I'm collecting information about Camp Wakonda at this URL:

http://www.cedu.niu.edu/scied/staff/Ken_web/scouting/wakonda_index.htm
l

I'd be interesting in posting images, memories, etc. from people's
time there as either a staff member or a camper.  So far, I have some
older histories of the camp (along with SW Iowa Council information),
a piece regarding the Wakonda Fire Watchers, and the history of lodge
97--borrowed, but with credit assigned) collected there.

Ken

I'm sure glad you found us, Arnold!

In addition to having some plain fun with the Group, I'm also hoping
that it will also be of some use to the Council's camping program,
and coordination with you and others involved in that is very
helpful here. Although not an "official" MAC site, others involved
are most welcome to join and post here.

Please add some of your personal info into the database as you have
time. Eventually, it will be a great place to search for others by
any one of a bunch of criteria!

Again, welcome!

Larry

After one of our members pointed it out to me (Thanks, Doug H.) I
have adjusted some of the Group's settings, making it easier for
members to add dates to the calendar, set up polls, databases, etc.

If you haven't checked-out these areas, please do so and add as much
information as you'd like.

I will still be "monitoring" all information, primarily to see that
it is relevant to the purposes of this Group, but if it involves MAC
camps, staff, reunions, etc., in all likelihood it will be fine.
I won't let the group just become an announcement list for
unrelated, or what I feel are perhaps too "marginally" related,
items outside of the Group's intended purpose.

Good Scouting to you all!

Larry

Dear Camp Staffers,

Yahoo is a new experiance for me and I think I have got it now.

My Info is:

Arnold "Fish" Martin - LSSR, Eagle, and Cedars Staffer. I have held
many different positions officially and not officially.  If you have
any questions please feel free to e-mail me.

May I say that the photo pages are a great start to this web site.

God bless,

Fish

Greetings!

The kickoff meeting for beginning planning on the 2003 Mid-America
Council Camp Staff reunion is set for Wednesday, March 27th at
Chili's restaurant near 132nd and Maple streets in Omaha at 11:30am.

If you plan on attending, please rsvp to Don Nagel at
d.nagel@...

Hope to see you there!

Doug Heller
Cedars - '79

PS - Continue to spread the word about this reunion and the camp
staff page on www.mac-bsa.org.

"Success is a Journey, Not a Destination"

MODERATORS ADDITION:  All please note this planning session is for the
200*3* Staff reunion!  I sure didn't notice it at first.  I agree with Doug
and Don Nagel it's important to start planning early, but I didn't want others
to miss this critical difference as I did at first.  Doug has told me in a
personal email there is no plan to hold a staff reunion this summer, 2002.

Thanks for the info, Doug, and please forgive the editing!     Larry

There are lots of new photos in the various photo albums, thanks
mainly to Jack Liike who sent the files to me!

I could not identify everyone in every posted picture, so if you can
help out in that regard, please let me know! The same goes for dates!

I hope others will post their own photo files to add to our albums
of memories! If you do post something and later find it moved to a
different album, please don't fret. It's just that somehow it made
better sense to me in the way my mind works...or doesn't work! <s>

I thank Larry for a fond memory.

Way back when I was on staff (1956 Thru 1959) That cannon was used every day
for the flag retreat ceremony.  It was one of the many things that made Camp
Cedars a place to remember.   As Larry stated, it did echo around the hills
and valleys and provided another fond memory of our stay on the staff and
before then, as a camper.

R. Bruce Abernethy
5901 Franklin St.
Lincoln, NE  68506-2214
Phone: (402) 489-6442
E-Mail: RBASKI@...

I was worried that no one was ever going to post another message.
Jack Liike has a whole bunch of pictures of Camp Cedars circa 1960-
1970 he sent some to me a year or so ago that I already posted...I have
threatened to post his email address on some Spam servers if he doesn't
share some. Hope to hear from you all.

Please check out these links for info on the 2002 Summer Camp season!

Reservation and Camp Staff:

     http://www.mac-bsa.org/leaders.htm

2002 Camp Leaders' Guidebook:

     http://www.mac-bsa.org/scoutcmp.htm

Thanks to a "source", who for now shall remain unnamed - unless he
chooses to do so himself - I have a good idea where the old Dining
Hall bell is. However, for now, I choose to keep it's location a
secret, pending further investigation! <s>

Larry

--- In MidAmericaCouncilCampsStaffAlumni@y..., "larry_fiehn"
<larryfiehn@h...> wrote:
> I attended last summer's Staff Reunion, but can't remember IF the
> old school bell that was on the old dining hall is still present
>out at Camp Cedars?  I sure hope it's still around somewhere...<

Hi Jack.  Would love to see you some time.  Hope things are going well
for you.  What are you doing and where are you.  You were a great
dedicated staff member!!!What happened to Rodney Nieman?  Debbie and I
are still married, but the VW is gone!  You would not recognize Camp
Cedars.  Take care, Lloyd Roitstein



Remember to check the Photos, Bookmarks, Polls and Members sections
regularly for updated information. Help "jog" everyone's memory and put
your information into the Database!

