WESTWARD... - Camp Nor`wester

Nor’wester
A Newsletter from and for the Camp Nor’wester community
In this issue
CAMP LIFE
pages 2 & 3
Who’s back?
Spring 2011
AWAY AND TO THE
WESTWARD...
Your returning
2 0 11 S t a ff
REVISITING
CAMP
Alumni Tom Malarky
goes to Family Camp
Think you know your
Sea Shanty Tunes?
Take our Music Quiz
ON THE
WATERFRONT
a pictorial history
pages 4 & 5
OFFICE NOTE
pages 6 & 7
A Word from
the Directors
Gearing up for
the summer
the Board
Update
on
Director Transition
Waterfront activities on Sperry Peninula.
...Camp life on the water.
~CAMP LIFE~
Page 2
by Tom Malarky
I was nervous about
visiting Nor’wester on John’s Island
for the first time last summer. What
if the (not so) new location had altered the extraordinary spirit of
the camp I knew? What if my wife
didn’t feel the same magic I felt –
and thus might not support our two
boys attending camp several years
down the road? Along with my sisters, Tucker and Sarah, I’d been a
camper for four years, and also returned as a counselor. Camp is family and spiritual home. So I admit
that I protected myself by lowering
my expectations.
The short boat ride from
Roche Harbor to Johns island had
the thrill of taking the ferry to Lopez. A seal greeted us as we pulled
up to the dock. As Paul walked us
around the camp, I felt a deep sense
of familiarity – along with surprise at the new variations. There
were Bill and Marty Holm – joined
by Carla – leading the Kwakiutl
Choir… the gorgeous landscape of
Don’t Forget
the Lyrics!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Away Rio
Blow Ye Winds Drunken Sailor Fiddler's Green
Final Trawl
Golden Vanity
Haul Away Joe
Henry Martin
John Kanakanaka
Lord Franklin
the same plates we used for dining! Poking my head into several
teepees, just the footlockers stirred
surprising emotions and memories.
Our oldest son, Finn, has always
loved the Nor’wester songs we’ve
sung and played. He and our other
son, Blaine’s, current favorite was
Black Jack David – which the music
ensemble (7 people with all sorts of
instruments!) happily obliged us by
playing. Finn was in heaven.
Seeing the people, things
and spirit of the camp in a new light
and in a new place, I realized it
has emerged even more essentially
Nor’wester. It’s almost as if the expulsion, the exodus, and the search
Tom’s wife Nicole Newnham Mafor and building of a new home
larky and son Finn, age 5, during
have burnished and clarified what
Family Camp last August.
is unique about Nor’wester. So, in
case you’re wondering, the spirit of
the island… the lodge and craft centhe camp has emerged even clearer
ter designed almost identically to
and stronger – the opposite of what
the ones on Sperry… running into
my fears had been. A deep thanks to
Donn Charnley and the Holms at
Paul and Christa and everyone who
the new Bighouse… the stunning
has helped replant Nor’wester and
new carvings.
led its extraordinary flourishing!
And it was the small things,
too, that hit me in unexpected ways Thank you Tom for the article. Camp loves to
– seeing the very same brownish- hear from campers, staff, parents and alumni.
red tables in the lodge, and even Send an article under 300 words and picture to
[email protected].
Think you know your songbook? In keeping with our nautical theme, try to
match the song title with the lyric from these classic sea shantys. Answers
are listed below - Brought to you by past Music staff Jaina Bee (Davis).
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
I.
J.
Then over with our blubber hooks and rob him of his hide
But now I’m in a Yankee ship a-hauling on sheets and braces
Man the good capstan and run it around
So stow your gear lads and batten down
Put him in the scuppers with a hose pipe on him
To seek a passage around the pole
Then lower your top sail and bow down your mizzen
Wrap me up in me oilskins and jumpers
One more pull and then belay
He bored 9 holes in her hull all at once
Answers 1.C 2.A 3.E 4.H 5.D 6.J 7.B 8.G 9.I 10.F
Revisiting
Camp
~CAMP LIFE~
Page 3
They’re Back!
