Camp Echo Monthly Alumni E-News August 26, 2003 Back issues are archived at This is a combined "June, July and August" issue. The Camp Echo E-List is now at 667 members. Spread the word! If you want to be removed from this list, reply and let me know. ***** Next issue: late September ***** Contents -------- Labor Day Weekend Family Camp Openings Adult Alumni Weekened September 12-14 Women's Wellness Weekend September 18-21 How was the Summer? Wish List and Many Thanks! Alumni Notes - Deb Heath - Jim Norland - Tom Burke - Robin Roback Paddock - Gretchen Knoblock - Beth Iams - Neil Featherstone Bunk1 Song of the Month: LOLLIPOP Correction Labor Day Weekend Family Camp Openings -------------------------------------- We still have a number of camper cabins available for Labor Day Weekend Family Camp. Come join us Friday afternoon or evening through Monday mid-day. Cost is $200 for adults over 18, $140 for youth 6-18, and $40 for pre-schoolers 1-5. $680 cabin minimum. Interested persons should call the Program Support Office at the McGaw YMCA, 847-475-7400, then enter extension 287 at the prompt. Adult Alumni Weekened September 12-14 ------------------------------------- A change of pace from Family Camp and Work Weekends, our annual Adult Alumni Weekend is for those who simply want to relax, enjoy great meals, soak in the camp atmosphere, and renew old friendships. We'll have swimming, skiing, sailing, canoeing, archery, crafts, fishing, sports, and pontoon boat rides around the lake. Cost is $75 for adults over 18, $50 for youth 6-18, and $25 for pre-schoolers 1-5. (Dan Kroc and John Meyer have registered!) A registration form can be downloaded and printed using this link: http://www.YMCACampEcho.org/AAWRegForm2003.pdf Women's Wellness Weekend September 18-21 ---------------------------------------- WWW offers an array of activities and nutritious, gourmet meals, and a retreat-like atmosphere, attending to the health of a woman's spirit, mind, and body. WWW offers fitness classes, line dancing, and various seminars on topics of interest to women. Water skiing, sailing, nature hikes, aerobics, cardiovascular conditioning, and early morning canoe trips on a perfectly still lake round out the offerings. Interested persons should call the Program Support Office at the McGaw YMCA, 847-475-7400, then enter extension 287 at the prompt. How was the Summer? ------------------- I'll start by thanking our wonderful staff members, without whom our successful summer would not be possible! I'll also thank my wife Louie, without whom I would be completely lost. Every session I'd end the final lunch announcements by asking three questions. First, "Did anyone have a good time at Camp Echo?" Second, "Does anyone want to come back next year? And finally, "Does anyone want to sign up for the 'Stay Here Forever Club'? . The campers sure had a great time. Main Camp was again filled with creative and innovative programs. We had a Charlie's Angels Casino Night, Echo-Palooza, a New Year's Eve Party, The Commonwealth Games, The Medieval Olympics, The Pirate Olympics, The E.R. Olympics, 50's Night, 80's Night, a Clue-inspired Murder Mystery, Arts Night every session, Mardi Gras, and a Wedding. Those who stayed for 5th session were treated to the John Donohue vs. John Donoghue General's Game. Photography became a popular camptivity with the addition of a darkroom in the Boat House under the Craft Shop. The Pathfinders provided a safety net for 4th and 5th graders; the Explorers program gave 7th graders a variety of off-camp trips; and the Voyagers program gave 9th graders a fun and challenging Main Camp experience that included a service project in the city of Fremont. Main Camp was ably directed by James Kinney, supported by the leadership team of Jordan Shea, Lindsay Thompson, Gillian Stevens, Lauren Teichner, and Justin Altay. Laura Gageby was our Wrangler. Teen Camp featured packed CIT and LIT programs, safe and successful adventure trips, and well-planned and challenging programs in the wilderness sites. Ecstatic groups of high schoolers returned to Echo each session -- after Tasting the Southwest, Blazing Trails in the Upper Peninsula, kayaking on Georgian Bay, backpacking in the Rockies and on Isle Royale, canoeing in the boundary waters of Minnesota, and biking the Lake Michigan shoreline. Nine teens were certified as Lifeguards during 5th session. The luckiest 8th grade cabins were those that got invited to the Halloween Parties hosted at the Birches. After 18 months helping to revitalize the trip program, Dawn Summers will be leaving us in September, returning to North Carolina to be closer to her father. We'll miss Dawn and we wish her well. The weather was mostly accommodating -- never too hot or too rainy. One of the few rainy days delayed the fireworks to the 5th of July -- but Rob Johnston again astonished all with a dazzling program. And you simply must make a trip to Echo to see the "Green Fleet" that the maintenance staff created this summer. (that's John Deere green, not the Andy Mynard green that greets you in Kybos East and West.) Jordan Shea, Aquatic Area Manager and Assistant Main Camp Director, was voted Good Guy, and Misty Fils, ABC Director, was voted Rookie of the Summer. Late in August, ICCP transfers Mwanza