When Craig Lodge became the Thomas Sill Dining Hall and More

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

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

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

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



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

"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

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)

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.



The replica canoe as it now hangs in Lount Lodge

Postscript: Kirk Wipper died suddenly March 19, 2011 in Peterborough: 

Alfred David

Camp Stephens 1959-62

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

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

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