Camp Freedom

So . . .

I've been checking out the Camp K Alumni Facebook Group.

Via a conversation about James "Fly" Rider, I end up getting in touch (briefly) with his mom - Inge. I had to dig out an old album to find something to post. I found our Camp Staff photo from Camp Freedom (1988).



In an attempt to get all the names - here is what I remember:

First Row (L to R) - Don't Remember, Don't Remember, Bob (or Robert?); Second Row - Ludwig Heussner, Kevin Leahy, Andy Zybia (Zabay?), Tim Clyde, Jeff Pavlick, Tom Clyde; Third Row - Jerry Olsen, Alan Something, Eric Patton, Sam Walser, George Jarvis, Enos Seyfried, Ron Snodgrass, and Something and Something Demaris (brothers); Fourth Row - Shannon Rodgers, Kevin Disanto/Disano?, Mark Something, Dave Kent, I'm lost on the center of this row, and (on the end of the row) George Provencal; Back Row - Thad Bookman, James Rider, Kirk Cannon, Kurt Eck, Dwyne Rogers, The younger Finch, Chris Finch, and John Rider.

Obviously, I'm missing some names and butchered the spelling of others. Please e-mail me or leave comments with corrections and I will adjust accordingly.

Eric Heberlig

Thanks to an e-mail from Jeff Jones, formerly of Lewisburg, I have an update on the Pirates pictured in an old post (http://camp-k.blogspot.com/2007/02/even-more-pirates.html).

Eric Heberlig is a Professor at UNC Charlotte. He is in Political Science and swapped his red pirate shirt for a red tie (I don't know what that means?).




















I e-mailed Eric and did get a response back. He has been teaching at UNC Charlotte for 7 years. He has married and he and his wife Tracy are planning on adopting a child in the near future. You can find information on Eric at the UNC-C site. Or check out his Curriculum Vitae!

It is always exciting to hear from scouting friends. Especially when they (like Eric) refer to their experiences in Scouting as "The Glory Days".

Jeff - Thanks for the lead on Eric. Eric - Thanks for replying and giving us an update. It was great to hear from both of you.

Scout Potraits - Part Four

JOSH BOWER

Josh Bower. Where to begin? He was part of the last group of staff members I worked with. His enthusiasm and energy was unmatched. He was ADHD personified. Like Tigger - bouncy, bouncy, bouncy. . .

He and Argus (previous post) were buds from Montoursville. Josh also spent lots of time with Jack Willliams, Kieth Yiako, and Chris Barsis.

Any updates on any of the m would be appreciated.

Camp Kline and Red Cross Canoe Course

I wish I could get a date on these pictures. I know they are from Camp Kline and were taken at a Red Cross canoe course. I can tell it is Camp Kline because of the Dining Hall in the background. The Dining Hall is no longer in existence. It was falling apart and a few years ago it was leveled and the wood burned.

The large flat on Pine Creek in front of Camp Kline made it an ideal place to learn to canoe. The current is minimal. But you can paddle up-stream just a short distance and you are on the down side of the Ramsey Rapids. This gives new paddlers the opportunity to experience some basic white water skills in a low skill area. Camp Kline is still a good place for this. You jut have to bring your own canoes now.

I was surprised to see who I think is Stan Sieple in this picture. Just to the right of the man in the green jacket is who I think is Stan. I am almost positive that the man in the green jacket is Dave Haas. He was the Ranger at Camp Kline until he was basically driven off by Jerry O.

The Camp Kline High Adventure Base fell apart in the mid-eighties. Bill Hawkes, Dave McGinniss, Walt Nicholson, and other volunteers were basically undercut by the Council Board members from the southern end of the Council and by the professional staff. Now, with the Rails to Trails program coming through the valley, it is easy to see that the vision that these volunteers had, could have been realized. What a shame.

Check out the following web sites for information on the Pine Creek Valley and the Rails to Trail program --

Tioga County Visitors Bureau
TrailLink.com
DCNR - Pine Creek Trail

Arthur Bernstien

This picture is from 1980. 1980 was the year of the baby blue hat with the yellow K. It was my first year as a staff member. To the right is Arthur Bernstien.

I remember Arthur from my first years as a camper. Arthur worked in the Dining Hall and was LOUD. And in my memory, he was mean. As a camper, I was afraid to take dishes to the dish window. He was this big looming figure in the kitchen who ate campers for lunch.

I was fearful of working at camp when I heard Arthur would be Handicraft Director. Was I surprised when I met him and found out how short he really was. As staff week proceeded, Steve Geist explained to me that Arthur actually stood on a milk crate when he worked behind the dish window.