June 15
returning staff make a l l t h e d i f f e r e n c e
(3rd) and Kevin Cheyette (2nd) will
direct our music program. All of
our Challenge Course staff – Robert “Bobcat” Short (3rd), Brian
Stewart (3rd), Tafadzwa
“Taffy” Mapiye (2nd) and
Molly Spiers (3rd) are returning. Ana Berry (3rd),
Ruari Brooker (2nd), and
Mike Corby (2nd) will
again be on the Waterfront. Mark
Ruddock (5th) and Carsin Ducey
(2nd) will be in charge of Special
Projects, Sean Benson (2nd)
will reprise his role as Camp
Ops and Katelyn Denny (2nd
as Archery instructor. Ellen
Lamothe (2nd) will return
as Lodge Attendant, Hillary
Landers (2nd) as Naturalist,
Emma Hartmann (2nd) as Gardener.
There are over 15 past campers
working at Camp for the first time.
They include Quinn AbrahamsVaughn, Hannah Anderson, Cole
Curtright, Makena Henriksen, Emily Lindburg, Kellie MacPhee, Evrard Martens, Amy Modglin, Hanna Russell, Miranda Smith, Ryder
Turner, Nikki Wells, Georgia
Whitaker, Chris Wood, and
Lucy Wolf. For the first
time in over 20 years of hiring, we have had to turn away quite
a number of past campers seeking
their first job with Nor’wester. In
some ways it’s a good problem to have but it was painful to reject loyal campers
and sad for those that we
could not accommodate. Hopefully they will apply in future years.
We have 10 international staff
hired, 8 of them returning.
Staff Training begins
2011 Camp Schedule
Staff Hiring is nearing completion
with over 80 people hired and many
long time staff returning. Of course
Christa (25th year), Paul (33rd),
Maia (5th) and Rick (7th) are still
on board. Lyle Summers will
again be our skipper. If our
calculations are correct, this will be
his 41st summer on staff.
We are again very fortunate
to have Mollie Montgomery back,
who will be Program Director for
her 11th summer and joining us for
her 17th summer overall. Jill Steigerwald (3rd) will be her assistant.
Eric Phillips (5th) and Matt Hong
(4th) will serve as our Head Counselors. Ali Cogan (8th), after
many years as a unit leader,
will again be in charge of
Packout. Returning staff
have filled most of the Unit Counselor positions. They include Victoria Anderson, (3rd), Rachel Breaux
(2nd), Eliza Cady (3rd), Samantha Dupree (2nd), Katie
MacKay (3rd), Gwen Kaplin
(3rd), Alix Patt (2nd), Mary
Sents (2nd), Alex Stokes (2nd),
Erica Whittaker (3rd), Clay Baldo
(2nd), Alan Charnley(7th),
Munashe Chiro (6th), Carsin Dietz Hartmann (3rd),
Dan Kershaw (2nd), Aubrey
Martens (3rd), Patrick Vigil
(2nd), Colin Walker (3rd),
Ian Wayne (3rd). All but
one member of the Craft Center is
returning with Brooke Usrey (4th), as Director, Olivia
Bailey (2nd), Chloe Pittman
(2nd), Nanette Phillips (2nd),
Menno Meijer (4th), Tamara Miller
(2nd) as instructors. Loren Farese
June 27
First Session begins
Junior Session begins
July 9
Junior Session ends
July 24
First Session ends
July 27
Second Session begins
Junior Session begins
August 8
Junior Session ends
August 23
First Session ends
August 27
Explore Nor’wester
Session begins
August 30
Explore Nor’wester
Session ends
On the Waterfront
Camp’s love affair with the water
has been there from the beginning
The dock on Wescott Sound was a busy place. Kayaks, canoes, rowboats and a variety of sailboats kept campers busy in the summer
months. A similar dock was on Sperry during the Henderson years.
When Nor’wester was searching for a new home in the
late 90’s, sites were explored
all over the Northwest. It became clear that a location on
the water was critical to who
we are as a community.
Camp has always been closely
Fish were plentiful back in
the 30’s and 40’s, making
fishing a popular activity for
campers.
The waterfront on Johns
is centered on a beautiful
sandy beach with a seasonal floating dock. Many activities occur on the beach,
from milk carton boat races
to salmon bakes, or a tug-owar during Potlatch games,
as seen here.
