Camp Echo Weekly E-Newsletter Mar 10, 2002 ***** Camp Echo E-List Update ----------------------- The Camp Echo E-List is now at 381 members. Spread the word! Who's Applied For Echo 2002? ---------------------------- Since last week: Sarah Christmas, Nick Churchill, Christina Habib, Janine Hamilton, Diana Laughlin, Morgan Minear, Bernard Rocca, and Antonio Sharkey. To All Applicants ----------------- I'm still working on the paperwork that will go out with letters of agreement. If your application and references are in, and you have had your interview, you will hear one way or the other by mail before the end of March. If your references are not in, or you have not had an interview, or there is some other glitch, you'll hear from me via email in the next week or so telling you what's holding up the process. Email me any time with questions. Alumni Notes (Send in your news!) ------------ Marci Gray writes, "My last summer on staff was 1992 when I was the Aquatic Director at Camp Echo. After that summer I took a position at the McGaw Y as the Assistant Aquatic Manager, and came to camp the next summer to train the waterfront director and the staff in the LSD. That September (1993) I went to work for the PAV YMCA in Berwyn as the Aquatic & Day Camp Director. In June of 1994 I left PAV and went west to Triangle Y Ranch Camp in Oracle, Arizona to work with Leigh Gethman. I stayed in Arizona for 3 and a half years working in the screen-printing and embroidery industries as a graphic artist. In the fall of 1997 I took a job as a Manager of a large embroidery division of a promotional products company in Columbus, Ohio. A year and a half later I moved back to Fremont, Michigan and started my own business doing embroidery digitizing (basically setting up the programs that tell computerized machines how to sew out a design). "In the summer of 2000 the opportunity to teach water skiing at Camp Newaygo presented itself, and of course I made time in my schedule to spend my afternoons that summer teaching skiing. After being back at camp all summer I took the time to work 'First Timers Camp' at Echo and counseled a group of girls in Metz Lodge. Locating Metz Lodge was my first challenge as I had not been back to Echo since the new cabins were built. Although the week was a little challenging the girls and I had a great time. During that week I also got to know Ryan Behrends as a colleague -- someone whom I had previously known as an Echo camper. I am currently the Assistant director of NCCS Camp Newaygo, only six miles down the road from Camp Echo, and I am back in school working on finally finishing my Bachelors degree. I am taking my classes online through Montana State University-Billings and love it." Charlie Ballard writes, "This year Chad, now 5, is learning to tie his shoes and Rachael, at 16, is learning to drive a car. Kauri (newly 14, an animal lover and future veterinarian) and Russell (11, enjoys computers, video games, and music) are pumping up the middle with soccer, basketball, and gymnastics. Russell, in fact, recently placed sixth at the University of Massachusetts gymnastics meet. "My work in advertising research continues to go well. I had a couple of cool business trips to London and to Florence but most of my business travel is local. Besides a healthy share of driving kids here and there, I'm back to coaching soccer for Chad and eleven other five-year-olds on Saturday mornings. My wife Patti, who makes this lively chaos all work, just finished a real estate course and looks forward to teaming up with a friend to take on the local real estate world. "Patti and I went on an Emmaus retreat weekend this past November. There is no complete way to characterize the weekend, but it was like 'It's a Wonderful Life' without jumping off a bridge. It was a reaffirmation of our faith and the richness of our friendships and our family ties." Julie McGinn writes, "Our very athletic and talented son qualified for the state swim meet for the third consecutive year. He will be in the freestyle relay. If anyone wants to come and watch 30 seconds of non-stop excitement and then wait two to three hours for another exciting ride, contact me and we'll set you up at the Holiday Inn in DeKalb, Illinois next weekend. "My husband Brian will be heading up to Echo to help Rob Johnston for the first week in April; after that he has building jobs lined up through August. For the past month, in addition to my work at the McGaw YMCA Child Care Center, I volunteered on the adult showboard for Brillianteen and also worked on the ad book for the girls district swim meet at ETHS, sponsored by the Y." Winter in Fremont ----------------- Those of us in the Chicago area recently escaped a 10"-12" predicted snowfall and ended up with less than 4", which all melted by Friday due to the 40 and 50 degree weather. In Fremont, however, things were different. Rob Johnston reports, "Over last weekend fifteen inches of heavy snow fell at camp. Then the lake-effect 'snow machine' kicked in and a few inches have