newly renovated cabins in the 30s

I visited Dale Price the other day up in cabin 40 (in the old days: "Girls cabin 10"). Dale is putting finishing touches on the last of the cabins we are renovating for the summer of 2016. So now all of the cabins in "the 30s" — 31 through 40 (for Hemlock and Outpost currently) — will have been renovated, and they really look just great. Here are some photos I took of several cabins in the group.

early reunion

At one of the earliest Frost Valley alumni reunions--perhaps the late '80s?--four old friends sat on the bumper of Al's car to (as Marie Hess would say) "shoot the shit." They are, from left to right, Bud Cox, Carolyn Shelburne, Al Filreis, and Marie Hess.

ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the new Bud Cox Trip Center, Saturday, June 18, 2016

dinner to celebrate Bud Cox on the occasion of the opening of the Bud Cox Trip Center

new: ALUMNI FUND

I couldn't be more excited to share with all Frost Valley alumni and friends that we've launched the Frost Valley YMCA Alumni Fund!

This fund was created to ensure that our most passionate supporters can give directly towards financial aid for campers, or "camperships," and thus ensure that the Frost Valley magic can change the lives of generations of new campers, including those whose parents cannot afford to pay even the modest fees.

So, yes, our goal is to provide a camp opportunity to those who would otherwise not be able to experience what Frost Valley has to offer. Please join me in supporting the Alumni Fund.

To learn more and join me click here:


https://donate.frostvalley.org/events/alumni-fund/e74986

rare old FV mug

Al Filreis & John Giannotti on stage

Al Filreis and John Giannotti performing in 1976 or '77.

Dawn on belay

Dawn Helfand Huebner in 1974 (we think) at Giant Ledge learning how to belay down a rockface. That's George Piche (now Gail) helping her.

Biscuit Creek Falls

Cooling off, floating around on inner tubes, below Biscuit Creek Falls on a hot day in August of 1979. Photo by Jurgen Bobrowski, ICCP counselor that summer from Germany.

old Wawyanda graces

Click on the image for a larger view.

1973, 1974, 1975

Ilana Feitlowitz—whom I mentioned the other day—went looking for some photos from her camp years and sent us a few.

Along Biscuit Creek just above the falls.

Lake Cole not long after the swimming docks were moved from the beach by the boathouse to their current location.

Ilana with her Junior Counselor in Sacky cabin 16 (now numbered 46). And that JC was Liane Filreis (now Liane Pancoast).

Ilana with her counselor Ryoko in 1973.

Yes, we had unicycles in the 70s. Here Ilana is learning how to ride the one-wheeler behind Biscuit Lodge. (That white VW belonged to Sven Grotrian.) This is 1975. And look—no helmet.

Bud Cox Trip Center update

The screen porch—for hanging around before and after the trip! With a view of Biscuit Creek.

The sink arrived just the day before I visited. This will be located in the large porch in the front of the building (not the screen porch above, but a large roofed porch on the opposite end. This will be where campers and counselors arrive, learn about their trip, help with packing—and where, on return, they will clean their equipment.

The Bud Cox Trip Center looking toward the north. The screen porch faces south, toward Biscuit Creek (and the Project Adventure field). Passing in front of the other end of the building is the walking path you used to walk from Hayden Lodge to Sequoia.

The main room inside. In the far corner an office will be closed in. This space will include Adventure archives, photos, maps, etc.

Storage upstairs. Already the Adventure/Tripping folks have moved some of their equipment here. The shed where for the last year the Trip Center was located is now going to be the Candle-making shop.

Stairs leading down from the loft storage area.

Yes! The dishwasher has arrived. Anyone who has ever run "Out-trip" at Frost Valley will know how fabulous it will be to have this new machine right there in the facility!

a CIT and his director

This weekend a number of alumni volunteered—helping to relieve the current staff and to run some training sessions. Among them was Heather Graf Noon. As Heather Graf she was a mainstay at Frost Valley in the 1990s. In 1997 she was the CIT Director and one of her CITs that summer was...Dan Weir, who is now our Director of Camping Services. I ran into the two of them in the Wellness Center on Saturday and took this photo.

