Traditions - Camp Tawingo

DECEMBER 2008
RADITIONS
THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER
OF THE
TAWINGO ALUMNI CIRCLE
ICC QUEBEC 2008
IN LIVING COLOUR
Camp Tawingo was well-represented
at the International Camping Congress
held in Quebec this past October. It was a
magnificent gathering hosted by the
Quebec Camping Association and supported by both the Canadian Camping
Association and the International
Camping
Fellowship.
The
ICF
Headquarters is based at Camp Tawingo
and John Jorgenson (Jorgi) serves on its
Steering Committee.
This was the eighth Congress of its
nature and Camp Tawingo has been active
and instrumental in virtually all of them.
The third Congress KUMBAYAH 1994
was held in Toronto under the guidance of
Jane McCutcheon as Chair and both Jack
Pearse and John Jorgenson on that Steering
Committee. Since then, this premier international camping event has moved to
Russia, Japan, Australia and Mexico before
returning to Canada.
This year over 600 delegates assembled
in Quebec for four days of education, celebration and fellowship. One hundred
Russian camp leaders were part of the
Congress and delegates came from all six
continents to represent a huge diversity of
camping programs.
The Congress was held in conjunction
THE INSIDE SCOOP
5
TIME PASSAGES AND HOKAHEY
5
CAMP MATTERS:
ERICA VANDENBERG MILLS
JILL HAWCO & MEGAN BIRK
SIMON ROSE
JESSE GRIFFITHS
5
DRAGONBOAT 2008
5
CAMP STORIES
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FROM
TAC CHAIR
THE
KRIS BIRCHARD
Barack Obama is preparing to sit in the
WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Oval Office of the White House.
On the evening of Saturday, November
Maybe it is true, we can make a differ22, 2008, seventeen members of the
Tawingo Alumni Circle gathered in the ence. For the last dozen years or so, TAC
Blue Room to talk about events and ways has been raising funds to send youth to
to celebrate fifty years of Camp Tawingo camp. Children who, for various reasons,
on the shores of Lake Vernon. We were can benefit from the experience that is
watching a DVD video, produced by Tom camping. Over that period of time many
Knowlton, of the International Camping children have been able to attend Tawingo
Congress in Quebec City. Tawingo was as a result of our Summer Camp FUNd.
well represented by Jack and The Boys We know that these experiences have
Camp Band (see article on this page). Jack changed the lives of these children in a
and The Boys Camp Band were leading the meaningful way.
group in song. The song they were singing
As it happens, the very first child to be
was "We Can Make a Difference."
sponsored at Camp was referred by
It got me to thinking about being at myself. The child faced some serious chalCamp in the sixties and singing some of the lenges in life, some of which were shared
topical songs of the time - songs by Bob by his parents and three siblings. I have
Dylan, Pete Seeger, Tom Paxton, Peter, personally observed the impact of the
Paul and Mary. I particularly remember Camp experience on his struggle with
leading an all Camp sing song in the Pop these challenges.
Pearse Lodge.... We Shall Overcome! Forty
Today, as a young adult, he is enjoying
five years later an African American,
...continued on back page
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with an even larger Conference hosted by
World Leisure.
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Amongst the many links to Tawingo
alumni:
Jack and Mike Pearse lead singing at a
General Session
The Boys Camp Band (Tom Knowlton, Jim
Knowlton, Peter Rasberry, Mark Baldwin)
and Joanne Bender accompany the song
leaders
Buffy Knowlton, Martha Knowlton and
Jenna Larman, Barb Jorgenson attend the
Congress along with...
Mike Pearse, Tia Pearse and John
Jorgenson who all lead educational sessions
Mike, (Tom K) Bobby Crowe and TJ Clark
all lead singing at a second General
Session.
The Pre-Congress tour included an opportunity to visit Camp Tawingo. This group of camp leaders includes delegates
from Greece, Turkey, Ontario, Manitoba, and Australia.
Marie Helene Bergeron works as coordinator of all of the General Sessions on behalf of
the Congress committee
Tom Knowlton shoots, edits and produces
both a banquet slide show and a 15 minute
video film of the ICC
The Congress was preceded by a
national tour of camping programs. It
allowed camp leaders from other countries
an opportunity to acclimatize to our time
zones, enjoy some sightseeing and participate in a study tour. The tour rolled
through Camp Tawingo and we were able
to greet camp leaders from Greece,
Australia, Turkey and elsewhere in
Canada.
The International Camping Congress
has been a tremendously effective and
important organization that both spreads
the camping word to previously unorganized camping regions and validates the
work going on in other countries.
It was an opportunity for all kinds of reunions. Here Joanne Bender and Marie Helene Bergeron take an opportunity to
catch up on news with Jack.
We have enjoyed, and been enriched
by, our international campers for the entire
history of Camp Tawingo.
Camp
Tawingo’s involvement with the ICF has
resulted in further enrichment with current
staff attending various Congresses, other
ICF camps arranging delegations to attend
sessions of summer Camp at Tawingo, and
opportunities for our staff & campers to
visit camping professionals the world over.
For more information about the
International Camping Fellowship, as well
as some photos from the Congress, and an
on-line version of Tom’s magnificent video
production, check out the ICF website at
www.campingfellowship.org.
Jack Pearse was not present in Mexico where he was first presented with ICF’s highest award: The Abbott Fenn Druzhba
Award. In Quebec, he was able to receive it in person and address the Congress.
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DRAGONBOAT RACE TEAM 2009
ALL TOGETHER - ALL WET
A very special
group of alumni gathered for the 2008
Dragonboat Festival. We had more paddlers than ever before and
we were thrilled by their willingness to endure rain and cold to
paddle the Tranquil Raven dragonboat. It was a very different
experience from our usual hot, sunny day in and on the water.
We had so many paddlers and reserves this year that we were
able to adjust the team in various races and provide some people
with a warm-up break from a rainy race heat. We were especially
pleased to welcome various non-alumni spouses and partners
who added their own energy and enthusiasm. Little Ben
Zymerman provided us with a youthful mascot/cheerleader.
The Dragonboat Team makes a collection each year and this
year we donated a total of $340.00 to the Summer Camp FUNd for
Sara Rowbotham
Tabetha Boot
Jennine Dionne
Jamie MacDonald
Katie Knowlton
Dave Richardson
Will House
Tyler Lalonde
by Tawingo alumni, Pat and Becca Birnie. It was a little difficult to
Jenna Larman
Peter Glen
accept three defeats from the ‘youngsters’ from another Camp. We
Jill (Hawco) Currie
Erin May
lodged a protest and the results of the Drug Screen are now in - it
Jay Currie
Carson McGregor
Emily (Singh) Zymerman
Andrea Webber
Dave Zymerman
Mark Boot
Jon Ross
Dianne Boot
Laura (Simon) Ross
Paige Thompson
Lauren Hopkinson
Kailey Paddison
Lauren Calder
John Jorgenson
Mike Costello
Carly Cooper-Edwards
campers. The Tawingo Alumni Circle is very grateful for this generous support.
This year’s Tranquil Raven team ran in second place in all
three of its race heats to the LIT Team of Arrowhead Camp. Some
readers will know that Arrowhead Camp is owned and operated
appears they were deeply affected by some crazy drug with the
street name of "CAMP". Unfortunately, the results stand in their
present form and we must satisfy ourselves with our ‘great effort’
rather than our ‘big win’.
