Camp Stephens Alumni

2013 50th Trail Anniversary Call Out

2011-12-10T22:28:00.010-06:00

The Camp Stephens Trail Program has had a lasting impact on the memories and friendships for many of us.

The 50th anniversary of the Trail Program is in the summer of 2013, and a few of us think it's a pretty good reason for a reunion. Ideas for events include a canoe trip and a folk fest.

We've been down this road before, though.

In 2002, with the support of the Y, a number of Stephens Trail junkies formed a 40th anniversary committee. However, the 40th event never really came to be as we couldn't get a reasonable number of former paddlers to participate.

Largely, the difficulty was in connecting with paddlers from the 60's, the 70's, the 80's, 90's and those of you in this century.

That's all changed. Social media has allowed us to reconnect no matter where we are in the world. The main meeting place is here (Click) on Facebook.

Now, we all know that you don't slap together a canoe trip and hang out a shingle hoping people will come.

We need your help in planning it. Our goal is to form a 50th anniversary committee. We'd like to begin soon. We also know many of you are thinking the same thing.

So let's get it started. You can help us by forwarding this letter to other Camp Stephens Trail paddlers, no matter what era.

If you want to be involved in planning an event, please email Perry McGregor pljmcg@gmail.com with your contact information (email and phone). No one is too old and no one too young to be involved. Our tent is big.

Once we have a list of volunteers, we'll meet in person to start our planning. Obviously, the meeting will have to be held in Winnipeg, but we also want to include in some way those of you living in London or Australia or Brazil and beyond. Because we want you here in 2013, too.

Cheers, Perry and Bruce

P.S.

Friends,

If you think Canada's wild places should last forever, please check this out:

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) is Canada's voice for the wilderness.

We support CPAWS. We hope you will too. If we won't stand up for the wilderness who will?

Dave Wright Eileen Askew

Jo Wright Alex Paterson

Margaret Paterson Dean Wright

Ted Wright Brian Law

Cam Young Wes Peters

Pam Wright Kent Paterson

Steve Wright

For the kids -- that's Y Sharing Christmas Spirit: Unwrapping the good being done this season in our city

2011-12-05T10:07:00.001-06:00

Ken Gigliotti / Winnipeg Free Press Dave Vankoughnett
wants to give kids new experiences.

DAVE VANKOUGHNETT

Winnipeg YMCA-YWCA general manager, fund development

CHARITY: Strong Kids

How I'm sharing the

Christmas Spirit:

"We have a holiday campaign, and each of our branches will be putting up banners about giving throughout the season, where you can have four choices on how to help children. What it means is that throughout the campaign, you can subsidize memberships for kids who don't have an opportunity to go to the Y. We'll make sure that they get there. For as low as $20, kids that can't afford it can to come to the Y to learn new skills or build relationships or give them a sense of a place to go. The nice thing about the memberships for kids is that you get swimming lessons included. There's also sending a kid to camp, like Camp Stephens and our new day camp, Camp Y. There's also the international program that we have."

How you can help spread the Christmas Spirit:

The easiest way to make a donation is through the Y's website (www.ywinnipeg.ca/gift) or by mail. Cheques can be made payable to: YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg

3550 Portage Ave., Winnipeg, MB R3K 0Z8. Donations can also be made at any branch. You can also make a donation in the memory of someone.

My Christmas wish:

"One of the reasons I come to the Y is because I believe in making the community a better place, and I think that's what we do. My wish is for everybody to have an opportunity to experience something that maybe they never have or to be in a position in their life where we're able to help them."

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 5, 2011 A6

You Can't Always Get What You Want

2011-11-26T21:17:00.000-06:00

You Can't Always Get What You Want

Lount Lodge - new roof

2011-11-21T15:13:00.001-06:00

Work this fall on replacing Lount Lodge roof.

A while ago I did a piece on Lount Lodge needing some work. The photos were sent to me by the Y's new general manager of fund development and communications Dave Vankoughnett, ex-Blue Bomber offensive lineman.
In this pic old cedar shakes are coming off and a green metal roof, like on the dining hall, is to be installed. Many of the shakes were rotten.
Below are two of the new cabins. You can read more about them here and here and here.

One of the new cabins added to the line this fall.

Camp Stephens 50th Trail Anniversary in 2013

2011-11-17T21:38:00.002-06:00

There was an attempt to have a 40th anniversary in 2003, but it fell apart because organizers couldn't connect with all you faded paddlers.
If you want to be involved or kept up to date, please join Camp Stephens 50th Trail Anniversary on Facebook or follow developments on this blog.

Here's a sample of the Facebook conversation:

Punch Jackson
Over lunches, coffee shop and of course pub chatter lots of enthusiasm for doing something in 2013 to celebrate 50 years of wilderness programs at Stephens. Some thoughts have included actual trips, folk festivals & celebrating the arrival of the 2013 Six Weeker trips. Grant Platts has even gone as far as mapping out potential lake trips.

Clearly 50 years of wilderness programming has impacted a great many people and for some it changed their lives. As we begin the process of planning for 2013 we may want to look at it from "Five Decades" so no era is left out.

Volunteers so far are from the first two decade; Punch, Perry McGregor, Jim King, Jamie Grant, Neil Robinson and Grant Platts. Tara Law and current Wilderness Director Kelley Berringer are expressing support.

Logistics for planning in this technology rich time should be ablle to include a great many people. If you are interested let us know (Punch - Edmonton, Perry - Winnipeg) and we will get the ball rolling.
· · · Yesterday at 9:18am

Colleen Rogers likes this.

Punch Jackson Trip ideas included 5-7 day trips plus someone suggested a less strenuous version for the "older crowd".
Yesterday at 9:20am · · 1

Punch Jackson Kelly with one "e"
Yesterday at 9:38am ·

Tara Debra Common kids! Even Stubby is getting on board (I'll make him even if he is grumpy and almost retired).
Yesterday at 10:11am ·

Jen Wetherow Count us in for folk fest (definately) and a trip (probably). We should consider something less strenuous for the "younger crowd" too since we'll be packing 3 kids under the age of 5.
Yesterday at 10:21am ·

Zoë Herbert Routh I'll be packing an Aussie husband with a need for beer, so long canoe trips without showers and refrigeration may be an obstacle. Though I am definitely keen to make the long haul across the pond!
Yesterday at 7:12pm ·

Perry McGregor During the planning for the 40th. reunion the committee at that time looked at a number of ideas... these covered activities like a pre reunion dinner, teaching trail skills to the newbies young and old, movies, slide shows/ powerpoints, music, and developing for sale items like trail maps, maps with all the trip routes on them, trail cook books, t shirts, commemorative paddles...stations might include examples of how equipment has evolved over the years, taste testing T.V.P. perhaps?( ie.is it pseudo chicken or pseudo beef or what?) obviously not all ideas are keepers...
Yesterday at 7:45pm ·

Garth Nemy Perry.....do you remember your very first cabin and councilor ?
11 hours ago ·

Kalyn Murdock I'd be interested in helping out however I can
4 hours ago ·

Jess Irvine I'd be interested in planning some trips/helpin' out.
2 hours ago ·

Kate Margaret Count me in. I'd love to help out with anything.
about an hour ago via mobile ·

Colleen Rogers I'd help out too!
32 minutes ago ·

Alfred David

2011-11-11T10:02:00.002-06:00

Alfred David's grave at Brookside Cemetery (section 26-0117) in Winnipeg. Photo taken by Punch Jackson. David's WW I service records are here.

Why the 'Y' is important

2011-11-05T20:03:00.001-05:00

She sees the error in her ways

Thanks, in part, to United Way

Caitlynn Stranger pals around with Ken Mason at the North Y Youth Centre Friday (John Woods / Winnipeg Free Press)

Busted for shoplifting a pair of expensive headphones at a department store last year, Caitlynn Stranger convinced herself community service was an unfair punishment that didn't fit the crime.

In hindsight, the 16-year-old says she had it completely wrong.

"It made me really mad at the time because I thought I didn't deserve it," Caitlynn said. "It turns out I really did."

Caitlynn began serving her punishment volunteering at the North Y Youth Centre in the North End.

Caitlynn's involvement eventually grew from menial tasks like cleaning to helping coach youth basketball. As a reward, she was sent to the Y's Camp Stephens -- a first for Caitlynn, who had never stepped foot outside of Winnipeg.

"It was just a whole new experience to me. I didn't know people did that stuff before," she said, reflecting on a 10-day canoe trip she believes made her a more positive person.

Caitlynn continues to volunteer as a supervisor for the centre every day after school and works for pay once a week.

"I'd really like to help other youth get out of the same place I've been," she said. "I'm way more of a confident person, I'm open to new experiences. I'm a lot happier."

Caitlynn is one of more than 1,200 youths who come through the centre every year, each of whom has a story about how the centre has been influential in their lives, says centre manager Ken Mason.

Since the centre opened in October 2009, neighbouring businesses like Safeway have told Mason loitering and shoplifting have declined by more than half. Even a fire inspector dropped by the office to thank Mason because autobin fires and vandalism have also declined significantly since the centre opened, Mason said.

"It's an outcome we can't really measure and wouldn't hear about unless somebody went out of their way to tell us," he said, noting Safeway donated 60 Blue Bombers tickets as a gift of thanks.

"It was a reward for something (the kids) probably didn't realize they were doing. It was a great surprise."

This year, United Way contributed more than $475,000 to the YMCA-YWCA, money Mason uses to subsidize youth memberships at his location to $5 a year.

"If it was the $20 a month, there's no way kids would be able to get in here. It just would not be feasible in this neighbourhood," Mason said. "We wouldn't be able to do this without it."

For more information on the YMCA-YWCA, visit www.ymcaywca.mb.ca. For information on the United Way's 2011 campaign and how you can donate, visit www.unitedwaywinnipeg.mb.ca or call 477-5360.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition November 5, 2011 B2

When Craig Lodge became the Thomas Sill Dining Hall and More

2011-10-13T22:36:00.004-05:00

I've uploaded more photos. Some new. Some old. Some I'm not too sure why they were taken.

What you see here on these old contact sheets -- I do not have the photos -- is what camp looked like in the late 1970s before the lodge was built.

What you see here is what the old rec hall looked like inside, the Davey, and the interior of B4 (first shot), a staff cabin that was between the Wellness Centre and the Director's Cabin. Also shown is the interior of Sussex, which has also been replaced.

The last few photos are of High-Rise #1. Why someone felt compelled to shoot the inside of it, God only knows.

Also in this batch are a number of photos of the dining hall (click) when it was fixed up to deal with the asbestos on the ceiling and to hide the ugly blue sheet metal siding.