been falling each day this week. The cross-country skiing has resumed on the property and the snow-laden trees and branches are a sight to behold. There had been some open water on the lake but it is once again frozen over and blanketed in snow. The newly rebuilt Chevy engine is performing admirably and plowing the heavy wet snow has been no problem. We even opened up the road as far as the new Director's house in order to check on it. The warm-up will be winter storms for this season. Speaking of no more snow, I'm off to the Caribbean this next week to do a little scuba diving and enjoy a few days of respite before hunkering down on the preparations for opening camp and the 2002 season." Computer, Website, and Internet Plans ------------------------------------- If you try going to www.ymcacampecho.org now, all you'll see is the standard 'under construction' web page. But by June 15 we hope to be up and running with links to and from the McGaw YMCA website, www.mcgawymca.org. A group of Northwestern University students is hard at work on a prototype website. A class project in an electrical engineering design class, the group has met with the Camp Director and several other friends of Echo along the way. Their final product will be ready on March 19, but it will take a few months for us to actually implement We've also recently established a relationship with Bunk1, a website that has over 600 camp affiliates. We will upload pictures and journals daily from camp to a Camp Echo portion of the Bunk1 website. For a small fee parents will be able to join Bunk1 and see what's happening at camp. Parents will also be able to send Bunk Notes, or one-way email to their children. These messages will be printed and delivered at mail call. (Campers will not respond via email.) Camp Echo has been the recipient of six PC's and an iMac that will be set up as a small 'computer lab' in a refurbished Program Office. We've negotiated a 56K direct digital connection to the Fremont school system (NCATS) and we're in the process of getting Ameritech/SBC to install the line. The computers will be available this summer for staff to check email, for program area and trip research, for work on the Camp Echo website, and for communication with the Camp Echo portion of the Bunk1 website. Will there be a computer Camptivity? Maybe. More likely, the Camptivity will take the form of a "Camp Newspaper" crew that will take the photos and write the journals that will be uploaded daily to the Bunk1 website. They may learn a little HTML along the way by working on the Camp Echo website. Song of the Week (tears optional) ---------------- TODAY Today while the blossoms still cling to the vine, I'll taste your strawberries; I'll drink your sweet wine. A million tomorrows shall all pass away, E'er I forget all the joys that are mine today. Oh, I'll be a dandy, and I'll be a rover, You'll know who I am by the songs that I sing. Who cares what the morrow will bring. (Chorus) I can't be contented with yesterday's glories, I can't live on promises, winter to spring. Today is my moment, and now is my story, I'll laugh and I'll cry and I'll sing. (Chorus) Letters to the Editor --------------------- Dear Editor, [Re: Feb 17] Is there any way to enhance the moose's lips? Say, give him red, human-like lips? Just wondering, Margaret Bernstein -- Dear Margaret, Thank you for the suggestion. We looked into this but discovered that the cost of Purina moose-chapstick would be prohibitive. The Editor ---- Dear Editor, [Re: Feb 24] They told you Rollin Ford drove a Cadillac Limo? They must have been pulling your leg! Dave Gendel -- Dear Dave, Well, I think the limousine belonged to Abbott Labs, where Rollin worked as a chauffeur. The Editor ---- Dear Editor, [Re: Mar 3] You said that many staff members have to leave after the regular camp sessions end on April 9. Did you mean August 9? Barbara Mueller -- Dear Barbara, Oops! Thanks for catching that! We've had some staff leave early, but never that early. August 9 is correct. The Editor Echo History ------------ Marci Gray contributed the following: "Back when Camp Echo was all boys the Camp Echo boys where brought over to Camp Newaygo on more than one occasion to have dances with the Camp Newaygo girls. We have 'log books' at Camp Newaygo which are basically scrapbooks from every summer, all the way back to the first year Camp Newaygo was open in 1926. Camp Echo's boys are mentioned more than once in some of the older log books." Wish List --------- If you, or anyone you know, has any of these items to donate, let me know. Dodge Caravan or equivalent 'minivan' for Town Run Laptop Computer (Pentium or G3) iMac, any generation, any color - even Dalmation! Request ------- We're collecting photocopies or scans of the emblems/logos from Staff shirts over the years. We have 1976, 77, 78, 94, and 97. Can you provide others? We're only talking about Staff shirts, not camper or regular shirts. Feel The Spirit! -- Rob Grierson Camp Echo Director rg@mcgawymca.org 847-475-7400 x259