Over these past four years, we have used official Tranquil
Raven shirts. This year, we decided to try different outfits - staff
shirts from various eras. Many years of Tawingo camping were
represented (somewhat soggily) in this year’s dragonboat. This
year’s paddlers are listed below:
Kalie Boot
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TRACKED DOWN
ERICA (VANDENBERG) MILLS
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AND ASKED:
"WHERE
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REFLECTION
HELP YOU GET THERE?"
to create inspiring designs/messages for
cards that can be used for any or no reason.
The premises behind warm fuzz are to 'celebrate the art of giving' and to focus on
how good it feels to brighten people's daystrue Tawingo philosophies. I feel that my
company and my cards illustrate a joy I
learned through both my loving family,
and the postive environment at camp.
As I look forward to the big 50th celebration of Camp Tawingo in 2010, I can't help
but reflect on all of my memories of camp,
camp friends, and everything Tawingo has
brought to my life.
I was only a wee blondie when I started
at camp, and my earliest memories are of
costumed counsellors, nightly calamine
runs to the health centre, my joy of seeing a
statue in our window (signifying a Herman
victory), and endless singing, dancing and
walking arm and arm with all of my new
best friends.
My company has evolved over the years
to include custom corporate cards, wedding and event invitations and personalized stationery, and I couldn't be happier
with my Trapper Pete-esque line of work.
After several memorable summers, I took
many years off from Tawingo to experience international camping in Holland,
and to spend summers of travelling and
cottaging with my family. I returned to the
Dowanewa circle for my last eligible summer as a camper in 1994. I brought my dear
friend Ellie with me, and got to share her
joy as she experienced her first sing-song,
out trip , and feelings of friendship and solidarity with cabin-mates.
rience overseas, but after a meeting with
Jack Pearse, and receiving a job offer from
Tawingo, my mind was made up...and my
parents were thrilled.
Unfortunately I had a broken arm during
that last session and was unable to complete fox canoeing, attain my crest, and
therefore could not become a TLC . But that
didn't stop my love affair with the yellow
and blue.
I spent the following two years as a counsellor and the two subsequent years as the
craft director. Those memories are some of
the dearest of my life, and I truly believe
that I wouldn't be the person I am today
without my camp experience.
During the spring of my 18th year, I
applied to camp with a glimmer of hope to
be chosen as a staff member.
On the shores of Lake Vernon not only
did I learn how to make bannock, to chant
native songs, to put up a tent and to get
over my shyness, but I learned the value of
optimism, creativity, play, and a love for
friends, neighbours and life.
As summer approached, I was offered an
incredible opportunity to work in Japan for
the summer. I would have earned a great
deal of money and had an incredible expe-
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This spirit has stayed with me and is constant in my daily life.
We live in the Danforth area of Toronto,
but spend any chance we can up North at
our cottages, planning getaways, and visiting camp whenever possible. Craig has
stayed at camp on several occasions and
has learned over the years what a truly special place it is. I feel like he is now a part of
the Tawingo tribe as I have heard him
chant a 'wa-tay-ho' or two. We see our
wide circle of Tawingo friends regularily,
and it never ceases to amaze us both how
positive, non-judgmental, fun, and loving
our camp friends are-a true testament to
the values and spirit of camp.
Tawingo continues to be a huge part of
my life and I couldn't be more appreciative
for the times spent there, and the relationships that have been fostered as a result of
shared camp experiences. I am really looking forward to re-connecting with old
friends at the reunion in 2010, and celebrating all that makes Tawingo so special to all
of us.
Grateful am I.
As an adult I've had the great fortune of
marrying my perfect match and starting
my dream business. Craig and I were married in Muskoka in 2005 and our zest for
life together was evident as we arrived at
our wedding reception on waterskis.
I own and operate a greeting card company
called
warm
fuzz
cards,
(www.warmfuzzcards.com) which is
absolutely a delight for me. The dream
came into fruition whilst living with Craig
abroad in Russia, Sweden, and then
France. I used my time away to draw and
Krista Barclay and Erica became good friends at Camp and
their friendship continues to this day.
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Craig understands the importance of Erica’s Camp connections and is becoming ‘part of the Tawingo Nation’.
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SIMON ROSE
It is hard for me to believe that it has been
ten summers since I retired from active
duty at Tawingo. I retired the same summer as the legendary Juwan C. Delfin, a
man I consider a brother. It is the lifelong
friendships (and Facebook) that don't
make it seem that my Camp life was that
long ago - even though I'm a few provinces
away from Huntsville (living on the B.C.
coast) I've had lots of Tawingo friends
come out to visit and likewise been able to
make travel plans based on where my
friends are in various parts of the world.
My wife, Cristina, loves everyone she's met
from Tawingo and the silent pact that has
been agreed to by the Tawingo Alumni
Circle not to share embarrassing stories
with non-alumni spouses has been greatly
appreciated!
Looking back on ten years, not much has
changed. I work for a B.C. resort development
and
management
company
(www.aviawest.com) - that is a family
business owned by the Pearsons. My walk
to work is along the waterfront but instead
of canoes coming in for breakfast, there are
sea-planes coming in for meetings. The
buzzwords I use to describe my job - people strategy, employee engagement, leadership development - are all things I was
first exposed to as a Circle Director, working with the TLCs or in the Program
department. Occasionally I need to do
some "conflict resolution". I'm sure some
of you can relate and identify those fortyyear old Cree campers who are about to
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Rich Butler, John ‘Juwan’ Delfin and Simon ‘Gene Simmons’ Rose ready for a day of Spring Work Crew.
duke it out in your own organizations...
If any current Tawingo staff are willing
to take advice from the 1990s (… and with
all the old photos of flannel-clad Boys'
camp and the "Rachel" look in Girls' Camp
I can't blame them if they don't), I would
encourage you to work at Tawingo for as
long as you can. In my career so far, I can
definitively say that I use more today from
what I learned at Camp than from the work
I have done in banking or consulting.
Three of the prime examples that spring
to mind are…
H O W T O GENERATE REPEAT BUSINESS
In the current business environment,
many new managers have to sit through a
day-long seminar on "Happy Staff equal
Happy Customers". That sage wisdom on
repeat business was shared with me by my
first section director, Matt Perkins in 1992
in one sentence - ‘If your Counsellors are
happy, your campers will be happy.’
Simple and true - there is not a book by a
leadership guru out there that has had
more impact on me than the philosophical
leanings of this wise man and favoured
camp leader.
THE TEAM CONCE P T
Although he was a peer from my TLC
year and my friend since we were two
years of age, I have a great respect for Rich
Butler's sermons to Boys' Camp in the mid1990s on the principles of the Team
Concept. I feel he showed a preternatural
clairvoyance as to the path that modern
business would steer in the 21st century.
Being able to work closely within a team is
a real skill and Butler's belief that "Success
for one means Success for all" has never
carried more weight.
RESPECT YOUR ELD E R S
Juwan Delfin and I lived in Cabin #72 in
our last summer at Tawingo and I think it
is fair to say that we are both communityminded people. We used to host ‘meetings’ in our cabin with other non-cons at
the time about striving to do your best. A
Yoda-like Doug Palm, the elder statesman
of the group, was very quiet in the early
going but towards the time the schedule of
meetings had ended, he had really found
his groove and taught us all a thing or two.
Spring Crew 1985 included Steve Ernst, Carey Heeney, Marcie Adler, Stephanie Joyce, Paul Joliat, Matt Perkins, Neal
Gilmer, Jesse Everett, Ingrid Ambus, Doug Palm, Leah Watson, Neil Fortin, Stu Fraser, Rich Butler, Karen Atkinson.
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Those are just three examples that spring
to mind. If my nine-month old son Mateo
slept through the night, my brain might be
able to put more of these examples down
here. I hope this finds you well and if you
are ever out to my part of the world and
can agree to the silent pact, give me a
shout.