All photos I've uploaded are here. If you see someone you know, ID them or leave a comment. You can also click on "slideshow" just to watch.

And if you crave more, there are more than 770 photos of camp old and new here. Enjoy.

Postcript: Mystery Solved--Alumni Grant Platts says the contact sheet pictures look like the ones that he and Burton Boryen (Tutt) took to accompany the Operations Manual that they wrote sometime in the mid-70’s (hence the riveting shots of the power pole, sinks, tractor, etc.).

Marlene Penner 1962 - 2011

2011-10-11T18:35:00.002-05:00

Marlene Penner passed away peacefully on October 4, 2011 at St. Boniface Hospital into the comfort of God's hands, at age 49, after a brief battle with cancer.
She will be deeply missed by her dad Harry, brothers Len (Carol), Tom (Judy), nephews Kevin (Val), Mark (Cynthia); nieces Alicia, Kimberly (Kevin), Christine and Michelle, great-niece and nephews Avery, Hudson and Jacob, and many relatives and friends.
Marlene was born March 7, 1962 in Winnipeg and was the youngest of four siblings. She was predeceased by her brother Ken and mother Ruth. She attended Ashland, Riverview and Churchill High School. She attended university, which led her into camp work.
She worked for Camp Arnes and then YMCA-YWCA where she was working at the onset of her illness. She was Camp Director at Camp Stephens for four years, and then became Membership Director at the Downtown Branch.
Marlene will be remembered for her great smile, sense of humour, independence and her positive attitude and loyalty to the people in her life. She loved her garden, flowers, crafts, reading, travel , going to the beach, and spoiling her nieces and nephews.
The family would like to express their sincere thanks to the staff at St. Boniface Palliative Care for their care and compassion in making Marlene's last days as comfortable as possible.
Visitation will take place at Friends Funeral Service, 2146 Main St., Winnipeg on Tuesday, October 11 from 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Interment will be at Brookside Cemetery on Wednesday, October 12 at 10:00 a.m. The celebration of Marlene's life will be at 11:00 a.m. at Portage Ave Church, 1420 Portage Ave.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Marlene's name to YMCA-YWCA Strong Kids Campaign.

Cabin dedication & six week return

2011-09-07T10:54:00.003-05:00

What a fantastic day, one of those special warm, calm, sunny days on Copeland Island that late August occasionally offers.
It was probably one of the largest throngs of greeters ever welcomed the intrepid six week trips home on Saturday, Aug. 27. They all looked great (the girls, of course, better than the boys) despite some long weeks of
paddling and portaging.
Their “ceremonial” presentations were a mixture of story-telling, drama and song all wrapped up in great comedy. There were many laughs and much clapping in appreciation.
The day also included the dedication of four more new cabins sponsored by the Paterson family in
honour of Bob, the Steiman family, who chose to retain the St. Julien’s cabin name, The Wright and Wolfe families who kept Manitou in the fold, and the Fraser family who continued to honour Dave’s.
Parents, relatives, future and former campers, camp staff, long time past alumni and senior Y staff made up the assembly.
Not to be outdone, the camp kitchen staff laid out a great buffet to wrap things up neatly.
- Hal Studholme

Kate Paterson and Cathy McRae; Dave Young in back

Jo Wright

Dave & Doug Fraser

Curtis Steiman & son

Old guys from ‘60s staff, Punch Jackson, Doug Abra, Don Thompson, Hal Studholme.

Lount Lodge Reborn

2011-07-12T14:43:00.008-05:00

A recent photo of the lodge.

On July 11 Graham Lount came back to Camp Stephens.

His visit this summer was more than a trip down memory lane--it was business, too.

Graham Lount at the lodge's opening in 1981.

Lount, 90, provided the funding for the construction of Lount Lodge in 1980-81.

The retired founder of development company Shelter Corporation came back to see the log lodge and the wear-and-tear it's endured after 30 years of campers coming and going.

Lount and his family want to see the lodge last another 30 or more years, and have agreed to provide about $100,000 towards its restoration over the next three years, Lount's son Colin says.

Work will include a new roof, re-doing the interior floor, and cleaning and preserving the exterior walls.

"It looks like it's certainly in need of a retrofit and I'm glad it's going on," Colin said.

From left, Bruce Robinson, Bob Paterson, Punch Jackson and Graham Lount

"My father as a child was there for years and he enjoyed his time very much and so he got engaged with the building of Lount Lodge. He just turned 90 years old a week ago and he doesn't want to see it deterioriate. He'd like to see it be refurbished every 20 or whatever years it takes to keep it there forever."

I told Colin I was one of many people who helped cut down the trees and build the lodge, starting when I was 19. Here's an earlier post on the construction of the lodge, which remains a work in progress.

I explained on my recent visits to camp some of the problems with the building. That includes replacing three rotted posts the building sits on, powerwashing black mould (video) off the back of the building and the situation with the roof, specifically on the back left corner of the building where many of the cedar shakes are rotted.

Colin mused it might be better to put a metal roof on the building, but that's beyond my level of so-called expertise.

Anyway, as we ended our phone conversation he said he'd contact his father to visit the island to see the lodge. Within hours Graham Lount, who has a cottage on Lake of the Woods, was talking to Camp Director Steve Allen and others at the lodge, seeing things for himself.

"My father, he loves being involved with this sort of stuff," Colin said.

In a fitting way, this year's camp T-shirt features Lount Lodge.

The View

2011-06-08T12:29:00.002-05:00

My daughter Laura and the view I never tire of seeing.

Former camp directors Hal Studholme, Grant Platts and I did an alumni presentation to this year's staff on June 25.

Hal and Grant were consummate professionals and I was a whimpering gas bag. So it goes.

Hal Studholme

Grant Platts

We'd like to expand the alumni presentation next year to include more presenters, like trail and kitchen staff, and the 80s and 90s.

We'd also like to make it more interactive, and get camp staff more involved in the day.

If you have ideas and would like to help, please contact one of us.

Also, this recently popped up on a Google alert I have for Camp Stephens.

You can rate your doctor, your teacher and now your camp experiences at Camp Ratingz.

Here's my favourite (I did not write it):

"I was a camper here for 3 years and in the voyageur program for 3 years and on staff for 4 years. The fondest memories of my youth are all associated with Camp Stephens. My only regret is that I grew up and had to get a real job or I would spend my summers there still. My daughter is now attends and loves it too."

Photo Of The Day

2011-03-06T16:11:00.005-06:00

"Part of the duties of the "work party" - cookers and CITs - is to mop the dining room floor."

Former camp director Bill Owen recently sent me a number of old photos of his days at camp in the 1940s.
I put this one up because it just caught my eye. The dining hall in this era was the old rec hall. Names on the back of the photo are: Katz, McNiel, Moore and Gilles.

Here are the others:

Ozark Mountain Daredevils

2011-03-01T12:08:00.000-06:00

This is a bit of a repost.

A while ago, in my slowly expanding world of blogging, I posted a link to a song by the Ozarks.

We started listening to them in the mid-70s while riding on the old camp bus, Thomas. Someone had a cassette tape (remember those?) of It'll Shine When It Shines.

Riding on that bus, we sang along and memorized just about all the words to each song. It'll Shine was released in 1974 and was the OMD's best album. You can buy it now on iTunes.

Earlier, I posted a song from a live show they did Dec. 12, 1977 in Lee Furr's Studios in Tucson, Arizona in front of a live audience for FM broadcast. It's a bootleg, meaning it was never released commercially.

Click on this Rapidshare link for a full download (Zip file) of the show. Then click on "slow download" and enjoy. The sound is great and the band is tight.

The band is semi-retired now, but still do the occasional show. They play Aug. 18, 2011 at 8:30 p.m. at the Havelock Country Jamboree in Havelock, Ont. For tickets and information go to the Jamboree's web site.

The Birch Bark Canoe(s)

2011-02-27T11:59:00.003-06:00

Over the past couple of months I've tried to gather as much information I could about camp's birch bar canoe.

Years ago when I was at camp, I seem to remember being told that there were actually two canoes.

Now, I've taken a few bangs to the head and have done other things that no doubt killed whatever other few brain cells I was born with, so I could be wrong. Please correct me.

Anyhoo, here's what I think I know about the canoes:
The original one was built in the 1930s for cook Alfred David by some local Indians as a gesture of thanks.

David not only cooked for camp, but in his local travels also supplied food to the most needy during the height of the Depression.

One was the Skead family, who lived southeast of Devil's Gap near the back channel. Here are two letters from George Skead to David dated 1936. (Click on them to enlarge):

Now, as best as I can figure - again, I stand to be corrected - the Skeads and perhaps others made the original birch canoe for David in thanks for his generosity.
After that, I'm not sure what was done with it or how it was displayed, if at all.

Former camp director Punch Jackson says it was decided in the mid-60s to donate the canoe to what is now the Canadian Canoe Museum now in Peterborough, Ont.
I believe that decision was made because the museum was the best place to preserve the canoe.

"The original birch bark canoe was donated to the Canadian Canoe Museum (Kanawa International Museum of Canoes and
Kayaks) during my term as director at Stephens," Punch says. "Discussions had started as early as 1967 when campers from Kirk Wipper's Camp Kandalore in Dorset, Ont. met with Stephen's Voyageurs at Boundary Falls (Manitoba/Ontario boundary) as part of the Centennial celebration.
"Camp Stephens hosted the Canadian Canoe School in the early 70s and that is where the deal was struck. Whipper agreed to replace our canoe with a new birch bark version made by a friend of his."
That "new birch bark version" hung in the dining hall for almost 30 years.

Dining hall as seen in 1975.

Once Lount Lodge was finished in the early 1980s, the canoe was moved. It's hung above the fire place ever since. I don't think it ever touched water, or was even meant to. You can see the second canoe here at the beginning of this video. Despite what the narrator says, it's not the original canoe.

Several months ago, alumni Doug Abra and his son Matt travelled to the canoe museum. They might be only people from Stephens who've seen the original canoe in decades.

Doug and son Matt Abra with original canoe at upper right.

You can also see the canoe here on the museum's virtual website. It's the light-coloured canoe against the white wall, slightly raised. Once you follow it around, you can sort of orient yourself to where Doug and Matt are standing to see it.

The replica canoe as it now hangs in Lount Lodge

Postscript: Kirk Wipper died suddenly March 19 in Peterborough: http://www.myccr.com/SectionForums/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=37674

Alfred David

2011-02-13T18:08:00.000-06:00

Camp Stephens 1959-62

2011-01-31T12:45:00.004-06:00

Camp alumni Hal Studholme gave this to me. I think it's a much younger Hal driving the boat at the end.