Mulenga (Zambia), Ramatoulaye Georges and Georgette Sow (Senegal), and Laura Mejia (Colombia) joined us for Family Camp and, in September, Outdoor Ed. Our international staff this summer also included four returning counselors -- Tom Gardner (Australia), Zoli Nep (Hungary), Janine Hamilton (Northern Ireland), and Tomasz Jureczyk (Poland). The Camp Committee, under the chairmanship of Peter Frankel, had their annual visit and meeting on July 19th. Each committee member visited two cabin groups during Saska to interview campers. This enabled the committee members to gain first-hand knowledge of what campers love about Camp Echo, and their ideas for improvements. Committee members visiting included Peter Frankel, Brian Becharas, Amy Wilde, Scott Anderson, Greg Bliss, Larry Goldberg, Ron Gibson, and Laura Prohov. Neil Featherstone was the guest of honor. Dan Ettinger and Simon Goldberg, who co-counseled a cabin for 5th session, biked home via Ludington, the Ferry, and the Wisconsin coastline, arriving home safe and sound about a week later. We're currently in the middle of "Week 2" of Family Camp under the leadership of Terry Brenner. We look forward to seeing many of you for Labor Day Weekend Family Camp, headed up by Katie Trippi. Wish List and Many Thanks! ------------------------- bugle 35 mm cameras hot cocoa machine refrigerator working, 500 MHz or better, Pentium-based PCs complete decks of cards puzzles reliable buses A big thank you goed out to Peter & Tracy Frankel for donating a terrific Gekko ski boat that has added to an already fine fleet. Thanks, also, to Nick Laatsch, the Rocca's, and former Camp Echo Director Neil Featherstone for donated vehicles that were used many times each session for town run and group transportation. Tom Fischl donated sports equipment and helped us out many times with quick service on TP clothing items and staff shirts. Other friends of Echo donated cameras, enlargers, VCRs, video tapes, two-way radios, and spare batteries for the two-way radios. Kudos to Greg Bliss, Camp Committee member, who made a video chronicle of the opening days at camp, starting in Evanston at the bus departure and continuing at Echo that same afternoon. He painstakingly edited dozens of hours of footage electronically (on a Mac, I might point out) to create a fabulous 20-minute Camp-U-Mentary that was shown on the later bus rides to camp. Alumni Notes ------------ Deb Heath wrote, "Please let Echo alumni know that my father, Walter Marston, passed away on Friday, June 13. Camp Echo was his favorite place in the world and he always hoped he could make it back someday. I know he will always be there in spirit. I was remembering with my sister that one of his favorite things, besides the rifle range, was pulling pranks on the staff. One day he and I went into town for something and on the way back he spotted a farm that had huge sunflowers. He stopped and talked the farmer into sellling him some and we took them back to camp. He and I shortened them to about three feet and made them into bouquets which we then put in coffee cans for vases and sat them ont he staff tables in the dining hall. Remember at that time we had all the round tables with the chairs. When the staff came in for dinner they were so surprised by the huge flowers on the tables that they didn't notice that the legs of all the chairs were tied together. Dad had a lot of fun with that and I have never forgotten it. Consequently when I went to order the flowers for the funeral I got one additional vase of big sunflowers in memory of our days at camp." Jim Norland (married to Laurin August 25, 1990; two future campers: Sam, 8, and Maggie, 5) wrote, "I went to Family Camp and or Boys Camp for six summers. My children have heard at least three bedtime stories for every day I spent there. When they eventually make the trip from Des Moines, Iowa to Fremont, Michigan their expectations will be very high and based on my experience. I'm sure they will not be disappointed. For weeks at a time Maggie would say to me at bedtime, 'Dad, tell me a Camp Echo story that is scary, but not too scary, has mysterious noises in it and is funny.' That is as easy as hearing the Bell from the Social Lodge! Camp Echo is filled with fantastic memories for many. I hope it continues to create those memories for children and adults for years to come. What a great place. "The last time I was at my parents' house my Mom had me go through some boxes that were still in the back of my closet. I found in the box marked 'Jim's Old Clothes to Keep' a red, white and blue bicentennial mesh T-Shirt. The shirt was mostly red with blue shoulders, it had white stars on the blue shoulders and said 'Spirit of 76' in big print on the front. I remember being very pleased when you wore a shirt exactly like it the same day that I wore mine and you were the Program Director and I was a little camper. It is sometimes amazing and frightening what one retains over the years." [I still have the shirt. Lets wear them to an Echo reunion! -- Editor] Tom Burke wrote, "I just returned from a trip to Ecuador, and I thought I would quick raise my palms to the sky, testifying to the Echo alumni and the gods of electronic communication. Because of the Echo E-Newsletter, I began corresponding with