The racing sloop “Courageous”
provided campers with a large boat
sailing experience from the late 60’s
to mid-80’s.
tied to the water. From the moment a
camper steps aboard the boat that will
take them to Camp to the time they
depart, a day doesn’t go by that isn’t
spent on or near the water.
Over the years waterfront activities have included rowing, canoeing,
kayaking, fishing, small and large boat
sailing and swimming. Most unit sites
are close by the shore and the lodge has
always offered a stunning view.
Campers spend time wandering the
shoreline, searching for sea life, shells
and interesting rocks, and building
driftwood sculptures and forts.
Evenings cooking overnight meals
below the tideline, watching a sunset
from shore, then turning in, listening to
the sounds of the water. These experiences haven’t changed for campers for
the past 76 years.
Cactus Rock on Sperry Peninsula was the center of
the waterfront. The entrance gate to the old dock
remained on the spit to the left of the flagpole.
The 35 foot Haida canoe (below), carved by Bill Holm in 1968, has
been in almost constant service ever since. From day trips to Big Trips
to ceremonial events, a common sight in the islands for 4 decades.
Camp now has fiberglass canoes (below) designed by artist Calvin Hunt, used for both Big Trips and overnights.
The spinaker flies with a fair wind
on one of our 19 foot Lightnings.
New Picos replaced the old Sea
Larks, where campers can practice sailing skills on their own.
Kayakers launch off from the South Beach.
Kayaking has become a major waterfont
acivity on the Johns Island site.
Page 6
From the Directors
~OFFICE NOTES~
Where we have been…
It was another busy fall and winter
for us in and out of the office. After a very pleasant and adventurous
boating trip through the Southern
Gulf Islands shortly after the end
of the Camp season, Christa and I
celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary in October by exploring
Vancouver Island and its many museums and parks. One of the highlights was visiting Calvin Hunt (c.
1970?) and his family in Port Hardy.
Reunions…
campers and staff. Reaccreditation
Christa put together the 2011 cal- ACA Accreditation…
occurs every 3 years. In preparaendar and spent countless days edIn addition to the regular win- tion, we are reviewing all policies
iting the summer 2010 movie. It
ter projects we are preparing for and procedures; bringing documenis always fun to see campers, staff
our American Camp Association tation up to date and implementing
and parents at the Camp gatherings
(ACA) accreditation visit scheduled new standards that have developed
in Jan and Feb. We are grateful for
for early August. The main purpose since our last visit in 2008.
all of our hosts, and staff, many who
of the ACA-accreditation program It involves a tremendous amount of
brought guitars and songbooks to
is to educate camp owners and di- work from our office, site, summer
lead the singing prior to the video.
rectors in the administration of key staff and board members. The docuWe showed the Camp movie in 12
aspects of camp operation, par- mentation will provide an excellent
cities, including another great showticularly those related to program training tool for the incoming leading for the second time in Tucson at
quality and the health and safety of ership team in 2012.
Barry (c. 83-86 & s. 88-90,92) and
Rachael Baker’s house. Jeff Pietsch
(c. 77- 83 & s. 1985) and his wife
Jennifer hosted us for the first time
on Orcas Island. It was an honor to Thanks to our many donors for funds for a new Whaler engine, the comhave Jack and Jan Helsell attend as posting toilet structure, a new greenhouse, guitars, fire hose and a comwell as David “Z” Zoeller (s. 69-76) pound bow - what a great community!
There are a variety of items listed on our Website wish list ranging from the
small items (boom clips) to the very large (climbing tower). With the price
of fuel soaring, and to reduce our carbon footprint, it would be great to install a photovoltaic system (a solar panel system) at our caretaker’s house.
Please contact Paul if you have any interest in helping with this project.
ws
CONTACT INFORMATION
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6B
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oom
Office 360-468-2225
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$10 Clip
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Fax 360-468-2472
1
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6
$1
Email [email protected] 6 HP Outboard
Engine
-$1,750
Website www.norwester.org
THANK YOU WISH LIST SUPPORTERS
Need to reach us?
Check out our official website Wish List at http://norwester.org/support/wishlist.html
Alumni
Connections
We recently completed the first
phase of our database update process. Forms were sent to over 900
households, requesting contact information for past campers and staff
who appear in our database under
their parents name/address but in all
likelihood are living on their own.
