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Invite everyone you are still in touch with!

Posted by Richard A James on March 27, 2010 at 11:30am
Hi All,

If you are still in touch with any folks from our (your) camp days, please reach out to them by clicking on the "Invite" tab and sending them an invitation from the site. Dave gave us a great start with the e-mail he sent out, and the connections we have established on the two Facebook groups (Hagan & Miller - Hagan) made for a good start as well.
Now that we have a nice core nucleus, if each or us reach out to those we are still in contact with, our connections and photo collection will grow exponentially. I see Charlie Paswark has already made a nice start (both in invitations and pictures!).
The friendships we established during those precious summers at Camp are priceless. Let's see if we can't re-kindle them!

Many Thanks,

Rich "Big John" James
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Songs

Posted by Richard A James on March 26, 2010 at 5:00pm
I moved this to a Forum, as I thought that might be a better venue for adding songs along the way.

Oh the Strauss family is the best family
That ever came over from old Germany
There's the high land dutch, and the low land dutch
The Rotterdam dutch, and the other damn dutch
Sing glorious
Sing glorious
One keg of beer for the 4 of us
Glory be to God that there are no more of us
For one of us could drink it all alone, lone, lone, lone!
Drink, drink, drink, drink
Drank, drank, drank, drank
Drunk, drunk, drunk, drunk

Drunk last night
Drunk the night before
Gonna get drunk tonight
Like I never got drunk before

When I'm drunk
I'm as happy as can be
Cause I am a member of
The Strauss Family


Anyone have all the words for "Beside the Belgian Waterfall"? What's "Below the sacred battlefield"?
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Thanks for joining up!

Posted by Dave Veil on March 25, 2010 at 6:39pm

Hello everyone and thanks for joining the website. We've had a great response so far and are adding new members every day.

I'd like to encourage you guys to do a couple of things:

Please add a photo onto your profile so we can refresh our fading memories. Whwn I logged on today I thought that many of our members were part of the Blue Man Group. It will be a lot more fun to see your smiling faces.

Pass on the news about the site. I'm going to contact the two Eastern PA Lutheran Synods to see if they can help us spread the word. I've had lots of feedback over the years from two groups in particular that they would really like to get back in touch with their friends. Those two groups are camp staffs from the early days of the camps and mid 70's Miller Hagan or Mini campers that never had a chance to work at the camps due to the transition away from the river. If you know someone that either attended the camp as a camper or worked there over the years please let them know about the website.

Thanks again for adding to the site.

Cheers,

Dave Veil

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Welcome!

Posted by Richard A James on March 23, 2010 at 5:53pm
I see quite a few folks have accepted the invite and signed on to the site. I am very happy to see you all and welcome aboard. This space can be pretty much whatever we want it to be.

I hope that everyone will take the time to share a little something both from when you were at the camps, but also what you are doing now.

We have the ability to have groups on the site as well. I think it's great to see everything that you all want to share, but I can also see that some of you might like to have separate areas for discussions about one Camp or another or perhaps specific years etc.

Just put something up. We will all love hearing from you!
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Dr.Edward Gilbert obit. Asst Director Hagan 1959, director Ministerium 1960 & 61

