Gail on the '72 flood & Pigeon Lodge

Gail McNeill writes: "In ’72, I was late getting to FV for my first summer because the bridges were washed out on the road, and we were kayaking on Big Tree Field that year. I remember the waters lapping at Pigeon many times. . . but gone? Wow. Memories. . . doing linens on Sunday afternoons, and many a root beer float (and budding romance) at the staff lounge. I can believe there is much work to do."

Yes, it's true: Pigeon Lodge was for many years the summertime staff lounge, open in the evenings with a full kitchen (cheesburgers, root beer floats, etc.).

John Paul Thomas

John Paul Thomas in the summer of 1972 - at the Wawayanda Chapel one Sunday morning. I'll be he was singing "If I Had a Hammer." At other occasions - especially in later years - he sang a gorgeous version of "Rambling Boy." JPT started in around 1967 and in either '67 or '68 was our Archery Director. I think he was also, at least one summer, the Totam VC. In the early 70s he was a CIT Director, the LIT Director, and the did perhaps two summers as half-summer (July) Program Director. Some years later he came back and did stints as FV's Conference Director, living at camp all year. Last I heard, he was in North Carolina.

early days of XC skiing

When cross-country skiing was new at Frost Valley, around 1973. Those skis are clip-ons (you wore your own shoes and clipped them onto the ski by means of a contraption that fell apart often for the novice). The scene of course is the Big Tree Field (ski trail through the Big Tree Field?!) and at right you can see a tobaggan that had just come a long ways down the tobaggan run that started up near cabins 21-25 and emptied out across the field. If conditions were icy and slick enough, you could get all the way to the county road. The building to the center-right is the Lake House (where in those days the Food Service Director, Everett Lake, lived) and to the left is the old horsebarn. Yes in the summers we actually ran our horseback riding program out of that barn. An old, old, old barn, barely standing. It was affectionately known as the Lazy Nag Corral.

when lax was king

Lacrosse was the rage at Frost Valley in the 70s, starting--I would say--around '72. Two contributing factors in particular: the influx of campers and staff from Long Island, where lacrosse has long been a dominant sport, and the emergence of Montclair High School as a lacrosse power. Maurice Penn and Rick Cobb, both from Montclair, pushed it hard and it began to appear on the activity schedules. Next thing you know, camp has bought dozens of sticks. Maintenance built some goals. Now there are regular staff games and everyone is watching, hoping to learn a few things about the sport. There's probably a generation of campers who came of age in the mid-70s who first picked up a stick at FV. This photo was taken in the late 70s in the main field--hardcourts would be to the left, laundry straight ahead (Marie Hess' jeep parked out front).

Dave King Jr. who has had a longtime passion for lacrosse, was first taught by Rick Cobb right here. Cobb was a Montclair High star and went on to play at Hobart College. Dave still plays in the "Vail [Colorado] Shootout" every year. This is the premier gathering of the best lax players in the country; they play by age groups and Dave plays for a team named "The Adidas Magic Wands."

Dave meets up with Rick Cobb (who lives in Boulder) when he is there. And so it goes on, the Frost Valley connection... in all kinds of ways. Lax being one.

big-time lawyer a camper at heart

They harbor memories for years, for decades. Every summer there's that latent thrill. Something's happening up there in the mountains. Can I be a part? Then the children start to come of age and latency turns to consciousness. I know. I'll send the kids there. And then for months dinner conversations include village cheers, stories about stories, tales of super-tall, super-wide, super-funny strange and beautiful now-mythic counselors.

This has been happening. There are more former campers and counselors, now in their late thirties and forties, showing up on check-in day with their own kids, the parents more excited (if that's possible) than the kids, than I can recount or document in this blog.

One I can.

Jeff Gold was here from 1972-77. He never forgot its impact on him. Now he's the managing partner at a law firm. But he's a camp guy deep in. He found me on the 'net and has been corresponding with me. Yesterday he brought his daughter. It was a big moment.

I asked him what he learned from camp. Here's his response:


1. I learned to appreciate that which I have.

Upon arrival in Camp in 1972, I met my bunkmates in cabin 15, two of whom were on scholarship. Each came from the inner city, and it was evident that they had little in the way of material means. Coming from middle class Long Island, I had minimal contact with those from different economic strata, and it was an eye opener. Looking back, my liberal political beliefs began forming that summer.

Over the next five years, I had quite a number of bunk mates (and tent mates) who spent two or three days a week on dialysis. I spent many hours visiting with them while they underwent the procedure. Today, I’m a regular blood donor, and should I pass prematurely, I will be an organ donor.

