• Al Miller vs. the Skunks J.R. Warren 1939 - 1947
• The End of an Era
• Library Donations Colin Robertson Staff 2013
• Family Camp 2013 - Camp familial 2013
• Alumni Association News / Nouvelles de l'association des anciens
• Tumpline Submissions - Soumissions pour cette lettre de nouvelles

Al Miller vs. the Skunks J.R. Warren 1939 - 1947

In 1947, my last year at Camp Nominingue, Al and I shared the small staff tent - Tent F - opposite the senior lodge on the brow of the hill overlooking the Senior Bay. Although roomy enough for three beds, they were much more comfortable with only two. Ironically, in all my years as a camper and a counsellor, this was the first time I had been assigned to one of these prestigious tents. I was doing things backwards, it seemed; normally, I would have started off as a junior counsellor in one of these tents. Being a section director, Al did not have a tent full of boys to look after. My job that year was Chief Canoe Tripping Counsellor and I had managed to convince Mr. Van that it did not make sense for me to have a regular tent to look after if I was going to be out of camp on trips most of the time.

A couple of days after we had settled in, Al said, "J.R., I think we have a skunk under the tent. We better do something about it."

Our tent platform was built on a slight slope so that the back end just about touched the ground while the front end was about a foot and a half above, making it very difficult to see whether a skunk had taken up residence beneath us toward the rear. My reply to Al was that we were better off to ignore the skunk, if there was one, and he would probably get fed up with our noise and move out of his own accord. Less than a week later, Al told me that one of the senior campers had seen a whole family of skunks coming out from under our tent. This seemed to have Al in a bit of a panic and he vowed that he was going to get rid of them before they decided to spray us. I became alarmed that he might do something we both would regret and told him anything he might try to do would surely trigger the sort of defensive action that he was trying to avert. I thought I had him convinced.

The next day, as I was returning from swim patrol, there was Al, down on his knees at the back of the tent, just getting ready to shove our broom into the skunks' domain. "Al!!" I yelled, "STOP! STOP! Don't do it, for Heaven's sake! As sure as ...they'll spray you, me and everything else in gunshot range! We don't need that."

"We've got to get rid of them, J.R.! They're a menace to us," he yelled back. By this time, a small crowd had gathered to watch the fireworks, little realizing that they, too, were within range of the skunk artillery.

I had to think fast before disaster struck. "Wait a minute, Al," I said. "Let's ask Mr. Van at supper for his advice. He's been around longer than we have and he will surely know what to do."

Right after supper, Al and I grabbed him just as he was going out the dining hall door. He cleared his throat as was his habit before beginning to speak. "Well, the best thing you can do is just ignore them. Leave them alone and they'll leave you alone, and you'll be safe for the rest of the summer."

Much to my relief, Al accepted this advice. A couple of weeks later, we realized that the skunks were no longer living below us. Without any help from Al, they had moved out. I think they had found that their upstairs neighbours were too noisy.

The End of an Era

In January 2013, Michel Desroches decided to leave Camp Nominingue after 22 years to devote his attention to Aventures Mika, a business he set up for himself and his children. His departure from Camp Nominingue signifies the end of an era, the first time since the 1930s that a Desroches has not set up the tents in the spring. 

Romeo Desroches started the Desroches family association with Camp Nominingue. He took on all maintenance responsibilities, including the care of the horses, which were stabled on the property for the riding program in the late 1930s. Towards the end of his career, he built Camp Nominingue's first home-made canoe, establishing that branch of the Camp's activities. J.R. Warren describes Romeo's role at camp: "Romeo, the handyman, was to me the unsung hero of Camp Nominingue. Everyone knew who he was, but I doubt that more than a handful of campers or counsellors ever got around to speaking to him."

By the time Romeo retired, his son Lucien had taken over the maintenance responsibilities. Peter Van Wagner described Lucien's contributions in this way: "Lucien displayed his ability to learn quickly and become expert in a wide variety of things. In the kitchen, he was soon the pastry cook and assistant chef. He treated the maintenance work as a learning experience, always in search of a new and better way to solve any problem. He was not just a carpenter and fixer; he was a contractor and manager. Lucien was in charge of every construction project, large and small, during the past 40 years." 

After working professionally as a chef, Michel joined Camp Nominingue's maintenance staff. By the time that Lucien was ready to retire, Michel had already been working at the camp for almost 10 years, both in the kitchen and in maintenance. Michel was always on top of the next job that needed to be done, keeping a careful watch over the property and the facilities. He loved the variety of tasks that his position at Nominingue enabled him to tackle: building canoes during the winter, cutting tree in the spring or cooking a meal during the summer. His knowledge of the property was unsurpassed!  His departure leaves a void, but he remains a neighbour in the Nominingue community and will still helps us out when we need his experience or expertise. 

Library donations Colin Robertson Staff 2013

Over my years at Nominingue, I have had many opportunities to take advantage of the small but wonderful library present in the Main Lodge, and have seen others use it for the same purposes. When I came to camp, I was a shy and quiet child, and I often found peace in the stories I was able to borrow from the camp library. Some of my fondest memories are thumbing well-worn pages while relaxing in the Intermediate Lodge. 

However the library is limited, its books are old, worn, and few. As such, I'd like to take this opportunity to ask the parents and supporters of Nominingue for your help. The biggest thing that every library needs is books, used or new, of any shape or size, as long as they are appropriate for children. Donating books would be as simple as sending them to camp with your children, or arranging for them to be brought up on one of the buses. 

The library had a strong influence on my camp life, and I'd like to cement its place in the camp experience with your help.