Another former director Bill Owen (no relation) sent me a bunch of B & W photos when he worked in the kitchen with Davey in the late 1940s and early 1950s. I plan to scan them all in, add cutlines and make a slideshow.

The beauty of these old photos and film is that for the most part they've been sitting in boxes for decades. Now we can all enjoy them.

And if there are any current camp staff reading this (I know there are), I also plan to burn some DVDs of all these videos. Maybe on a cold rainy night you can watch them by the camp fire in Lount Lodge.

1989 Six Week Return

2011-01-16T00:10:00.008-06:00

The 1989 Six Weeks Girls: Sue Maxwell, Kelly Harcus, Shannon Fenton, Susie Burpee, Amy Hawkins, Kathy Hulsbosch, Shannon Bond, Kirsten Evans and Laura Simms.

The 1989 Six Weeks Boys: Trevor Sims, Patrick Yarnell, Ian Thomson, Trevor Defries, Jamie Hilland, Stuart Goldie, Tim Francis and Mick Lautt.

Master of Ceremonies: Bob Picken

This was produced in the fall of 1989. I didn't edit it as it appears someone else did many years ago. I left it as is. I suspect it was to be cut in a final edit, but I didn't see the point in me editing out people and their words so many years later.

It was supplied to me by Hal Studholme.

Canoe School '95

2011-01-14T12:38:00.002-06:00

About a year ago I wrote a story for the blog about Steven Fletcher, the Conservative MP for Charleswood. Click here to read it.

Steven gave me four discs of transferred video tape. I passed them to Scott Place. He edited it and composed and performed the music.

We hope you like it.

You can buy Scott's album Got Something To Say on iTunes.

In the past year I've upload 20 videos to YouTube. You can click through them on the Camp Stephens Alumni YouTube Channel.

Enjoy and don't be afraid to comment.

The most recent one came from England, commenting on the Camp Stephens 1975 video.

"Lol my Mum and Uncle came here 7 years later as 6 weekers. :)"

Any guesses who the brother and sister are?

More video will be posted over the coming months as I and others convert and edit it. - Bruce

Passings

2011-01-09T09:50:00.010-06:00

Errick (Skip) Willis

ERRICK (SKIP) WILLIS It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Errick Skip' Willis on January 4, 2011. Predeceased by his father and mother, Errick and Louise Willis and brother Richard T. Dick' Willis; beloved husband of Kelly, brother of Anna Jane (Jim) Gilchrist, father of Scott, uncle of Stacy, Libby (Colin), and Kate (Jamie), Skip died peacefully from complications related to surgery to remove a tumour from his spine. An alumnus of Trinity College School and the University of Manitoba, Skip began his career in political consulting and lobbying before his internal compass settled on its own true north: environmental sustainability and climate change, which became the focus of his work and his guiding light over the past 15 years. Having developed the Canadian portfolios of several leading multi-national consultancies, Skip founded the Willis Climate Group in 2009. His focus was to help major industry and all levels of government realize solutions to the challenge of global climate change. This allowed him to choose those projects that most piqued his interest and to enjoy more time with his family, particularly at their country home south of Creemore, Ontario. In addition to the privilege of working alongside a cast of dedicated and creative professionals, Skip was honoured to have recently been named a Fellow of the International Emissions Trading Association. For the longest time, Skip's cancer was asymptomatic and he lived with it quietly. The family would like to express its appreciation to Drs. Hogg and Sahgal at Princess Margaret Hospital and to the staff and volunteers at the Toronto Western Hospital. Friends may call at the Turner Porter Yorke Chapel, 2357 Bloor St. W., Toronto, east of Jane subway, for a memorial visitation on Thursday, January 6, 2011 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. A Service of Remembrance will be held at Islington United Church, 25 Burnhamthorpe Rd., Etobicoke, on Friday, January 7 at 1:00 p.m. If desired, donations in his memory may be made to the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation, L'Arche Toronto or Islington United Church. (Published on Jan. 06, 2011, Winnipeg Free Press)

Camp Stephens canoe trip 1966, Winnipeg Free Press

David Spencer Guest

DAVID SPENCER GUEST June 29, 1923 - January 4, 2011 It is with a profound sense of loss that his family announces the passing of David Guest. He leaves to mourn his passing his five children and their spouses: Barbara Roche, Andrea (Andy) Alkier, Carol (Randy) Dueck, Bruce (Laurie) and Doug (Allison), as well as 10 grandchildren, five great-grandchildren; his sisters Margaret Wilson and Liz (Keith) Ebbern, and sister-in-law Evelyn (Don) Lamond. David was predeceased by his wife of 63 years, Helen, in April 2010. David was born at the family home on Arlington Street, the fourth of five children. A dog lover, Dave always had a dog at his heels. During his younger years, the YMCA was his second home and summers were spent at Camp Stephens where he eventually became a camp counsellor as a teenager. It was through his competitive swimming at the Y that he met his wife, Helen. As a young man he continued his involvement at the Y with weight lifting, volleyball and active participation in the Y's Men's Club. He joined the Air Force and graduated as a pilot with the rank of Flying Officer I. The war ended just as he was posted to the Asian theatre. After the war, he joined his father in The Guest Shoe Company. He went on to own and operate five stores throughout Winnipeg until his retirement. As a boy David spent time at the family cottage at Victoria Beach. Later he and Helen built their own cottage at Victoria Beach where they enjoyed many happy summers with family and friends. David was an avid curler and belonged to the Granite Curling Club for over 60 years. After he retired from active curling he became an honorary member and enjoyed his involvement with the Senators. His children will be forever grateful for his quiet guidance, his humour, his positive example of community service, and his high expectations for each and every one of them. A private family service is planned. In lieu of flowers, please remember David by supporting a charity of your choice.

(Published Winnipeg Free Press Jan. 8, 2011)

Camp Stephens in the 1940s

2010-12-31T14:49:00.002-06:00

Here's a few minutes of old film of Camp Stephens in what appears to the the 1940s, the same year the log cabin was built just above Emblem Rock. There's a few seconds of what looks like the installation of a window.
Whatever year it was shot, life jackets were not mandatory. It appears they weren't even a suggestion.
There was no sound on it, so my youngest and I added music. We hope it fits.
Thanks to Hal Studholme for supplying it.

Chapel Service on 100th Anniversary of Camp Stephens

2010-12-31T11:22:00.005-06:00

This is the chapel service on the Sunday of the 100th anniversary, following the banquet and camp directors roast the evening before. (Click to watch)
I don't know the voice behind the camera.
It opens with a quick tour of Lount Lodge, then about 10 years old, and seques to Burton Boryen's (Tutt) participation in the service.
The theme of the service is that while much had changed with the island, like programming and new buildings, a lot had stayed the same since the very early days of Camp Stephens.

Alfred David's War

2010-12-24T10:44:00.008-06:00

Alfred David is a legend at Camp Stephens.

He was camp cook for about 40 years. He died April 10, 1962 in Winnipeg after spending his last summer at camp.

He is buried at Brookside Cemetery in Winnipeg.

What's little known is that when he started working at camp in the early 1920s, and for the downtown YMCA during the winter, he was a veteran of the First World War. He served with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.

When the war started, David was not a young man. He was 30 when he enlisted Dec. 29, 1914 in Winnipeg.

Alfred David

David was was a soldier on the Western Front and was involved in the second battle of Ypres in the spring of 1915.

That battle is known for the first use of poison gas in warfare. (Click on the highlighted words to read more about the battle).
David was captured by the Germans and was a prisoner of war until the war ended in the fall of 1918.

You can read about David's war experience by clicking here.

Page from the regimental diary on day David was listed as missing.

You'll find David's complete war record as supplied to me by Library and Archives Canada. These records belong to the Government of Canada and are stored in Ottawa. Included are his health records, pay records and his will, something every soldier prepared.

I thank Don Cochrane for helping me.

You can read earlier blog posts about David here and here.

"At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them."

More photos added

2010-12-17T22:23:00.002-06:00

As promised, here about 550 photos from camp archives collected by Lynda MacIntosh.
Some of you may have seen some of them before. Some of these photos haven't been seen in decades. Each is available for download. The task now is to identify as many people as possible.
To view this, click the play button and then click on bottom right-hand button to watch on full-screen.
I'll add even more and re-post in coming weeks.

I'm also trying to edit them into bite-sized collections for quicker viewing. Please bear with me; I'm learning as I go, too.

Camp Stephens 100th Anniversary~Camp Directors Roast

2010-12-11T19:01:00.009-06:00

Following the banquet July 27, 1991 five past and one current camp director reminisced at about their time and the meaning of Camp Stephens.
Featured are Alex Owen (1958-59), Hal Studholme (1964-65), Doug McEwen (1966-70), Punch Jackson (1971-76), Lynda MacIntosh (girls camp), Grant Platts (1980-86) and Bob Picken (1987-??).

There are three parts.

In the coming weeks and months more video of camp back-in-the-day will be posted here.

To read the history of camp, click on Spirited Challenge to read and download. It was written by Picken for the 100th anniversary.

There are also references to the Native Lore program at camp. Bill Owen explains the program, with photos, in this post: Native Lore: In a Different Time.

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Camp Stephens Newsletter Nov. 2010

2010-12-09T13:59:00.002-06:00

Click the link below to download and read the most recent Camp Stephens newsletter:

https://docs.google.com/viewera=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=1HN5PzDuJrURBuJuXbr6nS7BIUdj9iBUaiRGoIDrkOxTwfqB8BJsSPgYkCe07&hl=en

More photos coming

2010-12-07T21:32:00.002-06:00

Baseball game on campus, looking towards old rec hall/dining hall. My guess this was taken in 1920s. (click to enlarge)

Lynda MacIntosh has scanned several hundred camp photos from the 1890s to 2005 over the past year.
This was done to preserve old photos like this and to share them using this blog and Facebook.
Most of the photos have sat in boxes for years. Few are labelled.
Most also haven't been seen for years. It's doubtful even the people in them have seen them.
I'll post them in batches as time allows, and put them in some reasonable order.
Please take a look through the two Flickr accounts on the left side column. If you see yourself or someone you know, let me know so that we can begin to properly indentify folks.

Camp Stephens 100th anniversary

2010-12-04T10:12:00.003-06:00

This was recorded on the day we celebrated Camp Stephens 100th anniversary

July 27-28, 1991. If you were there that day, you'll recognize where you sat at dinner and where you pitched your tent.

It's from a VHS tape supplied to me by former camp director Hal Studholme.

At this point I don't know the man behind the camera. As time allows I'll convert more video he shot that day to share here, including the camp director's roast and Sunday's outdoor chapel service. Enjoy.