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JILL (HAWCO) CURRIE
"Hi, I'm Jill Hawco. Welcome to Ojibwa,
Cabin 35. I'll be your counsellor this session". "Hi, I'm Megan, I'm in your cabin".
That's how it all started back in
1995…who knew that such a simple connection made at Tawingo would turn into a
lifelong friendship. Below is the intertwining story of one camper, one counsellor
and where the strong connections made at
Tawingo have brought them to today.
After a great summer in Ojibwa, Megan
and Jill parted ways heading back to
Markham where they both happened to
live. That September, Jill started her OAC
year, and Megan was in 9th grade at the
same high school. They touched base every
now and then, reminiscing about the amazing times they had together at Tawingo. Jill
graduated high school and headed to
Acadia University to complete a degree in
Recreation Management. In that time,
Megan finished high school and was trying
to decide which university to attend. After
calling Jill and discussing her options,
Megan was convinced by Jill to attend
Acadia University and better yet, enrol in
the same degree. Jill graduated from
Acadia as Megan was just beginning her
degree. Summer came, and Megan needed
a job to pay for school so she called up Jill,
who was working at Ontario Special
Olympics. Jill pulled some strings and was
able to get Megan a job. Megan and Jill car-
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MEGAN BIRK: "WHERE
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pooled to work each morning and even
shared an office together. The following
summer, Jill was no longer working for the
organization so Megan ended up taking
over Jill's position!
Not long after that, Jill travelled around
Australia, while Megan finished her degree
at Acadia. Upon Jill's return, they spent a
weekend up at Megan's cottage laughing
and sharing stories of travels, work and
friendships. A few years passed and they
continued to keep in touch through e-mails
and phone calls. Jill headed off to Queen's
University to complete her degree in
Education and Megan was working on a
cruise ship as a counsellor. It wasn't long
until Megan was a guest at Jill's wedding.
Who knew a camper would someday be
attending her counsellor's wedding?
As history has shown, Megan has never
been too far behind Jill. So, not only did
Megan also go to Australia, she decided to
complete her education degree while she
was there. During this time, Jill was teaching in the York Region District School
Board, developing strong connections,
(that, of course, would later benefit
Megan). If you haven't already guessed
…after Megan completed teacher's college,
she needed a place for her internship. So,
she called up Jill... again! Jill was able to
arrange a teaching placement for Megan at
her school (Legacy P.S.). After a successful
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placement, Megan was offered a job at
Legacy P.S. This position resulted in
Megan and Jill working together again! So,
instead of introducing themselves as counsellor and camper, it now sounds a little
something like this "Welcome to Legacy
P.S. I'm Mrs. Currie and I'm Miss Birk and
we'll be your teachers this year". For the
past two years Megan and Jill have been
working together at the same school.
Over all these years, Megan and Jill still
find themselves sitting around talking
about Tawingo, sharing many laughs
about section songs, outrips, table games
and interest groups - the list could go on
and on. Now it is easier than ever to share
stories because they only live 9 minutes
apart, in Whitby, ON. Megan’s and Jill's
friendship with one another has led to the
beginning of a new friendship between
Jill's husband and Megan's fiancé. Even
their dogs are friends! This camper-counsellor relationship has travelled a long
"Ring" Road to an everlasting friendship.
Megan knows that where ever the roads
may take them, Jill will always be just a
phone call away.
Soon, the tables will turn and Jill,
Megan's camp, education, career and life
counsellor, but most importantly friend
will be a guest at her wedding!
1995 - Jill Hawco and Megan Birk - 2008
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I can't see my feet any more. I am walking down a path in a flooded forest, up to
my neck in cold black water. I can't see my
feet, and I can't see dry land, only the water
and the trees. At the moment all I can think
is how badly I want out, but later I will
wonder how I got there, and what I was
thinking.
I
thought
about stepping
out of the canoe,
tried to move
my ankle, and
decided to hoist
myself onto the
dock instead.
One sunny morning in August, I set off
into the woods with two friends from
camp. Colleen Irvine had recruited me and
Dave Allan to Team Ogniwat, and we were
about to find out if we could run, paddle,
bike, and orienteer well enough to finish
our first adventure race.
"Nicky, what
are you doing?"
The beginning wasn't promising.
"So if this is that bit of shoreline, and
that's that hill over there, then we should
head ... "
"Nicky, the red needle points north."
"Right. Obviously. I know that. I just
wanted to make sure you were paying
attention."
It took us an hour and a half to find the
first checkpoint. We squelched into mud
and scratched through raspberry bushes.
We backtracked and circled, strategized
and guessed, took compass bearings and
counted steps, and never ever let each
other guess that we were terrified.
Those first ninety minutes were all about
cooperation, and when we finally saw the
checkpoint we knew that we were a team,
and that we were going to make it through
the race.
After that we got to pull out our fancy
Camp skills. Take it from me - if you're
going to navigate through a pathless forest
or paddle down a river full of sudden
turns, you want Camp people with you.
On we went, aiming off and cross-bow-cutting and knees-down-in-the-canoe-ing…
So, yeah. About that. It turns out not all
canoes are as stable as the Tawingo fleet. I
wasn't the only one to get into the boat
without kneeling, but I was the one who
got in right before it tipped, so you could
maybe sort of argue that I tipped it.
Anyway, it was knees-down for the next
hour or so, and by the time we made it back
to land Dave and I were pretty glad to get
out of the -
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"I don't think I
can stand yet.
Give
me
a
minute."
"You are so
old."
Nicky Adams, Colleen Irvine and Dave Allan extend their love of the outdoors and their summer
"It's true. I can friendships for each other into adventure racing. This team travel event takes place rain or shine
feel thirty creep- and involves several modes of travel through varied wilderness terrain.
ing up. Do you
think they'll let me finish the race with a Finally we came to a puddle that stretched
away into the trees, an endless lake of
walker?"
We were to face much greater challenges spring runoff.
than sore joints. Our fastest race time was
just under six hours, on a beautiful summer day. In October, we spent seven hours
in a cold, wet forest, walking our bikes
over hills when the brakes clogged with
mud. We were uncomfortable and frustrated, but we kept encouraging each other
while the warmth drained from our bodies
and our fingers stopped working. We
stumbled across the finish line while the
race organizers were packing up: of twenty
teams overall, we were the sixth and last to
finish. The other fourteen had missed a
cutoff three hours earlier, been disqualified, and spent the rest of the afternoon
warm and dry. At least we got medals.
Then there was the race in May. The first
six hours were wonderful - an easy paddle,
some trail-running, and a bike ride along
country roads in the sunshine. Then the
bike section turned into a forest, we ran out
of food and water, and the puddles started.
Ankle-deep. Knee-deep. Waist-deep.
There were no other trails. There was no
going around it. Anyway, it was only a
puddle, how bad could it be? We waded
in, deeper and deeper; towing our bikes
once they began to float. And now the
water is up to my neck, and with my next
step I am swimming along the path, and
it's insane, I want to go home, I'm never
going to get ...
"Nobody's
Colleen.
"Just - yeah, just hang on - my knees."
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right?"
asks
“It goes by [the ominous] name of the
Canadian Death Race... it should be fun!”
Colleen was
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panicking,
"Nooo," Dave and I answer, "uh-uh," and
we aren't, not anymore. We are a team,
and we are going to get each other through
this. We will get out of this puddle, we will
finish this race, and the memory of this day
will become just another story to share
with camp friends. When that happens,
Colleen will have another adventure ready
to suggest.
"OW."
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LIFE: ONE BIG ADVENTURE
AND
NICKY ADAMS, COLLEEN IRVINE,
"Dave, are you okay?"
already on the shore.