Family Camp 2013 - Camp familial 2013

Family Camp has been a Nominingue tradition since 1984. Its success is due to the faithful families that return each August to enjoy a unique camp experience of family activities, special programming, and lots of opportunities to relax and have fun with friends, both new and old. 

This summer, family camp will take place from Wednesday, August 21st to Sunday August 25th. To help us with our planning, please don't wait too long to sign up...

Some of the special evening events on the schedule:

Wednesday - campfire with the Celtic music of Sean Dagher

Thursday - CN mystery

Friday - steak & corn roast; casino night

Saturday - wine & cheese; council ring

On the schedule daily: beach activities, yoga, crafts and woodworking, kids' club, canoe trips into Parc Papineau-Labelle, bike trips, nature walks, climbing, archery and lots more!

Three meals a day, fruit snacks throughout the day and an evening snack - Tent accommodation for the whole family

Enrolment can be completed online at www.nominingue.com. For more information send us an e-mail info@nominingue.com or call (866) 910-1551.

Depuis 1984, le camp familial est devenu une tradition au Camp Nominingue. Son succès dépend de nos familles qui reviennent année après année pour vivre l'expérience unique d'activités familiales, de programmes spéciaux, d'opportunités pour se détendre et pour s'amuser entre amis. 

Cet été, le camp familial commence mercredi le 21 août et se termine dimanche le 25 août. Pour nous aider avec la planification, svp inscrivez-vous de bonheur!

Quelques uns des programmes spéciaux à l'horaire:

Mercredi - feu de camp avec la musique celte de Sean Dagher

Jeudi - Le mystère au CN

Vendredi - Repas steak et blé d'inde, soirée casino

Samedi - vin et fromage; « council ring »

À l'horaire chaque jour: activités à la plage, yoga, projets à l'atelier, programme pour enfants, excursions de canot au Parc Papineau-Labelle, excursions en vélo, marches dans les bois, escalade, tir à l'arc et beaucoup plus!

Trois repas par jours, collations de fruits toute la journée et collation du soir. Hébergement en tente pour toute la famille.

Vous pouvez vous inscrire à partir de notre site internet www.nominingue.com. Pour plus d'informations, contactez nous à info@nominingue.com ou (866) 910-1551. 

Alumni Association News / Nouvelles de l'association des anciens

Alumni Weekend 2013 Friday, September 6 - Sunday, September 8

We invite all alumni, young and old, to come and join us up at camp this September. Accommodation is rustic - some things never change...we still sleep in tents at Nominingue. Although there will be a scheduled program, you are welcome to participate just as much as you would like. Mainly, this is an opportunity to reminisce, to share memories, to re-connect with old friends and to spend time in a special place!

Schedule

Friday

4:30 PM Arrival & Settling in

6 PM BBQ supper 

7:30 PM Evening Program 

Campfire

Saturday

8 am Breakfast  

9:30 am Instruction workshops - canoeing, portaging, campcraft, archery

1 pm Lunch 

2:30 pm Skill Competition

4:30 Canoe Race

6 pm Supper   

7 pm Council Ring

Campfire 

Sunday

9 am Breakfast   

10:30 am Morning Program

11:30 am Alumni Association Meeting 

1 pm Lunch 

Among the activities planned: archery & riflery competition; climbing; woodworking & other camp games

Tent accommodation can be arranged for groups of alumni.

Cost: $75 per person for the weekend

For information or to register, please call (819) 278-3383 or send us an e-mail info@nominingue.com. Registration must be confirmed by August 20th, 2013. 

Spring Alumni Socials

May and June alumni socials were held in Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. It is always a great opportunity to connect with alumni and to find out what is going on in the Nominingue community. Special thanks to Desmond Milroy, Matt Cromey, Nicky Lightstone and Adrian Lightstone for helping to organize these get-togethers.

The next socials will be held in the fall. Dates and locations will be posted on Facebook on the Nominingue Socials Group page at http://www.facebook.com/groups/NominingueSocials/.

To get involved with CN Alumni Association, please contact John Christou at campnomininguealumni@gmail.com.

Tumpline Submissions - Soumissions pour cette lettre de nouvelles

We are looking for submissions for our newsletters from campers, staff and parents... from this summer, as well as from recent and less recent alumni. These submissions may be general memories of camp experiences or specific memories about a canoe trip, about a favourite program or a funny experience. Please send your submissions to grant@nominingue.com. You may submit your stories and memories in English, French or Spanish.

Nous sommes à la recherche de textes de campeurs, parents et de moniteurs de l'été 2012... et de souvenirs de nos anciens campeurs et moniteurs des années récentes et moins récentes. Vos textes peuvent décrire vos expériences en générale ou une excursion de canot, un programme favori ou une expérience drôle. SVP envoyez votre texte par courriel à grant@nominingue.com. Votre texte peut être écrit en français, en anglais ou en espagnol. 

Camp Nominingue | Tel. 450-267-2555 | Toll-free 866-910-1551 (Canada & US)
Email: info@nominingue.com | Web: www.nominingue.com

This e-mail is destined to all campers, parents and counsellors, current and alumni. If you would prefer not to receive occasional messages from us, please unsubscribe using the link below this message.

Ce courriel est destiné à tous les campeurs, parents et moniteurs, actuels et anciens. Si vous voulez vous désinscrire de cette liste d'envoi, svp cliquez en bas de la page.

Winter address: 112, rue Lippée, Les Coteaux, QC J7X 1J4
Summer address: 1889, chemin des Mésanges, Nominingue, QC J0W 1R0