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ALUMNI GENERATIONAL FAMILY 
The Miske/Woeller Family
In this newsletter we highlight the Miske/Woeller family.
The many generations of these families continue to experience Camp Wabanaki, beginning with the early days on Beausoleil Island to nearly five decades at our Lake Vernon site. Many familiy members began as toddlers, then campers, L.I.T.s, C.I.T.s, staff, volunteers, and alumni and donors. We love having a group with such diverse experiences and history as part of our camp family!
Click here
to read how extensive this generational KW YMCA camp family is!
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2017 CAMP STAFF AUCTIONS - SATURDAY JULY 1 
HELP THE CAMP STAFF REACH $100,000.00!!!
Since the inception of the Camp Staff Auctions in 2005
,
our seasonal camp staff members have continued with this raucous, creative, and exciting affair, and are teetering on the verge of raising a whopping $100,000.00 for the Camp Fund! How cool is that?
WHEN (hopefully not IF!) we reach this year's goal of $14,570.24, the contributions of camp staff over these 16 years (this means many of you reading this now!) will hit the $100,000.00 mark! Bands will play, balloons will fly... OK, maybe not, but we will certainly be thrilled, proud, and honoured (as we are already) to call these many dedicated individuals, past and present, staff members of Camps Belwood, Ki-Wa-Y, and Wabanaki.
If you would like to support your camp and help this year's staff reach their milestone of $100,000.00, we have made it easy for you to give them a head start.
O
n or before July 1st, you can donate to
The Camp Fund
Click here to access the on-line donation form, then choose "IN HONOUR" of Camp Belwood or Ki-Wa-Y or Wabanaki, and we'll direct your amount to your camp's total!
Everyone benefits, as staff reach their milestone goal in helping campers attend summer camp, and also aid in the upgrades and renovations at all three camps.
Also, if you want to encourage your camp's current staff by sending a message, possibly of the craziest item you ever bought or donated to the auction, visit this page and we'll share the messages/ideas prior to/on auction night!
Thanks for your support and keeping the camp experience alive for generations to come!
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A MESSAGE FROM VP OF KW YMCA CAMPING
Callum McKee
Camp registration really took off this year!
As many of you know, we rolled out a brand new registration system in January, and I'm thrilled to report that by the end of the first day, we had double the camper registrations as we did the previous year! Parents clearly (and quickly!) continue to value the summer camp experience for their children.
PROJECT UPDATES
Belwood
The renovation of a second double-unit camper cabin at Belwood is now complete! Kimberly/Epping was gutted, received new electrical work, pine flooring, siding and bunks. This upcoming camp season, as each group of campers move into this cabin (and others with renos already done) they will enjoy the new and fantastic surroundings of their home away from home. Check out some
pictures of this renovation. Thanks to our volunteer work group Bacchanal, as well as visiting alumni mini reunion, the Belwood Boys of the 60s, and Belwood staff.
Ki-Wa-Y
This spring we began a trial hydroponic planting in the Solarium for Ki-Wa-Y's Greenhouse and Garden project. With hundreds of lettuce, tomato, and cucumber seeds planted, we are in awe of the amount of food that is being produced, and the rate of growth from sprouts to mature plants. We have already been serving our lettuce crop in the dining hall, and observing cucumber growth and tomato plants that are climbing high towards the light of the greenhouse windows.
Check out some cool pictures of our garden in action. (It's so much better than watching grass grow!) Special thanks to our volunteer, alumni member Verena Jones for her role in the early stages and maintenance of this project, her husband Mark, and daughter Abby ("Lifetime Camper" and L.I.T. this summer) for their help too!
Wabanaki
We have experienced a very productive winter and spring season moving forward with the addition and renovation of the Wabanaki dining hall. (Many thanks to both our Bacchanal and Amatol work groups who have contributed immeasurably to help move this project along) We are happy to report that many of the finishing touches are now underway and soon Wabanaki campers and staff will all be eating on the same floor!
Check out some
pictures of our new and improved dining hall.
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FROM THE ARCHIVES
Wabanaki
Every camp season when the name board would go up in the Wabanaki dining hall, we all would gather to find our own name, forever etched in the wood. It's a contented feeling to know that, in addition to the memories we take in the form of experiences, we also leave something tangible behind at Wab. Now, many alumni visitors, after sharing niceties with others upon arrival at Wab, quickly make their way to the dining hall to seek out the boards with their name, and recall their own history.
Many thanks to alumnus Rob Clements, who painstakingly photographed the name boards for our camp archives.
Click here
to go back in time.
