put your mother on the ceiling

Windsong and PAC villages this afternoon, during third period, getting super-relaxed during my activity called "Put Your Mother on the Ceiling." I must say it's no mean trick getting these teenagers this relaxed. But I love how game they were.

Connor Donohue

Connor Donohue, a longtime camper and staffer whose most recent summer on the staff was 2006 (VC of Pac Village), died in an accident early Sunday morning. All of Connor's Frost Valley friends - and fans (he was a very talented counselor and loyal FV'er - mourn him, and are reaching out to his sister Caroline (she also a long-time FV'er) and their family.

The wake in memory of Connor will be at Moriarty Funeral Home (76 Park Street) in Montclair from 4 pm to 8 pm this Thursday, March 18th, 2010. The funeral service is the next day, March 19th at Saint Cassian Church (187 Bellevue Avenue) in Upper Montclair at 10:30 am. All are welcome at the wake and the funeral. If you have any questions, please email me at andrew.stephen.hammond@gmail.com or call (201) 444-2548.

Here is the text of an obituary: DONOHUE Connor, 24, loved son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin and friend, Antipoverty Advocate, of New York City, formerly of Ridgewood and Montclair, NJ died in a fall from his New York City apartment when the apartment's terraces railing broke away.A Funeral Mass will be held Friday, March 19th at 10:30 AM at St. Cassian's Church, 187 Bellevue Avenue, Upper Montclair, NJ. Visitation will be at the Hugh M. Moriarty Funeral Home, 76 Park Street, Montclair, NJ on Thursday from 4-8 PM. Connor was born June 6, 1985. This is the same birthday as his Aunt and Grandfather. He was first and foremost the finest son of his parents Jane and Pat could have ever dreamed of. His relationship with his sister Caroline was the best a brother and sister could ever have. He viewed himself as an Irish Catholic who loved his family above all things. He looked forward to Alexi Mantsios becoming his brother. It was his knowledge of how privileged and loved he was that formed the basis for his career choices. Connor was pursuing a career of service. He loved his work as Dean of Students at "Prep for Prep," a respected non-profit organization committed to improving educational opportunities for talented but under-served youth in New York. Connor recently started a new job as Program Officer for Strategy at "SingleStop USA" an innovative non-profit organization assisting thousands around the country emerge from poverty.In 2009, Connor was selected as a Fellow by the NYU Wagner School for Public Services for a Fellowship for Emerging Leaders in Public Services (FELPS). He currently served as Vice Chair for External Affairs on the board of Young Nonprofit Professionals Network, NYC.While at Connecticut College in New London, where Connor graduated Magna Cum Laude with a double major in music and English, he conceived and was the founder of "New London Music Tutoring" a tutoring program for underprivileged students in many local Schools.For 13 summers Connor attended Frost Valley YMCA camp in the Catskills as a camper and later as staff. Throughout those years he developed his passion for working and changing the lives of children. He is survived by his mother and father, Jane Lyons Donohue and Patrick, his sister Caroline, his future brother-in-law Alexi, his grandfather James Lyons, 19 aunts and uncles, and 35 first cousins. He loved his "other family," the Kaplans, with whom he shared endless hours of vacations and fun. Additionally, his many friends from all walks of life provided him endless love and support.Connor loved spending time with his large Irish Catholic family and the many friends who lovingly called him "Conman." He also loved music and the New York Yankees.Donations in Connor's remembrance and in lieu of flowers can be sent to Frost Valley YMCA, 2000 Frost Valley Road, Claryville, NY 12725 where a scholarship fund is being established. Please indicate "In Honor of Connor Donohue" on the donation.

Caroline asks that in lieu of flowers friends of Frost Valley make a donation to Frost Valley camperships in memory of Connor. Go here and click on "donate" and please note that your gift is being made in Connor's memory.

Connor's family will receive a letter from Frost Valley acknowledging your gift in his honor, and in this way they will feel the affection and concern of the entire FV community, and, in addition, some kids this summer will run crazily across the valley's fields, shouting in complete delight, and we'll know that in them Connor's voice can never be stilled.

