we had each been reading. A finer pair of dining companions would be hard to find, as would be a finer pair of friends.