Echo alumnus, Andy Hammerman, and his wife, Michelle, a few months ago. They live in Chugchilan, Ecuador, where they run an ecologically-friendly hotel called The Black Sheep Inn. The long and short of the story is that they have a wonderful complex situated in the Ecuadorian Andes: Incredibly beautiful, highly remote, and special, really, beyond explanation. I spent a week there, easily, and hope to return, maybe with people I care about. Andy and Michelle are about low impact living, and actively promote almost all improvements in the community. They get mini-swarms of Echo-esque families and travelers, with occasional visits from vagabonds like myself, and basically the whole setup just great. I want to give them a plug, some recognition, and real thanks. Yup. They've got the spirit in Ecuador. As for me, I am moving to Amherst, Mass, as of August. The aching nostalgia I feel sometimes will get me back to Fremont, I hope, sooner rather than later." [Check out the Black Sheep Inn at http://www.blacksheepinn.com/] Robin Roback Paddock wrote, "I attended Ferris State University for 2 years, and then moved around Michigan for the next ten years or so. I picked up and moved to New Jersey where I met my husband Stephen; we have been happily married for almost five years. We moved back to Michigan to help my mother raise her five adopted daughters, who are almost all thru school and getting their lives on the ball. My husband (49) is retired, and I (35) am a homemaker. We live in a small town called Jonesville, on a farm. While we don't have any children, we enjoy our time together, keeping it so very simple. I keep a garden and do a lot of canning, and host my grand- parents through the summer in our guest house. I have a home darkroom and love to dabble in photography. I'd be happy to hear from anyone who remembers me." Gretchen Knoblock wrote, "I went to Camp Echo every summer from 1973 through 1978. They were some of the happiest times of my life, and my most special memories. The first summer I went for a two-week session, and after that, went for a month each summer. I have stayed in every cabin there, and still have pictures and memorabilia from my days at Camp Echo. Paul, John, and Cathy Fischl were my camp counselors back then, and I think Ken Mulsoff was the Director. His daughter Sandy was a cabinmate of mine a few times. She was a great camp friend. My family moved to Indiana when I was 15, and I ended up going to boarding school in Northern Michigan, passing the Fremont exit off US 31 many, many times. Finally, about 10 years ago while up there for a reunion, I got off the exit and somehow found my way to the camp. I walked around the grounds and cried my eyes out at all the wonderful, overwhelming memories that came flooding back. I hope to go back again sometime, and I am so glad to know the camp still flourishes and provides kids with an amazing life experience." Beth Iams wrote, I was a camper from 90-95, and counselor from 96-99. Every summer I get very Echo nostalgic, so I was thrilled to find the Echo website during work! I graduated from Duke University in 2002, and spent the past year filming documentaries for non-profits in Thailand and Barbados. I moved to Washington, DC in April, where I'm working for a documentary production company. I'm still dancing and have spent quite a few weekends this summer wakeboarding in North Carolina -- it's not Long Lake, but it's the best I can do! Please shoot me an email to say hello, especially if you're ever in the DC area!" Neil Featherstone goes in for surgery, to repair a long-standing aneurism, in September. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and Karen as they face this challenge together. Bunk1 ----- Bunk1 was our connection for one-way email from parents and an online photo album for the summer. You can join Bunk1 as an Echo alum, for about $10 per year, to view the thousands of photos that were taken and uploaded by our summer Computer Technician, Dylan Carrington. Go to http://campecho.bunk1.com to register. Email me if you want a pre-approval code; otherwise you'll be approved after you register. There is no need for you to purchase a bank of Bunk Notes for emails. Song of the Month ----------------- LOLLIPOP L-O-double-L-I, P-O-P spells lollipop That's the only decent kind of candy Man who made it must have been a dandy L-O-double-L-I, P-O-P you see, Just a lick on a stick Guaranteed to make you sick Lollipop for me! C-A-S-T-O-R, O-I-L spells castor oil That's the only decent kind of medicine Man who made it must have been an Edison C-A-S-T-O-R, O-I-L you see, Just a sip on a spoon Guaranteed to make you swoon Castor oil for me! D-A-V-E-N-P, O-R-T spells davenport That's the only decent kind of love seat Man who made it must have had a heartbeat D-A-V-E-N-P, O-R-T you see, Just a hug and a squeeze And a lemme kiss ya' please Davenport for me! Correction ---------- The May E-newsletter stated that Alice Kreiman is the chair of the search committee for the McGaw YMCA Executive Director. Although Alice is serving on the committee, the co-chairs are the current and former Board Chairmen Elijah Brewer and Chuck Staley. The search, by the way, is still in process. Share The Spirit! -- Rob Grierson Camp Echo Director rg@mcgawymca.org