Yesterday

Composed and sung by Hal Studholme, Yesterday was recorded by Ric Paluk before Ric passed away July 3, 2022. Ric plays guitar.

“I was listening to Charles Aznavour sing his version of Yesterday and I decided to rewrite the lyrics to fit Camp Stephens,” says Hal. “Through Punch Jackson I connected to Ric and he got me on to a Karaoke, no lyrics version and we got together at his studio. He did the guitar melody and I sang the song. It took over four hours to get a reasonable version which he then produced for sharing.

“We also spend another two hours reminiscing over coffee about him as a kid in my 1960s Central Y gymnastics club and Stephens, of course.”

Please click here to listen.

And please watch a tribute to Ric. 

Taken Too Soon - Remembering Ric Paluk, July 17, 1950 – July 3, 2022

YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg’s Statement on the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s Efforts to Maintain Town Island on Lake of the Woods

For many decades, Camp Stephens has made considerable use of campsites on Town Island as part of its overnight tripping experiences. These trips serve to introduce younger campers to overnight camping and help them to gain independence and a sense of freedom, feel a sense of accomplishment, experience nature and appreciate its natural state. These overnight excursions have a very profound and dramatic impact on our young campers.

Since 2019, when we learned of the Town of Kenora’s plans to sell Town Island, we have been actively involved with the Friends of Town Island group, supporting its mission to preserve the Island as a wilderness area.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) has stepped forward to purchase Town Island and keep this land intact. The YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg supports NCC’s bid to preserve Town Island’s natural state and unique biodiversity and we applaud them for taking this on. We are also actively supporting their efforts to raise the necessary funds to preserve Town Island.

How You Can Help

Register for the Webinar to Learn More

Protecting Town Island, Now and Forever, is a webinar which will explore why it’s critical to keep this piece of land in its natural state, and how the Island’s unique biodiversity can be conserved while still allowing public access.

When:  March 25, 2021 at 5:30 pm CDT

How to register: Online here.

Donate to the Nature Conservancy of Canada

Make a donation to the NCC to support their purchase of Town Island and protect its natural state.

The Stephens’ Effect: A look back on why we give back - Punch Jackson

Punch Jackson

Over the past few months, I’ve watched the Camp Stephens  fundraising campaign expand its focus from building new  Depot/Trail Centre to fulfilling other camp needs and “Building a Legacy.” 

In a recent fundraising promotional piece, camp alumni Hal Studholme wrote:

"Camp Stephens is a place like no other. A place of wonder and awe. A place of challenge and learning. But mostly a place where a child discovers his or her uniqueness, potential and sense of purpose. Every child comes to camp with unrealized potential. There is no better place to set it free to grow and blossom. Everything about camp is geared to that goal: the setting, the programs and especially the leadership. It is a life changing adventure.”

As Hal says, every child comes to camp with unrealized potential. I was one of them.

Unlocking potential

One of the amazing and pivotal moments in life is when someone helps unlock your potential. Ron Watson (Director 1959-63) and Bill Owen (Director 1958-59) saw something in me, and they created opportunities for me. In 1959, they hung me with the nickname Punch, which has been with me ever since.

Punch - year one

My active involvement at Camp Stephens began in the last two-week session in the summer of 1956. It was the beginning of a 20-year adventure and a lifetime love affair with a place, its people, and their role in my life.

Opening doors

After badgering Ron for an entire winter, he gave me the opportunity to start the Voyageur Program (Today’s Wilderness Canoe Trips program).

Other Directors, Hal Studholme and Doug McEwen, gave me more opportunities and taught me about the “business” of camping. After graduating in 1969, I joined the Winnipeg Y staff and worked with Hal to launch a new city-wide day camping program at Camp Manitou.

In 1970, I followed Hal as Director of the Day Camp. Tuck (Lynda Keep), Marg Law, Cathy Skagfeld, “Ralph” and “George”, Jim August, Rilla Buckler, Kim Rayment, Bruce McLean and what seemed like a cast of hundreds ran a very inclusive day camp.

In 1971, I went to Camp Stephens after Doug McEwan, and we created the Winnipeg YMCA Camping Branch. As a Director, I was blessed with incredible young professionals and a cadre of enthusiastic leaders from the Winnipeg YMCA Branch Ys. I tried to follow in the footsteps my mentors creating opportunities for others.

A future shaped by Stephens

After leaving Stephens in 1976, I went on to further my education and begin a 30-year career with the Alberta government. All through those years I relied on skills, values, and beliefs that I learned during the “Stephens Years.” The successes I had were linked to my time at Camp and the Winnipeg Y.

Building a Legacy. Together.

