The Council Room

[Guest]

Sorry it's taken me so long to check in. I am a camp director, and, while most folks think that means I lounge about with my feet up from the end of August until it's time to "do something" about our upcoming season in, say, March or so, that impression is very far from the truth!

In fact, directing a camp is very much like the royal succession - "2004 is dead; long live 2005!!"

Goes to show you though, that once this camp stuff gets in your blood, it's hard to shake. This summer will mark my 42nd summer at a camp, in one capacity or another. Jeez, I AM an old fart!

After Wyanoke closed, it actually didn't take too much time for me to get back into camping, as I assumed the directorship of Camp Passumpsic, on Lake Fairlee, in VT, in 1976. That somewhat challenging assignment lasted for four seasons - and I was joined in the effort at various times by Pat and Vicki Freeland, Bruce Fitzsimmons, Dick Tjader, Chris Gill, Jeff Hopkins, and Will Fownes (gasp! - I hope I didn't forget anyone. Let me know, and I'll install a few new neurons)

Unfortunately, the owner of Passumpsic (also the owner of Camp Sunapee in NH, where Tom Falcon was associate director for a couple of seasons, and several ski and toy stores) found himselve over-extended (particularly after two bad ski seasons), and Passumpsic closed its doors in 1980.

Happily, in 1984, I was contacted by an alumni group from Camp Agawam that was searching for a director to succeed its retiring director, Dave Mason. Dave is the youngest son of Agawam's founder, and the last in the family who wished to run camp. When he announced his retirement, the alumni group formed Agawam Council, a 501(c)(3), to purchase and continue to operate Agawam, founded in 1919.

The unique thing here is that Dave's older brother, who was facilitating the director search, called me because Bob Vaughan, who had worked at Agawam in '81 and '82 as a tennis instructor and Program Director, referred me after refusing to be considered for the directorship himself. Bucking the current thinking of the alumnni Board, a nice interview with Dave's brother led to the search committee being willing to consider a NON ALUMNUS for director!! (GASP!). Turns out that Wyanoke and Passumpsic were great background and I was deemed to be "trainable" in the Agawam way! The rest (from 1985 to the present) is history.

While directing Agawam, I've been able to nurture some Wyanoke connections, by welcoming sons and other relatives to our camper family - Michael Freeland (Pat's son), Roger and Albert Richardson (Rich Richardson's sons), Kyle Fitzsimmons (Bruce's son), Alden Frelinghuysen (Steve Alden's nephew), and others I am, no doubt, forgetting right now. Speaking of "huysens", anyone remember the Van Lonkhuysen family? Two of those brothers attended Agawam after Wyanoke closed, and Anne Van Lonkhuysen's sons, Andrew and Will are currently campers.

Whew - much more long winded than I had originally intended! Thanks for hanging in there. I'd love to hear from anyone.

Gotta go "do something" about our 2005 season!

Garth

[Chris Gill]

Hi Garth,
I stopped in last summer to see you but you were on a day off! My Father In Law lives in Naples and my sister in New Gloucester so perhaps I could stop by some time this summer, this time I will call ahead. When do you go to ME for the summer?
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1965-1975
C7,C8,J8,S4,S3

[Guest]

Sorry I missed you last summer, Chris. Imagine, I actually got a day off!!

Please drop by this summer. Not much advance warning needed, except to check if I'll be there, of course!

Garth

[Brad Ashley]

Garth - I noticed you mentioned Tom Falcon in one of your posts. I was just wondering if you had any information on him - I was in his tent in the mid 60`s.. I also have fond memories of hiking the White mountains with you , and staying in those mountain huts...

( with the exception of finding a band-aid in my stuffing)

TOO BAD we didn`t have digital cameras back then! I`m sure the views were incredable!!!

Best wishes, Brad Ashley
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I would enjoy a "reunion" if such a thing ever comes about. My brother Peter Ashley was also a camper.

[Mike Freeland]

Hi Brad,

Thanks for registering at the site. Dig around in the galleries. There's sure to be a memory or two in there, as well as some people you'll remember but won't be able to name.

In answer to your question, Tom Falcon's in Wolfeboro, a real estate agent, and he's registered here too so you can send him an email through the site and strike up correspondence that way. I don't know how many times he peeks in here though.

It's amazing, I remember the Band-aid thing, though I'd completely forgotten about it til now! I don't know if I was on that trip or not, but I sure remember the incident -- either I saw it first hand or you or Garth told me about it later. Ugh. Do you remember which hut that happened in?

Hard to believe it's been 40 years since then, huh? Maybe that's why my memory's a teeny bit hazy.
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'56-C-9 C. Mosher '57-C-9 Bill Feaster
'58-J-14 H. Peavy '59-J-11 G. Wood, C. Duncan
'60-S-8 R. Leavitt, D. Hemphill '61-S-1 E. Slocum
'62-JA-1 H. Dunbar '63-C-2 (JC)
'64-C-5, (JC) Councilor
'65-C-9 '66 - '72-J-8
'73-JA1 '75-J-6