a "chef-off" on a night that was supposed to be a washout

Rain drove all the village staffs under cover tonight, but Lincoln McLain (Adventure Director) and his staff, including Zach (Adventure Coordinator), were keen to teach how to lead a good overnight hike and campout anyway. So all around camp there were sessions being conducted on setting up tarps, devising activities for the campsite, and (of course) cooking. I was invited to join this three-team gang: Adventure Village staff, Adventure Trip leaders, and CIT coordinators. So these are the folks who will be doing this kind of camping and cooking a whole lot in the coming two months. Zach "gamified" the cooking plan. He announced a chef-off. Each group was giving a bunch of ingredients, plus oil and a stove, a pot, and a pan, and some utensils. Then, "go!" - they had an hour exactly to present a three-course meal - appetizer, entree, dessert. Bud Cox and I were dubbed judges. Below you have a video of Zach describing the rules, and below that some of the photos of the action and the results.
 

Once Bud and I judged the results, everyone dug in, happily. I had the distinct feeling that this summer the kids going on hiking and canoeing trips with these adventure leaders will be eating very well. Lincoln and Zach proved to them that cooking out on the trail can produce really tasty--and even spicy (we had a macaroni curry!)--meals.

Then it got dark and the rain came down in sheets. It pounded on the metal roof of the Halbe & Jane Brown Pavilion, and it was time for a re-naming ceremony. Those who were being inducted into these groups (I can't tell who were were - but let's just say we were deemed "new" to the adventure units) were to be given "knuck names." We had four-letter words drawn just above the knuckle of four fingers on each hand, and could not look at these two words. Held our hands behind our backs as every formed a circle around us. They we loudly announced, each in turn, "I used to be called such-and-such, and now my name is such-and-such." Parker Van Nostrand was now "Luck Shak." I am "Lucy Star" (very nice). It was a hilarious and actually, in a bizarre way, very beautiful thing to be told you are a friend of the adventure team in this whacky adventure-ish mode.

from Darfur to Adventure Village

The Lomaurro family - who have given us Lauren (a great VC of Lakota a few years back) and now Nick (this summer's Newark Partnership Coordinator) - met two families in recent months. One family consisted of a mom and a daughter Malaz who are political refugees from the Darfur region of Sudan; Malaz's mom is active in the effort to bring the Sudanese regime to justice for the crime of genocide. The other family, Gigi (mom) and Jeanne (daughter), are from Egypt, also in the U.S. under special political circumstances. These two families live in a shelter near where the Lomaurros' live. Well, of course Lisa Lomaurro got the idea that the girls, Malaz and Jeanne, would enjoy two weeks at camp. She called Jerry Huncosky and arrangements were very hastily arranged, including financial assistance. The girls just finished two weeks in Adventure Village and loved it. We chatted with them on their way out a few hours ago and I snapped this not-very-good picture: from right to left, Gigi, Jeanne, Lisa, Malaz, and Jerry. If someone asks me why we do what we do here, I'm just going to tell them about Lisa's generosity, Jerry's flexibility, the two moms' courage, and Malaz and Jeanne's two weeks of wilderness, tent-camping, and fun.

a new Gansler

At right: from left to right, Dave Gansler, Heather Sachs, Ira Sasowsky.

David (Dave) Gansler was one of the young "phenoms" who came of age at Frost Valley in the late 70s and early 80s. As he approached JC/counselor age he found himself associated with the then-new teepee/Sioux village called "Lacota," created by the late Leon Van Heusen. I've told this story here before, so forgive me. Gansler (and Heather Sachs and others) learned the Lacota ways and did a marvelous job with this experimental village, which was located in real Plains teepees (with Lodgepole Pine poles) on what is now called "the Hayden soccer field." "Van," as we called him, became ill and had to leave camp, and later passed away. Dave Gansler, though young, took over as VC of Lacota, which had been Van's dream, and made it work beautifully, and then, over several summers, became truly one of the leaders of Frost Valley. So smart and so intense. (And quite a challenge to his Camp Director when he believed said director was wrong - that would be moi.)

Anyway, last summer I invited Dave to be a guest at the summer Trustee meeting at camp, in part to help us honor Jane Brown, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Dave brought his son Jeremy, whom he was hoping would fall in love with FV and the people there.

A year later - Jeremy Gansler is a counselor in Adventure Village (living in tents in Sequoia) and is doing very well. In this photo Jeremy is in the middle, looking like his dad. At left is Dylan Monahan, the brilliant and hilariously quirky VC of Advill.

