Camp Clark - July 2012.

These photos were taken by my wife Donna while she was on a vacation last week to see her family in the Taunton MA region. Thanks to her and her dad for taking the time to take these photos.

 I hope everyone enjoys them as much as I do.

We should all be happy to see just how well the current steward's of the land, lake and buildings are honoring their stewardship.

Although some of the buildings have changed.  And a few old ones are gone.  And some new ones have been built.  It is still the camp we all knew.

Thanks to the Camp Lyndon staff and it's supporters for keeping our camp memories alive and flourishing. 

Respect - Honesty - Caring - Responsibility

    #2012-01  The dining hall from the entrance to the waterfront.

 #2012-02  The dining hall and flag pole from the entrance to the waterfront.

 #2012-03  The "Junior" Section from the Gazebo area. The lake is to the left.

 #2012-04  The Boat House from the beach/ Gazebo area.

 #2012-05  The Gazebo near the waterfront entrance.

 #2012-06  The Gazebo near the waterfront entrance. The "Junior" Section in the distance. I believe the craft shop use to sit on the approximate footprint where the Gazebo now sits.

 #2012-07 The "Dining Hall".

  #2012-08 The "Junior Section" from the Gazebo area.

#2012-09 The "Waterfront and Junior Section" as seen from the "Boat House".

 #2012-10 The "Nature Shack". This was one of my favorite places to hang out. It's probably why I have a BS in Biology.

 #2012-11 The upper floor in the "Boat House". I helped pound nails into the sub-flooring when this building was being built.

 #2012-12 This building used to be the "Candy Shack" in the late 50's and early 60's. If memory serves me right.

#2012-13 The "Boat House".

#2012-14 Camp Staff Jeremy Shea served as Donna's guide for the tour. Thanks Jeremy for making this 2012 photo visit to "Camp Clark" possible.

#2012-15 The "Waterfront". This photo made me smile. It is a great feeling to see "our memories" are alive and well and kids are still there.

#2012-16 The "Boat House".

#2012-17 The "Waterfront" for the "Dining Hall".

 #2012-18 Inside the "Dining Hall".

#2012-19  The "Dining Hall" we all know. The kitchen, fire place and the dish room.

#2012-20 The entrance to Camp Lyndon

Respect - Honesty - Caring - Responsibility
Well Done!

Another "old camper" rejoins the flock. Welcome Ken. Class of 50's

Apologies to Kenneth Hokanson for miss spelling in name in the recent email.


Hi Y'all,

After 50 years in "Dixie", I feel that I should use the southernism.  My baby brother Carl( 62 years old) told me of the Camp Clark site, so I checked it out.  At one time or another, all the Hokanson boys were at Camp Clark.  I only regret that now that I have 2 grand sons that will not be able to go there as a 24/7 camp.  the grand girls would have to go elsewhere. 

Back in the day I was told that I had a good "chicken wire tan" and tht my motto was "Come kiddies, make things"  Somewhere in my collection of stuff, I have one of those red on white felt Camp Clark insignias and a couple of issues of the camp newspaper- still legible in spite of some fading of the purple spirit master ink.  I have a number of photos that I took back in 57, 58, & 59.  All in all, I regret that I had to grow out of being the counselor of Rotary and doing crafty things.  I am only a 19 year old stuck in a 75 year old frame.  Such is life, but all-in-all life has been pretty good although, Ma kicked the bucket in 95, and my younger brother, William (WIld Bill as he was known at the camp) and his son were lost at sea in '90.

Having retired from inflicting College Chemsitry for over 25 years, we moved back to Greenwood, S. C. where both my daughters had settled and have given me 2 grandsons, and two grand daughters.  I have gone back into some of my old hobbies - built a greenhouse ( all those carpentry skills learned at Clark as the Craft director/ maintenance man) have all kinds of citrus trees and orchids by the dozen, and generally life is good.

In any case, have fun,

Ken Hokanson

Update #1: Added info and questions from Ken's 03/28/12 email

Hi,  I am glad to be on the mailing list for good old Camp Clark.  There are three things I need to mention.  One.  Spike's real name is Richard Dennie.  I had remembered the Dennie, but I had to go back to a group photo of all the campers and staff lined up on Aug. 11, 1958.  I had in in my album with all the names on it, including Janet Hastings.  Two.  You mentioned about 3 photos  that are shown, top, Uncle Bob, second, Spike, and the bottom you thought was Warren Hastings.  It is Warren. Third, my name is Kenneth Hokanson.  Hokeyken is  from my email address.  Again, thank you for bringing back many happy memories.  When did they add the deck on Babbitt Hall ( the boat house).  I was there for its dedication, and have photos of it without deck.  I also helped putting the finish on the floor the beginning of the following summer.  