Hal has more "historic" Camp Stephens on tape, and I'll convert that, too.

Photos of the 100th anniversary are posted here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/campstephensalumni/sets/72157620555151981/

John Prine

2010-12-02T22:28:00.000-06:00

When I first got involved at the old St. James 'Y' in the mid-1970s I was introduced to John Prine.
For the next decade I collected a lot of his albums (still do) and learned a lot of his songs by heart. We sang on the camp bus, around the camp fire and when we cleaned the high rises at camp.

Here's one of Prine's best-known songs Dear Abby (Just click on 'slow download' for the mp3).

This version was recorded live at Rockefeller's, Houston, Texas on Feb. 6, 1984

If you want the full show drop me an email and fire you the link.

To learn more about Prine here's his bio courtesy of his label Oh Boy Records.

Cheers, Bruce

Alfred David Goes To War (updated Dec.5)

2010-11-21T17:14:00.014-06:00

Posted here is Alfred David's Attestation Paper. (scroll down).

When World War I broke out in 1914, Canadian men who signed up to fight in France filled out an attestation paper.

Don Cochrane found it during some research he was doing online about his own family.

I've ordered a copy of Davey's military record from Veterans Affairs and will post it here where I get it. In past experience, that will take several weeks if not months.

Also posted below is Davey's 1919 military service discharge certificate and his 1962 obituary notice in the Winnipeg Free Press. Both say he was a prisoner of war.

Attestation Paper

David served with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry in France and Belgium. It appears he was captured by the Germans after serving about three months on the Western Front and was a POW for almost the entire duration of the war. The war ended in 1918.

Also posted below is a front page photo of Davey in the Winnipeg Free Press during his last summer at camp in 1961.

Attestation Paper page 2

Alfred David's obituary notice (fifth one down on the left)

Alfred David's last summer at camp

Davey in the his kitchen

Discharge certificate

Camp cook Alfred David

In the meantime, if you haven't seen it, here are some photos and video of Davey I posted earlier: Davey.

"A Living Tradition"

2010-11-21T12:33:00.009-06:00

"I'll be going down to camp as long I am able to carry on."

This was written sometime in the early 1950s. Davey's last summer at camp was 1961. I believe this article appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press. The reporter, Clell Bryant, would later be posted at the London bureau of the Montreal Gazette and later become the editor of Time Canada.

Bryant's story refers to Davey's 1947 trip paid for by some of his "boys". I've posted another newspaper article (I Write What I See) that details that trip.

Below is a second article by Bryant he wrote in July 1951 after a visit to Camp Stephens.

"High point of the season is Little Chief's Day, when most of the staff leaves the island and the boys run the camp."

A YMCA-YWCA OF WINNIPEG NEWSLETTER ~ FALL 2010 ISSUE 3

2010-11-21T11:09:00.008-06:00

THE FALL SEASON IS NOW WELL UNDERWAY

The kids have been back in school for a couple months and the new program season is up and running at all Winnipeg YMCA-YWCA branches. Be sure to pick up a current program schedule of activities and times at the membership desk if you haven't done so already.

DOWNTOWN BRANCH

An Exciting New Look Emerging
After a summer of renovations that, at times, provided a tad of frustration for members and staff alike, things are moving toward completion with completely revamped main floor Men's and Women's locker and shower rooms. The final result is promising to be well worth the wait! MORE

CAMPS FOR KIDS

Fundraising Campaign Kicks Off with Early Success
Even before the official start of the campaign, key donors came forward to give the projects at Camp Stephens and Camp Y a head start. MORE

SPEAKING OF CAMPING

Camp Stephens Sept. 2010

A Great Season at Camp Stephens; and Camp Y Begins Services
Canada's oldest resident camp completed its 119th season providing exciting challenges and adventures to over 1,100 youth. Camp Y completed initial renovations and opened operations for the first time this summer. MORE

NORTH Y YOUTH CENTRE

The Busiest Place in the North End
Although it only opened its doors in October of last year, the North Y Youth Centre, partner in the Win Gardner Place has been responding to the excitement of hundreds of youngsters eager to try out its features and programs. MORE

PEOPLE WHO SERVE

Jack Mowat

Jack Mowat - a Half Century of Volunteer Service Remembered
One of the Winnipeg YMCA-YWCA's longest serving volunteers passed away this spring at the age of 83 years. Few have served our youth programs with greater devotion. MORE

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

Women of Distinction Awards
Do you know an amazing woman or group of women? Nominate them for a Woman of Distinction Award. MORE

Save the Date - Annual General Meeting - Jan. 31, 2011

A camper's letter home August 1969

2010-11-12T21:27:00.001-06:00

Another camp memory from Greg Gillis.

"Dear Mom, My pants ~~fell~~ came off"

"This letter looks like something Eeyore or a child on the verge of depression might have written, though I know Camp was the thing I looked forward to more than anything in my life," Gillis says. "I knew I should have paid more attention during Grace."

I Write What I See

2010-11-12T17:26:00.002-06:00

In my job as a reporter with the Winnipeg Free Press I get to cross paths with a lot of fascinating people.

Doing this blog, it's the same, but with a twist.

Case in point: Lynda "Tuck" MacIntosh provided me a while with a number of photos and documents regarding the old camp cook Davey.

One caught my eye. It was a newspaper article written by Ron Poulton about Davey under the headline I Write What I See.

It appears it was written in 1947 and ran in the Winnipeg Tribune.

What got me curious was, who was Poulton? As it turned out, he was one of Canada's great newspaper men.

Here's his obit story as it ran in the Toronto Sun in 1993:

Newsman Poulton Dead At 77

The Toronto Sun

Wed. Nov. 17, 1993

Page: 42

Section: News

Ron Poulton was a writer's writer, a literary alchemist who turned mere words into gold.

The former Toronto Telegram columnist and Sun associate editor died aged 77 at his West Hill home Monday of natural causes, his wife of 48 years, Kay, by his side.

``He'd been enjoying his retirement years, his three grandchildren, reading history and gardening,'' the middle of three sons, Dana, said yesterday.

``He was a brilliant writer,'' said Sun editor John Downing. ``Each word was painted as a painter paints a brush stroke.''

Doug Creighton, a co-founder of the Sun ousted as CEO last year, remembered Poulton as a ``total pro.''

``He ran the bureau over in London for the Tely years ago,'' Creighton said from Edmonton, where he was promoting his new book, Sunburned. ``He was one of the best writers I've ever met.''

While at the Tely, he wrote The Paper Tyrant, a book on John Ross Robertson, founder of the Telegram.

He joined the Sun as associate editor two years after the demise of the Telegram. He is best remembered at the Sun for his 1976 book Life in a Word Factory, the history of the fledgling tabloid that turned Toronto on its ear.

History, however, remembers him as the wordsmith who covered the world for the Telegram.

He could move readers, such as he did in his 13-part series of Sir Winston Churchill's life and times or awe them with the tale of his 1961 visit to Hiroshima, Japan, site of the first atomic bomb attack.

Born in Moose Jaw, Sask., Poulton served with the Saskatoon Light Infantry during World War II, then with the Strathcona Horse Regiment before transferring to the Maple Leaf, the serviceman's newspaper.

The curious thing for me is how Poultan met Davey, and why he took the time to write this column. My only guess is because it was important to him just to tell the story.

-30-

A Letter of Note

2010-11-11T17:34:00.002-06:00

This is a letter written by Alex Owen to Alfred David on Dec. 28,1958. Owen was camp director 1953-54. 'Davey' started working at camp in 1920 as cook. His last summer was in 1961. He died that winter.

Native Lore: In A Different Time

2010-11-11T16:46:00.199-06:00

A while ago I asked former camp director Bill Owen to tell me about the Native Lore program at camp. There are several references to it in this blog.

The Native Lore program is long gone, but more than 50 years ago it was as vital to camp programming as today's programming is now.

My first summer was in 1977 on Operations. One of our first jobs was to remove the old totem pole from the Council Ring. You can see it in one of these photos. It was rotten and in danger of falling down. The painted images and carvings on it were faded and worn.

There are now few reminders of the Native Lore program at camp.

Bill Owen (no family relation to me, we think) explains its significance. - Bruce Owen

This is a photo from the Winnipeg Free Press July 24, 1952.
Caption: No, the smiling lad is not being scalped - but it's the nearest thing to it, Indian style. Warren Chafe, camper at YMCA's Camp Stephens for boys at Lake of the Woods, near Kenora, gets an "Iroquois" cut from Guy Kroft, of headquarters staff, as he prepares for Indian grand council, one of the features of the camp's activities. Don't worry mother, campers need parents' permission before getting one of these "exclusive" cuts!

The background on the prominence of the native Indian themes at both Camp Manitou and Camp Stephens goes back quite a few years.

My first experience was as a first time camper at Stephens in 1940 or '41 and it became a part of a camp tradition at both Manitou and at Stephens until 1959 when I transferred to Vancouver.

It may have continued with my successor (Stephens director) Ron Watson for a few more years. I was advised by Wray Yeomans (a legend in his own right at Manitou) and later by Bill Skinner (also a Manitou Director and later also of YMCA Camp Pala) that the Indian camp theme came to Manitou and Stephens from long-time camp directors from the west coast, Gordon Hearn and Charlie Forsythe.

The Indian theme provided a great variety of fascinating program possibilities from an historical, legendary, inspirational and physically challenging perspective, even the camp directors were known as the "Camp Chief", and the theme carried on from there.

Of course in today's overly-sensitive and "politically correct " situation such an emphasis might not be acceptable. This Indian theme was carried on, elaborated, enhanced and traditionalized by a succession of "Camp Chiefs", including Don Hills, Bill Skinner, Ross Bannerman, Alex Owen, myself and Ron Watson and others.

It was the camp staff, counsellors, section directors and long time campers that enhanced the Indian theme over the years, and this theme resulted in many program spin-offs including an extensive crafts program, skits, story telling, sing songs, canoe challenges, fire building , tripping, the five island swim challenge, camp to Kenora swim, Indian games and the highlight Grand Council ceremony that was the final evening program at the end of each two week session.

The photos (posted here) were taken at one of the Grand Councils, A little more about that later.

The Indian theme introduced the idea of the "friendship sticks " that campers created out of the rotted roots of the diamond willow shrubs that were prominent on the islands. The roots were peeled carved, sanded and campers were encouraged to print the names of cabin-mates and friends, varnish them several times to be lasting mementos. I bet some are still around in some Winnipeg basements.

In later years trippers were encouraged to do the same on there trip paddle - augmented with an Indian design. Mine is mounted on a wall at my cottage.