Camp Stephens has positively impacted every single one of us—and I hope remembering your own Stephens story will help strengthen your resolve to participate in the “Building a Legacy” campaign. The new Depot/Trail Centre, the new cabins and what’s to follow, like new staff cabins, compliment the incredible natural environment. 

New 4,507 square-foot depot

This is our opportunity to help future generations share in our experience, like so many others have done since the summer of 1893 when four men from the Winnipeg Y set out by rowboat to look for a permanent site for a summer camp.

There are many ways you can support the campaign to continue building that legacy:

• Band together with family and groups to create a legacy contribution;
• Give a one-time donation;
• Commit to monthly contributions or three-to-five-years.

Our family will participate through monthly donations over the next five years.

Past acts of giving

Winnipeg Free Press June 28, 1952

In the past, Camp Stephens has benefited immensely from single donors making “the big donation” to fund projects such as:

• The Dining Hall, Lount Lodge and Wellness Centre;        
• The former depot/boathouse;
• The original canoes for the Wilderness Program;
• Sailboats from the Pan Am Games;
• The old Davey sailboat.

Families have also had the opportunity to contribute to new camper cabins, and, of course, families and friends contributed to Camperships in Remembrance of Stephens Alumni.

My camp friend Patti Pidlaski recently reminded me about other opportunities that the Winnipeg Y and Stephens has provided, including:

• Jamaican Exchange;
• Uruguay Exchange;
• camper exchanges;
• Girls Camp and the Serendipity Program that led to Stephens becoming a co-ed camp;
• Camp Widjiwagan Exchange that led to the modern era of canoe tripping at Stephens;
• EKY Day Camp at Beaconia;
• Integration of campers with disabilities at Camp Manitou;
• Vacation trips led by Al Burpee for persons with disabilities;
• Winter Camp at Camp Manitou and Saturday Camps at St. James Y;
• Leader’s programs at all the Branch Ys;
• Outdoor/Environmental Education programs at Stephens and Manitou;
• Sailing program, the LOWISA sailing race, the vigils and the Five Island Swim.

When I look at the camp people that I have been associated with over these many years, I'm so proud of the contributions that have been made to education, social work, medicine, law, private business, the non-profit sector, the public sector and the folks keeping farming alive.

Support the next generation of Campers

This is the first time individual alumni and friends have been approached on a major camp capital campaign. Let’s show the Winnipeg YMCA-YWCA and Winnipeggers at large how important WE feel Camp Stephens and the Y have been in our lives.

This is our way of paying it forward, ensuring the opportunities we benefitted from will be available for generations to come.

Transcending the pandemic

Like so many organizations, the Winnipeg YMCA-YWCA has been hit hard by the pandemic and resulting shutdowns. Restrictions made it impossible to open camp this past summer (the first closure since 1917) and it remains unclear what lies ahead in 2021. However, the Y remains committed to serving the community. And it needs our help more than ever.

Wherever you are, be safe.

Punch

For more information about the Build a Legacy Campaign, please see Help Us Build A Legacy. 

Building a legacy

Camp Stephens looks very different this summer. No kids are on the island.

Due to the pandemic, in the best interest of the health and safety of campers, staff and the surrounding community, camp and the wilderness canoe program was cancelled in May.

So camp looks and sounds like nothing we’ve seen. An empty dining hall, a quiet swim dock – the normal sounds of a normal summer at camp are missing.

Camp staff and volunteers are using this time to get several repairs done on the island that haven’t been possible in past years.

The largest project at camp is the new 4,507 square-foot depot. It will be a welcome addition to camp when kids return. While the depot is almost finished, funds are still required to pay for the cost to build it.

More needs to be done. 

Fixing staff and camper cabins, repairing the main boat dock, upgrading the kitchen and dining hall windows and a building a fence for the new shop are but a few things. Upgrades to the shower house and washrooms, built in the early 1980s, are another priority.

The financial need to pay for some of this work has increased. With no campers, camp has no income. Yet the work still has to get done.

You can help by donating to Y’s Build a Legacy Campaign. Your donation will ensure camp is in a stronger position when campers return, providing young people with unique and challenging experiences to grow in spirit, mind and body. 

To donate to, or talk to someone about the capital campaign, please see Capital Campaign: Help us Build a Legacy.

The new depot will be a safe, welcoming place when campers return.

 

What the new depot looks like inside.

New depot interior.

Inside the new depot.

Dining hall windows need repairs.

The balcony on the lodge is partially rotten and closed for use.

A fence needs to be built at the new shop building for camper safety.

Staff cabins required major repairs if not replacement.

The interior washrooms were built in the early 1980s and need to be upgraded.

