90th Reunion

90th Reunion attendees:
... and non-attendees as well, if you’d like to see what you missed... there are photos up in several places.  Jon Mullen’s photo record of the event is at http://www.flickr.com/photos/mondamin/sets/72157627506828997/, and there’s a collection of photos and videos at http://mondamin90threunion.shutterfly.com.  Rob Giersch set up a panaroma – taken with everyone in a circle in the gym – which is there, along with a bunch of photos taken at the reunion and some great old, old photos of alums and activities from decades ago.  Several videos are there, too.  One video you might especially enjoy was put together by Mike Trufant, with clips taken on the Green River paddling outing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acte17aSv4o

There were more than 200 alums here for the weekend, from every decade of camp with (I think) the exception of the 1920’s. We hiked and paddled and played on the waterfront and square danced and much more. But mainly we renewed friendships and told stories (some true), and remembered how important were the friends we made and the lessons we learned.  And (not least) we raised $35,000 for the scholarship foundation. Thanks to all who came!

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Two Benefits

A few weekends later we hosted a benefit at Green Cove, for Caroline Long Blackwell’s St. Gerard House for kids with autism (http://stgerardhouse.com).  It was called the Blues Festival, and the bands played all afternoon, into the night; games for kids, various booths, all set up on the Green Cove ball field made for a festive atmosphere. It was the second year for it… a fun day!

Another weekend Mondamin hosted an event for the Young Leaders program in Henderson County, an organization which identifies a number of kids in the area who would benefit from going to camp, and finds places for them at a number of local camps (including Mondamin and Green Cove). It’s called the BBQ  Ball, and involves a BBQ cook-off, held on the ball field, followed by a BBQ dinner in the dining room, and a square dance afterwards.  Part of the fun is the silent auction, where folks bid on anything from plane rides to horseback and biking outings.

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Camp Travel; New Green Cove DVD

If you were at Green Cove this summer, you know that Dusty was shooting LOTS of video, which will go into a brand new, high definition DVD.  We’ll be presenting that (and Mondamin’s, too, which was new in 2010) in a number of cities this fall. Our travel schedule is up at http://mondamin.com/travelsched.htm, and we look forward to seeing many of our current campers, staff, and alums, along with some prospective campers and their families. By Thanksgiving, we’ll have been to: Savannah, St. Simons Island, Birmingham, Richmond, Louisville (KY), Cincinnati, Tupelo, Memphis, Jackson (MS), Hammond (LA), New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Dallas, Houston, Austin, and Washington, DC.  More cities after that. Check the schedule and plan to come! 

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Summer Pictures

As all of our camp parents know, we put pictures up daily during the summer. We finally have all those files up on kodakgallery.com, so that you can get inexpensive, high quality prints of those you like.  Access them through our website, at http://mondamin.com/summer-photos.htm; hit the “Order Prints” button.

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Financial aid:

Last year, the Chief and Calla Scholarship foundation helped make possible roughly $175,000 in financial aid to families needing assistance to send their kids to camp. It’s a record number.

You can help. Check out http://www.chiefandcalla.org/, and give back.

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Interesting places (nothing to do with camp):

If you have any fascination for the far north, as I do, you might enjoy some photos I took of a trip Bill Felder (camp alum and current head of sailing) and I embarked on right after the reunion, to the northern tip of Labrador, a few hundred miles short of the Arctic Circle.  Check it out at http://mondamin.com/multimedia/labrador/index.htm. 

And if you like roaming a quiet, almost deserted white sand beach, and don't mind old, funky inns, try Dog Isand, less than five miles off the coast near Tallahassee. Bring your own food and water; expect a rusty refrigerator, no locks, fair lighting, sticky doors, bugs, and a thousand dollar ocean view. Thirty feet from your deck to the surf. There's a ferry and a small grass airstrip (FA43). http://www.thepelicaninn.com, or there are houses to rent there too.