The ultimate challenge that grew out of the Indian theme, and which for litigious reasons I suspect does not exist today, was the Stephens "Vigil " where a qualifying camper (canoe certificate, five island swim, canoe trip, fire skill, etc.) was challenged to leave the camp after dinner, canoe to one of the other islands (usually Patton) with a bed-roll, one orange and three matches. They had to beach the canoe, set -up camp, build and maintain a fire, and at about midnight and at 1 a.m., 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. was required to open an envelope and give a written answer to an enclosed question. Each required some thought about the universe, leadership, God, friendship and being alone.

In the morning they had to pack up and be back at camp in time for flag raising. The H.Q. staff would read the responses and vote on the "passing" of the Vigil.

They almost always passed and in front of the total camp the camper was inducted into the "Camp Stephens Order of The Quest" and presented with a classy white feather, the connection to the Indian theme.

The Grand Council, on the last night of each two-week session, was held when it it was dark. The camp bell summoned the entire camp to the council ring (behind where Cleavis #2 is now). Campers with their counsellors were seated on logs around the fire pit. Not always, but in my day, I had two or three program staff wearing loin clothes and painted solid gold (the paint was augmented with green soap so that it coud easily be washed off in the lake). Two of them would hold a flaming torch a each side of the entrance path to the council ring and wide- eyed campers would pass through.

One of the main features of the Grand Council event was the lighting of the Pipe of Peace, which also centered on the elaborate lighting of the camp fire. The ceremonial lighting of the peace pipe, usually, but not always by the Camp Chief included what we believed were authentic Indian tribal language, phonetically as best as I can recall: "Mey nay-kayoonay-aws way . . . maka eeway- (mother earth) noon way," It meant; This is a council of peace so now we light the pipe of peace. I don,t know where the Indian words came from or whether there is any authenticity, but I first heard them as an 8 year old camper at Stephens and it was just carried on from there.

The Camp Chief would, also in Indian dialect ("meta kolla nay hume po") welcomed every one and in circling the huge fire site (prepared earlier) would call upon the appropriate Indian spirit to light the magic fire.

Earlier, we made a wick out of string cord and soaked and dried saltpeter which we could time how long it would take for the hidden wick to reach the bottom of the fire bed where we had earlier placed some kerosine and a little white gas. It was quite impressive, even magical to some. The evening followed by stories any one wanted to tell, some cabin challenges like Indian leg wrestling, and announcements of any special personal achievements of the day. Davey often attended.

The fire lighting added a little drama of course. Once I had George Alliston (our boatman) climb about 30-plus feet up a tree at the edge of the council ring where we had strong a very rigid heavy string from the tree to the bottom of the gas-laden fire, and we had a spool wrapped in a kerosene soaked rag and when the "Chief" called for the magic fire from the heavens. George would release the burning spool and it would fly to the fire pit and BOOM!

Yes, a little dramatic, but it added to the theme and was a hit with the campers.

A visiting Y staff from Mexico taught us how to do an impressive Indian Club drill,and he showed us how to make clubs out of tree branches and how to make a solid ball out of potato sacking attach these to the clubs, soak them in kerosene and we were able to get a small group of staff and counsellors to perform an impressive synchronized Indian club display down by the waterfront.

As Camp Chief it was my responsibility with a silent canoe to check on each Vigil for safety reasons and to be sure their canoe was properly beached and that the fire was tended until at least 3 a.m.

It was all worth it to see the campers response when he received his reward. Of course The Chief had a head dress and staff and campers completed the Grand Council with appropriate face paint.
Why am I burdening you with all of this ? You have your own stories, but, you did ask about the Indian theme that was the focus of the time. This likely more than anyone wanted to know, but the fact is there is a lot more that could be told.

Camp is very different today being co-ed and with certain overdue health and safety regulations. There are also so many new opportunities, better equipment, available funds and bright young leaders with skills and imagination.

I feel as good about Stephens today and the impact it can make on the lives of the children and youth who can take advantage of that great location on Lake of the Woods.

Bill Owen, Camp Director 1958-59

Davey awards camp badges with Camp Chief standing behind. The photo was taken, I believe, in the 1950s.

The Car On The Island

2010-11-11T11:39:00.003-06:00

Jim Leggat's car summer of 1977

Recently I got a photo of this car parked outside the director's cabin.

Like a lot of old photos, it brought back a bunch of memories long repressed in the back of my head.

It ended up on the island at the end the summer of 1977, my first year at camp. That year I mostly cleaned the toilets in the two High Rises. (It was my best job ever. I was so proud of myself when I was handed a $100 cheque at the end of the summer).

The car belonged to then camp director Jim Leggat.

Here's how it got to Camp Stephens, as told by some of the folks who pulled the caper:

Grant Platts:

Grant Platts

"We decided to have a little fun with Jim and bring his car out to the island," says Platts, who was camp director after Leggat.

"Burton (Tutt), Doug (Fraser), and I were definitely involved. We also recruited Rod Cowtan (John's brother) who was the boatman that summer. There may have been one or two others but I can't remember.

"Burton arranged to get someone's barge from Kenora (It was Billy's barge-ed.) and we got a hold of Leggat's keys."

Eyewitness Jim Arthur:

Jim Arthur and Thomas, the bus

"Back then it was easy to get keys to someone's vehicle ...just say …'I need to do some running around; can I have your keys?' A promise to buy beer on the day off also helped.

"One night I do remember it being noted that a fair number of people had not shown up for evening java, not to mention any names but the initials were Burton Tutt and several others. In fact, they had not been seen since after supper. It was a particularly nasty night …. wavy, windy overcast… You get the picture…"

Platts:

"Late one night we went into town, drove the car onto the barge and proceeded back to camp using the I/O (camp boat) as our motive power.

"I remember it was a rather cold night and rainy - we had the car running to keep warm. All was going well until we were stopped by an OPP patrol boat in the middle of the Devil's Gap channel. They shone their big search light on us and came along side. In the ensuing excitement, the 'Dinse' (Doug Fraser) walked off the barge into the lake so we had to fish him out.

"Of course the police wanted to know who's car was it, what we were doing in the middle of the night with it, if we had the owner's permission, why we didn't have proper running lights on, and other minor details. Somehow we talked our way out of it and they let us go on our way (I think they made us turn on the car's four-way flashers)."

Doug Fraser:

Doug Fraser

"Grant got everything right as far as I remember it," Fraser says. "I thought (Sailing director Commodore) Bob Colborne (Dave’s brother) was also in on the caper. I walked off the barge while we were being interrogated by the police because I was literally blinded by the searchlight. They did make us put the flashers on the car the rest of the way out to the island."

Arthur:

"Those involved in the caper has not taken into account, what happens when the OPP stop you (Hmmm, because they see a car on a barge on Lake of the Woods?) and you have to stop. in the Gap … where…. Oh…please sir, don’t make us crash into the shore ….and no sir, I don’t have the registration, but the owner does know I have it, honest. And you wonder why some camp staff have such large noses!

"Also, in the excitement, after putting the car into neutral so it could be rolled upon the barge …I guess someone forgot to put it back into park or put the emergency break on. And at one point (wind, waves) the car came very close to becoming an anchor."

Platts:

"We arrived back at Stephens when it was still dark and offloaded the car by the sail dock. We pushed it across the campus and past the director's cabin and got it down to McKinney's. We hid the barge behind King's Point.

"The next morning at breakfast we had Jim come outside and the car was driven up. Jim did a great job of not appearing overly shocked - I think he just got in and drove it back to the director's cabin where that picture was taken. We had to spend the rest of the day getting it back to Kenora."

Fraser:

"We staged a marriage ceremony that next morning for Jim and Karen and I thought we had confetti and everything. As they came out of the dining hall someone yelled 'Bring up the car' and the car drove up. Leggat did a fantastic job of taking it in stride – he jumped in the car with Karen and drove it to the director’s cabin."

Arthur:

"Anyway, the rumours abounded as to who is responsible and how did the car get onto the island. After much interrogation, it became clear that getting the car to the island was far more exciting and adventuresome than it being on the island."

What little I remember:

Burton was my 'counsellor' as he headed up Operations. Because Burton was busy, we didn't have much to do that day. So we stood near the sail dock as the barge was brought from its hiding place so the car could be loaded on it and taken safely back to Kenora.

Burton (now Boryen) backed it up onto the barge; two big planks were used to drive it up onto the barge. Burton was behind wheel and Doug provided guidance.

I remember Leggat watched from the shore in horror as it once or twice almost hit the water. He had to leave and go back to his cabin because it was so nerve-wracking for him to watch.

Once on the barge it headed back to Kenora no worse for wear.

Bruce Allan "Rabbit" Robinson

2010-11-03T10:26:00.002-05:00

Obituary

BRUCE ALLAN ROBINSON On Sunday, October 31, 2010, our family and our city lost a leader, Bruce Robinson. With his family at his side, Bruce passed away peacefully at the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton.

Left to cherish their memories of this wonderful man are his wife Jane, son Brett, daughter Leigh (Dallas Wiebe), sister Judy, brothers Ross (Allana) and Neil (Cathy), Leigh and Brian Hilton, John and Orion Black, Jeff Woelki (Arlette), Amy Baizley (Darren Burkett), Carol and George Prosk, Don Atkinson and many cherished nieces and nephews.

He was predeceased by his wife Lynne, infant son Todd and his parents B.A. and Gerry Robinson.

Bruce led a full life and embraced everyone he met both personally and professionally. Through his high school years Bruce (AKA Rabbit ) spent every summer at YMCA Camp Stephens where he developed many life-long friends.

While attending the University of Manitoba, Bruce was active in fraternity life as member of Delta Kappa Epsilon. After graduation, Bruce began his career with Ford of Canada before joining his father and his brother Ross in the family firm, B.A. Robinson Co. Ltd. in 1971. After 25 successful years together Bruce incorporated Robinson Lighting Ltd. and along with Brett and Leigh established branches in Winnipeg, Burnaby, Kelowna, and Langley.

Bruce loved every moment at work with his children and their wonderful staff. Raised in a family that believed in giving back to the community, Bruce was very involved in Winnipeg. He served as President of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1992 and 1993 and spent 26 years as a Winnipeg Football Club Director. He was President of both The Manitoba Club (1999) and Winnipeg Executives Association (2001 to 2002).

Professionally Bruce served as Chair of the American Lighting Association in 1998 and in 2003 was inducted into the American Lighting Association's Hall of Fame , the first and only Canadian to be so honoured.

