I bring some sad news today. One of Camp Clark's oldest and best has passed away. Pete Mandell. Pete's dedication to the camp and his love of the camp can be seen throughout this website.
When I started to tell the story of Camp Clark I knew and loved it was from the camp in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Soon after I posted the first post in 2007 I got a note from Pete. From that moment on Pete and his lifelong friend Joe Larson, have been the storytellers, the historians, and the supporters of what is this website. Without them, and dozens of others it would have been a very short tale.
Pete Mandell (L) and his lifelong friend Joe Larson (R)
 |
| Current picture of Pete supplied by his wife Marylou |
Pete's wife sent us a short note to tell of his passing. Marylou and I had a wonderful conversation about Pete and their lives together which always had Camp Clark not far away. Pete had been in the hospital for some cardiac issues but had been doing well. He was expected to come home in a day or two.
The following is an excerpt from a note I received today. Pete passed away on November 11th at 04:00.
Pete’s older (by 7 years) brother started at the Camp and Pete followed him as a camper in around 1939 when he was 7 years old. He graduated from camper to kitchen boy under Floyd, the cook, and from there to junior counselor and then counselor and I think he worked the waterfront under Richard Davenport teaching swimming. I think he was at the Camp up until at least 1953 when he was drafted. He got out of the army in 1955 and after that went to Boston University on the G.I. Bill so he probably didn’t work at the Camp after that although he retained his connection to it and Uncle Bob, even going there for a few days in 1960 while on our honeymoon. The Camp was his soul.
This is a short clipping from a The New Bedford Standard-Times dated August 24, 1946
Marylou has promised to send more of Pete's articles and memorabilia so expect more soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment