Charles Allmon: Mt. Philo Benefactor
by Kay Teetor
August 26 2010, page 16.....

Introduction: Governor James Douglas publicly thanked Charles and Gwen Allmon, summer residents of Thompson’s Point, at the summit of Mt Philo for their generous gift of 69 acres of open fields and woodland on the north side of the Mt. Philo State Park. The celebration, which took place on August 20, included a hike to the land and live music at the Mt. Philo Farmers Market in the parking lot. Mt. Philo State Park, the State’s oldest park is almost 40% larger. The Allmons had owned the land since 1975 and donated it to the State of Vermont last December under the condition that it be part of the park forever.

Related Article by Kay Teetor:
Charles Allmon: Mt. Philo Benefactor

Whenever substantial donations are announced, the public is curious as to the source.  In this instance, the true value of the gift of 69 acres of land is far greater than the more than one quarter of a million dollars valuation.  We must consider that about 40,000 visitors each year enjoy the invaluable view from Mt. Philo.
But, of course, it did take money to start. Back in 1982, Charles W. Allmon, a long-time summer resident at Thompson’s Point, was the publisher of a nationally distributed stock market investment advisory journal, Growth Stock Outlook (GSO). He also published the related Junior Growth Stocks, both grown from work that was once a hobby.
His undergraduate studies at Purdue were in agriculture, which contributed to a later remark about the stock market, “Apples and worms go together.”
Early travels took him to Liberia, the South Seas, Barbados and Bermuda where he added photography to his skills to produce nine articles for National Geographic Magazine. As his wife, Gwen, commented at the time, “We have taken to watching Chuck’s  hobbies.”
As part of his advisory work, he has appeared before hundreds of groups and companies, always extolling smaller companies termed “basement entrepreneurs.”  He started his newsletter on a home-based mimeograph machine while still working as a photo editor for “NatGeo.”  In 1969 he became a full-time investment advisor, adding portfolio management services to his newsletter chores.
Allmon by the ‘70s monitored 100 companies for Growth Stock Outlook.  There are shining examples of his foresight: one of his early selections (1965) had gone up 7,100% by 1982. A large segment of his routine was firsthand inspection, sometimes unannounced, of his various “picks.”  Money magazine, in “Eight Master Stock Pickers,” reported Allmon looked at conventional markers like debt and return on equity, yet put heavy emphasis on character judgment and product evaluation.  
The brunt of his work was trudging-style research and digging into annual reports and newspaper clippings. The product of these efforts has this very year provided  a substantial addition to our own Mt. Philo Park, the first State park in Vermont.