Tumpline August 2014
Published: Fri, 08/08/14
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First Canoe Trip Katie WinningComing to Camp Nominingue for the first time, it didn't take me long to find out about the countless successful canoe trips that are completed each summer at camp. Although, I had zero canoeing experience, I knew I wanted nothing more than to be a part of this tradition that Nominingue prides itself on. I learned the basic skills on a staff trip that I went on before camp started which was enough to have landed my first 3-day trip to the falls as a co-leader. I wanted my campers to get the exact same experience they would on any other trip with a more experienced counsellor, which meant I had to spend my free time improving the skills I had. I even woke up at 6am with another counsellor who took me out in canoe so I was able to practice sterning and portaging of a canoe. It was the day before my trip and my stress levels started increasing as I started questioning why I was chosen to do this trip. Part of me wanted to quit but I knew if I did, I would truly regret not being apart of one of Camp Nominingue's great traditions. On the morning of departure, my nerves seemed to have disappeared and I was more excited than anything. This was also the first canoe trip for most of the campers, so I felt it to be very important that I didn't show them my nervousness, but instead talked about how much fun we were going to have and all the exciting things we were going to do. Although there were a couple of small issues that arose during the trip, it didn't take away from all the fun times we had. Looking back on the trip, I remember the kids laughing while swimming in the falls even though it was a cold day; singing at the top of our lungs while canoeing; experimenting with the food options we had left over on the last evening; watching the sunset over the lake while skipping stones; and the best memory was having the campers create their own song about the entire trip and have them sing it with big smiles on their faces while paddling back into camp. I found the trip to be a complete success and I loved seeing myself and all the campers challenge ourselves and learn skills that we wouldn't have learned anywhere else! Manuan Canoe Trip Part V 1936Canoe tripping has been an important part of the Nominingue experience since 1925. Although many of the routes are no longer available and some elements of the experience have changed, the essence of the canoe trip remains the same - learning to work together as a team; enduring difficulties caused by inclement weather; travelling through the Canadian wilderness and meeting the challenges that each new day brings. Bill Stobo, Duncan Duclos, Herb Owen, John Hay, Stewart Hamilton, F.M. Van Wagner Canoes weighed 80 lbs when well-dried and over 90 lbs wet. Total weight of packs and all equipment was 350 lbs. A double blanket was carried for each person, each weighing up to 8 lbs. Travelled 60 lakes in 14 days. Wednesday August 19 Stewart and I were up early and went out fishing, but caught only one or two little dore. After breakfast, we tried more fishing, taking a few more dore. These I cleaned and we carried along for our evening meal. We broke camp at 10 am. The first portage, about a half mile in length, started out through a swamp, giving us a little more practice at log walking, at which we were pretty expert by this time. The next lake along the route was without a name, just another of the thousands of small unnamed lakes across the country. The next portage, perhaps a mile and a half, led us to Lac à la Culotte, where we stopped for lunch and a few members of the party had a swim. While we were having lunch, a strong wind started blowing from the south. We made all haste to get started and to cross the lake before a storm should break and delay us, for we wanted to reach Hamilton's campsite at the north end of Lac Dore. At the beginning of the portage, the party stopped to eat some of the quantities of blueberries and raspberries that were abundant there. This portage was a very short one leading to a small lake. Crossing this little lake, there was another portage to another little lake, through which the Dore River flows. The next portage led up a steep hill along a rocky path, then down to Lac Dore, just where the river from Lac à la Culotte plunges down a rocky gorge into the lake. A strong wind was blowing out of the south-west, but in this narrow area of the lake, we were fairly well sheltered, and experienced no difficulty until reaching the big lake, where we were forced to put in at the log cabin where the guardian of the fire tower made his home. It was too early to make camp so we waited, hoping that the wind would fall, so that we could continue up the lake to our campsite about six miles distant. As the wind showed no signs of letting up, we finally decided to camp where we were. A fire was built near the lake with the canoes placed to break the wind. Here, we ate the dore taken from the Nemikachi and enjoyed them very much. This was the first time fish had been eaten, but was not to be the last. Our tent was pitched back at the edge of the woods where boughs were close at hand and where we were out of the wind. The ranger invited us to sleep in the cabin, but after an inspection, his kind invitation was declined with thanks, for the truth of the matter was that the ranger was none too careful a housekeeper! Three members of the party retired early, but Herb, Duncan and I paid the ranger a call and spent a most interesting evening in his company. When we left, he invited us to use his stove to cook our breakfast the next morning. This offer we gladly accepted. Family Camp 2014 - Camp familial 2014The summer is flying by! It is hard to believe that Family Camp begins in just over two weeks. If you are wondering how to end your summer vacation with a bang, Camp Nominingue's Family Camp might be the perfect solution. Family Camp begins on Wednesday, August 20th and runs until Sunday, August 24th. If you want more information, please contact the office. The best way to sign-up is by registering online. L'été avance à grands pas! C'est difficile à croire que notre camp familial débute en seulement deux semaines. Êtes-vous à la recherche d'une expérience magique pour terminer l'été? Notre camp familial, une tradition depuis 1984, saura combler vous et votre famille! Le camp familial commence mercredi le 20 août et termine dimanche le 24 août. Si vous souhaitez plus d'informations, svp communiquez avec le bureau. La meilleure façon de vous inscrire est en ligne internet à partir de notre site internet. Informations