2. I learned to share.

Long before there was the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, there was the Brotherhood of the Traveling Rugby shirt (Red and Yellow) which Albert Szabo I wore interchangeably during the summers, and which we each took home in alternating years. Albert and I shared a lot of laughs during our Frost Valley Years. Only recently, I used the one Hungarian word he taught me while playing poker on the Queen Mary 2.

3. I learned about soccer

My first exposure to soccer was at Frost Valley. I played throughout high school and have coached both my daughter in the sport for six years and my son for eight. I doubt I ever would have played the game if not for Frost Valley.

4 I learned about the weather.

Thanks to Miles [Weaver], I can still tell a day in advance if it is going to rain. Myle also taught me about fossils and I actually found one on one of his field trips. He also taught me to fish.

5 I learned about competition and that I don't like lake swimming.

During [Olympics], and while on a bicycle trip to the Montreal Olympics. The summer of 1976 bicycling from Albany to Montreal remains one of my childhood’s best memories.

6 I learned to appreciate the moment

There are events in everyone’s life where time stands still, and if you close your eyes you can picture the event as if it was just happening i.e. their wedding day, the birth of child, etc. At Frost Valley and on the bike trips that I took, I had many such moments. I still remember the day, I spent in the woods as part of the CIT training. It was a wondrous experience being alone in the woods with my thoughts. In 1975, I remember seeing Tommy at a theatre in Wolfsboro NH, and knowing that my taste in music would never be the same. I remember eating my first lobster while on that trip. From my 1976 bicycle trip from Albany to Montreal, I remember my first concert at Saratoga Performing Art Center (Seals & Croft). It was a great concert, but I knew I liked the Who better. I have wonderful memories of the Olympic Village, of watching Israel play Spain in Soccer and of watching Olympic Volleyball, Field Hockey and weightlifting. I remember Tom Roseberry (Rosebud) being one of the funniest people I’d ever met. I remember eating clam chowder on Cape Cod while it rained outside, and I remember Provincetown.

7 I learned about the country and the world from the counselors and campers I met along the way.

I think the most important lesson I learned at Frost Valley is that everyone is different, and that different wasn’t bad. I met campers and counselors from all parts of the country and from abroad and came to appreciate the diversity.

8. I learned to appreciate music.

The first time I heard an Elton John song was at Frost Valley (“Daniel” and “Goodbye Norma Jean”). The first time I heard the "Piano Man" was on bike trip from Frost Valley. (The last time was at Shea Stadium last week. I learned the Lord’s Prayer made a great song. I saw my first live concert while on a bike trip. I learned that some guy lives under the streets of Boston, and that even though we ain't got money, love is important.

9. I learned to appreciate comedy.

I still crack up at the thought of “The Important Papers”, The Three Thousand Year Old Man, or the "Looks like Dog Poop – good thing we didn’t step on it" skits. I remember Robert Pollard letting me listen to George Carlin’s seven dirty words. From that day on, I loved George Carlin.

10. I learned that its important to have fun when you’re young

Because it will bring a smile to your face when you no longer are.

1972 energy

David Magid was here today, dropping off his son Noah for camp. I can't remember when I last saw him (could be decades) but I have a distinct image of him as the smart, engaged, political, sometimes ascerbic counselor of Outpost cabin 15 ("the highest cabin in camp" - feet above sea level) in 1972. That summer he and Cathy Hale were an item - both very interesting people. Well, today I only had a few minutes with Dave but was happy that I thought to snap this picture. Welcome back to FV, Dave Magid!

Now the photo below won a prize, and the reproduction of it here comes originally from a newspaper reprint. It was taken in the Big Tree Field. It's a sack race - in action. The counselor in the back is....David Magid! Rick Heuser took the picture. He ran our photography program in those days. For this photo
Rick won an international photography contest - for its depiction of the "energy" of the girl in the race.

Boyd family redux

Elizabeth Boyd is a very, very talented counselor in Pokey this summer. She is the daughter of Peter Boyd, a former camper, CIT, LIT in 1972, and JC in '73, who has long since settled in Texas with his family. I had lunch with Elizabeth's cabin the other day and it was moving to see how attached to her the kids are. Peter's brothers David and Tim were also campers and staff members in the 70s. Peter and his family have traveled from Texas to Frost Valley many times in the past few summers - most recently between sessions 1 and 2 when he helped, along with other staff alumni, with check-in, greeting parents, escorting new campers up the hill to the villages, etc.