The Council Room

[Richard Culleton]

Remember the physical training we had to go through a few days before embarking on the Presidential Range Trips? (no training required for Mt. Major) Usually it was a napsack full of rocks we had to carry up the road- towards to airport. That first hill by the old saw mill (Johnson's Cove?) was a killer- the rocks would be shifting around in the napsack making for a painful experience. We'd walk to the last bend before the airport and turn around and do it again! A fond memory, just like the airport. A 150 hour private pilot, I have flown from Home-Portland, Maine to Laconia Airport a number of times. Always a look down at Wyanoke at 2000' but never a landing there ( short sloping runway over a 50' obtacle-didn't want to damage the rental!). Looks like the runway's been bulldozed over for condo's? As a camper and seeing those planes coming in over the ball field and tennis courts, what a treat! One councelor even took our cabin to the airport and 1 lucky camper was able to sit in the cockpit while the pilot started the engine.

Dick Culleton
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[David Bentley]

Ah, yes, the Sunday afternoon tent activity walk to the airport. I dare say not a camper nor councilor escaped his time at Wyanoke without making that trek. And you are so right about the Presidential Prep hikes to the airport. Well, those days are over, and so is the airport. After a decade of wrangling, much personal animus, legal challenges, real estate wars, and a whole library full of mis-information, the airport is now being developed into individual home sites with lots ranging in the $300,000.00 to $4,500,000.00 area, not to include the house of your own choice, etc. This will be a very big undertaking, and Forest Road is being torn up by the huge trucks involved. Many people, me included, decry the development of the airport, but, more so, bemoan loss of the beautiful open/green space which can never be replaced. If you go to the web site www.maxfieldrealestate.com you may be able to work your way around and learn about the development. They are the local agents.
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C-1 49 J-7 52 S-3 55 J-10 58
C-7 50 J-7 53 S-2 56 J-8 59
C-8 51 J-4 54 S-7 57 (JA) J-8 60 - 64
1965 - 1968 Military service
Pine Cone 68 - 75 (with wife,Sherry,
and daughter Tracey)
Wolfeboro - full-time since 1997

[Jim Culleton]

Without looking back at the rosters for the year (maybe '57), I do remember Paul Cronin who was a camper with me in the Jr. Camp. As I recall his dad flew a Piper Apache (twin engine) into the Lakes Region Airport back in the late 50's during the summer . . . the approach over Wyanoke and the woods, not the "lake" approach. It was amazing watching this Apache with full flaps down and about ready to land as it passed just to the right of the Jr./Sr. ball field. That had to be a bit of a challenge but well worth the experience of watching! Hey, it was a Wyanoke dad!
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'56 - J-9 J. Moulton
'57 - J-11 J. Moulton
'58 - J-4 E. Web Dann, S. Hood
'59 - S-6 P. Leavitt
'60 - S-2 F. Avantaggio
'61 - JA-1 RK Irons
'62 - C-9 JC with P. Freeland
'63 - C-1 JC with S. Borger
'64 - C-6 Councilor

[DavidAyars]

One summer in the 1970s?, Pat Freeland was flying in and out of Lakes airport, maybe not as a staff member?, but as a visitor? He very graciously took some Wyanokers up for a quick flyaround, including me, and we shared the pleasure and life experience of a near miss, i.e., Pat had to make an emergency maneuver to avoid a midair collision with another small plane pilot on approach to Lakes. Kewl! We took it in stride. I'm sure there are dozens if not hundreds of near misses for every midair.
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Camper: J-8 1965 (Kevin Ryan), J-8 1966 (Mike Freeland), S-6 1967 (Russ Hatch), S-3 1968 (Jeremy Cripps), and JA-2 1969 (Dan Mannis).
JC: J-2 1970 (Bill Bettison) and J-3 1971 (Gene Comella). Councilor 1972, J-5 1973, and JA-1 1974 & 1975

[Mike Freeland]

I've flown in and out of there too. It was really short, and the plane that Pat and I had at that time was a two-seater with no load capacity at all. It took the entire runway to get up to rotation speed, and on a hot summer day I often wondered if it'd ever get that fast.

Anyway, I have some aerial shots (film) of Wyanoke shot from our bird with Pat flying. I'll try to dig them up and digitize them and post them here. Neat stuff.
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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

[DavidAyars]

I'd forgotten that you were licensed, too, Mike, and that you guys shared a plane. I remembered Pat because he was the one who took me up. Are either of you still flying? The cost has grounded some people flying in the 1970s.