NEWS RELEASE: Nature Conservancy of Canada calls on Kenora politicians to support conservation efforts for Town Island

● Local residents, cottagers and area youth camps establish Friends of Town Island to
launch grassroots public awareness campaign

● More than 4,000 concerned community members have already signed the online petition

KENORA, December 16, 2019 - The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is joining with local residents and concerned stakeholders to oppose the City of Kenora’s plan to develop Town Island on Ontario’s Lake of the Woods.

In its recent letter to the City, NCC highlights its concerns for the future of Town Island and the City’s Request for Proposals for its development. NCC’s letter supports conservation of the land, noting that the island “is unique in the sense that it is a large, mostly undeveloped island in an area of Lake of the Woods that is heavily developed” and that the island may “provide habitat for bald eagles, a variety of song birds and plant communities that are rare in this part of Ontario.” 

In its letter, NCC asks that the City consider conservation and indicates that it is willing to work with stakeholders to assist in the process.

With growing support from the public and organizations like the Nature Conservancy of Canada, local residents, cottagers and area youth camps have come together to form the Friends of Town Island to lead a grassroots campaign to raise awareness of Kenora politicians’ plans to develop Town Island and impact the environment. 

The association’s website encourages visitors to get informed, sign the online petition and contact Kenora politicians. The campaign has generated more than 4,000 petition signatures and earned widespread interest from media and stakeholders.

“By developing Town Island, Kenora politicians are putting the interests of big business ahead of kids and the environment,” said Aaron London, spokesperson for the Friends of Town Island and former Chair of the BB Camp Board of Directors. “We are working hard to bring Kenora politicians to the negotiating table in order to find a commercially viable conservation solution for the City, the Friends of Town Island and the public who will all benefit from placing the land in Trust.”

“Protecting Lake of the Woods for future generations is everyone’s responsibility,” said Kenora resident David Nelson. “By opening up Town Island to development, Kenora City Council is jeopardizing the area.

"This lake has been such an important part of my family’s life for close to 100 years and it’s devastating that politicians are being so short-sighted by selling off an historic public asset that has served the community and area youth camps for development. The fact is that the City has had a conservation objective on Town Island for ten years and public support for that remains strong. We can help make that happen.”

“Area youth camps on Lake of the Woods including BB Camp and YMCA-YWCA Camp Stephens play such an important role in connecting kids with their communities, the wilderness and the core values of caring, equality, inclusiveness, respect and responsibility,” said Kent Paterson, President and Chief Executive Officer, YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg. 

“We have been part of the Lake of the Woods community for more than 125 years and are proud of our history of service. Protecting the area from unchecked development is a critical concern for our community and we call on Kenora politicians to stop their plans for developing Town Island.”

Other testimonials from concerned members of the public can be viewed here.

About Friends of Town Island

The Friends of Town Island is a grassroots group of Kenora residents, cottagers, youth camps and concerned stakeholders working together to conserve Town Island on Ontario’s Lake of the Woods and keep it free from development for the benefit of the public. By bringing together diverse communities of nature lovers, environmentalists, wilderness enthusiasts and youth advocates, the group is working to raise awareness of the risks related to the City of Kenora’s recent Request for Proposals for development of the island and has launched a public awareness campaign featuring a website, online petition and a Facebook Group. For more information visit: www.townisland.ca.

Town Island - what you can do

You may have heard that the City of Kenora has sent out a request for proposals for the development of Town Island (home of the campsites known as Big Mosquito, Ants, etc, not to mention the home of our friends at B'nai Brith.), a move that no doubt puts private business interests ahead of the environment and our campers.

Read https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/group-fights-sale-town-island-kenora-lake-of-the-woods-1.5391458 for more about it.

In response, we have teamed up with B’nai Brith Camp, residents, cottagers and others to form the Friends of Town Island committee. Our request to the city is simple – reconsider this process and meet with the committee before Town Island is overtaken by big development.

As a former Camp Stephens camper, you know first-hand the profound impact our camp program has on children and youth. The life lessons are invaluable, the friendships are everlasting an'd the connection to nature are imperative for the sustainability of our planet.

Town Island represents different things to different people, but to our alumni, particularly those with tripping experience, the Island represents tradition. It’s a destination rooted so deeply in our tripping history that to be without it would be a huge loss. Future campers will never get to share stories around the same campsite that previous generations of campers did. They will never get to explore the Island in the ways that so many of us, or our children, have explored it. The tales of lore that surround the Island will slowly be erased from our history because the Island itself will never be the same.

We need your voice!

