Strong Women

Strong Women

Obviously, people and places make camp. The center was Irv and Edna. As a camper I sort knew, absorbed, the philosophy of camp and, as an older camper, began to formulate a deeper understanding. I remember the experience and then tried to make sense of the why of the experience. I’m also aware that they found, recruited, a variety of other intense personalities that contributed to the experience as well. I didn’t really know how much Edna created camp until my adults involvement, I was a camp staff member for four years from ‘75-‘79.

Edna was, as Irv always said, “The Director’s Director.” In many ways Irv was in charge, up front, while Edna was the heart and soul. She was a quiet and yet forceful. I have so many instances where her presence was felt. Little things—for five years I spent all summer at camp, all three sessions, nine complete weeks. By the middle of second session my interest in some activities was lagging and Edna must have observed this because she would find me and schedule me into doing other things, little tasks, helping in the kitchen, working on a variety projects- mopping the dining hall with Marshall for example.

I really valued this experience and it has profoundly colored my life and profession. I like doing things and understanding the behind the scenes nature of making things happen. The mundane is interesting. I learned how the sand pool filters worked from Aaron and Colbert, I helped plumb the new laundry room, I think I spent much of third session each year assisting the maintenance man in his chores-- I could relight a water heater and unplug a toilet. I knew, and still would know, how the water systems of camp worked—and spent time fixing leaks and cleaning tanks, or heading up the spring road to dig out the spring box. My brain liked as this stuff and in many cases Edna was the instigator. Her sense of what was happening outside her direct vision was amazing. The other person who also helped make camp special in this way was Judy Carlson (sp?).

Judy was an absolutely amazing person who came to camp to “Help get things started” along with her daughter Crissy, arriving for the staff training week and first session. She had the most amazing ability to know things through some extra sense about what was happening, particularly in the interpersonal relations at camp. I have this memory of sitting, as a staff member; on the front porch of maybe the fours cabin and having her come chat with me.

One of the intangibles of camp, and the experience, was the community. How people got along during intense times, through internals and external issues, was key. Judy was a teacher on the peninsula, special education I think, and had both a skill and a talent for brief focused, pithy conversations. This was not chatty counseling, it was a "kernel conversation": “this is what I see, this is what needs to happen,” but in a way that was very empowering because I trusted her insight, there was no hidden agenda, she spoke the truth.

Camp depended on a series of strong women- administration and camp staff. Women who provided an insight into how we make something like this and the programmatic skill to make this happen. I have stayed fond of this style, tried to understand and support this in my own life. It’s the mundane, the simple that’s significant. The insightful conversation, the easy action to solve a problem, without credit or even a visible role. So to the powerful sense of place we add strong women and there were many: Carol Newman, Cheryl Cook/Davis, Davida Brown, and Selina (whose last name I can’t remember). And at the head of the table was Edna Newman.