Camp Familial 2014 Lives Lived - Alexander Doc Millerby George Springate, a long-time friend of Doc First appeared in the Globe & Mail Physician, husband, father, grandfather. Born on June 21, 1923, in Montreal; died on Jan. 31, 2014, in Peterborough, Ont., of complications from a fall, aged 90. Camp Nominingue counsellor 1943-46; grandfather of Jen Miller, current Camp Waterfront Director. Alec Miller wasn't simply smart. He was brilliant, with a sharp analytical mind and an amazing memory. This exceptional combination brought him, at the age of 16, to study science at Montreal's McGill University, where he met and embraced his twin loves: Shirley Mooney and the practice of medicine, two partnerships that would last a lifetime. After completing his fellowship in internal medicine, Alec took over the practice of a former chief of staff at Montreal General Hospital, and kept an office outside the hospital his entire career. In the 1950s, he began working at Queen Mary Veterans' Hospital, eventually serving as its chief of medicine. He later became the first chief of internal medicine at Montreal General, and was also the longest-serving secretary of its department of medicine. In one of the back rows of the hospital's Osler Amphitheatre is a chair that bears a rare honour: a plaque with Alec's name on it. It was the chair he faithfully occupied every week at the end of Medical Grand Rounds. Late in his career, he was appointed medical director of a ward for frail, elderly patients transitioning to long-term care. His appointment was in part a gesture in recognition of his long service to the hospital. What was not expected, however, was the degree to which he embraced the care of these patients. He hired the best and brightest clinicians to work there and partnered with Standard Life Assurance Company of Canada, where he worked as a consultant, to "adopt" the ward, refurbishing and supporting it with a steady stream of volunteers. Alec was born to Scottish immigrant parents and grew up in Côte-Saint-Paul/Ville-Émard, one of Montreal's blue-collar neighbourhoods. Although his career path took him to the top of the hill in affluent Westmount, he never forgot his roots, forever regaling everyone with stories about the "hood." I know of no one who cultivated warmer, or longer lasting, friendships. Whether you were a CEO or janitor, you had Alec's respect. He did not stand on pomp and ceremony and did not want to be called "Doctor." He insisted that you call him "Doc." And Doc it was. Doc and Shirley had three sons, Bruce, Fraser and Colin. Every Friday at 7 p.m., they would bundle the boys into the car and head north to Lac Brûlé in the Laurentians, where the kids learned how to swim, fish and operate a motor boat, and where eight grandchildren had their first ride on a lawn tractor and learned to ski. Doc's trusty black bag was always at his side. Fraser, now a physician himself, recalls being six years old and accompanying his dad on summertime rounds in the lakeside communities of Lac Brûlé. No student ever had a better start to a medical education. The Miller home was always open. I was a Liberal member of the National Assembly, and my visits were often late at night. Shirley would put something on the stove while Alec and I discussed politics. In the fall of 1976, I stood for re-election, this time in the riding of Westmount. I asked Doc to act as my official agent. He agreed, knowing we would capture the riding but lose the province. On Nov. 15, 1976, René Lévesque's Parti Québécois was swept to power. Doc had a front-row seat, witnessing the Canadian political landscape change forever. In 2010, he and Shirley moved to Peterborough, Ont., to be closer to two children and their families. Last October, Alec's cherished wife passed away after 64 years of marriage. A few months later, he fell. Officially, his death was due to complications of that fall. But we all know Doc really died of a broken heart. Burned! Thomas Jean-Brown 2009-2014Cooking marshmallows is an art...Each person does have their own vision of the perfect marshmallow! Alumni Association News / Nouvelles de l'association des anciensIn the June edition of the Tumpline, we included a letter from Colin Robertson asking for donations for the Camp library. In the same edition, we informed you of the death of Chris Shatilla, a camper and staff member from the 1980s and 1990s. After reading Colin's letter, Chris' parents, Grace and Andy Shatilla, and his sister Stephanie decided to make a large donation of books to the CN library in Chris' name. A small plaque now commemorates this donation. On August 7th, Donald Cole a CN alumni visited the camp for the first time in twenty years. Donald attended camp from 1948 to 1953. He brought a photo of his camp shield with him. The odd thing is that the shield is dated 1953. Normally, all camper shields are dated by their first year at camp. Donald has no recollection of having lost his original shield. If any alumni have any reasonable or knowledgeable explanation for the date on Donald's shield, please let us know! At Family Camp this summer, the Alumni Association will be recognizing David Meisels as a Pillar of Nominingue. David began his career as a counsellor. He later returned to take on the direction of Family Camp when Trevor Smith retired from active involvement at camp. After being involved in the re-emergence of the Alumni Association, David participated in the 2011 re-branding of camp Nominingue. He has now also become a parent of a camper, with his son attending camp this summer. Please share with us news that you would like to include in the Tumpline that you think might be of interest to other Nominingue alumni. SVP envoyez nous des nouvelles que vous aimeriez inclure dans une prochaine édition du Tumpline. Alumni Weekend Our second annual CN alumni weekend will be held on Labour Day Weekend this year. The weekend will begin with dinner on Friday, August 29 and run until Sunday, August 31 after lunch. To sign up, please complete the enrolment form and return it to the camp office. Alumni Weekend 2014 Enrolment Form Alumni Socials Each spring and fall, we try to hold at least one Alumni Social in Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. Dates and locations of future get-togethers 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 john@prospectorfilms.ca. Tumpline Submissions - Soumissions pour cette lettre de nouvellesWe 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 2014... 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. | |
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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 | |