We are asking all Camp

alumni to submit a testimonial for the Friends of Town Island website, highlighting the importance of camp programs for youth, the risks of unchecked development on Lake of the Woods and the importance of environmental responsibility. Testimonials can be sent to [friendsoftownisland@gmail.com](mailto:friendsoftownisland@gmail.com)

See https://www.townisland.ca/ for what you can do.

Thank you,

Kent Paterson, President & CEO, YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg

Jack McKeag

Trib story on dedication of new cabins and boathouse. 

The day before this story ran in the Trib a lot of people gathered at camp to mark the construction of 12 new cabins and dedicate the chapel to long-time camp cook Alfred David.

Also christened Aug. 7, 1966 was the new boathouse, which we all know by now has been knocked down and a new depot building rising in its place.

"A new boathouse was opened by Jack McKeag. The boathouse holds 28 canoes as well as sail and motor boats," the story says.

That's it.

We all know the boathouse was more than a storage building. For me, it was the shop andwhere I learned the business end of a hammer and to always wear eye protection when using a circular saw.

For others it was the depot or trail building, where you planned and packed out your canoe trips, whether it was a junior cabin overnighter or a six-weeker.

What caught my eye in the Trib story was the name Jack McKeag.

I'd heard the McKeag name before as it was the name of the last cabin on the line; McKeags.

Jack McKeag was Manitoba's 17th lieutenant governor, appointed by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in July 1970. At 42, McKeag was also the youngest Manitoban to be appointed LG. He served six years.

(Winnipeg Tribune)

More about McKeag is here on the Manitoba Historical Society web page.

Four years earlier, when he opened the boathouse, McKeag was president of McKeag-Harris Realty and Development Co. Ltd., a major property developer on the Winnipeg business scene.

He was also:

• A graduate of Kelvin High School and the U of M in 1949 where we received a commerce degree
• Married to Dawn Campbell in 1950 - Campbell was the daughter of Douglas Campbell, Manitoba's 13th premier
• Father of four children; three daughters and one son
• An unsuccessful Liberal candidate in the 1958 provincial election
• Chairman of the Greater Winnipeg Election Committee
• President of the Winnipeg Kiwanis Club
• Board member of the United College board of regents.

Certainly, McKeag was a busy man and extremely active in his community. He died in 2007.

What I don't know is his and his family's connection to Camp Stephens.

Anyone know?

McKeag with Rex in mid-70s. McKeag was also Honorary Colonel of the Fort Garry Horse. (Winnipeg Tribune)

Building a Legacy at Camp Stephens

Last year saw the demolition of the depot where countless canoe trips packed out since the late 1960s.

This year sees a new building rise in its place – it will be ready for limited use this summer.

The depot, or “boathouse” to old timers or “shop” to others, was 

built in 1966 – the 75thanniversary of Camp Stephens - to originally serve for canoe, sailboat and motorboat storage and during summer months, for staff to repair canoes and sailboats.

The depot served camp for more than 50 years, but it was no longer up to today's standards, and a decision was made to build a new structure that will serve as a hub for camp activities for the next 50 years.

The YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg has launched the Building a Legacy fundraising campaign.  Its goal is to raise $1.2 million to provide funding for the new depot building. Funds raised through 
the campaign will also support adequate staff cabins on the island.

“Since the beginning of Camp Stephens in 1891, the contributions 
of alumni and private donors has allowed camp to be a positive force for thousands of children,”said Kent Paterson, President and CEO of the YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg. “That need for giving is ongoing.”

“Camp Stephens has a tradition of developing young people for positive healthy living, respect for one another and valuing the wilderness,” Paterson said. “The Building a Legacy campaign will help continue this tradition for our young people.”

Paterson added the new 4,507 square-foot building will include a kitchen for the preparation of out-of-camp meals, a boat repair facility, equipment storage, a trip planning room and a display area to showcase camp memorabilia. 

“One of the reasons why Camp Stephens is the longest-serving summer camp in Canada is due to the generosity of alumni and our donors,” Paterson said. 

“Donors to the Building a Legacy campaign will allow future generations of young people to benefit from the camp experience, 
helping them grow in spirit, mind and body, and develop the skills to be the next generation of leaders.” 

For more information about the campaign, please see ywinnipeg.ca/buildalegacy

Goodbye Depot

The old depot is no more.

Here are a few photos of the demolition of the trail depot/shop building earlier this week. They were taken by Camp Director Mat Klachefsky.

Mat says the plans for the new building aren't available just yet.

"I can tell you the new design is going to feel pretty familiar," he says. "A lot of the bold ideas that were being thrown around were abandoned in favour of something simpler."

A new depot has been in the works for about three years as the old building, known as the boathouse when it was built in 1966, was becoming overcrowded and no longer suitable for today's standards.