The staff member on the left is Neil Raup. I do not really remember him that well. I remember that we used to sing 'Raup's Turkey Farm'. I think he was the Trading Post Manager.

The staff member in the middle is Andy English. Andy held many positions over the summers he was at camp. Of the three staff members in the picture, Andy is the only one I have heard from since the early eighties. When I came back to direct camp in the late nineties, Andy sent me some stuff from the FBI. He was an agent for the FBI. I believe he still is.

Any updates on these staff members would be appreciated.

Next Challange

Everyone in the 1989 staff picture has been identified. Thanks to those who helped. Here is the next challenge --

This is from 1981. In 1981 some genius decided that Thunderbird needed to be dug up for renovations. These renovations amounted to nothing more than lumbering out the woods behind Thunderbird. The downside to this was that campfires had to be held on the OA field. The OA field is great for Tap-Out Ceremonies (for those who want to be more politically correct, pretend I typed Call-Out Ceremony) but not so hot for traditional campfires.

The Theme for Cub Scout Camp evolved around the history of the American Indians. This was in the day when we still had Cub DAY Camp. It was an action packed DAY. And DAY Camp was held at the Council Camp; Not off-site.

Jerry Olsen was the Camp Director. The Staff hats were Red and White. It was my second year as a summer camp staff member. It was a veteran kitchen crew. Gary Barrett, Paul Hoffman, and myself were the mung men. Mark Scott was the cook. John Seal was the Steward.

To the picture. I won't even try to get the names down. I'm going to wait for John C. and, hopefully, others to post comments or mail me. I will note that you won't find many of the kitchen crew in the picture. We managed to skip out on many of the Campfires. It was a good summer.

Even more Pirates

Not everyone who worked at camp went on to great things - but most did!

Brian 'Sly' Slavinski (I know I probably hosed the spelling) is an engineer for the government, Lance Lyons served in the coast guard and on the Border Patrol, Aaron Golumbfskie (spelling again) is a chemical engineer (?), Chris Herman is a police officer. I do not know what happened to Eric Heberlig (Red Shirt in middle) but I am sure he did not grow up to be a pirate.

Again, any info on where these scouters are or what they are up to can be added to post comments or e-mailed to kurteeck@gmail.com.

The Real High Seas Adventurers

Brian Shaffer, John Connolly, and myself are pictured by 'The Rock by the Lake'. All three of us spent time in the navy. Ths picture would have been taken while I was home on leave for my brothers wedding. Brian was involved in fire fighting for the navy (I think). John had served on board the Samual Gompers. I was, at the time, stationed onboard the USS Truxtun.

In July of 2003 the Gompers, also known as Fat Sam, was sunk while being used as a target for naval exercises. The Truxtun was decommissioned in 1995.

I know John is living in the Lancaster area. I am not sure where Shaffer is nowdays.

Many members of the Camp Staff went on to serve their country. I will post more on this later.

1989 Camp Staff Photo

Camp Staff from 1989. Thanks to James Bartlett, Dan Daneker, and John Connolly for filling in the gaps in my memory. My memory is not as good as some others (like John C. aka Otter).

First Row (L to R) - Eric Startzel, Brent Criswell, Tim Bowers, Steve Wyant, Sam Stahl, James 'Fly' Rider, Dave Whitnack, and Troy Shade.

Second Row - Dan Daneker, Murray Roberts, Eric Heberlig, Carl 'Butch' Stamm, John Connolly, Mark Reeder, Steve Schreffler, Les 'Cookie' Spencer, Dan Carney, Bob Guttman, Doug Spotts, and Kurt Eck.

Third Row - Mike Whipple, Aaron Golumbfskie, Jamie Wright, Jim Bob Walton, Matt "Chewie" Charnosky, Todd Snyder, Brian Shaffer, Corey Eckrich, Dave Campbell, Jerry Hugar, Jerry Rupert, Casey Popp, Brad Campbell, Jon Wyant, Lance Lyons, and Mike Persing.

I use to be skinny!

One of the disturbing things that has happened to me since I started digging through the old camp memorabilia is recognizing how fat I am now. Or, more politely, I used to be skinny!

I have noticed that the reports on the news are correct -- at least in the micro-cosm of Boy Scout Camp. We are getting fatter. I don't mean fatter as we get older. I mean, the kids in the pictures from the nineties are bigger than those in the eighties. At least it looks that way. As more pictures get posted, you will be able to decide for yourself.

Paul Snook (in the middle) was my sumer camp 'dad'. Alan Franz (on the left) was the Order of the Arrow Quartermaster. This picture was taken at the National Jamboree. I could use some help with the date. I could also use an update on Alan. I know he did a 'globe trek' a few years ago. Any leads on Alan?