Bruce valued the friendships made through his years of curling at the Winter Club and golfing at Breezy Bend and St. Charles Country Club. He treasured his summers spent with his family at Granite Lake.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, November 5 at 2:00 p.m. at Westminster United Church, 745 Westminster Ave. (Maryland and Westminster). In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in the name of Bruce Robinson to Liver Research at the Health Sciences Centre Foundation, MS1-820 Sherbrook Street, Winnipeg, MB R3A 1R9 or a charity of your choice. Bruce was an organ donor and we encourage everyone to join him and sign an organ donor card. THOMSON IN THE PARK 925-1120 Condolences may be sent to http://www.thomsoninthepark.com/

(published Nov. 3, 2010 -Winnipeg Free Press)

"We lost a good friend long before he should have left us. Bruce impacted all of our lives in different ways but as Stubby (Brian Law) said the common bond between us was camp.
"He loved Stephens and the Y and everything they stood for. Obviously, they had impacted him in a positive way, more than we had imagined.

"I’m sure you would all agree that in his own way Bruce lived by the three words 'I’m Third.'"

Punch Jackson

Davey

2010-10-18T10:39:00.005-05:00

Alfred "Davey" David

Lynda "Tuck" MacIntosh has been hard at work mining the Camp Stephens archives. She's found a number of old photos and documents of camp legend "Davey".
I've put together a slideshow of what Lynda unearthed. Music is A Song For You by Ryan Adams and Emmylou Harris. There are old letters and newspaper articles, too. They'll be posted here as time permits. Everything will be available for download.

Paddles are good for lots of things

2010-10-12T00:50:00.011-05:00

Here’s a faded photo of my two-week group (taken by Jon Cowtan) from ’74 with Ted Spear as tripper.

I'm the big boy, big hair in the middle. My hair’s shorter now, but I still have it.

The photo set up was my making. A guy named Cam (Armstrong or Baldwin?) to my left – he had a drivers licence!

Gary Henning is kneeling beside Ted. I’m ashamed to say I can’t recall the other two, but it was a fabulous trip. Hot and sunny the whole trip, but forest fires and a dry creek forced a re-route along the way.

I was invited on the six week that year (Louis Miller and Dave McGregor were on that one) but financial restrictions at home put the kibosh on it. A regret, but I’ll get over it someday.

Ted (lower right) had his 18th birthday on a smoky day when we were officially lost. Greg Gillis~Winnipeg

Update: From Ted Spear: "The guy on the right is Cam Baldwin (I think). I have gapped on all the others. (The mind is a very disappointing thing!)."

Winnipeg Y launches Camps for Kids Campaign to Enhance Camping Experiences for Manitoba Children

2010-09-23T12:18:00.003-05:00

News Release

WINNIPEG – September 23, 2010 – The YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg today announced its

Camps for Kids Capital Campaign to raise $3 million to fund two initiatives that will expand

and enhance the Y camping experience for Manitoba children, youth and families. Lead

gifts have already raised $1.96 million.

One initiative is the $1.74 million purchase and refurbishment of the former Salvation Army

camp near Woodlands, 45 minutes north of Winnipeg. The other initiative requires $1.26

million to replace 18 cabins to house 180 campers at the Y’s long-established Camp

Stephens on Lake of the Woods near Kenora.

“The Camps for Kids Campaign will significantly expand and enhance the camping

experience for Manitoba children,” Campaign Chair Bob Brennan said. “The new camp at Woodlands

will not only add camper capacity to the Y’s programs, but its proximity to the

Winnipeg Y will also provide a more flexible camping experience than we’ve been able to

provide with our Camp Stephens facility in Ontario.

“Replacing the aging Camp Stephens cabins will help us retain the Y’s high camping

standards at the island camp. The existing cabins are over 50 years old and well used.”

Besides purchasing the new Woodlands facility called Camp Y, funds will be used for

renovations and changes to bring the facility up to Y standards including: improving

accessibility, upgrading and winterizing some buildings; modernizing the swimming pool and

adding two new 80-foot-long waterslides; upgrading climbing facilities; and upgrading and

certifying the drinking water system.

“Overall, the Woodlands facility is a very good fit for us because its close proximity to

Winnipeg will allow us to use the facility for day camps, short-stay overnight camping and

winter camping programs that are not possible at Camp Stephens because of the distance

from Winnipeg and its island location,” YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg CEO, Dave Young said.

Cabin replacement at Camp Stephens will involve constructing 18, 16-foot by 24-foot threeseason

buildings with eight-foot covered decks using solid-wood, log-style walls and steeppitch

roofs.

“The cabin design has been selected to fit the natural environment and integrate well with

existing facilities on the island, and the construction will be robust enough to endure

continuous use by energetic young campers,” Young says.

“Y members and others who have heard about this project are very enthusiastic. Many with

first-hand camping experience know the value it brought to their lives, and they want to

ensure the experience continues to be available to future generations,” Brennan said.

“We’re confident donors will be generous.”

– 30 –

New cabins at Camp Stephens (updated Sept. 14)

2010-08-25T15:27:00.031-05:00

Here are a couple of recent photos of a new cabin built this summer at Camp Stephens. They were taken by Ana Rancourt. "They are built here and there in between the old cabin and they face the lake," Ana says.

During this year's work weekend a group of us insulated the walls of the four new cabins and began putting up the plywood interior. Additional work includes exterior railings and steps. Once the cabins are OK'd for kids the worst of the older cabins will be torn down.

Discussions continue on what to name the new cabins. There are a couple of old cabin names that may bite the dust, like Wigwam. Names like this reflect a different time at camp when aboriginal folklore, as seen by the white man, was central to camp programming.

Also, the cabin renewal fundraising campaign still continues. The goal is for of one or more of the new cabins to be sponsored by alumni. More information will be supplied soon.

For a little history on the cabin line, check out this earlier post If I Designed Mudjikiwi.

Here are a couple of other photos Ron Tomasson and I took of the new cabins during work weekend.

Other work included repainting the dining hall floor and installing flooring in the camp office in Lount Lodge.

The Power Hour

2010-08-04T13:17:00.002-05:00

From Steve Allen at Camp Stephens:

"These are some guys from Hydro who were replacing our submarine cable to our island.
"This cable had originally been put in 1961 and provides all the power to our island traveling from Town Island to another island and then to us.
"These cables usually last around 20-25 years so I guess we got lucky
with ours.
"They also had to fly in a (new)transformer by helicopter."

Healthy dating? There’s an app for that with YWCA Safety Siren

2010-07-13T16:51:00.004-05:00

The YWCA Safety Siren, available in both English and French, offers users a unique utility siren which can be activated by either pressing the safety button or by shaking an iPod or iTouch. The app also offers Canadian health and safety information geared toward young women, including: short questions and answers about women’s health and wellness, particularly focused on dating and social interaction; tips and facts on safety and wellbeing; links to YWCAs across Canada as well as health and crisis resource centres; and SOS urgent email and phone functionality to a friend or family member when the user is in an unsafe situation.

Highlights include:

•Functionality in both French and English
•Multiple siren settings
•Siren activation sends an emergency email to a pre-set SOS contact with approximate coordinates and places an emergency outgoing call to a pre-programmed number
•A wide range of facts and information on women's health and wellness
•Connections to nearby YWCAs, emergency hotlines, health centres and clinics
•Access to a library of women’s health resources

To download the YWCA Safety Siren visit the App Store in iTunes.

Camp Stephens on opening day 1930

2010-07-02T09:44:00.005-05:00

Paddle challenge

2010-07-01T11:59:00.004-05:00

There are a more than a few Camp Stephens alumni that work at the Manitoba Legislative Building. One is Tom Garrett.

He sent this the other day:

"Thought you might appreciate this. I’m a Camp Stephens alumni. A colleague and I canoed to work for commuter challenge this year and plan to a few more times this summer if it ever stops raining.
"Anyways, here’s a photo of my canoe bike locked to a light post near the back fountain."

Remove your footwear at the door

2010-06-30T12:00:00.006-05:00

For the longest time we removed our shoes when we went into the dining hall. That continued when Lount Lodge was built.
No shoes and boots in either building meant less muck being trucked in and less scuffs on the floors.
It's good to see at least one person in this recent photo remembers that.
Or, he just lost his shoes. Which wouldn't be the first time.

Photo was taken June 27 at the alumni presentation during the 2010 staff training weekend. Left to right: former camp director Hal Studholme, former chef Laurie MacIntosh, former girl's camp director Lynda MacIntosh and shoeless Grant Plants, former camp director.

42 Days in 18 Ways

2010-06-08T13:17:00.016-05:00

The gallery display

42 days in 18 ways is a time-based photographic series focusing on the transitions that took place over the course of two 42-day wilderness canoe trips in North Western Ontario during the summer of 2006.

Artists/Trippers Jennifer Cherniack and David Perrett were guides for an educational canoeing program through the YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg and Camp Stephens.

Jennifer led seven young women and David led seven young men on separate trips. These canoe trips focus on leadership and personal growth for high school-aged participants.

As trip leaders, the artists set out to incorporate contemporary art education and production into a program largely based on outdoor skills and co-operative living.

Trippers on the girl's trip were Cherniack and Ashleigh Hall.
Campers were Margaux Cadieux, Sarah Kesselman, Meredith Pind, Kelly Berringer, Jocelyn Goertzen, Alex Myers and Katie Black.

Camp buddies Jamaal Ramole and Jennie Cherniack

Details of the show: alumni gallery

Details of the show: girl's trip

Opening night.

What Winnipeg Free Press reporter Morley Walker said about the show (click to enlarge).

Camp Stephens In The News 1913-15

2010-06-01T12:56:00.002-05:00

These are PDF files of brief stories about Camp Stephens. Click on the link and type in "Stephens" to read the story. Click on the plus sign to increase the reading size.

W. H. Moor and 33 Boys

Kenora Boys' Camp

Boys Had A Happy And Helpful Time At Kenora Camp

Camp Stephens 1964 postcard

2010-05-13T13:20:00.001-05:00

I grabbed this off eBay the other day. The seller is in Birmingham, UK. Opening bid was £0.99.

If I Designed Mudjikiwi

2010-05-01T00:27:00.034-05:00

The cabins, built in the mid-1960s, are to be replaced with buildings geared for today's standards of safety, privacy and comfort.

The new cabins will be built over several seasons. Work is expected to start soon.

For more information, go to If I designed Mudjikiwi for 2010 on Facebook .
You can see three of the old cabins in these photos, the oldest a cabin by Lone Pine in the 1920s. The second oldest is of St. Julien's taken in 1947. The next one of a Better Ole cabin group dates from 1961. The others are of the 1966 dedication. Hugh Benham and Neil Robinson unveil the plaque.
(Click on the photos to enlarge)
At the bottom is a video I did of cabins in Sept. 2009.

