Alicia's Boat

March 24 2012 Memorial Dedication at Pinchot Park

2012-03-22T15:59:05Z

On Saturday, March 24th at 10:30 AM, a memorial will be dedicated at Gifford Pinchot State Park in memory of Alicia Marie Daugherty. Alicia was interning with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection when she was killed in a vehicle accident on June 3, 2011. The memorial was constructed through the gracious efforts of her supervisor and others in the department where she was working along with friends and family and in collaboration with the Park and DCNR. Located next to Pinchot Lake on the Southern side of the Conewago Day Use Area (near the nature center), the memorial consists of a bench, two serviceberry trees, and a plaque (photo attached) which includes the following quote from Alicia: “We should take a break from our busy lives every once in a while and just look around and enjoy creation.”

The trees were planted and bench installed on November 6, 2011, and now that the trees are blooming, friends, family, and her co-workers will gather to officially dedicate this memorial. It honors her memory, her love of the park and of creation, and will provide a wonderful place for park visitors to sit and relax, read, or simply enjoy the view of the lake. In addition to being a flowering tree, the trees will also provide fruit for birds later in the season.

Directions from York, PA

Photos of Memorial Construction

Oct. 16 Manchester Parade

2011-10-07T20:59:38Z

Well, we weren’t able to participate in Yorkfest’s Boat Parade this year, but that’s not the only parade in town. That’s right, we have entered Alicia’s Boat in the 2011 Northeastern Halloween Parade!!

The parade, sponsored by the Susquehanna Lions Club, begins at 2PM on Saturday, October 16 and will travel along N George Street between Sunset Drive and the Manchester borough square, and from the square along Maple Street to Mount Wolf Borough Park.

We will have a pirate crew and are looking forward to a great time showing off the boat. Hope to see you there!

YDR White Roses

2011-09-24T05:58:36Z

There is a regular article that runs in the opinion section of The York Daily Record where white roses and thorns are handed out to individuals, organizations, or anything else in the news. Thanks to YDR the kind mention and roses for Alicia’s Boat!

ROSES: To the Daugherty family for fulfilling Alicia Daugherty’s dream of creating a boat out of plastic bottles. Alicia, 21, died in a car accident in June and was not able to complete her recycling project. Her family recently launched The Alicia Marie in local waterways. It floats!

YDR Opinion: White roses and thorns | Via ydr.com

9/23 Story on WGAL

2011-09-24T05:25:04Z

It started with posting a simple photo to the uLocal section of the WGAL website. A few days later we received a message from Lori Burkholder about doing a story on The Alicia Marie. After working out some details we all met at Pinchot Park for interviews and to get some video of the boat. The story aired during the News 8 Today newscast on September 23, 2011 with promos running the day before and an encore run during the 11:00 newscast! Thank you so much to Lori Burkholder and WGAL for taking an interest in and sharing our story. It has been a wonderful experience!

Air Times:

09/23/2011 6:34 AM During News 8 Today
09/23/2011 11:18 PM During News 8 at 11

Brother Finishes Homemade Boat After Sister’s Death | Via WGAL

Article in the York Daily Record

2011-09-24T05:25:53Z

Our story was featured on the front page of the Local section in the Thursday, September 23rd 2011 York Daily Record!! Thanks to the YDR for the boat publicity, Bill Landauer for all your reporting about Alicia, and Chris Dunn for the photos.

The Alicia Marie is the creation of their daughter, sister and friend. Alicia Marie Daugherty had started building the boat, but never got to finish it. She died in a car accident in Selinsgrove on June 3. She was 21 years old.

So, the family finished it for her….

Before she died, Alicia had completed and tested the pontoons. That was the hard part.

The family took the finished boat on her maiden voyage in August on the Conewago Creek. “We learned about balance,” Denny said. The Alicia Marie had tipped, sending them all into the water. But she floated.

“It was therapy,” Karl explained.

On Aug. 21, Alicia’s family hosted a ceremonial launch for the boat in Gifford Pinchot State Park. Sixty people came.

Family finishes daughter’s project | Via York Daily Record

York Boat Parade

2011-09-24T05:38:04Z

Turns out there is an annual Boat Parade in York! We found out about it too late to enter, but we just had to check it out. So we went to Bantz park to size up our competition for next year. Unfortunately, hurricane Irene brought unfavorable weather, and the boat parade was canceled. However, we spent a few minutes chatting with the organizers of the event, and they asked us to wait around a bit because a reporter was on his way. So when a story ran that Sunday about Yorkfest, there was a special article about Alicia’s Boat. This was the first little bit of boat publicity.

Among those who had showed up to Bantz park to watch were the Daugherty family from Dover and Abby Householder, a friend of the family.

Last weekend, the group christened a pontoon boat they had built — invented, actually — in Pinchot Lake. They named it Alicia Marie for Alicia Marie Daugherty, Karl and Diana Daugherty’s 21-year-old daughter, who died in a June 3 car accident in Selinsgrove….

Alicia, who’d been an environmental sciences major at Messiah College, and Abby, who attends York College, came up with the idea. On a break from school, they heard some of their friends talk about how they’d attempted to build their own boat and failed.

Soon they were collecting bottles wherever they could find them. “I remember driving with (Alicia) and her shouting ‘Stop! There’s a plastic bottle!'” Diana said.

Irene makes new plans for Yorkfest | Via York Daily Record.