Ilana Feitlowitz

This weekend while walking through the dining hall I heard someone call out, "Hey Al!" I turned and there was Ilana Feitlowitz. She had been a camper in the early 70s and by 1976 she was a CIT—I was her CIT Director that summer. Ilana told me that as a first-time camper she walked into her Sacky cabin and met her junior counselor, who turned out to be...my sister Liane Filreis (now Liane Pancoast). I gave Ilana Liane's email address and they will be in touch after all these years. Here, below, is a photo of Ilana and her husband; they have been visiting camp regularly as weekend guests but now Ilana is also back in touch with her summer camp friends. I've added her to our email list and directed her to this blog.

Hird Lodge

Here is the venerable Hird Lodge—and, below that, the view this past weekend from the Hird Lodge porch.

February view

cabin 38 is being rebuilt entirely from the inside

We are renovating cabins 35 through 40 currently, 31 through 34 having been done previously. In some cases, the renovation entails fixes and partial replacements of floors and walls. In the case of cabin 38, which really needed a complete rebuild, the floor, walls, structures etc. all had to be rebuilt with new materials. These photos are taken of cabin 38 on Saturday. All of these cabins will be finished by the summer—and some of them sooner. The photo at bottom shows the counselor's room.

Bill & Eva Devlin to be inducted into the Hall of Fame this summer

I am thrilled to pass along the news that Bill & Eva Devlin will be inducted into the Frost Valley Hall of Fame this summer—in August, at the annual summer meeting of the Board. Here they are during their most recent visit to camp a few years ago, standing with our beloved Dottie Conklin.

Sue Moriarity sings

A few years ago, as hundreds of Frost Valley friends gathered to memorialize Halbe Brown, naturally as they waited for the several memorial events, they swapped stories, caught up and...sang. Here is Sue Moriarity, back on her guitar, tuning up that amazing voice, singing with Gail Piche (off camera to the left) and Lolly Hettler Cutler Ketcham.

Sumner Dudley to be inducted into the Frost Valley Hall of Fame in August 2016

As has been noted in this blog over the years, our camp dates back to 1885 or 1886 or 1901, depending on how you work out the history. In 1886 Sumner Dudley took some children to camp along Lake Wawayanda in NJ and that's probably the best way to tell the story of the founding of the camp. Dudley's crew moved to New York State and eventually one group, including Dudley himself, moved to upstate New York, and that later became Camp Dudley. Another group moved back to Wawayanda and that camp eventually, in 1901, came to be called "Camp Wawayanda." So most people consider Dudley not just the founder of the first YMCA summer camp but also the founder of our camp.

This summer we will induct Sumner Dudley into the Frost Valley Hall of Fame and in doing so will honor our founding.

Click the image below and read an article about Dudley.

the totem pole

Once again I'm here in this blog talking about the totem pole that used to stand at the main entrance to camp. Several times I've posted photos taken by various people on the occasion when the new pole John Giannotti carved was being raised up and put into place. Just today John was digging through old photos and found the best shot yet of the new pole. Here it is, top to bottom. It hadn't been in place very long when this was taken; you can tell, of course, by the grassless patch of dirt around the bottom.

Click on THIS LINK for a larger view.

Ricciardi Cabin

Do you remember Ricciardi Cabin? It was built at around the same time as Tom Ricciardi, Carl Hess and others constructed Hird Lodge and Turrell Lodge. It used the same materials. Ricciardi Cabin was smaller and was used over the years as a staff home. Among those who lived there: Carl and Marie Hess (while they waited for their home elsewhere on the property to be finished), Peter & Claudia Swain, Bob and Donna Marines. I myself lived there one summer - sharing the space with Peter and Claudia. Another summer I lived there during Family Camp with Ellen Rutan and Jim Ewen. I loved the little place, although by the end it was quite ramshackle. It was finally taken down to enable the building of Lakeview Lodge. It stood roughly at the spot that is now the back of the Lakeview Lodge parking lot, just below the road that leads out to Turrell Lodge. Here are some photos Donna Marines took. The fourth photo is of Donna and Bob in the old girls' camp kitchen (in what is now Geyer Hall).