~OFFICE NOTES~
BOARD of Directors Auction, The Sequel
update
Camper, staff,
parent &
Board President Janet
Charnley
says Camp
helped shape
who she is
today
From the PRESIDENT
Many thanks to everyone who As Camp Nor’wester moves into a
has responded to that effort. We are
getting a steady return of completed
forms and we hope that any of you
who have yet to return the form will
do so at your earliest convenience.
Phase Two will happen next fall and
will focus on increasing our options
for connecting with our community.
While we have email addresses
for some of our alumni, we do not
have that information for most of
you. Electronic mail would help
reduce costs associated with alumni
outreach, as well as satisfy those
of you who prefer to use email as
their primary means of communication with Camp. So we will collect email addresses from as many
alumni as we can reach. Look for
an additional mailing in the Fall or
check the website for a form to be
filled out with your updated information.
Mission Statement
Camp Nor’wester provides a
unique outdoor living experience
where a diverse group of young
people is challenged to develop
skills that increase self-confidence
and encourage respect, responsibility and compassion for themselves, their community and the
environment.
Page 7
new chapter in its long storied history, I am pleased to have a strong,
dedicated and supportive board
team to work with during this time
of transition. I officially was voted
as president of the board in January and I am joined by a new Executive Committee that includes
Chris Backus, vice president, Jeff
Pietsch, treasurer and Suzy McQuaid, secretary. I would like to
thank Chris Backus for his leadership of our board over the past two
years. His business and technology
background has been invaluable in
guiding the board. Chris’s important
work is not done yet as he is chairing our Executive Director Transition and Interview Committee.
TRANSITION UPDATE
The board Transition Process
Search Committee has been hard at
work conducting the first round of
interviews. We received a highly
qualified group of candidates with
individuals who have connections
with Camp Nor’wester and others
who have a great deal of experience
working at other children’s summer
camps. We will narrow our pool
down to the top candidates who
will go through a second round of
interviews later this spring and visit
camp over the summer. A decision
will be made this coming fall.
- a success! By Barry Baker
So many people
within
our community have embraced the
auction fun either through donating items, bidding on items, getting
friends involved, or all of the above.
There are many people to thank but
some of our MVP’s include Tom
Shipley and Jennifer Margolis
Bollacker for serving so ably on
the auction committee. Suzy McQuaid was incredible as was Jaina Bee (Davis) in both providing
items, bids, and getting the excitement going. Bill Holm, Lyle Summers, Paul and Christa did great
work and deserve thanks as they
always reach down and do that one
more thing for Nor’wester. Meagan Coughlin, Steve Christi, Mollie
Montgomery, Denison Lee, Jennifer Draper and Sally Poutiatine provided their own special stamps on
this year’s auction that was greatly
appreciated. Imagine painted tipi’s, custom jewelry, fancy dinners,
Christmas experiences, sailboat
trips, smoked salmon, homemade
goodies, second homes, skiing with
a legend, and incredible pieces of
art...we have a generous and talented community of supporters. So
many people stepped up with creative ideas that helped us reconnect.
Email or call if you have questions
or if you want to get involvedsay joining the auction committee next year. We can not
say this enough to everyone involved, THANK YOU!
Auction by the numbers
Gross raised
$24,351
Net Received
$21,571
Items Donated
139
Total # Bids
664
Matching Income
$ 4,570
GOT FRIENDS??? Everyone needs camp
Recommend a new family to camp and earn tuition credits!
We currently have over 280 campers enrolled. Some of our
youngest and oldest units are full and as is Explore Nor’wester,
but we still have some space in our middle units.
So talk to your friends and bring them along
for summer fun!
Email
([email protected]) or
call Maia in the office (360-468-2225)
for more enrollment information.
Camp Directors
Christa Campbell & Paul Henriksen
(360)468-2225
www.norwester.org
2011 Executive Board
Janet Charnley (President)
Chris Backus (Vice President)
Suzy McQuaid (Secretary)
Jeff Pietsch (Treasurer)
Deb Gore
Bill Horder
David Joneschild
Mike Montgomery
Kirsten Morbeck
Mike Poutiatine
Lyle Summers
George Swindells
Robin Tatsuda
Camp Nor’wester does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, religion, gender, disability, familial status, sexual orientation, or political affiliation.
PO Box 668
Lopez, WA 98261
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