During a beautiful autumnal Frost Valley weekend, friends and family of the late Eric Blum gathered in the valley to remember this remarkable guy. On Saturday at 4 PM we began to celebrate in Blum style: beer, meat of all sort grilling on the grills, and, later, cigars. The cigar band was specially designed with a photo of Eric on it. The meat started at 4 and was still coming (ribs prepared by Eric's BBQ partner John, who had come from Virginia for the occasion) at 9:30 PM. If Eric had been there, he would have insisted on "nothing green on anyone's plate," but, well, we caved and there was salad too and even veggie burgers. On Sunday morning we gathered in the Ketcham Chapel for the part that Eric would not have enjoyed: sentiment, affection, serious expressions of love, in addition to some hilarious Blum stories. Scroll down for the videos of Matt's and Mark's testimonials and you'll see what I mean.
Dave Bieler & Joe Elliot (right).
Sue Geller and Matt Buczek.
Dave Bieler with Nina Braun.
Brian Sense (who flew in from Colorado) with current Adventure Director Lincoln McLain.
Kam, Jackson, Jeff, Dan and Joe.
Three Adventure Directors across the years.
Dan Goldman with Katie Kelly.
A letter Eric wrote to his FV staff colleagues one summer.
Rick Kaskel, Claudia Swain, Phyllis Kaskel and Bud Cox hang out with Sue Geller's adorable daughter.
Just some of the annual "Camp Schlep" T-shirts Eric had made each summer. If you were up (or down!) to the standards of real Frost Valley schlepping, you got one of these.
One summer Eric made his own weekly schedule - Schlep Village! Notice the activities.
Eric volunteered for many, many summers. In the late 90s Peter Swain drew up a mock contract. Here's one of them.
Jerry Huncosky (who coordinated the entire weekend of events) with Melissa Pauls.
Peter Swain with Lincoln.
On Sunday morning family and friends began gathering around the site on Memorial Island in Reflection Pond before the service began in the chapel. Eric's ashes are buried here, and there is a plaque (see below) along with a miniature of the log bench Eric loved to sit on as he gazed at camp's activities from his spot in from of Margetts Lodge.
Lillian Rountree traveled from Pittsburgh. Here she is with Peter Swain, once her camp director.
Dear Frost Valley friends, former staff & campers:
I'm sorry to pass along the extremely sad news that Jane Brown died
last night at around 8 PM at her home in Massachusetts. The family will
be gathering privately at some point soon to memorialize her and she
will be buried next to Halbe.
If there is additional word from
the family about how Jane's many, many, many Frost Valley friends can
remember her and acknowledge her passing, I will write again very soon.
Meantime, for those of you who use Facebook: we encourage you to post
your memories of Jane, and condolences, to the Facebook group we set up
at the time of Halbe's passing a year ago -
This is a FB group one must join. If you aren't already a member, just
request it, and you will be added - and then can post and read others'
posts about Jane. I will collect remembrances soon and will post them
to the Frost Valley alumni blog.
For thirty-five years, Jane
Brown was the center of news and love and dedication and caring at Frost
Valley. She knew us all. She never forgot to acknowledge you -
remembered your birthdays, sweetly noted the births of your children and
honored your marriage or partnership, and sought you out to offer
consolation when a parent or loved one passed away. Now it's time for us
to remember her as she passes. A very sad full circle, I must say.
With kindest wishes for the Frost Valley family who comes together at moments like this,
Those familiar with Geyer Hall will immediately know where this photo was taken. But notice the dining hall tables! Yes, this was McClain Hall, known to everyone as the "girls' dining hall." We're looking out at the lovely view this high-up building has always had. Close observers will also notice the yellow plates and bowls. And: not just pepper and salt shakers on every table, but sugar shakers too! What I remember about this building was the breeze: there was always such good air flow.
From left standing: Loretta Maurer, Lauren Kraft, Melanie Mackin, Lisa Ernst, Carole Wolf, Linda Caplan, Jayne Oeschle, Mindy Pfeiffer, Kerry McIntyre; kneeling from left: Debbie McDonald, Nancy Kachline, Melanie Brown, Barb Bergen, Ellen Alina. The photo was provided by Lauren Kraft Rothberg.
The same John Giannotti who carved our second Totem Pole at FV's main entrance (in the early 80s) is of course a world-famous sculptor. I spent time with John the other night in Haddonfield, NJ, where he lives with his wife Toni, their son Del (2013 Hemlock counselor), John's adult children (Keara and Dani - both longtime FV people - and grandchildren (one of whom is a FV camper).