Update #2: Info about Wakonda, the Great One Spirit & Gillygoofus bird

After looking at some of the nostalgic posts, with many of the camp songs, I looked through some of my stuff, and there is a carbon copy of the Indian Council Fire ritual.  It seems we had to come up with it during work week when we found that all copies of it had taken off.  A number of us counselors sat around a table in the Mess Hall, and we reconstructed the ritual, and some might remember deathless lines such as, "To Wakonda, the Great One Spirit, that His wisdom be with us always; a conie a ka snay, noonway. ( all noonway),  To Okaga, the hot wind that he strike us not with is fierce heat; etc.  On the back of this , even at that time old  sheet of Camp Clark stationary, is my design for starting the council fire ( Fire from the Ground) using sterno.  Next year, model paint bottle with sulfuric acid dropping into a paper cup with some sugar and saltpeter was a better spectacle, and you didn't have to be so careful building the fire so as to hide the little amount of light that Sterno gives out

 I also located my design for the Gillygoofus bird that flew over the council fire one evening in '59.  It was in actuality the stuffed loon which stood on the mantel in the Mess Hall, and was reputed to fly backwards so as to see where it had been, and frequently disappeared for days at a time, supposedly flying to Sam Babbitt, an imaginary cabin and staying there for the duration. Having gotten ratty looking from all its flights to Sam Babbitt, the Gilllygoofus bird's funeral pyre was a council fire, with the promise by Spike, that like the Phoenix, it would be reborn from the ashes.

Lastly, Clayton Henson Farnham, I bet I have a better Southern accent than you did in 1957!!

Have fun,

Ken Hokanson, the oldest ( and best preserved) of the Hokanson boys

Does this photo show evidence of the "Gillygoofus bird" (see insert in lower right). That sure looks like the shadow of a Loon behind Gordon Parsons head on the fire place mantel in the mess hall.

More tidbits of history from Pete Mandell. Yet more to follow.

All of the photos in this posting are from one pamphlet. I'm pretty sure no one (aside from maybe Pete and Joe) has seen this material including the photos for ... I would guess nearly 40 years...maybe 50 years.

 I think there is one really unique picture in my mind.  It is a picture of an outside altar made of stone. I have no idea where that is or was located.  Note: See Pete's response below

Click on each photo & the comments below the pictures for a larger version of the photo & comments.

Outdoor altar.  Where was this located?

Update: from Pete Mandell an ask and you shall receive...  "you had a question about the location of the stone altar (with rough-hewn rows of benches before it). It was one of the most peaceful and really beautiful areas in the camp, existing from at least the early 1940s to at least 1955. (What happened to the components, I couldn't say; it disappeared after I left camp.) If you walked down the road behind the junior cabins - Kiwanis and Rotary - headed toward the junior point, the Chapel was on your left, between the road and the pond maybe 200 feet behind Kiwanis. 

It was sometimes referred to as the Paul Favor Chapel - after the long-time General Secretary of the NB YMCA, seen in one of the pictures with Ken Bennett and Paul Spurrier from a 1944 (?) Standard-Times article. I'm guessing that some fair-sized pine trees are now growing in that spot by now.

Pete... Now that you located it for me I do have memories of something in that area. In all honesty when we could sneak down to junior point we usually headed straight to the point.  There was a girls camp on the other side of the lake. Maybe they were swimming or canoeing.

See comments at the top of the page under the trifold pamphlet for detail description of these photos.

See comments at the top of the page under the trifold pamphlet for detail description of these photos.

See comments at the top of the page under the trifold pamphlet for detail description of these photos.

See comments at the top of the page under the trifold pamphlet for detail description of these photos.

See comments at the top of the page under the trifold pamphlet for detail description of these photos.

See comments at the top of the page under the trifold pamphlet for detail description of these photos.

Additional photos at Camp Clark. Taken in 1997 on my day of rediscovery.

The photos in this post were taken in 1997 on my surprise rediscovery of Camp Clark. Now called Camp Lyndon. All of these photos were taken by my sister Cheryl. For a short time (2 weeks) in the early 1960's my Mom 'volunteered' to serve as the camp cook. She packed her bags and my sisters bags and drove to the camp to fill in for the cook who quit just after breakfast. So for two weeks that summer my Mom, sisters and I were all at Camp Clark.  To read how I rediscovered Camp Clark read this.