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FROM THE ARCHIVES
Ki-Wa-Y
There's little doubt that we live in a much different world today than a past generation of campers and staff who grew up in the 1970s. During that period, time at camp was a little less structured, with less dependence on equipment, and staff often left to their own devices to keep their campers active.
Although camp these days does indeed have more structure, we always make a point of maintaining elements of our past, and pride ourselves on staff that are endlessly resourceful and great on-their-feet thinkers, regardless of the amount of "stuff" to which they have access for programming.
We recently received some photos from the 70s for our archives. Although the
photos are unmistakably Ki-Wa-Y, you'll notice how the landscape has changed, and many buildings have been replaced. Clearly and quickly, time marches on!
Thank you Holly Smith for sharing part of your family's camping history with these photos of old Camp Ki-Wa-Y. They are real gems!
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FROM THE ARCHIVES 
Belwood
When most people think of a significant weather event in the summer of 2005, they think of Hurricane Katrina. But ask any Belwood staff member from that year, and be prepared for a camp story like no other. What these people remember (likely with pinpoint accuracy!) is the F2 tornado that ripped through Camp Belwood's site and surrounding forest at the end of Session 7.
On August 19, 2005, half of our month's precipitation (47.1mm) fell, as the wind raged, and all but obliterated the landscape of what we had all become accustomed to knowing Belwood to be. Even though the site and much of our outdoor equipment took a merciless and intense beating, thankfully, every single camper and staff member remained safe. We were so proud of our well trained staff that reacted perfectly, putting the safety of all at the forefront of their retreat to the dining hall, then comforting and diverting the attention of many frightened campers.
Belwood's camping season abruptly ended that evening with the evacuation of the site. All staff were invited to return the following week to help with some clean up, pack their belongings, and spend a bit of time before heading home for the summer.
...definitely, a forever memory (including a new respect for the summer storm season) is shared by many Belwood alumni.
Click here for pictures of this historical event.
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2017 MINI 1960s ALUMNI REUNION - WABANAKI
It was a memorable May weekend and the second event for this group of 11 women alumni from the 1960s.
Along with the fun times which included non-stop chatting, laughing, making friendship bracelets, and planning escape routes from the black flies, the group piloted a fundraiser of selling aprons (of course with Wab logo). Along with personal donations, these women are sending two children to camp this summer!
Kudos and many thanks to you ladies for making a difference in the young lives of two Wabanaki campers!
Click here for weekend pictures.
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2017 MINI 1960s ALUMNI REUNION - BELWOOD
This last May a small group of old "Belwood Boys" spent a weekend at Camp Belwood. The group consists of Dave Koppeser, Howard Kirk, Gary Schlee, Rob Schlee, Bob Edwards and Steve Kirkland.
The Belwood Boys told us that, "returning after so many years was like a time machine as we helped each other remember the events from our days as camp staff."
Sailing was one of the weekend highlights, but there was a yearning for the old Flying Junior, as opposed to our state-of-the-art Junior Hobies that now call Belwood home.
Thanks Boys for extending that awesome Belwood spirit and helpfulness!
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FROM THE ARCHIVES
Update: Online Camp Trivia
We can see that many alumni have already checked out our multiple decades of
Trivia Quizzes for Belwood, Ki-Wa-Y & Wabanaki. If you have not already, have some fun and test your knowledge of your camp, challenge yourself or challenge your camp friends. You may be surprised what you can remember, and learn!
p.s. If you have a trivia question you think other alumni would like to see, please drop us a line at
[email protected] Also, a special shout out to those who have already contacted us to add additional questions to the quizzes. Thanks, everyone!
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FACEBOOK, TWITTER & OUR CAMP ALUMNI WEBSITE
keep your Camp
Alumni Profile updated with us so we can keep you in
the loop.
Please forward this newsletter to other camp folk and help them reconnect too!
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HELP SUPPORT YOUR CAMP!
Camp...just the word prompts an instant smile along with a whirlwind of youthful memories. For those who have been touched by the experience, it's that special place where new skills were learned, independence was discovered, and lifelong friendships began. As you recall and cherish your own memories, you will be pleased to know that the benefits of a summer camp experience continue to be as significant today as during days gone past. Thank you to the many camp alumni members, their families and friends who continue to support K-W YMCA Camping.
To learn more about the exciting projects underway at your camp, and to donate, please click the links below.
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"Day is done. Gone the sun. From the lake, from the hills, from the sky. All is well, safely rest, God is nigh." K-W YMCA Camping - Morning Dip - June 2017  
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