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HAVE INVITED A FEW STAFF TO RECOUNT STORIES OF THEIR TIME AT
CAMP. HERE
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GOLDFISH
SHANNON HARROWER &
THE SUMMER OF
2007
Summer 2007, First
Session Native Day...
Ceccha's
(Cacchione)
grandmother had just
pas se d a w a y t h at m o r n ing a n d sh e w a s h a vi n g a
rea l l y h a rd t i me c o p i n g .
S o , I h a d b ro u g h t a g i a n t
pac k o f G o l d f i sh c r a c k er s
fr o m h o m e ( t h e B u l k s i z e
that you buy at Costco
tha t h a s t h re e i n d i v i d u a l
pac k a g e s i n i t ) a n d ( Sa r a )
Haas and I decided we
w ere g o i n g t o o p en t h e
b o x o f G o l d f i sh a n d a l l
the candy we had in
ca b i n 6 6 a n d h a v e a f o o d p a r t y i n o r d er t o c h e e r h e r
up. S o I o pe n t h e G o l d f i s h a n d t h e f i r s t t h i n g I s e e
is a d e f l a t e d b i c yc l e t i r e . I p u l l i t o u t en t i r e l y p e r plex e d a n d a n g e r e d ( s i n c e I wa s r ea l l y l o o k i n g f o r w a rd t o t h e G o l d f i s h ) ...a n d u n d er n e a t h t h e r e ar e a
ton o f e l a st i c s an d t wo e m p t y bo x es f o r a s h av e r
a nd a n a l a rm c l oc k . So a t t h i s p o i n t I a m a s s u m i n g
tha t t h e y h a v e j u s t s t u f f e d t h i s bo x f u l l o f j u n k t o
rip m e o f f t h e $ 1 2 .0 0 I p a i d f o r m y G o l d fi s h . B u t
then I n o t i c e a s i l ver ba g u n d e r n e a t h ( t h e t yp e o f
b a g t h a t t e n d s t o be u s ed f o r t h e bu l k g ol d f i s h ) .
Thi n k i n g I ma y h a v e l u c k ed o u t a n d f o u n d m y f i s h ,
I st i c k m y h a n d i n t o t h e r u m p l e d u p ba g . I m agi n e
my sh o c k w h e n I p u l l o u t h u n d r e d s o f l i t t l e p i n k
a nd b l u e p i l l s. . . .
o n t o t h e p o r c h and st u m b l e d ac r o s s T yl e r L a l ond e
w h o t o l d m e t o t a k e t hem
t o t h e H e al t h C e nt er a nd
f i gu r e o u t w h at they a r e
and then call up to the
W h i t e H o u s e an d f i l l M i k e
i n o n w h at h ap p e ned . S o I
t o o k t h e m t o ( n u r se) A nne
(Livingston) Murray (who
pretty much had a field
d ay l o o ki n g t h r o u gh ev er y
m e d i c al b o o k s h e h a d w i t h
her trying to determine
w h at t h e s e p i l l s w er e! ) . In
t h e e n d , i t t u r n s ou t one
was designed to lower
b l o o d p r e s s u r e an d t h e o t h e r t w o s h e w as una bl e t o
i d e n t i f y.
Al l o f a sudden i t h i t s m e , t h a t I 've be e n s t u c k i n
the mi ddl e o f som e s o r t o f d r u g t r a f f i c k i n g. I t h e n
PANI C , si n c e t h e f i r s t t h i n g t h a t c o m es i n m y h e ad
is th e f a c t t h a t I h a ve d r u g s i n m y c a bi n a n d s o m e o ne i s g o i n g t o a s s u m e I k n e w a bo u t t h em . I r an o u t
W h e n I go t b ac k t o T o r o n t o i n S e p t e m ber t hey
s e n t m e a r e p o r t s t at i n g t h at t h e o t h e r t wo d r u g s
w e r e a t yp e o f S p e e d an d t h at t h e y s u s p e c t ed t he
d r u g p ac kage w as s o m e i l l - p l an n e d at t e m p t a t a m a t e u r d r u g t r af f i c ki n g. Fo r n e ar l y a ye ar an d a ha l f I
r e c e i v e d al l s o r t s o f P e p p e r i d ge Far m c o u pons a nd
go l d f i s h d e l i v e r i e s . . . b u t t h e y h av e s t o p p e d r ec ent l y.
W e t h e n c al l e d P e p p e r i d ge Far m an d e x pl a i ned
t o t h e m w h at h ad h ap p e n e d . . . A t t h i s p o i nt A L L I
w as c o n c e r n e d w i t h w as ge t t i n g m y $12.0 0 ba c k
( h e c k, I ' m a u n i v e r s i t y s t u d e n t . . . t w e l v e d o l la r s g oes
a l o o o o n g w ay) , b u t P e p p e r i d ge f ar m as s ur ed m e
they would give me a LIFE TIME SUPPLY OF
GO L D FI S H . I c h o s e t h e l at t e r . T h e y t h e n s e n t a r epr e s e n t at i v e t o C am p t o p i c k u p t h e b o x o f "u ni d ent i f i e d d r u gs " . Fo l l o w i n g t h at , i n A u gu s t I r ec ei v ed a
H U GE p ac kage o f P e p p e r i d ge Far m go l d f i s h , c r a c k e r s , yo u n am e i t . . . n e e d l e s s t o s ay w e h ad a F E A S T
o n s t af f l i n e t h at n i gh t !
I ' v e b e e n m e an i n g t o w r i t e t h e m i n qu i r i ng w hy
m y s u p p l y w as c u t o f f . . . I d e f i n i t e l y p l an t o send a
l i t t l e l e t t e r t h e i r w ay r e m i n d i n g o f t h e ' dea l ' a nd
d e m an d i n g m o r e ' go l d f i x' - e r - go l d f i s h - ha ha .
A n d T H A T i s m y i n f am o u s Go l d f i s h s t o ry !
Shannon Harrower
Do you have a Ccamp story you care to share? We are
always looking to highlight the humourous and headshaking,
the poignant and peculiar aspects of Camp life. If you have the
time to jot it down and send it (with a pic or two, please)
along to alumni@tawingo.net, we would love to hear it and
share it.
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Andy Young now works at Crescent School and was part of the teaching staff
bringing the entire Lower School to Camp for its annual fall visit. Alice Shipton
worked for us in the Outdoor Centre in anticipation of starting teaching college.
The area north of Camp is rich in natural history. Here a camper examines a fresh
beaver chew in a large yellow birch tree near Rowan’s lake on the Sass Peepre
Trail.
The wet portions of the fall prompted a huge crop of mushrooms and other fungi
throughout the fall. The weather also provided a great environment for tree frogs
and other amphibians.
Last year, Alice worked at Pickering College and so this year, the school organized
a field trip to Camp Tawingo. It included a magnificaent couple of days for a
canoe trip to Rock Island on Lake Vernon.
Will House was also on our fall staff and carried us through a large number of fall
groups with Alice. For many children in the outdoor centre, a paddle in the
Tawingo freighter canoes is a first-time experience.
Over the past few years, we have experienced some extensive forest damage at the
hands of severe winds and strong storms. This group is getting a chance to examine the underside of a huge root plate to marvel at a tree’s strength.
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HOKAHEY!
FORMER STAFF - FUTURE CAMPERS
BAXTER
BERRY
We want to start our alumni families
off on the right foot. When a baby is born
and we hear about it within three months
of the birth, Camp sends the new camper
their first Camp Tawingo T-shirt right
away. Be sure to let us know at
alumni@tawingo.net
May 25, 2008
to Brian & Joelle Berry
granddaughter to Jennifer Berry
We are also thrilled to hear about other
‘instant’ families (through adoption, marriage and special circumstances).
