On March 19, 1954 Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, reporters and thirty-two others began their eight-day hike to save the canal. From this assembly nine completed the entire hike. We know them as the “Immortal Nine.” They were:
- Justice William O. Douglas
- Harvey Broome, an attorney from Knoxville, Tennessee, who was past president of the Smoky Mountains Hiking Club and vice president of The Wilderness Society
- Grant Conway, Washington, D.C., an enthusiastic hiker and historian of areas along the canal
- Albert E. Farwell, Washington, D.C., research and examination analyst with the Foreign Operations Administration
- George Frederick Miller, a 73-year-old retired educator, who had recently walked the 2,025-mile length of the Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia
- Olaus Murie, of Moose, Wyoming, president of The Wilderness society, one of the leading biologists of the country
- Jack Pearmain of Boston, Massachusetts, a noted cyclist and food authority
- Colin Ritter, of Arlington, Virginia, geographer and analyst in the Air Force
- Dr. Constant Southworth, State Department economist on Canadian affairs, who was co-chairman of the Audubon Society’s committee on preservation of natural areas in Washington
Source: Along the Towpath, December 1991