Camp Echo Monthly Alumni E-News November 2, 2003 Back issues are archived at The Camp Echo E-List is now at 695 members. Spread the word! If you want to be removed from this list, reply and let me know. ***** Next issue: late November/early December ***** Contents -------- New McGaw YMCA Executive Director Echo Receives Two Grants Camp Echo Alumni Reunion October at Camp Echo 2004 Staff Applications Open Family Camp "Tips" Echo Song CD Update Join the "Echo Spirit Team" Wish List Alumni Notes - Neil Featherstone - Audree Rowe - John Norland - Mike Fischl - Simon Carey - Jim Hoel - David & Ruth Gardner - Deb Hammerman - John Donohue - Nick Churchill - Anna Goldman - Mwansa Mulenga - Tristan Roche - Rob Gartzman - Carrie Behrends - Sara Fiore Announcements Song of the Month: LOUISE Lost Alumni New McGaw YMCA Executive Director --------------------------------- The McGaw YMCA is pleased to announce that William Geiger has been hired as its new Executive Director. Bill brings to the YMCA a broad range of skills and knowledge gained from his experience in non-profit work, business and education. About his return to his Evanston roots, Bill says, "I look forward to joining a great staff at the McGaw YMCA. I'm eager to add my leadership, energy, and passion for fulfilling the Y's mission in Evanston. We look forward to moving back to Evanston and becoming an active part of a great community." Long-time Evanston residents may remember Bill Geiger as the lead in Little Mary Sunshine, the 1970 Brillianteen show, for his many years of involvement at the YMCA as a member and on staff, and as a teacher at Haven Middle School. Bill was raised in Evanston, graduated from ETHS in 1970 and from Dartmouth College in 1974 with a degree in Sociology and minor in Education. Bill returned to Evanston to teach social studies at Haven Middle School. While at ETHS, Bill worked part-time with Y Clubs during the school year and spent summers as a counselor at Camp Echo. He served as Youth Services director at the Y for two years in the 1970s between teaching at Haven and traveling in Tanzania and returned to Evanston and the Y as director of Camp Echo in 1979. Bill's business experience includes many years as a business consultant, turnaround and management expert. In 1993 he joined Steelcase Inc. the leading office furniture maker in the United States, and moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Bill's 10-year career there included consulting to and working with Steelcase dealers in the USA and Germany, where he and his family lived for three years. Returning to Grand Rapids in 2000, Bill continued to work with Steelcase dealers across the globe; his most recent position was in their corporate strategy group. Bill and Beth, his wife of over 23 years, met at Camp Echo and married in 1980. They have four children. Laura, 22, is completing her undergraduate degree at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC. Will, 20, is a junior at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Maggie, 19, is a freshman at the University of Michigan. Claire, 16, is a junior at Forest Hills Northern High School in Grand Rapids and will enter ETHS this winter following an independent foreign study program in Spain. Elijah Brewer, chairman of the board of the McGaw YMCA, comments, "Bill combines tremendous analytical skills and business acumen with an understanding of what's important to our community. We are delighted that he, Beth and their family are coming home to Evanston." A reception will be held on Wednesday December 3 to welcome the Geigers back to Evanston and the McGaw YMCA. Echo Receives Two Grants ------------------------ Camp Echo thanks Peter and Tracy Frankel and the Frankel Foundation for awarding two grants this October. The first grant will allow us to verify and extend our alumni database with a password-protected web interface that will permit Echo alumni to contact one another. The second grant will allow us to replace the Vertical Playpen and Pamper Pole that were destroyed in the great Echo windstorm of 1998. We are extremely grateful for these opportunities to "Build the Spirit!" Camp Echo Alumni Reunion ------------------------ The second annual all-time Camp Echo Alumni Reunion will be held on Saturday, December 27, at the Prairie Moon Restaurant in Evanston, starting at 8 pm. Over 100 attended last year. Pictures from that event can be viewed at . This year's event promises to attract even more. Don't miss it! October at Camp Echo -------------------- A small but dedicated group of volunteers spent a very chilly weekend at Camp Echo, closing camp for the year. Pictures from that event can be viewed at . Michigan in general is beautiful when the colors change in the fall, but the best place to be in Michigan is on the shores of Ryerson Long Lake in Fremont. See . 