June 2008
to Tim and Joanna Dowell
brother to Tessa and Cam
LUCAS
DOWELL
Hayley Carlyle Shepherd
MOLLY-LYNN
BATTLER
Help us spread the news with the particulars you would like to share with your
Camp family. Just send it along to alumni@tawingo.net
August 16, 2008
to Sue (Woosnam) and Mike Battler
JACK GORDON
BIRNIE
STELLA
HUMPHREY
October 31, 2008
to Pat and Becca Birnie
May 25, 2008
to Shannon (Hanna) & David Humphrey
OLIVIA ALICE
WRIGHT SINCLAIR
HAYLEY CARLYLE
SHEPHERD
December 3, 2008
to Craig and Erica Shepherd
and sister to Sophie
May 13, 2008
to Sarah Wright and Charlie Sinclair
and sister Sophie
Baxter Berry
Jocelyn Anne Revie D’Arcy
Amy Herringer and Paul Joliat (both Tawingo alumni and baby Reid are all doing fine
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FORMER STAFF - FUTURE CAMPERS
JOCELYN ANNE REVIE
D'ARCEY
April 16, 2008
to Gillian Revie & Paul-Francis D'Arcey
WILLIAM TOMAS
UNDERYS
August 10, 2008
to Blythe (Williams) and Linas Underys
niece to Trish and cousin to Charlie and
Pippa
ALLY ELIZABETH D'CRUZ
SIMONETT
September 23, 2008
to Geoff Simonett and Tracy D’Cruz
and sister to Rye and Wilson
DAFNI ROSE
MOUNTRAKIS
October 6, 2008
to Gillian (AvRuskin) and Giorgos
Mountrakis
JONAH
CUTLER
Turtle Babysitting?: Tessa and Cameron Dowell begin their brother, Luke’s indoctrination into Camp life, no
doubt discussing the camp skills and and adventures that lie ahead.
September 23, 2008
to Nat (Welsh) and Matthew Cutler
Ben Zymerman
Family Foto: Ally Simonett joins the family on a full hospital bed this past September. Brother Wilson holds
Ally while Tracy, Rye and Geoff smile for the camera.
Reid Joliat
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WEDDING NEWS
Nadine Dunk Graham. She and her
husband are both very close to completing their PhD's and in the meantime,
have
moved
down
to
Philadelphia to pursue post-doctoral
training. It's been a busy year so far
for Nadine, and it doesn't appear to be
slowing down any time soon! She is
enjoying Philadelphia, and the double
work schedules won't last for much
longer! She's not a Dr. yet... but soon!
AMANDA BURRY and Mike Rose
October 28, 2008
G EOFF S IMONETT
ENGAGING NEWS
CARLY COOPER-EDWARDS and Jeff Hockett
June 27, 2009
HAYLEY GRATTO and Luke Gilgan
MEGAN BIRK and David Carter
OTHER NEWS
K AREN B ENDER
Karen is living in Australia at the
moment and is involved with the
Australian Football League. In the
league, all the teams have a team song
that they sing when they win a match.
This is typically televised from the
winning team's locker room straight
after the game. They've been hearing a
whole lot of "Oh When The Saints..." as
the St Kilda Saints have been overcoming adversity to make it through the
finals. Karen reports "How funny that
every time I hear the song, I'm brought
back to lunch time sing song and the
Saints medley - the Aussies can't figure
out why I'm singing 'Good Night
Ladies'!"
N ADINE D UNK
Nadine got married at the beginning of
May and though she still goes as
Nadine Dunk, she is unofficially
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Boy oh Boy, it's a…GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Geoff, Tracy, Rye and Wilson Simonett
and his family are thrilled to announce
the arrival of their precious little girl,
Ally Elizabeth D'Cruz Simonett. Ally
arrived September 23rd, 2008 at
4:14pm. She weighed 7lbs, 11 ounces
and reached 19 inches. Ally is ever so
sweet and makes our family happily
complete.
B RAD M OFFAT 2002-2004
After working for several summers as
a private ambulance attendant in
Hamilton and completing an Honours
Bachelor of Medical Science degree,
double-major in physiology and pharmacology/toxicology
from
the
University of Western Ontario, Brad
was accepted into medical school at
Western. He just finished his first year
and is currently doing clinical research
in the Emergency Department here in
London. Brad has three more years of
school before he'll have to pick a specialty and complete a 5 year residency
in that area. In a class of 147, there
was bound to be at least one Tawingo
connection - One of Brad's classmates,
Matt Cruickshank, was a camper at
Tawingo! Brad has been keeping himself busy volunteering with the UWO
campus ambulance team as well as
staying active refereeing intramural
hockey at the university and minor
hockey for the city.
B RYAN S UTHERLAND 2002-2003
Bryan Sutherland and Fellow Tawingo
Alumnus Corey Poole are in the band
which is going very well (OPOPO) and
they are enjoying very much. OPOPO
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went to Denmark for a festival showcase, they are also playing Virgin-fest
on Toronto Island and have been
signed with Urbnet records since
January. Their EP is in HMV now, and
their full length CD will be ready in
April. There are four band members
and you can check out more at
OPOPO.ca.
D AN P ATERSON 1995-99
Dan is currently living in Hong Kong
and holds the same job, in accounting,
he has held since he graduated from
Dalhousie. Dan just celebrated his
30th birthday and started a new job in
capital markets group helping Chinese
companies raise money in North
America, and he has almost completed
an
executive
MBA
through
IVEY/UWO.
S TEPHEN S WANN 75-87
Stephen lives in Toronto, with his wife
of ten years. He is currently teaching
English and ESL in the Toronto Distict
School board at North Albion
Collegiate Institute. They recently
bought a condo in Toronto. The year
prior to their move, Stephen completed his M.A. in English from the
University of Toronto. His wife holds a
PhD in theology from St. Michael's
College, U of T.
J ACKIE R UMBALL 1984
Jackie lives in Guelph with her 2 boys
Charlie is 4 and Josh is 12. She has
been a nurse for many years and last
year went back to school to do the
Nurse Practitioner Programme. Jackie
just finished and has been working for
the last month and loving it. It's an
advance practice nursing role which
includes making diagnoses, ordering
lab and diagnostics and prescribing
meds - much like the role of family
doctor. She is working in a practice
with 4 physicians and will be rostering
patients of her own which she is very
excited about.
J ESSICA Y ARNELL 2000-2002
Jessica is currently living in Calgary
working in Human Resources at a
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large oil and gas company called
EnCana. She works on a team that
organizes and manages all the Campus
Recruitment activities and the training
and development of students and new
grads. She actually manages to use a
few leadership techniques she learned
at Tawingo and could maybe even be
the queen of ice-breaker games!!! A
few months ago, Jessica had a random
encounter with fellow alumnus Paul
Joliat and had a quick chat and reminisced about Tawingo and the WJ.
K IM G LEN
Kim has recently returned from teaching English and Math in Thailand and
says it was an incredible experience!
She completed an 8 month contract at
an international school and then travelled for a month and a half before
returning to Victoria. It was a great
way to see what is going on in the
world and the people that live
there.....particularly in remote places
of Indonesia.
This summer Kim has been teaching
ESL and has been promoted to Activity
Coordinator for a language school in
Victoria. She is also teaching an outdoor fitness program. Kim is heading
to Valencia, Spain in January for a
year.
