Carl Hokanson provides a new piece of Camp Clark memorabilia.

Carl Hokanson provide a new piece of Camp Clark memorabilia. His brother Richard also a Camp Clark alumnus passed this document on to Carl and Carl forwarded it to me. This piece has a special point of interest for yours truly. So a special thanks to Carl and Richard Hokanson.

As I prepped this piece to get it ready to post (a little Photoshop tweaking) I read it as the tweaks brought out some of the faded words.

For the first time there it was my name Wayne Griffiths in a comtemporanous document from Camp Clark in it's 54th season.  Answering the question "what did you like best about camp?"
Wayne Griffiths "losing my fear of deep water".

If you can date this document that would be a great piece of info. With the passing of my mom and dad I have no idea of when this could have been. Two hints in the document 1. all the campers were 10 years old. 2. The cabin Craigleigh.  I was born in 1947 so this would make this document a 1957 writing. Meaning the camp's first season would have been circa 1903.

Thanks Carl and Richard. Enjoy memories. 

Bob Zimmermann's memories and pictures. Part #1

The following pictures and news articles are from Bob Zimmermann's "Camp Clark" collection. Most of the pictures will be familiar to former campers. Some of the pictures have Bob's handwritten notes. Many of the photos have names for the individuals in the photos. Some of these photos were before my time at the camp so they might have to be labeled as we all figure out what they are. For example is that  an "outhouse" floating on the swimming raft?  There must be a story there? Bob? Pete? Joe? Anyone?

I will try to add additional labels and my comments to the photos over the next few days.

The news story below about Robert S. Dennie ("Spike") was one of my favorite additions from Bob Zimmermann's material.

Reading the article encouraged me to call on Pete Mandell to get me in touch with Bob Dennie. As usual Pete came through. Spike and his wife Sandy live in Florida. Spike is 80 and his wife of 48 years Sandy is 75.

Update 06/20/12: With Sandy and Bob permission.

Sandy and Bob Dennie 06/2012. Bob's 80th birthday.

Excerpts from Sandy Dennie's recent emails :

"Bob loved Camp Clark.  I was the Camp Nurse in 1964 and that is where I met Bob and we were married the same year.  Married 48 years in November.  Bob just turned 80 years old in May and I was 75."  "We have a Daughter and a Son and from them we have 9 grandchildren and 4 great grandsons.  They all live about 14 miles from our home.  We have lived in Florida for 21 years and love it.  We call it our paradise."

"I will try and locate pictures of me as the camp nurse and others. I am enclosing a picture of Bob and I at his 80th birthday.  Thank you very much for your nice letter.  Bob loved Camp Clark so much that he is always glad to hear from someone that went to Camp Clark." 

"I was also Camp Nurse after our daughter was born in 1965 and our son in 1968."  

"There was a reunion at Camp Clark.  I forgot what year.  It was a lot of fun and Bob was one of the persons in charge of it if I remember correctly.  People came from all over.  When it was about to be sold, Bob and Pete along with others tried to persuade the powers that be to not sell the Camp but it didn't work out.  It became a day camp and Bob and I visited the camp and it seemed very nice and active."   

"Camp life is wonderful for children.  It seems that is where a lot of memories and friendships develop as seen from Camp Clark."

"CLICK" ON ANY PHOTO FOR A LARGER VERSION.

David W. Beaman Hall

David W. Beaman Hall with the camp work truck. I remember riding in the truck when I was a camp worker. 

Uncle Bob Hastings (L). Spike 3rd from (R). Camp cook (R).

During my time at the camp the building in the background was called the candyshack. If you had money in your camp account and had no demerits you could go to the candy shack and get some "sweets" after the supper hours.

During my time at the camp the building in the background was called the candyshack. If you had money in your camp account and had no demerits you could go to the candy shack and get some "sweets" after the supper hours.

Bob Zimmermann's memories and pictures. Part #2

Although this was taken before my time there are familiar items in the photo. The photo was taken in the dining hall (David W. Beaman Hall) the fire place with the Camp Clark sign and the stuffed Loon were regular fixtures through the decades.