A new shop building was built between the dining hall and wellness centre about a year ago.

Here are three close-up photos of the old depot I took a year ago. . .

. . . and some more I've collected over the years.

A Memoir ~ YMCA Camp Stephens - Memories of the 1960s

Former camp director Hal Studholme says his memoir of camp in 1960s reflects a time in the world when so much was uncertain, but at camp you could find a temporary calm.

"I thought it was a very unique era in the world because we were talking about a nuclear war," Hal says. "And then you went down to Stephens and you were in a totally different world of kids and fun and the lake.

"It was so special that I thought I should write down about the people and the experience and share it with others."

Dedicated to camp cook Alfred "Davey" David, Memories of the 1960s focuses on the lives of young people touched by time on the island.

"There is such an opportunity to forget yourself and immerse yourself in a world that helps children grow and where you grow yourself," Hal says. "And it's that experience that is unique to camping - it doesn't just have to be YMCA camping, it can be any camping - where  you get the chance to live in the outdoors and experience that, and then at the same time work with children and each other for growth and development."

He also says despite the passage of time and the changes at camp, there is still much the same.

"It allows you to find out who you are in the present an allows you to explore the possibilities of becoming whatever you might be and watch others become themselves as well."

Memories of the 1960s

Hal's memoir is available for $12.50. Hal has several copies available. Send him an email at halmarrd@shaw.ca.

The book is also available online for $12.50 plus shipping. Click here to order.

For a selection of Hal's memoirs, see The History of Toilets.

"There is nowhere I'd rather be" - 1991 Girls Three Week Journal

The 1991 Girls Three Weeker: Left to right: Nicole, Heather, Shannon, Janice, Jessie, Lori, Jenny, Sophie and Cathy.

Here's the journal of the 1991 Girls Three-Week trip. 

Former camp director Bob Picken sent to me a couple of weeks ago. 

"I was cleaning out another filing cabinet and found the attached journal," Bob says. "I forgot I had it stashed away.  I thought it might make a good post on the alumni page.  I will have the original brought to camp this summer."

Our memories of these years on trail and at camp dims with the responsibilities of getting older, the challenges of being a parent  and our careers - and all the things life throws at us.

It puts a lot of distance from then to now. 



What doesn't change is the friendships.



"Trail is a chance for one to find oneself," Nicole Fenton writes on page 23. "It's also a chance to make the kind of friend you don't or almost never make in the city. A friend with whom you can be yourself, perfectly natural. They've seen you at your worst and at your very best."




Enjoy, Bruce

Trip "plaque" hanging in the depot.

Wildlife survival - If it moves eat it!

Culinary trailblazers.

I don't recall this ever happening, but then I'm getting older and perhaps I just like to remember only the stuff I like to remember.

So back in the mid-70s the powers-that-was sent us kids out on canoe trips armed with this cookbook and this advice: If you ran out of food and were caught in "survival situation" there was plenty of good eating to be had all around you.

Squirrels, chipmunks, birds and rabbits were just some of the tasty smorgusboard offerings you and your trail mates could chow down on when things got desperate--and so you didn't immediately eye up the littlest kid for the frying pan.

"Rabbits are easy to clean; pinch up enough of loose back skin to slit by shoving a knife through. Insert fingers and tear fragile skin apart completely around rabbit. Peel back lower half like a glove, disjointing tail when you come to it, and finally cutting off each hind foot."

Easy, peasy, huh?

"Do the same with the top part of the skin, loosening it and finally cutting off the head and forelegs. Then pull animal open at the ribs and flip out the entrails, retrieving heart and liver. You can also cut out the small waxy gland between the foreleg and body. Roast or fry the remaining meat."

Just serve with a sprig of rosemary and room temperature Merlot.

Bon appétit!

Wait. There's more. The forest is a veritable buffet.

Who wouldn't want beaver on a plate?

"Beaver tail is especially full of oils," the trusty Camp Stephens trail cookbook opines. "All parts of animal should be used; e.g. bones in soup, blood in broth, etc., because they contain many vitamins and minerals."

This handy cookbook also offers advice on what bugs and plants you can eat.

Word of caution: It's important to not overcook your stinging nettles.

So if you're planning canoe trip this summer--heck, if you're just camping with the kids in the backyard and want them to experience Scuzz Eggs and Rice and Raisins--download your own copy of the 1975 Camp Stephens Trail Cookbook.

Any poser can run down to MEC and fork over some big bucks for a few pouches of Backpacker's Pantry Chicken Vindaloo, but it takes true grit to bite into hunk of Klik fried in lard that was dropped on the ground and covered in pine needles.

Yum!