2004 Staff Applications Open ---------------------------- Many of you are already on the "other" Camp Echo email list -- the Weekly Staff Bulletin. But if you are not, and you want to be, reply and let me know. The deadline for Leadership Staff is December 1; for Trip Staff, January 1; and for Main Camp Staff, February 1. We welcome alumni who wish to volunteer (or work) for a week or two, particularly for Outdoor Ed in May and September, or for Family Camp in August -- but even volunteers must go through the regular application process. So if you have any thought that you might want to be a part of Echo 2004, join the "Weekly Staff Bulletin" list. Family Camp "Tips" ----------------- Long time Camp Echo Family Campers know the secrets to making a week in our rustic setting more comfortable -- even simple things like bringing a folding chair or flip-flops for the shower. We are compiling a list of "tips" for our Family Camp Booklet and we welcome your suggestions. Hit reply and give me your ideas! Echo Song CD Update ------------------- Last chance! If you have any interest in helping to create an Echo Song CD, contact Chuck Heisinger at with the subject line "Echo Song CD". (Don't hit reply to do this!) Join the "Echo Spirit Team" -------------------------- We're looking for volunteers to help at the Echo bus departures and arrivals in Evanston next summer. Give us an hour or two on a Friday or Saturday afternoon, or a Sunday morning. Mingle with the parents and campers and talk about your experience at camp. Help with the distribution of bus passes and loading/unloading luggage. Numerous Camp Echo alumni, parents, and Camp Committee members have helped from time to time over the years. Our goal is to develop a large group of volunteers who can show up en-masse and turn the arrival and departure process into an informative and upbeat event. New ideas that would require significant leadership include sales of Echo clothing, offering bug juice and snacks, and presenting an electronic slide show of pictures from the previous session. Bus departures and arrivals are the only contact many parents have with Camp Echo. Please help make this a pleasurable experience. Wish List --------- bugle 35 mm cameras refrigerator computers: 500 MHz or better PCs; iMacs or better complete decks of cards puzzles Alumni Notes ------------ Karen Featherstone reported on October 29 that Neil came through his surgery very well. (Neil had surgery to repair a long-standing aortic aneurysm on October 27.) He was doing well and had been moved to his own room already. He will be in the hospital about a week, then he'll be home resting for four to six weeks. Cards and notes can be sent to Neil and Karen at 4994 Gordon Ave, Newaygo, MI, 49337. -- Audree Rowe writes, "I had a baby boy on August 5th, named Davis James Michael Rowe. He was born 8 years and 1 day after his big sister, Olivia. He is an amazing baby, and we are thrilled to have him join our family." -- John Norland called me after reading the last Echo alumni newsletter that mentioned performances of Echo songs. He has done a cover of Black Girl that's true to the Echo version but somewhat unlike the original by Huddie "Ledbelly" Ledbetter. John has always wondered where Echo's version came from. I wrote to Mike Fischl and he provided the history as follows: "The Echo version of Black Girl was a Mike "Monk" Melton/Pete Syle arrangement bearing scant resemblance to the blues classic, though Monk and Pete might have been inspired by one of the early 60's folk groups (like those featured in A Mighty Wind) -- they listened to the Kingston Trio etc and did a lot of their stuff. Monk and Pete were counselors at Echo from 1962 to 1967 and played and sang gorgeously together. Don Belville was the camp maestro just before them; his "Stirred His Coffee with His Thumb" was also a camp favorite. During the reign of Pete and Monk, there was a summer or two where a third fellow -- Garan Vartan (sp?) -- played banjo with them as well." "Anyway, Monk and Pete are the reason I took up guitar myself -- Monk was my teacher when I was a red swimmer, and in a single session of camp I made it all the way to blue -- and no doubt they had that effect (guitaring, not swimming) on dozens of other campers and staff members during those years. Pete is a doctor now; Monk and I followed parallel paths -- he was a government lawyer in the Carter administration and then started teaching law during the Reagan years -- but sadly he passed away a couple of years ago to much grieving at Boston College, where he was beloved by students and colleagues." "Tom and Sue Heckler would remember more of the Monk/Pete songlist than I do; I do recall that they did a great cover of Johnny Cash's Folsom Prison Blues, a gorgeous version of Society's Child, and a lot of cute and funny tunes that remained Echo classics even after they left (like