A few hours after I posted this entry, I heard from Adam Weiss. Adam was a Lacota camper. Now he's the dad of twin girls - who will be back at FV for their second summer next session. They will be in....you guessed it....Lakota. He's trying to explain to the twins that Lakota doesn't live in teepees as he did. Adam wrote:

"I was in Lacota!!! I had Dave, Heather, and Ira (or was it Rich?) as counselors. We all had a crush on Heather. The photo I’ve attached (1978) had to have been from the same summer as the one posted on your blog. Somehow I wasn’t in that session [and so am not in the photo]. I recognize several of the campers. My girls are going into Lakota this year and I had to explain to them that it was a different village way back then. It was a great experience and unfortunate that the Indian village concept was discontinued."

when Sequoia first started

Here's a photo of Sequoia - during its first-ever summer. (Was it 1971 or '72?) The barn out there had been known as the "Trailblazers Barn" at first, home base for our Canada-bound canoe program. At some point in the 1960s it was also the home of the "CE's" - "construction engineers." Then it was "the CIT Barn" for a few years before the Crafts Shop barn was renovated into Hayden Lodge ('70). Once CITs moved into Hayden, Sequoia was created as the Adventure Village and that's--again--when this shot was taken (by Sven Grotrian). The guy you seeing wandering into "the lair" was Pat Ricciardi, one of the early and most avid Sequoia guys.

Ken Nathanson says the first Sequoia summer was '73: "I was in Sequoia the first year it was formed. The year was 1973. In addition to Pat and Sven, Rick Cobb was also a staff member that year. Perhaps in time another name or two will come to mind. It was perhaps one of my favorite years as a camper."

the longest hike he took in six summers at FV

Bill Madden was sorry he missed the recent reunion. But it got him thinking about influential leadership and in particular about Bob Whirty when Bob was Bill's fellow camper in Sequoia (Adventure Village). I'll let Bill himself tell the story:

I have been visiting your alumni blog and saw the picture of Bob Whirty and his daughter. Seeing the picture reminded me of something remarkable Bob did as a camper. Here is my memory of what Bob did:

It was the longest hike I ever recall making in six summers at Frost Valley. The counselors leading us were a fellow we called “ Beefo” and another named Charlie. As it often happened on hikes, there was a somewhat overweight camper who could not keep up with the group. We frequently had to stop and wait for this slow fat kid to catch up. When he would finally arrive, at least one, and usually several of the campers would harshly ridicule him about holding us up. With head down, the poor, thoroughly exhausted camper would ashamedly offer a typical excuse of “my back pack is broken” or something along those lines. A counselor would make the obligatory check of the backpack, on occasion maybe even repack it and give a few items to others to carry. It was customary on camp hikes for one counselor to bring up the rear. But on this hike, even the counselor bringing up the rear grew weary of pushing the slow camper and took to calling over his shoulder to hurry and catch up.

Late in the day, we had walked so far ahead; this camper was no longer even in sight. Eventually a small dot appeared and as the dot grew closer we could see Bob Whirty walking with him. Bob was a regular on hiking trips and we all knew Bob had no trouble keeping up. When they finally arrived, we were well rested and would have already resumed our hike but for waiting. The counselor’s tone reflected the feeling of many of us when he impatiently told them to take only a short break as the rest of us were ready to go and it was getting late in the day.

Bob Whirty replied “no, you guys keep resting, we are going on”. The slow poke, although soaked in sweat, was no longer ashamed and echoed Bob. “Yes, we’re going to keep on going”. Bob never said the obvious. He did not try to deflect criticism from himself by pointing out that he was making sure the fat kid kept up.

NO. Bob said WE!! And we all could see Bob’s new friend believed it. The young camper’s face clearly showed he no longer considered himself a burden to the group. Now, he was a hiking companion of Bob Whirty and they were accomplishing a rewarding and challenging hike together. The rest of us were so impressed we remained where we were and allowed them to build a good lead. All of us, campers and counselors alike, were now anxious to do our part to follow Bob’s example and make him feel an equal and not an outcast. Bob gave us the opportunity to be part of one of those “Hallmark Moments” that happen at summer camp.

Brian Sense is back

Brian Sense is back this week - from Colorado (I think). He's teaching a course at the Straus Center but made a surprise visit to the dining hall last night. Immediately his charisma spread itself around and lots of his former campers and staff gathered around him. He was our Adventure Director in his most recent years here, but before that he was a counselor and summer staffer for many years going back to the early 90s.

AdVill glam

Here's Eric and Julia of the Adventure Village staff, showing off a little AdVill glam at lunch today.

adventurous welcome

Took a walk out to Sequoia this morning. As I was crossing the old bridge out there I noticed that the Adventure Village staff have created a lovely welcome sign.