L AUREN C OMMEFORD 2001-03, 2006
Lauren moved to Shanghai, China in
January and started working at the
busiest ESL school in China. She was
living in China with a friend from university, who was also teaching, and
both were loving it. She has been able
to explore and learn a lot from Chinese
people and her students. She loves to
use her Drama experience in her teaching. She decided to continue her
adventure and relocated to Suwon,
South Korea, where she is currently
working in an English Kindergarten
and loving it. With her love for teach-
ing, Lauren has decided to go back to
school in Fall 2009, to become a
teacher.
S ANDRA (M AC D ONALD ) S ISNEROS 1985-86
Sandra and her husband, Brian have
been living in Queen Creek, AZ, about
50 miles south of Phoenix for about 2
1/2 years. Sandra divides her time
between her husband, her step-children (Trevor almost 16 and Dillan who
is 19) and their Harley Davidson. They
are also building a chopper in their
garage - they say it's a fun hobby and
have lots of friends that they ride with.
Brian works with her brother-in-law
for a multi-family home construction
in California but Arizona is home base.
Sandra is a project manager for an
electrical distributor, an International
company that has branches all over the
US, Canada and France and sell electrical and datacom material for residential and commercial construction.
Amanda Burry’s wedding to Mike Rose was a great opportunity to catch up with many Tawingo Alumni. The traditional weddig photos included
all former Tawingo Staff.
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ALUMNI FAMILY WEEKEND
BILL MILKS
ATTENDS AND HOSTS THE
ALUMNI EVENT
How many TLC boys have embellished the stories of just how hot that Council Fire was
when they went forward to answer the ‘call for fresh torches’? How many have proudly
displayed their singed eyebrows the next morning.
This past September, we held our twelfth
alumni fall weekend. In addition to the
family aspect of the weekend, we held a bit
of a mini-reunion. The TLC's of 1983 were
invited as Tawingo’s guest. It was wonderful to see old friends whom we have not
seen in, well... hmmm... in many years.
The 1983 TLCs who joined us were Andy
Gibb, Alison Loucks, Jeff Cunningham,
Ted Loucks, and Arnold Korpela.
The Family weekend included many of
the ‘usual suspects’ and supporters. James
Scott, Glen Farrow, Deb Turnbull, Mimi
Drouin, Chris Pilcher, Sandy Sonstenes,
and their families were also there to enjoy
the weekend. We all enjoyed the kayaking,
baseball, swimming, miniputt, hiking, and
a cruise on the the pirate raft.
The Saturday evening begins with a great
variety night, and ends with a warm fire in
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SEPTEMBER
WINTER A
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February
13-16,
2009
Valentin
e’s Day
AND
Holiday
Monday
Registrati
on forms
are avail
at Camp
or On-Lin able
e
the Alumni Circle. The stars
were so magnificent on Saturday night,
that Jorgi had a number of the kids and
adults at the Star Board down by the Don
Hayes building for a quick review of Turtle
and Fox stars.
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FEBRUARY
A group of alumni trooped along Ravenscliffe Road last September recalling the traditional
trip to Grey’s Store where every camper could spend a quarter. In this photo: Sandy
Sonstenes, Mimi Drouin, Deb Turnbull, Chris Pilcher, Lindy Young and Andrew Gibb.
How many campers have been challenged and coached by Milker over the years in the
skills of chess, ping pong or basketball? How many have also learned the skills of humility
in victory and grace in defeat at the same time.
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It was a great weekend and I am looking
forward to the winter weekend. This year
will be a special winter event that includes
three nights at Camp from Friday,
February 13 to Monday, February 16. It
may seem to start on an inlucky note but
the Saturday is Valentine’s Day. What better way to say I Love You (and I Love
Camp) than bringing your family and
friends to Camp!
If it has been a while since you have been
to Camp, I urge you to attend one of our
weekends. They occur in the fall (following
the Labour Day weekend) and in the winter (over the Family Day Holiday weekend.) There are other Camp family weekends in the fall and winter where some
alumni who cannot attend the official
alumni events bring, visit and meet old &
new friends.
Milker
How many campers have dropped letters to their parents into the White House mailbox?
Anna and Emily first joined mom (Peggy Moss) and dad (John Beebe) at an alumni family
weekend and then jumped right into summer camp to create their own memories.
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WE TRACKED DOWN JESSE GRIFFITHS
It has been a couple of years now since I
slept in a rickety old bunk bed on staff line
or stayed up well into the night perfecting
an all boy's program which I will only
admit now might have been a little elaborate. But what is it like when you no longer
call 1844 Ravenscliffe Road your summer
home?
AND ASKED:
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RE-CONNECTION
"WHERE
The summer months are always a busy
time for professional theatre in Ontario. If
it was not for this fact, I could almost guarantee I would still be planning All Camp
Programs and organizing slideshows to
this day. But that is the great thing about
Tawingo and the Ontario Camping
Association. Despite the fact I have not
been a staff member for a handful of years,
I have been able to keep my finger in the
pie by participating at OCA conferences
either as a workshop leader or a speaker.
This allows me to not only pass along the
knowledge I have accumulated, but it also
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helps me keep in touch with the wonderful
people I have met along my journey. While
I am honoured every time I am asked to
participate at a skills weekend or conference I am also humbled by the fact that you
would not be hard-pressed to find any staff
member to lead a workshop with their own
unique sense of flair and professionalism.
"Actors, this is your ten minute call ten
minutes". The familiar sound of our stage
manager's voice booms over the backstage
intercom. It is common theatre practice to
give actors time updates, but the practical
part is quickly forgotten and in its place is
an ever-growing anticipation and excitement that can only be quelled by entering
onto that stage, under the lights, in front of
that audience and telling a story for the
first time. Or, so it should seem.
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REFLECTION
CAMP HELP YOU GET THERE?"
This moment has been in the works for
months beginning with the first chapter in
every shows process, the audition. The
Gladstone Theatre, a brand new theatrical
venture in Ottawa resides in the old home
of the Great Canadian Theatre Company at
910 Gladstone in the heart of Little Italy.
The play is Rabbit Hole, a 2006 Pulitzer
Prize winner about a family dealing with a
sudden and tragic death. I was currently
performing in William Shakespeare's Two
Gentlemen of Verona in Toronto, but the
Rabbit Hole audition was in Ottawa. So at
seven in the morning I took the four hour
ride to Ottawa for a ten minute audition,
only to turn right around and head back.
Despite Toronto's best attempt to slow my
arrival with its famous gridlock rush hour,
I arrived just in time to perform that night.
"Actors, this is your 5 minute call, 5 minutes". Unlike other professions, a night of
performing often does not begin when the
curtain goes up. Every actor I know has
their own show routine. Mine will usually
begin with either a trip to the gym or a
yoga class to begin the process of warming
up. Then it's back home for a quick bite and
then off to the theatre arriving at least an
hour and a half before the curtain goes up.
Once there it is another hour period of
stretching and vocal warm-ups followed
by costume, makeup a quick Sudoku (I
really like Sudoku) and then the fun
begins.
"Actors this is your 2 minute call, 2 minutes". This is where it gets exciting as your
transformation takes place. You forget
everything going on outside of the building and concentrate on the task at hand.
Every breath you take subtly forces a wave
of tranquility to surge through your body.
Your focus shifts and gradually so does
your personae. What begins to emerge is
Jesse, Andy Young and Hayley Gratto worked in the Program Department and goofed around at the Hi Welcome Sign on a first day of Camp.
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ARE YOU NOW AND HOW DID
For those of you I have yet to have the
pleasure of meeting a little background
information might be beneficial. I attended
Tawingo for the first time in the summer of
1995 and never missed a beat until my last
year in 2007. In that time I was a camper
(my favourite job to date), VA participant,
counselor, circle director and program cocoordinator.