Pac men for the ages

Well...at least for the age. By which I mean: for the 1990s. At the wedding of Jeff Daly and Kelly Zingone at Frost Valley last weekend, a gang of Pac Village guys - from the early to late '90s - gathered for this photograph. They are: Mark Gottenker, Jim Gibbons, Steve Purkis, Richie Eddings, Brian Butler, Malik Jenkins, Bob Eddings, Matt Buczek, Jeff Daly, Joe Elliott, Bill Baker, Ryan Annettes, and Eric Blum. By the way, I have some great photos from this wonderful event, but I've been crazily busy and am late-ish in getting them here. So I'm thankful to Jeff who today, before heading off on a Hawaii honeymoon, sent me this photo. So: more soon, I promise.

no better meeting place

The boys of Pac gather under the Big Tree.

alum kids come of age

Yesterday, Hird flag raising, run by Windsong with Pac looking closely on. There are three alumni kids in Windsong/Pac and you can glimpse all three here: Amanda Tilles (speaking at the moment I took the shot, in white top), Sam Nathanson (bearded, dark shirt, center of the pic), and my daughter Hannah (yellow top, backpack).

Challenge Night redux

Windsong-Pac Challenge Night last night. A distinguished panel of judges: Kam Kobeissi, Jeff Daly, Dan Goldman, Megan Lawrence, and Kelly Hupp. Since there were five teams, the judges sent up a rep--Kam--to fill out the bracket in the Hunker Hawser competition. The proud winner of the FV History Quiz won a cherished prize: a mint-condition staff shirt from the 1960s. (Can anyone tell me the exact date of the shirt?)

comes a time: camper to staff

CIT Point, Thursday night. Sky had partly cleared, Kam Kobeissi, Hird's director, kept adding big logs to fire. It roared and the campers and staff started into it, looking out over the quiet lake at dusk. They were asked to come in quietly, and did. Amazing. Session 1's CC isn't always the most sentimental. But this one had its many moments. Kam paid attention to a few key solemn details and it worked. Yes, it's true that the Hemlock staff did a skit-like song, in which, at each chorus, which was something about how we were going to do something "once again," two of them ran to the lake and jumped in (cold!). But even in this antic contribution, they finally all stood in the water, arm in arm, singing the chorus. Even the craziest non-CC-style stunt had its sentiment. The girls of Windsong, all of them in their final year as campers, sang a song by Youth Group called "Forever Young" (not, to be sure, the Dylan lyric of that title--also apt for CC). If you click here you can hear a recording of this good moment. Afterwards, the Windsong and Pac campers and staff went up to the old Wawayanda chapel for a vespers during which many of them spoke individually about the big transition ahead. Good stuff. It makes you want to be forever young.

Forever young I want to be forever young,
Do you really want to live forever?
Forever, forever
Forever young, I want to be forever young,
Do you really want to live forever?
Forever, forever
Forever young, I want to be forever young,
Do you really want to live forever?
Forever, forever
Forever young, I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever?
Forever, forever...

Pac togetherness

The Pac magic is back. Still in Hird Lodge. There since '85. Quinnipiac, more properly, but the 4-syllable sound of that name hasn't been heard in a long while. Just Pac. Somewhat separate (too cool for school) yet totally part of the scene. This morning (last full day of session) a late sleep, no flag raising, then brunch cooked in Geyer Hall. Then they don new Pac t-shirts and gather on the Hird Lodge porch. I happen by, take this good shot of them--the crew, what a crew--and chatted with them a bit. Listen to the recording of our talk. Pac chatter, vintage. The "Harry" referred to is their beloved village chief, Harry McCormack.

Pac man back

Buy me a ring and a Dave Gold that sings.... The Pac VC (later the Hird Director) who couldn't sing a note. Aw well, folks who can't keep a tune can become camp directors. Yes, Dave Gold was here today, dropping off his 9-year-old daughter Lily for session 2. Lily's in cabin 22, Pocohontas. I had the chance to introduce Dave, who was the first-ever VC of Pac in '85, to the current Pac VC, Harry McCormack. It was a good meeting.

Jeff Daly was a CIT when Dave Gold was the director. Jeff remembered that it was Dave who picked up the CITs after their 9-day hike. Jeff, Dave and I have a love of the Mets in common, and Dave noticed that this summer's staff shirt is Met blue and the directors/admininstrative shirts are Met orange. That's for real. Let's go, Mets!

Dave Mager (and his wife Stacey and their two adorable kids) are here all two weeks. Dave will be taking photographs the whole time. The kids will be enrolled in our day camp. That's Mager, shaved head in orange shirt, arm around Gold.

winner of the big-foot contest...is back

Michael Schneide made contact with us again last night after 23 years. Mike was a camper in 1983, '84, and '85. Those were perfect-storm years: he's one of the few FV mainstays who never ate either in the old dining hall or the new, as his time coincided with the three summers of makeshift meals at the smaller dining hall (now Geyer Hall). But they were good, high-spirited years, to be sure. And, per Mike last night, have had lasting positive influences on him. He was thrilled to be back. Just buying a new home in Queens; enjoying his job; and now contemplating a visit back to camp this summer.