Barley Water Folk Festival

2010-04-19T17:20:00.011-05:00

John Karras (lid) and Ted Spear perform at the first Barley Water Folk Festival at the old St. James 'Y'. Bruce Talbot performs at the bottom right, same night.
In mid to late 1970s a number of these performances were held to raise money (by selling barley water to people over 18) to run trips and buy equipment for wilderness and leadership programs.

Most of these performances were taped, and I'm led to believe "someone" still has the tapes. If that "someone" would like to share them with me, I can convert them so we can all listen to John Prine's Dear Abby and Valdy's Simple Life sung by other people.- Bruce Owen

Stones Night At the Red Cactus

2010-04-13T23:39:00.008-05:00

Geoff Owen on keyboards and vocals and Tim Goodwin on bass. Recorded Nov. 10-11, 2009. A bunch of old camp staff came out and we all stayed up real late.
Click here for part II of the show: Tumbling Dice .
Click here for part III: It's All Over Now.
Click here for part IV: Dead Flowers.
Click here for Part V: Live With Me.

Contest! Name the McGregors!

2010-04-13T14:17:00.004-05:00

Which one is who and when was it taken?

Prizes yet to be determined.

(Anyone with last name of McGregor is not allowed to play).

The Spirited Challenge

2010-04-07T20:33:00.021-05:00

The Spirited Challenge (Click to read)

The Spirited Challenge is probably the most extensive written history of Camp Stephens.

The 24-page booklet captures the history of the island from its first days.

It was put together by then camp director Bob Picken (no, not by memory) for the 100th anniversary of the camp in 1991.

Lount Lodge 1991

Lynda MacIntosh lent me her copy of it about two years ago. It's time to return it. Lynda is sitting on lodge steps in photo from 1991 anniversary.

(There is one typo in it. On page 10 it should read Al and Jean Wilde).

You can read Hal Studholme's invocation that he gave at the 100th anniversary of Camp Stephens chapel service.

Also included is a brochure prepared for the 90th anniversary and the dedication of Lount Lodge, plus the agenda of the day's events.

I've also included a list of the original shareholders of what was to become Camp Stephens. These are the people whose vision created camp.

Click on the highlighted words to download.

Cheers, Bruce

Jim Leggat~Leg's Place

2010-04-05T19:35:00.060-05:00

Jim Leggat

At the end of the summer in 2006 family of former camp director Jim Leggat and close friends gathered at Camp Stephens at the place where Y's Men once stood. The first cabin on the line had been replaced with a new one, named Leg's Place in his memory.

Leggat died suddenly Nov. 11, 1994 at age 41 while hiking in British Columbia.

Here are the words spoken that day.

They and the photos were provided by Leggat's sister Carolyn Schram and his brother John Leggat.

Speaking is former camp director Grant Platts:

Camp Stephens - August 26, 2006

I was honoured when Carolyn asked me to say a few words today about Jim and his history at camp.

Jim started Stephens as a camper in 1968 -- at the somewhat advanced age of 15. Apparently he was not all that keen to go the first time, but once he got there, he was bitten by the bug. Not only was Stephens a major part of his life for the next 11 years, but it also provided the foundation for his lifelong career in camping.

After his first year as camper, Jim followed in 1969 as a counsellor-in-training (CIT) under the leadership of Brian "Stubby"Law. Included in that group were a number of guys (including Jim, Neil Robinson, Jamie Grant and Mike Pawluk) that went on to play major roles at Stephens in the resident and wilderness programs throughout the next number of years.

Jim was a counsellor and canoe tripper during the early 70s culminating in his leading the fourth ever boy's six week trip in 1973. That trip was perhaps the most remote and challenging ever, a route that started in South Indian Lake and travelled the length of the Seal River into Hudson Bay, north of Churchill, Manitoba.
During the next few years Jim was back in camp as a section director and canoeing specialist. Winters saw him working at Kinsmen Lodge at the Y's Camp Manitou.

In 1977 Jim was appointed director of Stephens where he remained for the next three years. His last summer was 1979 after which he accepted a position with the Victoria YM-YWCA as the director of Camp Thunderbird, where he remained until his untimely passing.

During his time as Stephens' director, Jim made a number of positive changes. Among the more notable was the lengthening of the girl's invitational trip from four to six weeks and the change from one tripper and five participants to the current two and seven ratio, a move that significantly reduced risk, but one that was not altogether met with open arms by the macho men of the woods.

Jim's sudden death in 1994 came as a shock to his family who lost a beloved son, brother and uncle, and also to all of his friends. After Jim's funeral, a suitable wake was held in his honour at the Victoria Inn in Brandon. Jim would have been proud.

I'd like to finish by reading messages sent by two of Jim's closest friends.

The first is from Neil Robinson:

When I first met Jim Leggat as a CIT he was solid with large and extremely strong legs. Also, given the fact that his last name was Leggat, he was quickly known as "Legs" around camp. Everybody knew who Legs was, campers and staff alike. Whether Jim was a camper, CIT, counsellor, section director, canoe tripper or camp director, he truly loved camp and each winter looked forward to getting back to Stephens.

Legs loved dealing with everyone at camp and could be seen tilting his head back and roaring with laughter, or, with a twinkle in his eye, make a joke and giggle. I've never met a large man that could giggle so well.

One of my favourite recollections is of Jim as the camp director. Picture this: Big Jim, likely having a cigarette in his director's cabin, and then ringing the camp bell early in the morning to signify the daily camp run and polar bear swim. A group of 20 junior campers (Junies as they are called) are dwarfed by the fearless leader Legs. After an appropriate warm-up of two jumping jacks and three pushups, the group is off and jogging. Around the island they go in a line behind their leader, with Jim cracking jokes and making every Junie feel welcome. The polar bear swim is a welcome relief for the Junies and their overheated leader Legs.

Other than Jim's fun side, which was huge, there was a dedication to make camp a better place. He made positive changes to the tripping program and to camp life and believed in the ideals of the YM-YWCA.

It is an honour to have know Legs and to have a cabin named after him. When I am back on the island, I will go there first.

And finally, this tribute from Jamie Grant:

One of my more vivid memories of Legs is of the day he and his six-week crew returned to Stephens from their trip down the Seal River. In keeping with his character his presence that day was again larger than life. His presence and his calm permeated the crowd gathered that afternoon. His stories of their travels captivated everyone present. I remember hanging onto every word of their adventure. I felt like a kid listening to a great storyteller. That was his day. His ever-present smile with a chuckle was replaced with a sense of serious reflection. However, that twinkle in his eye was ever-present.

To me, the experience of that trip and what he was able to see in himself initiated a belief and created a stepping stone that eventually led him to become director of Camp Stephens and later Camp Thunderbird.

He understood what it was to be a leader and decision maker, how to teach and influence others... how to build a team. You could see it flow from his six-week group that afternoon and subsequent evening. He was proud of his ability to influence others. I believe he had learned that he had certain skills tucked away under the carefree character of his that he may not have known he possessed. He could now move forward on his own terms... which he certainly did.

I paddled that same route as Legs and his group had down down the Seal River about eight years later. We came across a cabin close to a set of rapids where we stopped for lunch. On the wall was a note written by Legs and his group. I added a follow-up note to their etching on the wall. All I could really write was, "the Spirit of those that have preceded us prevails". I was thinking 0f Jim as I wrote. His spirit was ever-powerful as I sat at that table in the cabin that day. It is now once again overwhelming as I write this note... and I am sure it is the same with all of you gathered today for this dedication to Legs.

I wish I could be there today. Sorry I cannot.

My best wishes to Marion Leggat and to all members of the Leggat family.

Jim was a wonderful friend and I miss him. His Spirit continues to prevail ever so strong!

Lount Lodge (Updated May 29/10)

2010-04-02T14:46:00.112-05:00

This will eventually be a post about the building of Lount Lodge.

Over the coming weeks and months I'll add the bits and pieces I have, and what I remember, to put down in one place how a bunch of us built Lount Lodge.
Suggestions are welcome. Here's a bunch of paperwork to start things off, including The Rules. ~Bruce

We cut down 230 trees, all Red Pine, on McPhearson Island, which is about 90 minutes by boat south of camp near the U.S. border.

Bob Backhouse drove the skidder, used to haul or drag the trees we cut down, to a ramp we built on the shore of the lake. Where the tree was cut down, we "limbed" it; cut off as many branches as possible. At the ramp, a short distance away from the cutting area, we had an electric generator for a big drill.

Once Bob had dropped off a tree, sometimes more than one with the skidder, we manhandled them into place to drill holes at either end to allow steel cables to be threaded through to make the boom. Once the holes were drilled, we rolled the logs down the ramp into the lake. As more logs were rolled in the water, we got in boots and all and made the boom.

We lived on-site for about three weeks, camping on a small island a short distance away. We lived on mostly on trail food.

We named the island Ralph Island after Bob and I (left alone to fend for ourselves; big mistake) cooked up some mac and cheese and added bacon that was well past its prime. We figured if we cooked it long enough we'd be safe. We were wrong. By dawn we, in unison, were drowning out the sound of the birds.

Bringing the boom to camp was a hoot, but it was also a challenge none of us could have even imagined. What could go wrong did. Almost.

We were delayed in bringing the boom to camp because a severe storm that lasted a couple of days. On the day before we arranged to tow the boom to camp, towed by a tug (a picture of it at dock in Kenora is at the right) we left camp by boat at about 5 a.m. to check on any damage the waves caused to the boom.
When he got to McPhearson we discovered many of the cables had broke, and we had to rebuild the boom and fetch wayward logs. About 16 hours later, working in cold, fishfly invested water, we finished. But we were still far from home.

I have a letter I wrote home about what happened next, and will post some of the contents of it when I get the chance. Reading the letter, written in early July 1980, it's clear I have forgotten a lot.

Suffice it to say, cutting down the logs and getting them to camp was gruelling work, all of it. But it was nothing to what was ahead. None of us had done this type of work before. Except for Burton, we were all university students without a clue.

Burton had learned to build with logs at the B. Allan Mackie School of Logbuilding in Prince George, B.C. Slowly, in my case really slowly, he taught us the craft of building with logs from ground up. When the building was finished Mackie published a story about the lodge in his Log House magazine. We were all quite proud. We were hoping to get the cover, but didn't. When you see what shot did make the cover of Log House #8, Mackie made the correct editorial decision.

There's a photo in the magazine of Dave Wright, Bob Picken and myself with the first log put on the building. I'm in the back picking my teeth with a peavy, a crude but functional tool used to roll and position logs. I figured by then I was tough enough to forgo a toothpick.

Once the first log was put in place, other logs quickly followed, completeing our first round, the first layer of logs. Next came the floor joists.