Anyway, the other night we went to dinner in downtown Haddonfield and happened to pass by the famous dinosaur sculpture John created about ten years ago. Here's a picture of John with his art. And here is a link to an article about that project.
Richard Bell is a Frost Valley dad. His son John was a camper in Hemlock this summer. One of John's counselors was Braxton Bohn. Richard and I got to talking. His older daughter Samantha was a Frost Valley counselor back in 2003. Her assignment was....a cabin in Totem (boys)! Okay. Samantha took a snapshot of her cabin in '03 and passed it along to Richard, who passed it along to me, and, lo and behold, there's Braxton Bohn as a Totemite (the blonde kid right in front of the door).
Here's a snap of John Giannotti as a young child. Notice that he's holding a piece of chalk, and notice that he's already drawn something on the pavement.
It seemed time to gather together photos and recordings. I'd always hesitated because I didn't want to imply that my own take was definitive. The blog--the medium of the blog--seems the right combination of diary-like subjectivity (blog readers simply know this is the blogger talking) and a communal forum for various perspectives and multiple stories.
Castle depicted in old postcard
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When I die let my ashes flow down Biscuit River, let 'em roll on in water the color of sky. I'll be halfway to heaven at a New Wawayanda, saying "Wawayanda spirit it never did die."
is a place where good things happen when people pay attention to each other. There’s endless beauty here - the high meadows, blankets of evergreens, and pristine brook trails – and you can meet nature in all its forms. But more than that, it’s a place where our ties to friends and family are strengthened. When a community of people came to the Catskills to build Frost Valley, they had in mind a place where you can sit next to someone you think you know, and then really get to know them. It also happens to be where the everyday light and shadow is enough to inspire artists; where American fly-fishing was born; and where today, a quarter million acres of green forests still remain “forever wild.” At Frost Valley, where we are does have an effect on how we treat each other. Here, a family can relearn what “family style” means as they share a meal together. The rose-gray river stones in the hearths and chimneys around camp reflect the colors of nearby Biscuit Creek and pull you into the surroundings. If you need more reasons why it’s so special here, we encourage you to explore citizen science activities during every season. But you don’t have to, because you might have more fun just learning silly camp songs. And by the end of your stay, when you your family and newly found friends are composting like pros together, everyone becomes richer, including next year’s butterfly garden.
after lunch, inevitably Dave King
...and if I could transport myself
not just back to this place, but to a certain moment in my personal history here, it would perhaps be:
end of lunch on any July day in 1968, and Dave King (our camp director) walks to the center of the dining hall, without microphone, and without introduction of any kind begins to lead one of the 25 or so camp songs we sang in those days. He is the maestro, waving one arm to the rhythm we are to follow and with the other arm, at turns, directing us to sing quietly or loudly or pointing toward some one camper who isn't singing or (rarely) is talking. And it's "Young Folks Old Folks" or "Zum Gali Gali" or "Deep and Wide" and I look down to the end of the table at my counselor and he's singing too, no hesitation, not too old for this, totally entranced and I myself turn my gaze back toward Dave....
Okay, I ache for that. Not being young again, not quite. More like being momentarily again part of such harmony.
"The blog is awesome - I just went back through the whole thing again. I'll say this without shame - I ache for Frost Valley. I spend a lot of time and cerebral metabolism trying to devise a way I can get back up there for a session...."
waterfront 1961
looking in the direction of Wildcat Mtn. and the boathouse (which is off to the left)
definition of "Village Chief"
Village Chief\vil aj cheef\ n: An overworked, underpaid, camp official expected to be everything to everyone, including, but not limited to, Counselor, Mediator, Motivator, Programmer, Administrator, Police Officer, Caretaker, and Supervisor, all while maintaining good working relationships with parents, campers, counselors and support staff, and without whom any summer camp would struggle to function adequately.
Wawayanda flag raising
July 2006
Dot Conklin
is an original Catskills denizen. She has family scattered all across the region, she knows all the old stories about one-room schoolhouses, what this Claryville house was used for in the old days, and so on. Dot was the first recipient of a recent annual staff award, and when she received this honor everyone stood and applauded, tears in their eyes. Finally a chance to recognize a true community elder - hard working, honest, a kind & beautiful soul. [LINK]