Boathouse viewed  from what used to be the entrance to the swimming area.

Look close in these two photos. Just to the right of the building, before the dock, sitting in the grass is a boat with a mast. I believe that is the "Duck" sailboat that I learned to sail.

This photo was taken up toward the boathouse. Look carefully straight back and you can see the dinning hall and below that the flagpole and baseball field.

On the day we returned to Camp Clark in 1997 this building was the nature shack. At least that is what it's content led me to believe.

Old and for that matter current campers should recognize this as the dining hall.  During my time at Camp Clark we ate three meals in this large room. It was also used for evening activities. An occasional movie. And activity space on rainy days. One of my favorite memories was singing camp songs after the noon and evening meals.

This was my Mom's kitchen for a brief two weeks in the early 1960's. Although at the time the ceilings had open rafters will a little overhead storage. On at least one occasion the rafters were the 'high ground' for a water balloon fight that my Mom was the target of. She was always a great sport and she worked hard to control the workers so no one got hurt while laughing and ducking the balloon. Now boys, boys lets not get to carried away......SPLASH!  Oh what a memory it still makes me smile.

Ah! the dish room many a former worker remembers this room. Although at the time the room was reversed from this arrangement. The dishwasher was on the wall between the dish room and the kitchen. This view is looking toward the back of the building toward the camp fire area. Behind the photographer is the kitchen, the front of the building and the lake.

Some comments and picture ID's from Dan Murphy

Dan writes.... I'm Dan Murphy, 54 years old, currently living in Hopkinton MA (where the Boston Marathon starts). I was at camp from '64 (10 years old) until '71 as a counselor. I worked mostly on the waterfront, boating, and sailing. Camp years have given me some of the best memories of my life. After the camp was sold, I went to Camp Burgess just down the street on Spectacle Pond, and was a counselor there for just one year. Burgess had a little bit more money than Clark, and also had a great bunch of people working there.

These photos are from a previous post (March 08)

PHOTO #2

Dan ID's two guys in the above photo.

Two guys holding kids in the water are Mike Robinson (with hat) and Dick Riley.

Riley's name has been bugging me all day, and it finally popped into my head. He was probably the waterfront director at the time.

Mike Robinson was part of the Maryland contingent, and was my counselor at Ike Babbitt in '65, my second year. He was a very large guy, all muscle. Huge. Was a wrestler in college and I think he played football - would have been a great running back. Very intimidating guy because of his size, yet had a very quiet demeanor, perfect gentleman in a southern kind of way, big ear-to-ear grin, an "aw shucks" kind of guy. But don't piss him off. Mike actually had at least one date with my sister (6 years older than me). In later years, I think he had his wife with him at camp. Mike also became the waterfront director after Riley left.

I was in a junior lifesaving class with Mike as the instructor. Part of the class involved learning how to release holds a panicked victim may put on you. One requirement was the "water wrestling" component. You go out to deep water with another swimmer, he (as the victim) tries to drown you, and you try to break his holds. Very simple. Now, imagine your opponent is the captain of the U of Maryland wrestling team, you're treading water face to face, about 3-4 feet from his 22-inch neck and shoulders as wide as a pickup truck, trying to figure out how to get out of this alive.

PHOTO #4

Dan writes... There's a line of kids on the right side of the table. The fourth kid (blonde) has his arms stretched out holding a bird feeder(?) and wearing a striped shirt. I'm pretty sure that's me.

PHOTO #5

Dan writes... That's Harriet behind the counter on the right.

Three recent views of Camp Clark (now Camp Lyndon)

Google Earth view of Lawrence Pond. Looks kind of like the shadow of a bird or a bat. With that in mind. The camp is in the area of the "head". The small square is the swimming dock.


The junior section from the boat house. Left to right the cabins were:Kiwanis, Rotary, Craigleigh and Co-Wah (above the arts and craft shop). Thanks to Dan Murphy



The top of Brownbread hill. Looking across the lake. The camp bay is to my right side in this picture. The back bay is to my left. I'm standing on the crest of the hill that is now mostly over grown. I remember a set of log steps that formed an amphitheater down the hill toward the back bay.
None of that appears to be there now it is all over grown.

A question answered. Fifty years later. Circa 1957 Rotary Cabin

      Wayne Griffiths Circa 1957 Rotary Cabin

 
 Tonight has been a great night. Over the last few days several new ex campers have contacted me. We have been exchanging emails and memories. More of these exchanges in days to come. But tonight I found the name of the cabin behind me in this picture. It was the Rotary cabin. I have search my memory for years but could not remember it's name.