Like many of the staff members at camp,
I have numerous passions but the one I
have decided to pursue is acting. Growing
up in Ottawa I attended the Canterbury
School for the Arts where upon graduation
I moved to Toronto and studied at Ryerson
Theatre School. It is coming up on nearly
two years since my graduation and I am
proud to say my friends and I have all had
our fair share of success in film, television
and theatre.
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your hero, villain, son, father, king or cop.
"Actors places, actors to your places
please". From here on in you disregard all
your training, you toss away your three
weeks of rehearsals, your concerns about
act two scene one and especially that little
piece of blocking that has never felt right.
You ignore the silent murmur of the audience. The house lights fade to black, you
move silently onto stage and the journey
begins. This was my routine for three
weeks. Routine is probably the wrong
word. Routine denotes some sort of predictability, but a live performance is anything but predictable. The number of
things that can change on the fly, break,
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turn on or not turn on, lines missed or lines
completely changed creates an atmosphere
of complete irregularity, spontaneity and
authenticity. Who could ask for a better
workplace?
What makes the transformation from the
campfire to centre stage so seamless are the
numerous similarities between the two. In
both situations there is a strong sense of
community and team work. You are surrounded by dedicated and passionate people both pursuing a similar goal. Along the
way there are always unexpected delays
but you can rely on your peers to pull
through. The spirit of camping is one we all
share. While it is undoubtedly the
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strongest during the heart of the summer
months, it is with us throughout the year. It
can be shared in the form of phone calls,
hugs, Facebook messages, postcards and
emails. As I write this article there is a bitter sweet pang of nostalgia. I am reminded
of all the wonderful memories and friends
that I have made at Camp Tawingo. As the
Holiday season approaches I would
encourage you to take a couple of minutes
out of your day and remind those special
people how thankful you are to have them
in your life.
So, if you are reading this, THANK YOU!
HOKAHEY - SUMMER CAMP NEWS
HERE IS A QUICK UPDATE OF THE HAPPENINGS IN AND AROUND THE SUMMER CAMP WE ALL KNOW...
Here at Camp the snow has been falling Little Green Hut; or, if you're a wiz with a
(and is still falling) for the better part of a photocopier, working in the White House
SUMMER CAMP DATES
month…which can only mean one with Wendy Muir; or, perhaps if you're a
thing…it's time for Summer Camp, again! nurse, you would prefer working in our
FIRST SESSION
Well, at least it's time to REGISTER for Health Centre!
Tuesday June 30 to Friday July 17 (18 days)
Summer Camp, again. Indeed, we have
Summer 2008 was a tremendously sucSECOND SESSION
registered 540 campers to date (December
9), which is a record for us at this time of cessful summer at Camp Tawingo - partic- Sunday July 19 to Friday August 7 (20 days)
year! Knock on wood, somebody please, ularly from a programming and wholeSESSION 2A
some, no holds barred, man-that-was-justthat it continues like this!!
a-huge-boatload-of-fun point of view. Sunday July 19 to Saturday August 1 (14 days)
We thought you might like to know True, we had an outbreak of an innocuous
SESSION 2B
about the dates for summer 2009, just in gastro-intestinal bug…but we beat it as a
Sunday August 2 to Friday August 7 (6 days)
case you wanted to visit and see the place staff team and didn't lose a step in our proin action one more time (and you are gramming with and for campers throughTHIRD SESSION
always welcome), or perhaps even work out the ordeal! Indeed, the staff did Sunday August 9 to Monday August 24 (16 days)
for a Period (or two, or three) and be a part absolutely wonderful work all summer
Then, of course, there are our VA, WJ and
of the action one more time. (Imagine long; campers were everywhere safe and
working with Barrie Laughton in our happy; and there was a really good feeling TLC Programs. The TLC still runs all sumProperty Department - cutting grass, ham- at all levels and all over. With the memo- mer long; and we are hoping to run two
mering a few nails, doing garbage runs, ries of last summer still fresh and warm in WJs and two VAs this summer - one of
unplugging the odd toilet; or working with our minds and hearts, we look forward each in each of the First and Second
Jorgi in a program area, like Crestwood, with great anticipation to summer 2009 Sessions!
SWAMP Lodge, the Waterfront or at the and year 49!
The third leg of the Ray Marinko Relay shows great sportsmanship and support as
they wait for the first signs of their team mates before running their team’s baton
to the Birch Beach canoes.
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A new addition to the waterfront and sailing fleet is a Hobie Cat catamaran. With
the Huck Finn pirate raft in the foreground, the range of sailing options is now
quite broad.
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The general store at the top of the hill in the hamlet of Ravenscliffe is now a private resideence. It used to welcome dozens od Tawingo campers over the days of a Camp session when one of the much anticipated activities
used to be stopping in at the White House to get a quarter and then hiking through the woods and up the hill
to the store where you could walk out with treasures such as blackballs, licorice or gum. You could even pol
your money and buy a magazine!
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One of the Ray Marinko Relay announcements was
an Office and Property Staff rendering of Greased
Lightning. Picture Barrie and Brucebo on a golf cart
rolling around the Dining Hall. It is true that at
Camp we are forever young.
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TAW I N G O C O L L E G E - “THE
SPECTEMUR AGENDO - LET US
We would like to introduce our
two new teachers who have
joined 54 students for the 2008-09
academic year. A familiar name
to Camp Tawingo, Meghan
Irvine, is our Grade 3/4 teacher.
At Camp, she has been a Circle
Director, Music/Art Director and
Leadership Coordinator last summer. Jillien Lundy now heads our
Grade 1/2 class. She was a
Counsellor, Head Counsellor and
Assistant Nature Director during
her summers at Tawingo. Both
Meghan and Jillien have brought
a wealth of experience to their
new roles at the College. In the first few
months of school, they have both had a
major impact on their students and fellow
teachers.
Jordan Stevens (JK/SK), Jeff Laughton
(Grades 5/6), Leigh Fettes (Grades 7/8),
Tia Pearse (Drama), Mar "MoNa" (Mother
Nature) Hogue (Outdoor Education and
French), Mike Pearse (Student Parliament
Advisor) and Barrie Laughton (Principal)
round out the current teaching staff.
In late August, a number of the Tawingo
Family - Barb and Lila Jorgenson, Jeff
Laughton and Catherine Macrae along
with their sons, David, William and James,
Carol and Barrie Laughton, Nancy
(Stewart) Neve, former JK/SK teacher and
her husband Fraser and some Tawingo
College students and families attended
Shannon Ramsay and Scott Elgie's wedding at Laurentian Lodge, north of Eliott
Lake.
Our students continue to perform at a
very high academic level. As usual, the
students and staff have been very active:
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addressed the hazards associated
with alcohol and other drugs
Our Hallowe'en Fair (including
the "Dreadful Castle of Doom"
and many game booths in
Laughton Hall) was preceeded by
our Family Luncheon - both
enjoyed by all!
Our JK/SK class visited the
Hillier Farm. How exciting for
the K-Pals to see newborn llamas!
The Terry Fox Run raising over $1,000.00 for
cancer research
A cross-country run (Muskoka Fun Run) at
Annie Williams Park at Bracebridge - with
some outstanding individual and team
results
Our annual visit to the Huntsville
Centennial Pool where all our students are
evaluated on their swimming ability in
preparation for our water programs, spring
outtrips, etc.
All classes participated in fall hikes and lunchouts. Our senior students enjoyed a
Photography field trip organized by teachers, Jeff Laughton and Leigh Fettes
Mike Pearse and the Student Parliament representatives organized a number of "Spirit"
events for the College - "Come as What You
Wish to be When You Grow Up Day",
"Bright Colours Day" and a Pumpkin
(scariest and wakiest) Carving Contest.