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Believe the canon and the bell are gone.  Even before my professional
time.

*******************************************

Remember to check the Photos, Bookmarks, Polls and Members sections
regularly for updated information. Help "jog" everyone's memory and put
your information into the Database!

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

I attended last summer's Staff Reunion, but can't remember IF the
old school bell that was on the old dining hall is still present out
at Camp Cedars?  I sure hope it's still around somewhere. Something
just seems "right" about ringing that bell for meal times!  And if
it's gone...what's the chance some of us arrange funding and
installation of a successor bell on the new dining hall?

Oh,in case some of the younger crowd here doesn't recall, the title
of this posting was inspired by an old song called "Somebody Bad Stole de
Wedding Bell", and if you're REALLY interested, you can find the lyrics at

http://www.supergas.tv/html/lyrics/somebody_bad_stole_the_wedding_bell.txt

Long ago, in the dim ages in the valley of the...no wait, that's
fron a different Scouting activity.

Anyhow, Camp Cedars used to have a small, about 10-gauge cannon that
was used every night at flag retreat. (Do they still have formal
retreats at Camp Cedars?)  All the staff and all the troops would
line up in a big square up on the parade ground by the flagpoles. As
the flag was lowered, one of the staff members, or perhaps a
selected camper, would pull the trigger on the cannon, firing the
blank round, causing a loud boom that would echo around the camp
valleys for a bit.

Last I knew, the cannon disappeared when there was a change in the
Camp Ranger staff in the early 70's. I still plan to find a
replacement and give it to the CWSR, if they will accept it and use
it.

One of my fond memories of this particular cannon was during the
time Wes Klusmann - one of Scouting's early "great" men, then
already retired - was Camp Director for one summer.  We called
him "Super Chief"!

I don't recall for sure now why we chose to do this, but one night a
group of us loaded the cannon up, marched "in formation" over to a
point about 25 yards in front of Super Chief's cabin, and fired it
at the cabin. No doubt we thought of it as a protest of some sort.

Whatever the reason, Wes and I stayed in touch for many years after
that summer, so I guess he must have thought it was a nice form
of "salute", rather than the symbolic "execution" we probably had in
mind!

Anyone else care to share such delightful, stupid, fond memories? I
sure hope so!

I see my buddy Jack Liike is looking for a Benson
("Bunnies"...always thought that was funny, but then *I* know what
those rabbits used the cupola for, too! <s> ) High School Class ring.

Well, one of the years I was on staff I lost my Eagle Scout ring on
a sandbar in the Platte River, somewhere between North Bend and Camp
Cedars. It has the initials "LF" on the inside, so if anyone living,
say, between North Bend and the Mississippi delta finds it, please
let me know! <s>

Hey y'all. Good to see this site. I worked at Cedars in 72 - 74 at
the swimin' pool and the lagoon (I mean lake) and have been able to
stay in touch with a few of our former staffers. Wasn't able to make
the reunion in 2001 due to "employment changes" but looking forward
to the next one.
By the way, did anyone ever find a Benson High Class of '74 ring at
the lakefront area near the pontoon float? I still am offering a
reward for it!

Take Care.

Jack

Just a suggestion here from your 'umble moderator:

It will get more attention and be clearer to members of the group if
you post a NEW message other than just replying to a previous one.

If you truly WANT to reply on a particular subject, fine, but since
replies get the heading RE: on them, if you're introducing
yourself...or a new subject...it would be clearer to everyone if you
posted it as a NEW message.

Thanks,

Larry

--- hey all
I really like being able to communicate with all my
old buddies from camp if you remember me this is
arrowsmith from the office you know mike mcpeck if you
don't know me as arrowsmith well I hope all of you are
going to return to camp have a good new year.

Your Bud
Arrowsmith
>
>
>


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Send FREE video emails in Yahoo! Mail!
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Hey everyone,
        Remember me, "poor little C.I.T. boy in the pool, no one to help him
at all..."  Hope to hear from you all.

Roger Keaton

HI all this is cool.. I like it

Just when I thought I'd forgotten all the fun I had a camp...Good job
Larry, hope We here for some of our old buddies.
Ira Combs RN,BS

I'm extremely happy to see that in only about 48 hours of existence
our Camp Staff Alumni Group has grown to about 25 members.

I won't keep posting as much because I don't want to overwhelm your
email inbox. However, I do want to be sure you know what you
can do to make the group interesting and to help it grow. Here are
my suggestions / requests:

1) Post a message telling the group a bit about yourself, such as
when you worked at camp, what you did there, etc., and then maybe an
update as to what you're doing now and where you are. Post whatever
you want that may interest your fellow alums!

2) Please post pictures. If you're like me, it may take a while
because I've not yet taken the time to scan most of my old photos
and transparencies. It would be great if you could find a "camp-era"
picture of yourself and post that along with a current mug shot!
Please note how the photo section albums are organized and try to
post accordingly so there's some order in the chaos!