I think it is super cool to see a familiar site like camp from a birds' eye view, and of course the harbor and lake are gorgeous from above.
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Camper: J-8 1965 (Kevin Ryan), J-8 1966 (Mike Freeland), S-6 1967 (Russ Hatch), S-3 1968 (Jeremy Cripps), and JA-2 1969 (Dan Mannis).
JC: J-2 1970 (Bill Bettison) and J-3 1971 (Gene Comella). Councilor 1972, J-5 1973, and JA-1 1974 & 1975

[Jeff G]

But Guys...

With my B.A. in English, I'm really confused about this "near miss" stuff. Would that not be a "hit".



Jeff G

[Chris Gill]

Good question Jeff. I always wonders what the origin of the word "sneakers" was.
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1965-1975
C7,C8,J8,S4,S3

[Pat Freeland]

I have fond memories of the airport, although taking off toward the east on sultry days was white knuckle flying. I took off with someone in the plane with me, the wind was out of the east meaning an uphill (grass)takeoff, and the humditty (that's how Bert and I say it) made lift a bit of a gamble. I heard leaves of the trees beyond the runway scratch the belly of the plane as we clawed for altitude.

I actually took Mrs. Bentley up during one season, Mr. Bentley was more prudent. It was a fine flight, fortunately, I remember her reaction when we lifted off and cleared the trees and suddenly there was the lake - she gasped and said "Holy Shmoley." She really loved the flight. Funny how you remember details like that.
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Living with wife Vicki happily retired after we moved back to Cornwall, Pa.

[CharleyLax]

I have been up there to visit the construction 2x now in the last two years. One of my colleagues purchased a cottage and several other properties on Winter Harbor across from the camp and my visits evoke many fond memories. The construction (along with new homes in Johnson's Cove) will take at least two years and will be hell for those living on Forest Road.

The aerial movie that Mike took is a must see. Awesome Mike!! I am sending that to my brothers. I had forgotten that you and Pat had your pilot's licenses. If you had taken more campers up during the days... you know how many additional pilot's licenses Wyanoke alums would have by now! Of course BMB would have had a heart attack!

Cheers

Charley Lax
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Charley Lax
Cabin Town Midget, Junior and Senior @ Camp Wyanoke 1969-1973
Brothers Andy (lives in San Francisco)and Gerry Lax (lives in Pennington, NJ) also were campers

[Bob Kennington]

[Robert Vaughan]

Back in 1975, I needed to get some ammo for the rifle range from Hookset, NH. Pat and I flew down (I had a private license also) to Hookset where we landed at what was an abandoned airport on the other side of the Merrimack River. We hitched over to Reilly's Sports Shop and bought the 5000 rounds of ammo. We got a ride back to the plane.

You can imagine what the weight of 5000 rounds did to our weight and balance. In any case, there was a big hill at the end of the runway and we couldn't get enough airspeed to get up without Pat dipping down toward the Merrimack River valley. Then when we arrived back at Lakes Region, with cracks in the windshield and the afternoon sun hitting, we couldn't see the runway as we came over the trees until we touched down.

A couple of drinks later at the Wolfeboro Inn, we were good to go again.

[Peter Friedrichs]

Since my parents both had their private tickets and my dad was co-owner of an airplane, they'd often fly me up to camp or fly in to pick me up at the end of the summer. My dad would land his six-seater piper cherokee on that short strip (and take off in the summer heat with my brother Jeff and me, and our trunks!), feats which I didn't appreciate until, as an adult many years later I flew into "Wolfeboro International" as a pilot myself, just in a Cessna 152. I remember watching for their plane overhead on the last day of camp each year, excited to see them, but sad as another summer drew to a close.

Jeff (whom you may remember as "Melon-head" a nickname which thankfully has NOT followed him around) also has his private pilot's license and one day a few years ago we flew into W'boro in his Beech Sundowner. The plane was relatively new to him and we came in "high and hot" and danced down the runway with the Broads looming before us until the brakes finally bit and we stopped with our nosewheel on the grass off the end of the runway. "Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing." That's our motto!


On another, somewhat related note, does anyone remember the July 4th "airshow" that we'd get from a Wyanoke alum in the Air Force or Navy??? I remember several summers being buzzed by a military jet, doing barrel rolls over the ball field and low passes along the waterfront. For a kid, that was about as exciting as life could get!
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Peter
'66-67 C-1 (Peter Woods); '68-69 J-1 (Bob Vaughan); '70 S-1 (Garth Nelson); '72 JA-1 (Dan Mannis)

[Mike Freeland]

Hi Peter, great avatar!

That was in 1967. Lew Dunton ('53 - '58 ) flew over the Wyanoke (I'm not sure what the occasion was), and we all lined up on the ball field to spell "HI LEW". I think he may have gotten in trouble for that. Anway, I actually caught that on film, and it's on the DVD.
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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

[Tom Rawson]

I remember when we lined up on the baseball field to spell "Hi Lew", but as I recall Lew was a no-show that day.