Sippin' Cider, the Salvation Army Song, and Mountain Dew)." -- Former Echo staff member Simon Carey married Jennifer Micheli on September 27th in Grand Beach, Michigan. Echo alums also in attendance were Noah Carey, Mike DeVaul, and Dave Gendel. Simon met Jennifer when she was a bridesmaid in his brother Noah's wedding many years ago. The couple is living in Berkeley, California. -- The October 2, 2003 issue of the Evanston Review featured a very interesting story about a wayward watch. Echo alum Jim Hoel, now 82, lost his watch in German-occupied Holland on May 17, 1943 when the B26 bomber he was flying in crashed into the Maas canal. The survivors swam 125 yards to shore where they were greeted by a German officer (backed by 50 soldiers with rifles) who said in perfect English, "for you, the war is over." Jim was still shivering from the water when he looked down at his wrist and noticed that his watch was missing. Jim spent two years as a prisoner of war, some of it at the Stalag Luft 3 in southeast Germany, later made famous in the movie, "The Great Escape". After returning to the states, Jim went on to a successful business career as director of sales for NBC-TV and then later with Baird & Warner Realtors. Fast forward 60 years. This past summer, Jim received an early morning phone call. A voice in a heavy English accent asked, "Is this J.R. Hoel?" When Jim replied in the affirmative, the caller stated, "We've got your watch." Still half asleep, Jim asked, "What watch?" "The one you lost in the war 60 years ago," said the voice. Nobody knows how the watch traveled from Holland to England in 1945 when it was given to an Ipswich resident, Herbert Baxter. Now 90, Baxter was showing a neighbor, Peter Cooper, a drawer full of war mementos that had been collected and given to him by his mother. The watch was inscribed on the back "JR Hoel, 2200 Grey Ave, Evanston." (Jim now lives on Princeton Avenue in Evanston.) Cooper urged Baxter to search for the owner. They used the internet as their resource. Was the watch "still ticking"? Not until Adam Virag of Virag Jewlers, in Evanston since 1936, restored it to working condition. The story ran in the Chicago Tribune, and then appeared on Fox News, WGN-TV, and WBBM-TV that same night. Swiss Gallet, makers of the watch, heard of the story and called from Switzerland. They've invited Jim and his wife to be guests at the company's annual "Watch Show" in April 2004, and are considering making a "limited collector's edition" of the watch to sell. Jim's son Gil wrote, "Quite a story, eh? Echo folks would be interested to know that my dad rode his bike to Camp Echo one summer before WWII began. His story was written up in the Chicago paper, because such a ride was rare in those days. He also managed the Trading Post while serving on the Echo staff." -- Australian ICCP counselor Tom Gardner's parents David and Ruth Gardner , who attended Family Camp this past August, write, "We have all got home safely, and without incident. Our travels through the UK, Spain and Portugal were great although driving on the left was a constant challenge. Tom's brother Andrew's wedding was a very happy affair with all the family together again for the first time albeit briefly after a number of years. We are now bracing ourselves for a long hot summer!" -- Deb Hammerman , writes, "I was a camper at Echo from 1981 to 1984 and a staff member from 1985 to 1988. I currently live in Phoenix, Arizona where I work as a high school social worker. My job gives me the luxury of having my summers free. This summer I went overseas on a 'Debbie visits the world' trip. My journey brought me to see some of our Camp Echo Staff Alumni. My first stop was to visit Per Ola Lindahl (aka PO) who was at Echo in 1986. I had the pleasure of spending time with PO and his two oldest Children Johan and Anna. I was able to visit the church where PO now works and spent time sightseeing in his hometown." "We tried desperately to find Peter Brandt (Echo 1986, 1987). We even called all 38 Peter Brandts in the phone book without any luck. When I was in Sweden in 1989, PO and I surprised Peter at his job and we all had a wonderful time together; we were not so lucky this time." "After leaving PO, I went to visit Anders Melin (Echo 1988). I had not seen Anders since 1989 and it was wonderful to meet his wife and three sons. I had a wonderful time with his family; we went boating, biking, sightseeing, and told funny stories about Echo 1988. On my last day visiting Anders we went to YMCA Camp Brevik where I had spent the summer of 1989 as an international counselor. I was the third Echo staff member to work there. On the wall in the staff lounge still stands a plaque that reads 'Camp Echo: Peter Frankel, Betsy Donohue, and Debbie Hammerman' along with the years we were at Brevik." "It has been fifteen years since I spent the