The lumber used for the joints was rough (not planed or sanded, but full of slivers) 2" by 12" lumber which were notched or "stepped" into the first layer of logs.

Air nail guns weren't invented yet so we used big-assed Estwing framing hammers and long ardox or spiral nails to nail the joists and cross supports together. The joists were spaced one-foot apart, which makes the floor in the lodge solid enough to land the space shuttle. It was built as solid as it is because over the next year we would use the floor as a heavy-duty work space. On top of the joists we nailed one-by-six shiplap at a 45 degree angle, again to provide additional support.

Over the next few months, while moving logs into position for successive rounds (layers), the occasional log crashed through the shiplap, but never through a joist.

All the lumber, and nails by the box, had to be barged (on the same barge pictured above) out to the island from a local mill. I don't remember much about this, probably because it sucked so much, but we were the people who loaded by hand the barge at the mill and then unloaded it at camp.

What I do know is that the tools Burton ordered us to buy were the best money could buy, designed to last forever. I still have mine. Despite Mike Holmes and his crew always using air nailers, I'll stick to my Estwing. Nothing beats pounding nails. I still have a few nails, too.

Burton also ordered us to wear hard hats on the job site, but that didn't last long. We figured should a log hit one of us a hard hat would offer little protection other than being a brain bucket.

But before we could move logs around we had to finish peeling them, which was mind-numbing work. Yup, I was good at it.

We also had to build a way to move the logs. That involved the building of a skyline powered by a winch strong enough to pull the logs out of the lake, and position them on the building.

I've added a couple of old photos showing the building's progress over a couple of months in the summer of 1980. By late summer the floor was in. If you look closely you can see the shiplap on a 45-degree angle. In the photo of the left we're now on the third round.

In the next photo, taken in October of 1980, we'd come along way. (Click on them to enlarge).

In both shots you can make out the skyline, the rope/pulley/winch system we used to move the logs around the construction site. The pictures were taken from the roof of the old rec hall.

In the first photo on the page, the plaque, I'm guiding the people on the winch when to give tension and not. When the walls started getting higher, the people on the winch couldn't see anything, so we needed a system of hand gestures from people at different spots to communicate.

The winch was powered by a gasoline engine, and when it was fired up, you couldn't hear a thing, so hand gestures were our only option. You can see the winch in the first large photo above on the left, the greenish-looking thing at the back of the building where the fireplace is now.
Sitting at the back are Bob Backouse in the green T-shirt, Pam MacLean in the middle and Dave Wright.

Through a series of rope and pullies, the winch/skyline was connected to four log posts we had erected. You can see one in the back right corner of the building near the white building, the then hospital. The block-and-tackle skyline can be seen in the smaller photo on the right. You can also see the "tongs" we used to hook and grab onto the logs when we moved them around.

These post-end were dug into the ground and anchored by a concrete base and guy-wire cables, so when we lifted a big log, they didn't snap under the strain. One of the four posts at the front had its guy-wires anchored into the bed rock where kids catch crayfish now. We had to drill into the bedrock and pound in steel pegs called "thunderbolts" to attach the guy-wires, the other end attached to the very top of the post. We cut off the thunderbolts when the building was finished, but the holes are still there.

The winch Burton built, through trial and error, soon became a miracle of design and engineering. A perfect combination of form and function. It was beautiful. Some days when we lifted heavy logs, the winch drum and rope burned.

Camp Stephens 1975

2010-04-02T10:42:00.003-05:00

Where We've Been

2010-04-02T09:17:00.010-05:00

These photos were taken in the early 1900s through to 1966.
The first rec hall was built in 1911. It was also the dining hall up until 1962 when the current dining hall was built.
The old rec hall was replaced by Lount Lodge in 1982.
Thousands of kids have gone through
View Larger Map'>Camp Stephens since it was first established in 1891.

Wyatt

2010-03-31T21:04:00.035-05:00

Alfred David (Davey) and Jim Stibbard (1958)

Hal Studholme on a wet campus (1962) Alfred David burns rubbish as Murray Wilde watches (1958)

Alfred David (Davey)

HOMESICKNESS: A condition that usually afflicts the young, but it can strike even the most life-seasoned among us when far from familiar faces and surroundings. Most likely everyone can recall that deep ache and the sense of isolation that comes with the longing to be back home. The comfort of loving arms is the surest cure. But until they are open once again, this malady can seem unbearable, even incurable. The following is a story based on my recollections of being a counsellor for young boys at a YMCA camp in the late 1950s. - Hal Studholme, Feb. 2008

It was the first day of sunshine after four days of miserable weather and it was a beauty. Lake of the Woods can be cold, windy and downright uncomfortable when it rains, but when it dawns clear and fresh with a blue sky that stretches into forever, there is no place like it short of heaven on a Sunday morning.
The island was brimming with the hustle and bustle that is the norm when you gather 140 boys together, all bent on cramming into two weeks the most fun and adventure humanly possible. All camp was happy, except for one small boy.

Wyatt leaned against the rear wall of the kitchen, chin sunk deep into his chest, his back pressed flat as if he were trying to merge with the faded white boards. His mud-spattered legs, one crossed over the other, were stuck out in front of his hips like skinny props. The once-white running shoes which he sported with such pride when he charged off the camp launch with a crowd of other boys were scuffed and stained. He didn’t wear socks. At camp nothing slowed a guy down more first thing in the morning or getting ready for the afternoon swim than socks. Nobody wore them.

Wyatt’s counsellor Grant stood beside him, leaning over, one hand on the boy’s trembling shoulder. Normally, just being in the presence of Grant would bring a smile to Wyatt’s face. The young boy idolized his counsellor. Grant seemed to be explaining something, but whatever it was it didn’t seem to help as Wyatt shook his head and then slowly slid down the wall to end sitting on the soggy ground. A bit more mud wouldn’t show on those shorts which had suffered mightily from the same rainy weather as the shoes. Only Wyatt’s T-shirt seemed to have managed, miraculously, to keep a few spots in its original sunny orange hue, but the typical round Happy Face emblazoned on it was obviously out of place right now.

Wyatt wrapped his arms tightly around his drawn up legs and dropped his forehead to rest on his dirty knees. He choked back a sob. He was a picture of defeat. Not knowing what else to offer in support, Grant slumped down beside his young friend. He too looked defeated.
Wyatt was small for eight, almost a head shorter than his cabin mates. Hunched there by the kitchen steps he looked even smaller. His size and the thick blond curls which fell almost to his shoulders often drew taunts of, “Hey, little girl,” from the older boys.

After the first day of camp and several of those remarks, Wyatt had begun to think his dad was right, maybe it was time to get him a brush-cut like all the other boys in his school class. But, as expected, Wyatt’s mom and especially his grandmother, were horrified. End of argument. Even then he could have weathered the taunts had it not been for the rain.
There were plenty of great things about camp. He really liked the other guys in his cabin and Wyatt had struck up a strong friendship with the boy on the top bunk over him. The first three days had been filled with so much activity that, at day’s end, they barely stayed awake to the end of taps. Grant often said, “Good night guys” to eight smiling, sleeping bodies. Then came the rains.

It’s one of the most challenging aspects of creating programs for a resident camp, filling multiple, consecutive rainy days with diversionary fun. There are just so many indoor activities one can organize before you have experienced too many craft projects, sing songs, skit nights and story fests. Even extraordinary efforts by the cooks to produce new versions of beans and wieners and morning porridge fell flat. Eventually the smiles of staff and counsellors take on that strained look of people getting to the end of their store of ideas and their patience.

For Wyatt, the fun wore thin by the third day. On the fourth the dam burst. After a night of nearly constant sobbing, he had begged his counsellor to call his parents. The homesick bug had hit full force. He wanted to go home.
At a boy’s camp, homesickness is something to be fought and defeated. Giving in to it doesn’t grow manly character, or such was the thinking in camp circles of the day.

A hard press of hyper-activity, beaming smiles, lots of laughter and constant buddy-buddy companionship from Grant and other counsellors and staff were the weapons of choice. All missed their mark. Wyatt’s sadness deepened and Grant determined it was time for the ultimate treatment. Slumped together in their mutual funk, neither Wyatt nor Grant seemed to notice the tempting aroma of fresh baked bread that wafted through the screened door of the kitchen as it swung open with a squeal of rusted hinges.

A tiny figure in a stained white coat and a crumpled cap that said, “Purity Flour” on its front stepped out. Davey, 80 years old and cook for more than 40, was a camp legend. The old man had been up since four o’clock preparing a breakfast of oatmeal for the nearly 200 hungry souls that inhabited the island camp in the summer.

Davey wearily sat down on the weathered steps and reached out a thin calloused hand to ruffle the boy’s tangled mop of hair. While cooking was his pride and joy, it was spending eight weeks with “my boys” that drew him back every year, despite declaring each fall that this would be his last summer at camp.

For a long while, no one said a word. Then, slowly, Wyatt’s arms loosened their tight wrap around his legs and he looked up and tilted his head towards the old cook.
As a junior camper, Wyatt sat at one of the front tables in the dining hall and he often caught Davey giving him and the other juniors a big wink and a smile from the kitchen pass-through where the food came out in steaming bowls and heaped-high plates. Davey and food were a camper’s best friends.

The bright July sun caught Wyatt’s small round face. His soft brown eyes were brimming and streaks from many tears glistened on his pale white cheeks. He lifted a grubby hand and scrubbed his face, then wiped his runny nose on his arm. Davey began to talk to Wyatt in a quiet measured tone.
Whatever wisdom and comfort the words held, they flowed over the boy and his counsellor and seemed to calm both. After a few minutes the hint of a smile flickered across the boy’s face and the thick curls shook as Wyatt nodded his head.

With a knowing chuckle the old man called something over his shoulder into the din of the kitchen and a few moments later the door opened and one of the kitchen boys, a broad grin on his sweat-streaked face, handed out three plates, each holding a large slice of what appeared to be blueberry pie. Huge scoops of ice cream crowned the offerings. Wyatt’s eyes widened and his smile broadened. Grant stifled a hoot of laughter. He had heard of, but never experienced, one of Davey’s “treatments”. Forks in hand, the cook, the boy and the counsellor dug into the delicacies with delight. Davey’s blueberry pies were as famous as he was to generations of campers and staff.

When you’ve been around boys at camp for more than 40 years, you get to know a cure or two for homesickness. The old cook watched as Wyatt and Grant walked across the playing field, arms around each other’s waists. For now, Davey’s remedy seemed to work once again......but tomorrow’s forecast called for showers.

Alfred David’s last summer at camp was 1961. He died that winter. His first summer was in 1920. His former job was in a factory assembling oil cans. In 1966 the chapel was dedicated in his memory.