Camp Echo Weekly E-Newsletter Apr 7, 2002 ***** Camp Echo E-List Update ----------------------- The Camp Echo E-List is now at 404 members. Spread the word! Change of Address: ----------------- For those sending paperwork to Rob Grierson: Paperwork mailed on or after April 15th should be sent directly to Camp Echo, 3782 S Triangle Trail, Fremont, Michigan, 49412. Sending paperwork to the YMCA in Evanston could introduce up to a two-week delay in the process. Also after April 15th the Camp Echo fax number should be used instead of the Y or my home. The Camp Echo business fax number is 231-924-0061. Prior to April 15th, continue to use the McGaw YMCA snail mail address and my Evanston fax 847-864-0251. Staffing Update: Signed, Sealed, and Delivered ---------------------------------------------- As of Saturday's snail mail, the following had signed their letters of agreement and became official Camp Echo staff members for summer 2002: Florence Allan, Head Cook Laurie Marshall, Cook Katie Trippi, Utility Person Laura Gageby, Wrangler SCs: Ryan Erasmus, Tony Marshall ACs: (sessions in parentheses) Evan Howell (ABCD), James Lavigne (D), David Plotkin (ABCD), and Bernard Rocca (ABC). JCs: Bess Evans (ABC), Jessie Becker (EF), Matt Bonges (D), Nick Bonges (D), Rachel Carrington (E), Rob Gartzman (DE), Hank Hays (AB), Kitt Healy (CD), Laura Jaffe (CD), Erica Lynn (AB), Tyler Robin (ABC), Eli Silins (E), Rebecca Solomon (AB), Robert Soltys (EF), Thomas Voit (ABC), and Natasha Vragel (C). JCs as listed above may have already been contacted by James Kinney to make adjustments in the sessions they will attend; if so, then that information may be more recent than the listing above. Paperwork went out to Health Officers on Saturday morning. Remember that the most important form to send back quickly is the signed letter of agreement. All other paperwork (tax forms, health forms, etc) can follow at a later date. However, do not leave anything until the last minute. Recent applicants: Tomasz Jureczyk, Dan Ettinger, and Brian Simmons. We are still looking for an Assistant Wrangler, age 21 or older. If every Senior Counselor that I am counting on accepts my job offer, I will be all set. However, if anyone changes plans I will need a replacement. At the moment, I have no female SC applicants on the waiting list. So if you know of a college-age female looking for a summer job, have her contact me. Alumni Notes (Send in your news!) ------------ Mike Daley writes, "My wife Maria gave birth on March 26, 2002, to Sloane Rose Daley, 6 lbs., 6 oz, 19 in. long. Mother and daughter are doing fine. I am an entirely different story. You may be amused to hear that I have actual proof that my heart rate was higher than Maria's during delivery. Did I mention "Sloane" means "warrior" in Gaelic? Thoughts On Camp Echo --------------------- This article was published in the Spring 2002 Spirit Mind Body Newsletter of the McGaw YMCA, so many of you may have already seen it. Echo ... Echo ... Echo ... Echo ... Echo ... by Rob Grierson, Camp Echo Director Anyone who has ever been to Camp Echo feels the Echo Spirit. It's a special place, a world apart, a place you want to return to again and again. I first went to Camp Echo as Boys Camp Program Director while I was a student at Northwestern in the summer of 1976. After three summers at Echo, I began work as a teacher at King Lab. Six years later I was back at Echo, this time making a "guest appearance" as a Senior Counselor for my Y club. The next year I was back again as an interim Camp Director; I did that job for two summers. Unable to stay away, I returned for a week each in 1991 and 1992 to work on the maintenance crew with Rob Johnston (a job I still insist is the best job anyone could have at Camp Echo!) I'm back again, this time as the full time Camp Echo Director. I'll be headed up to camp in April with my wife Linda and our three [now four! -- Editor] house cats. My goal this year is to pull together the best staff from Echo's past, add fresh faces with a commitment to Echo's future, and create an exciting program that will engage campers and take Camp Echo to the next level. I want every camper, and every staff member, to feel the Echo Spirit, and, like me, to return to Echo again and again for years to come. Camp Echo has been located on Long Lake in Fremont Michigan for over 75 years. Camp Echo will be around for another 75 years, and another 75 after that. We who attend camp in any one summer are just visitors to a place that holds the memories of all who have passed through its gates. We are Echo's temporary family. If we plan well and work hard, our children, and their children, will be able to enjoy Echo in future years. We are all caretakers of this wonderful summer home. We may build a new cabin, or add a fence, or replace a roof - but Camp Echo remains. We may replace a canoe, or add a ski boat, or take away the rifles - but Camp Echo remains. Try this: Stick your hand in a bucket of water, and swish it into a frenzy. Now take your hand out. The water settles. There is no evidence that you made a change. So it is with Camp Echo. If you make it up to Echo this summer, the staff will work hard to make sure your stay is safe and enjoyable. You may notice a few changes; we hope they add to your experience and make camp a little better. Close your eyes and feel the Echo Spirit. Then be sure to come back again next year, and the year after that, and the year after that, and ... Song of the Week ---------------- FOUR STRONG WINDS Words and Music by: Ian Tyson First recorded by Harry Belafonte Also recorded by: The Brothers Four, Judy Collins, The Kingston Trio, The Chad Mitchell Trio, Glenn Yarbrough, and Neil Young. Four strong winds that blow lonely Seven seas that run high All these things that don't change come what may But our good times are all gone And I'm bound for movin' on I'll look for you if I'm ever back this way Think I'll go out to Alberta Weather's good there in the fall Got some friends I can go to workin' for Still I wish you'd change your mind If I asked you one more time But we've been through that a hundred times or more Chorus If I get there before the snow flies And if things are going good You could meet me if I send you down the fare But by then it would be winter Ain't too much for you to do And those winds sure can blow cold way out there Chorus Echo History Tidbit of the Week ------------------------------- In the early years of Camp Echo, Dr. Paul Klein had a practice in town. He took care of all the kids. He could come out to camp, have lunch, and then forget to send a bill. There is a plaque on the wall of the health center that states, "The J Paul Klein Health Center, dedicated to the memory of J Paul Klein, M.D., camp physician and friend." So if you hear me mention the Klein Clinic you will know which building I'm talking about! Feel The Spirit! -- Rob Grierson Camp Echo Director rg@mcgawymca.org 847-475-7400 x259