These two pictures taken from the top of Brown Bread are great reminders of one of my favorite spots at the Camp.

If you know anyone in this or other group photos please email the ID. Email address shutterwi@gmail.com

Ok this is what appears to be an "Out House" on the swimming raft. Some one please enlighten me. There must be a story behind this photo.

Bob Zimmermann's sister circa 1954/55.

I think in the advertising world what I'm about to post is called a teaser.

Over the last few weeks I have received some great photos and stories from Tom Tollefsen and Bob Zimmermann.

In total well over 60 individual photo, news stories, and Camp Clark forms. There are photos of the waterfront, sailboats (The Duck?) , cabins, the Sunday services area near the junior section including the altar and benches, the rustic wooden cross on the top of Brown Bread, the inside of the mess hall from the stage during (singing or a bad weather day?), a great news story with photo of Robert S. Dennie (Spike) and a newspaper group photo and a photo of the camp mascot Mickey (my guess a Springer Spaniel white & black or white & brown).

These great photos will take time to process and get ready to post to the website. I do not want to miss any of memories that are contained in this material. Many of them brought back personal memories of the camp in the late 50's and early 60's.

Great things coming honest I promise. Now for a little truth telling. It is winter where I live in northern Wisconsin and it is in the peak of ice fishing season. I live 2.4 miles by 4 wheeler from my favorite spot and the fish have been biting... So if the truth were known I'm fishing every chance I get. With any luck we will have another 2 to three weeks of good fishing. So this is a teaser post because it will be a little while before I have to stay off the ice and find a project at home.

For those of you from the south look here, here, here and here are some of my latest ice fishing trips on to Chequamegon Bay.

Now for one quick apology to Bob Zimmermann for having to cut short a phone call I received  from him while I was on the ice.

Apologies Bob the fish were really biting. I owe you a phone call.

I've waited nearly 55 years to find a Camp Clark T-Shirt and hat.

Here is how it happen. Pete Mandell sent me a treasure trove of old Camp Clark articles and pamphlets. One of the first things that caught my eye was a great clean piece of artwork here it is below.

This "original" artwork was part of pamphlet.  Which can be seen here. As I said the moment I saw it I knew I was soon going to have a Camp Clark t-shirt.

In the mornings I have coffee at the local coffee shop. Directly across the street is a small printing business that also does silk screening and embroidery on hats, jackets and t-shirts.

My dad was a printer and I spent many a day with him at his shop and at local newspapers he worked at including The New Bedford Standard Times. My first real job was working in the circulation department  of one of those newspapers. I guess you can say I inherited "printer's ink in my blood".

I took the artwork to the printshop where we worked out sizing it and arranging to having it digitized (for embroidering).

I decided to get myself some t-shirts and a hat or two. As we all know custom made articles are expensive for a single copy..... but order a dozen or so and it gets cheaper.  Added some different sizes and colors and presto you have an initial t-shirt order. But a dozen or so is a lot of t-shirts for one guy. This is where the plan took a slight turn.

I would never have gotten the chance to finally have a Camp Clark t-shirt if it wasn't for Pete Mandell.  I decided Pete needed a t-shirt (or two) and then Joe Larson has offered so much to the history and encouragement for the website.... so it made sense Joe should have a t-shirt.  That took care of part of the initial order. One went to my wife as a reward for listening to me tell Camp Clark stories (repeatedly) for the last 40+ years and one went to my oldest sister who celebrated every time I left for camp.

I kept one of each color for myself.

Stay tuned there is more to the story and my plan.

New Bedford Standard Times newspaper articles with Pete Mandell's commentaries.

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

This is a picture I always wanted to see. The top of Brownbread Hill before it was overgrown. By the time I saw it for the first time late 1950's early 1960's you could just see the lake to the front. In 1997 it was completely overgrown. The lake was only visible through mature trees.

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.