Posted by Richard A James on March 21, 2010 at 7:00am
Posted:on MySpace I found this obituary dated:Feb 14, 2006 4:49 PM
Just figured I would post this for any
alumni who havent heard Dr. Gilbert died yesterday morning of natural
causes. I know he touched alot of people through his teaching and his
helping ways.
Dr. Edward R. Gilbert, 70; Albright professor
Dr. Edward R. Gilbert, Albright College professor and former school
director, died of natural causes Feb. 13 at 12:45 a.m. in Reading
Hospital.
Gilbert, 70, Reiffton, was the husband of Phyllis W. (Wiest) Gilbert.
He was a professor of psychology at Albright College since 1958 and was
also employed in its evening division from 1960 to 1992.
Gilbert was an adjunct professor in Temple University's Graduate School
College of Education from 1962 to 1988. He was an instructor at Reading
Hospital School of Nursing from 1958 to 1970 and Lancaster General
Hospital School of Nursing from 1981 to 1987.
He was a part-time lecturer in Franklin & Marshall College's evening
division from 1980 to 1992 and Lebanon Valley College's evening
division from 1992 to 1996.
Gilbert was a member of the Exeter School Board from 1963 to 1985.
He was one of the founders of Blue Spruce Foundation Inc., Reiffton, in
1989 and served as its president and a director. The foundation assisted
high school graduates.
Born in Sharon, Mercer County, he was a son of the late John F. and Ruth
Olive (Roberts) Gilbert.
Gilbert was also employed as a field psychologist for Personnel Sciences
Center, New York City, from 1968 to 2000.
He was a co-director at Camp Hagan, Shawnee on Delaware, Monroe County, in 1959 and director of Camp Ministerium, Shawnee on Delaware, from 1960
to 1961.
Gilbert was a 1953 graduate of Sharon High School and a 1957 graduate of
Dickinson College, Carlisle, Cumberland County. He earned his master's
degree from Pennsylvania State University in 1958 and his doctorate in
education from Temple University in 1965.
He was a former director of the Berks County Chapter, American Red
Cross; Camp Fire Girls of Berks County, planning division, United Way of
Berks County; Selective Service boards in Reading; Berks County
Chapter, National Council on Alcoholism; and Planned Parenthood Center
of Berks County.
Gilbert was also a former director of the Berks County Mental Health
Association, United Way of Berks County, Family Guidance Center of Berks
County, citizens advisory committee of the Juvenile Court of Berks
County, Greater Reading Area Involved Lutherans and Reading Youth
Council.
He was a member of St. John's Lutheran Church, Reading, where he was a
Sunday school teacher for 38 years until 1996.
He was a former councilman at Faith Lutheran Church, Mount Penn.
Gilbert was a judge for the Pennsylvania Junior Miss state pageant in
1965, 1969 and 1975.
From Albright, he received the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback award
in 1978; the Alpha Sigma Lambda award in 1985; the Jacob award in 1988
and the alumni association service award in 1995.
He is also survived by two sons, Philip E., Exeter Township, and John
W., Stinson Beach, Calif.; and two daughters, Ruth G. (Gilbert)
Schwartz, Southold, N.Y., and Carolyn (Gilbert) Mayo, Sinking Spring.
Other survivors include a brother, Robert I., Vowinckel, Clarion County.
There are also 13 grandchildren.
Memorial services will be Thursday at 6 p.m. in the Albright College
Chapel auditorium. Services will be Friday at 1:30 p.m. in the Lutz
Funeral Home Inc., Mount Penn. Burial will be in Forest Hills Memorial
Park, Reiffton.
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Copied post from the Facebook group site. Hoping to hear more about the Polio outbreak.

Posted by Richard A James on March 20, 2010 at 10:00am

Check it out.
Richard James Okay, so who remembersChief Fellows from the Miller days? He as there as long as I can remember. Does anyone know when he started as Camp Director?
Harold Dambly I went to Miller from 63- 70. The trips to Bear Creek were 69 and 70. I remember the summer of 70 was the 2nd anniversary of Woodstock, When Cheif fellows wasn't on site we would wake up "morning maniac music" Volunteers by Jeferson Airplane. I remember building the bridge. Sorry don't remember when Cheif Fellows started. Good Times, Would like take the canoe trip this September 2010 on the Delaware. Seeing you in the boat reminds me , did your parents have boat, and on parents day or weekend you would be water skiing?
Charlie Pasewark I was at Miller from '59-'66, then a JC in '67 and I believe Ernie Fellows was the Director during that whole time. His sons, Steven & Richard, were also counselors for several years. When I returned as a counselor to Miller in '70 (Senior 6) and Miller-Hagan in '71 (Senior 10) Jim Chamberlain was the Director. Unfortunately, I do not know when Ernie Fellows started.

I do, however, remember going to the Bear Creek site with Steve Schriner, Al Rousch and @6 other kids in '66 when I was in the Pioneer Unit. We arrived late at night and almost took out the windshield of Al's car, because nobody saw the chain across the entrance! Picture that entrance road as nothing more than a horse & wagon path and us trying to negotiate it, crammed into a '59 ford wagon with all our packs, tents, food, tools, etc... (We all survived, tho!)

We did have some pretty awesome times, back in the day... and I absolutely remember playing the 'morning maniac music' from the Woodstock soundtrack, although the 'deviants' in my cabin were more interested in hearing the "fish cheer"... LOL.

Chuck Clerke The Director of the late 40's, early 50's was Chief Elias, who, unfortunately, was stricken with polio during the ourbreak at camp. He was one fantastic guy!

Richard James Wow, there was a polio outbreak at the Camps. Can you tell us more?

Anyone remember the Assistant Director in teh late 60's? I think it was Steve Schriner. One of the typical chants in the Mess Hall was "no nose blows like Schriners nose
blows!".

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What is your funniest Camp memory?

Posted by Richard A James on March 8, 2010 at 6:02pm
So what is your funniest camp memory. I have so many it's hard to pick. The first one to come to mind is when we put Martha's bunk (with Martha in it) on one of the rafts in the middle of the Delaware. She was such a heavy sleeper that to her surprise she woke up in the morning in the middle of the river.
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