summer at Camp Echo, but it will always have a special place in my heart. How can you forget washing dishes in Kybo North? Kangaroo Court? NAMCO? B and Ski? Watering the Field of Joy for five hours? The Smurf Olympics? Chocolate chip cookie dough? Roxanne and Billy goats? The Jungle Book song in Swedish? The Waterfront Rap? The advertisements are true, Camp Echo provides 'Memories that last a lifetime'." -- John Donohue writes, "I have just returned from a nine day boat trip down some of the major and minor rivers & canals of inland America. In order, we sailed on the Illiwimichiana Sea, through the first of many locks into the reversed Chicago River, down the Illinois Sanitary & Shipping Canal, and then on the Des Plaines, Illinois, Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee & Cumberland Rivers. We went downstream and we went upstream, we went through locks small (4') and tall (57'), we wended our way down portions of rivers so isolated that our vistas were exactly the same as those of Lewis & Clark and the original Tribe of Illini, and we went through modern metropolitan areas bursting with space age commerce and bustling, hustling citizenry. "I discovered that there is a whole part of America out there of which probably 99% of us are totally unaware. There were good times and a few not-quite-so good times. New friends were made and relatives were visited in surroundings totally unexpected. Each day brought new discoveries and new delights. I'm still wondering at a trip which took nine whole days (and parts of some nights) on the river, but only 7.5 hours to drive back to Evanston by the Illiwimichiana Sea." [Contact John and he will send you the full text of his adventures!] -- Nick Churchill spent the last month of the summer in Costa Rica with International Student Volunteers. Two weeks were spent enjoying adventure activities (white water rafting, waterfall repelling, hiking, rainforest canopy ziplining, snorkeling, free diving, and horseback riding) and two weeks were spent at Hacienda Baru, an ecological reserve on the pacific coast near Dominical, living with a Costa Rican family and doing environmental work. -- Anna Goldman is currently on a 35 day backpacking trip with NOLS in India. -- Mwansa Mulenga arrived home safe in Zambia and is already missing Echo. His Wish List: Get a job! -- Tristan Roche is writing a weekly column that appears on Mondays in UIC Today . Click on archives and search on his name to read his previous articles. -- Rob Gartzman is having a great time at the University of Colorado. He's active with biking, climbing, and hiking , and has met some of the people who started the mountain biking industry. -- Carrie Behrends is back at the University of Montana in Missoula, studying pre-physical therapy and health and human performance. She's also enjoying the beautiful mountains, hiking, biking, and rafting. She's also back as the assistant captain for the women's hockey team, which starts it's playing season soon. -- Sara Fiore is spending a year doing the AmeriCoprs NCCC program based out of Charleston, South Carolina, traveling all over the southeast doing community service in the areas of education, disaster relief, environment, and unmet needs. Announcements ------------- Stonefish Grill, 601 Skokie Blvd, Northbrook (where Julie McGinn is working part time) received a very positive review in the October 30 issues of the Pioneer Press suburban papers. [Louie and I dined there yesterday and enjoyed the food and the atmosphere immensely!] -- Kim Duer, owner of the Koffee Kuppe (which sells the best ice cream in in downtown Fremont), opened the Olde Towne Curiosity Shoppes next door to the Koffee Kuppe, on November 1. The space will host a number of quaint village shops, including Etc (jewelry), The Kitchen Kupboard, The Spinning Wheel (yarn shop), and Rumors (gift shop). Song of the Month ----------------- LOUISE Way down deep in Africa [hand above eyes, looking around] Underneath the bamboo trees [arms out like branches] There lived a lady elephant [interlock arms like a trunk, swinging] Who's maiden name was Louise [limp wrist] Now Louise was mighty fond of [point on each word] An elephant named Joe [make a bicep muscle] And every night by the pale moonlight [moon overhead with arms] He serenaded her so: Louise, Louise, [call with hands at sides of mouth] Come out from under those trees! [make a pulling motion] Don'tcha gimme no bunky bunk [wave finger "no"] I wanna hold your trunky trunk [interlock arms, swinging] Louise, Louise, [call with hands at sides of mouth] Come out from under those trees! [make a pulling motion] You've got the skin I love to touch [count points on fingers] I love you oh so much [continue to count] Oh, oh, oh, Louise! [make an "O" with hand, go up with each "oh"] Build The Spirit! -- Rob Grierson Camp Echo Director rg@mcgawymca.org