Mike was a star, particularly in his final two summers. His last summer was the first summer of Pac (VC = Dave Gold). Mike had huge feet - size 15's I believe. He won Challenge Night in the big-feet event each session. David Marcone (who was a camper then) reminds me that Mike did a fabulous impersonation of Barney Rubble. A basically shy kid, he learned to step onto the stage and perform the funniest things. We brought out the joy in him. This he reminded us last night. And he asked about his old mates: Dave Gold, Dargie Mombo (Dargie, where are you?), Adam Diamond, et alia.

Welcome home, Mike.

any pile of sticks can become legend

Hastily constructed to serve as an administrative office for the Girls' Camp director and program director and housing for the girls CITs in the early 60s, Hird Lodge is by now a skittery, dilapidated, house-of-cards with unbearable summertime heat braising those who live on the second floor, bowed stairs with lots of "give," and walls so thin you can hear people breathing from one end to the other. And yet every time I walk into the place in the summer--it's been in recent years the home of Quinnipiac or "Pac" village--the kids and staff insist on its sacredness and sheer beauty. The old lodge is a legend by now. Back in the day, the girl LIT's (Leaders-in-Training, a second summer of training after CIT) lived there and had an unending good time. But just imagine that loud hilariousness (and mischief, I'll add from personal knowledge) being had above the offices of the camp director. When Wawayanda was for boys (on the whole east side of camp) and Camp Henry Hird was for girls (the four groups of 5 cabins each above the lake, that dining hall, Hird and Turrell Lodges), the main "living room" of Hird was used as a social spot for women staff coming back from staff lounge late at night (the lounge was in Pigeon Lodge in those days and served hamburgers, hot dogs, grilled cheese sandwiches, root beer floats, etc.--cooked by Marie Hess--and you paid cash). Funny how such camp buildings go through phases: first, new and luxurious; second, horrible & no one wants to live there; third, a treasure that every camper anticipates for years as the culmination of tradition. Dari Litchman saw this entry and got "teary-eyed and nostalgic," and offered this addition:

Pile of sticks indeed! One of my favorite lodges ever. I remember the first summer of PAC [1985?] - how great was Dave Gold in all his glory? MEET THE PAC? Probably the best cheer that ever was. I remember when Hird Lodge was the mailroom! Can you imagine how many packages were stolen and eaten that summer? (It was the mailroom AND Pac lived there at the same time, whose bright idea was that?) The best memory though, was one flag raising held there. I recall an amazing performance - Tom Cometa himself channeling Jimi Hendrix. We are all bleary eyed and still sleeping when the counselor door at the top of the stairs is KICKED open and he commences with the Star Spangled Banner. What a way to wake up! (Maybe we were kicking off Hirdstock?)

I'll note that "Meet the Pac" was sung to the tune of the N.Y. Mets theme song. Dave Gold, Pac's founder, and I were huge Met fans.

staff list for "The Hird" 1985

Here (click on the image for a larger version) is the beginning-of-summer staff list for "The Hird" in July of 1985. The roster changed a bit as the summer went on, but only a bit. It was a superb staff--the best group of VCs I ever directed. I believe this was the first summer of PAC, possibly the second--only called "Quinnipiac" at the start of the summer. Notice that there were just two staff there--Dave Gold and "Flash" Gordon--for all those boys in Hird Lodge. What's odd-seeming is that Hemlock's sister village, Sacajewea ("Sacky"), is not here. It's not that Sacky was in Wawayanda that summer; Sacky was in The Hird, run by Wendy Brady, but not until session 2. (Session 1 that summer had low enrollments. Sacky's staff was spread throughout other villages.) Lenape matched with Tacoma and Pac with Windsong (also new--it has been "Sunburst" before that and "Cherokee" before that). Note too that in 1983 Lenape lived in what had been for many years the home of that village--cabins 16-20 (currently numbered 13-17 and currently the home of Hemlock), but in this year, '85, we moved Lenape over to where Tacoma had always been, cabins 46-50, atop "the Hill," so that all of the Hird could be together on that side of camp. Tacoma now moved into 31-35 where Pokey had been and Sacky was where Susky had always been (36-40), while Hemlock was with Lenape on the Hill, in 41-45. All this moving around was made necessary, or made possible at least, by the destruction of the main "boys" dining hall by fire on New Year's Eve 1982. I'll save that story for another post, but gosh, my memory of all this detail scares me; looking at this mimeographed staff list of a group of good young people 23 years ago, it all seems ridiculously clear. I note finally this was also the first summer of "The Hird" as such, after "Camp Henry Hird" or "Camp Hird." We were a herd...for sure.