The Grade 7/8 class attended a multi-media
presentation "Dead on Arrival" at the
Algonquin Theatre in Huntsville which
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The Grade 5-8 classes attended the
Remembrance Day Ceremony at
the Cenotaph in Huntsville. Two
Tawingo College students, Sydney
Armstrong and Jack Dettmer, placed a
wreath at the Legion.
Tia Pearse, our Drama teacher, with the
assistance of all our teachers, organized our
annual Arts Concert with participation by
all students - a well-attended presentation
by families and friends
Operation Christmas Child - our students
filled shoe boxes with gifts for needy children around the world
Tawingo College was delighted to participate
in the celebration of World Peace Week. A
"Peace Tree" was constructed and every
student attached a drawing or message to a
branch for display at the Huntsville Mall
It's starting to snow heavily and we must
run as the students will be tobogganing
and sledding during recess at the front of
the school.
The students and staff of Tawingo
College send "Best Wishes for a happy
Holiday Season".
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TLC ‘84 - 25 YEAR REUNION
The year was 1984 and you were probably
16 years old...
The phrase on everybody’s lips was:
“Where’s the Beef?” made famous by
Clara Peller in a Wendy’s commercial.
ing you to dust off the old TLC shirt and
make a trek back to Camp. We are inviting
you to join us as our guests at the fall
Alumni weekend. You are invited to bring
along your family at a special reduced rate,
if you wish.
The list of TLCs from that year is complete
but we are seeking contact information for
a few of them. We have some information
on many of these TLCs. If you can help
spread the word and help us locate any of
these lost sheep, we would appreciate
hearing it - alumni@tawingo.net.
The Olympics were held in Sarajevo
and Los Angeles (The Russians took a
pass on L.A.).
We will be in touch with more information.
1984 TLC
SUSAN HRISCHENKO
GRAHAM ARNOLD
MICHAEL RACICOT
Pierre Trudeau took his famous walk in
the snow and announced his retirement.
HAYLEY AVRUSKIN
ALEXANDRA MARTIN
MICHAEL BOYLE
MARK SHEPHERD
VANESSA BRADDEN
JENNIFER MORGAN
MICHAEL COWAN
CAMERON TIESMA
Marc Garneau is the first Canadian in
space.
ANDRIA DARBY
KELLY PRENDERGAST
BRIAN DELAHEY
JILL DELAHEY
HEATHER PROWTEN
GRAHAM GIBB
TLC DIRECTORS
SARAH DAY
JULIE SELLERY
DONALD HAAG
JOHN JORGENSON
MARTHA GREEN
RUTH SELLERY
JON MAECKER
LISA MCKEEN
ROBYN GUEST
HEATHER TOTTEN
DOUG PALM
You might have been the first person
on your block to buy Apple’s first Mac
or Panasonic’s first CD player on the
market.
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COSTUMES
PHOTOS
You might have donned one glove and
moonwalked your way through
Michael Jackson’s Thriller or belted out
one of Wham!’s - Wake Me Up Before
You Go or Tina Turner’s - What’s Love
Got To Do With It.
You were probably assigned a role in
the Boys’ Camp or Girls’ Camp version
of the latest movies: Ghostbusters,
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom or
Beverly Hills Cop.
If you were a Royals watcher, you were
thrilled Princess Diana was about to
give birth to Prince Harry.
Your hair was getting big, you probably owned a pair of acid-washed jeans,
Doc Martens or a preppy sweater to
wear over a Lacoste T-shirt (maybe all
three...)
Do you have any costumes lying
around, games (complete with all the
pieces), children’s puzzles, etc. for us to
pass along to summer camp? You may
not recognize them as costumes. They may
be your precious bell bottoms, prom dress
or first suit coat.
Camp appreciates these kinds of
donations to help with their retrospective
musical revues, Aliens on the Mountain
Programs and Library Tournaments. Send
them along to Camp at anytime.
Our displays are not complete. We
would like to digitize or photograph your
mementoes and complete our collection.
Bring them with you to the next alumni
weekend, or send them to Camp anytime.
Sandy (Sonstenes) Young even found a
few old Tawingo postcards on E-Bay.
GUITARS
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Do you have any musical instruments that you can spare? We have a huge
resurgence in interest for music, musical
instruments and instruction. It takes us
back to Jan Gillin’s Ukelele Club! The
Music Department is now offering a daily
Interest Group option of everything from
guitar lessons and drumming circles to
dance routines and choral work.
The Library continues to be the place
to be during free time. Tournaments
galore, cabin Jenga challenges and the onligatory game of cut-throat Risk are offset
with comics from the Archie shelf and
other more sophisticated reading (my
favourite is Nancy Drew...)
As a TLC, you were in for quite a year
under the leadership of John Jorgenson
and Lisa McKeen. Camp changes included:
More Campfire Programs is the latest
of the Tawingo Publications
Gatehouse is renovated into a duplex Westgate and Eastgate
Washington Square is built from the
Gatehouse shed
Don Hayes Building is rotated 90
degrees
First computer installed in White
House
And now it is 25 years later. We are invit-
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Do you have any photos of Camp
over the years? We are looking for the
snapshots and special memory photos.
What about birthday cards from various
eras. Old Staff Shirts, sweatshirts and other
Camp Paraphenalia.
Camp will put any decent instrument
into action for these sessions as well as
musical meals and the musical itself.
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We value any and all light reading
books as well as oversize and picture
books on any topic. Tawingo College is
also always pleased to consider your donations.
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a productive life, and is much better adjusted than I imagine he
might have been without having had the time at Camp.
Discussions with his mother and personal observation of his
behaviour confirm this view.
Barrie keeps a file of many such letters and observations. As
part of his Campership FUNd portfolio these letters from
campers, sponsors, and parents relate how the camping experience has helped these sponsored children improve school performance, gain confidence and develop self esteem, all while
gaining a greater sense of personal responsibility. In short, these
children are on their way to becoming active, contributing members of their community and better motivated to fill their own
personal potential.
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will continue to do so as long as we maintain that commitment to
preserving the best principles of the Camp experience for children.
As the festive season approaches, and we are all coping with
tumultuous capital markets, global events of terrorism & torture
and the continual infringement on human rights, let us consider
that there is far more right with the world than wrong.
I suggest that this may be, in part, a result of our collective
acts of kindness, some of which is allowed to develop while at
Camp... it does make a difference!
May the New Year bring you and your family peace, health
and prosperity.
Cheers
Kris Birchard
So as I listened to Jack and the BCB, I thought to myself, we
can make a difference, in fact, we are making a difference and
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W e w ou l d l ove t o d ou b l e c h ec k you r e- m a i l
ad d r es s t o k eep i n t ou c h w i t h t h i s n ew s l e t t e r a n d
m or e n ew s ab ou t C am p . S en d i t al on g t o u s a t
al u m n i @t aw i n go. n et
C h ec k ou t T aw i n go A l u m n i C i r c l e
on F A C E B O O K , t oo!
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Prepared/Written: Tawingo Alumni Circle Steering Committee
Newsletter Editor: Carly Cooper-Edwards
Layout: John Jorgenson
Camp Tawingo
1844 Ravenscliffe Road, Huntsville ON P1H 2N2 CANADA
Telephone: (705) 789 5612 - - - Fax: (705) 789 6624
alumni@tawingo.net - - - Website: www.tawingo.net
Please consider the impact on the environment by choosing to print this newsletter only if necessary.
This newsletter (when printed at Camp) is printed on recycled paper stock
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