3) If you know of Scouting, Scout camping, or personal web pages
regarding Scouting or Scout Camping, please add the url in the
bookmarks section so others can find them. I found some good stuff
on Kenny "Camper" King's NIU pages and posted that url yesterday.

4) Please consider adding at least some information about yourself
to the Database section. Part of the reason I chose Yahoo!Groups for
our MAC camp alumni group is the interactive and instantly updatable
database. You can put in as much or as little info as you
choose to, and the database is both searchable and sortable.

5) Have YOU voted yet? There are two polls running. The results will
be fun to watch. These two polls will remain open indefinitely so
you and all new members can add their opinions. If you want to
establish a new poll, please do so!

6) If you want to be able to easily chat with group members,
consider using Yahoo! Messenger. It's a free download. If you
have a Yahoo!ID, someone can "page" you while you're online and you
can chat about camp experiences. The group member list shows who is
online and using Yahoo! Messenger.

7) I've posted some Council camping dates in the calendar section.
Dates can be added by any group member as long as the event is
relevant to the nature of this group.

8) Last...please spread the word about this group however you can.
Send the url to anyone you think may be interested, and and post it
on various Scouting-related newsgroups and websites. You can also
use the "invite" function right on the group's pages. Although the
group is intended for staff alumni, others are welcome to join, too.

Again...THANK YOU all so much for joining and giving this group such
a super start!

Best to you all!

Larry Fiehn - owner/moderator

Enter your vote today!  A new poll has been created for the
MidAmericaCouncilCampsStaffAlumni group:

How many total seasons have you worked
at one of MAC's camps?

   o 1
   o 2
   o 3
   o 4
   o 5
   o 6 to 9
   o 10 to 14
   o 15 to 19
   o 20 or more


To vote, please visit the following web page:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MidAmericaCouncilCampsStaffAlumni/polls

Note: Please do not reply to this message. Poll votes are
not collected via email. To vote, you must go to the Yahoo! Groups
web site listed above.

Thanks!

Enter your vote today!  A new poll has been created for the
MidAmericaCouncilCampsStaffAlumni group:

If you've worked at camp for more than
one season AND at more than one camp,
which is your favorite camp?

   o Eagle
   o Wakonda - Griswold
   o Little Sioux
   o Ashford
   o Cedars
   o Wakonda - Bellevue


To vote, please visit the following web page:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MidAmericaCouncilCampsStaffAlumni/polls

Note: Please do not reply to this message. Poll votes are
not collected via email. To vote, you must go to the Yahoo! Groups
web site listed above.

Thanks!

It seems Yahoo! has gotten the Photo section operational again, so
you can now start scanning and posting your Camp pictures!

In hopes of maintaining some order - I am rather anal retentive,
y'know - I've set up the first albums as follows:

* FACES - Please give names & dates if possible - This would
probably be the best place to put your own picture, or perhaps a
picture of just a few people. If you'd post it as a message and
attach the picture, you can give the name(s) and date of the
picture, which does add to its value to the group.

* COVERED WAGON SCOUT RESERVATION - There are 2 sub-albums here:

    Camp Cedars

    Camp Eagle

* LITTLE SIOUX SCOUT RESERVATION - That BIG place near Onawa!

* CAMP WAKONDA - GRISWOLD (I'll bet some of you young-uns never even
heard of Camp Wakonda at Griswold (IA)!

* CAMP WAKONDA - Bellevue

* STAFF GROUP PICTURES - This would be the best place for pictures
of the entire staff, or maybe all of the staff of one program area,
although there'll be no hard and fast rule on that. DO please try to
identify as many people in the picture as possible.

Gentlepersons....start your postings!

Oh, please note the Ken King "Kenny Camper" has already posted some
bookmarks to some of his graphic files.  Thanks, Kenny. Oh, boy, do
I have a picture of him to post! Others are welcome to post
bookmarks to your stuff if you have it on a website.

Thanks to all for the tremendous early interest in this Group!

Larry

In a message received by the moderator today,

Andy Finch <straightspirit@...> wrote:

I am away at college and can be reached at

afinch@...

Thanks for putting this together, Larry...I'm glad to see that you are
keeping busy here in IL! :-)

Ken

hi guys, this is Michaela from cedars/eagle and i think this is a
great idea since correspodaence becomes more difficult as the years
go by. I can't wait to pu some pictures up and hear from everybody. :)

Welcome to the Yahoo!Group for Staff Alumni of the Mid-America
Council, BSA, summer camps.

Please read through the information sent you when you subscribed.

It would be great if everyone would enter some or all of their own
information in the "Database" section, as it will allow everyone to
find their old buddies.

From time to time, there may even be a "Poll" or two for you to
answer.

Please consider posting your picture - or if you have them, a "then"
and "now" picture. You can also post a message saying what you did
at camp, what you've done since, or anything else as long as it's
somewhat connected with the camps and/or Scouting.

Remember the list is *moderated*, so there should be no spam to have
to deal with.