Member Monday Time! This week with Randy McConnell. When did you go to camp, and what did you do there? I went to Camp Edwards for most years of my childhood, about age 4 through 21, which included Labor Day Family Camp almost every year and one-week sessions as a camper when I was of appropriate age. I then went on to the LIT program at age 14, the JL Program at 15, and then was an ACL for a summer, followed by two summers as a Cabin Leader. Good times! What have you been up to since you were last at camp? I believe the last time I was at CE was a Labor Day Family Camp at around age 20-21, and since then a LOT has changed, including graduating from University of Illinois with a Bachelors Degree in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences and moving to Colorado. After moving out of Urbana, I found myself around Carbondale, Colorado, which is about 30 minutes from Aspen. I spend my summers using my degree working for the US Forest Service in Carbondale and I spend my winters using the people skills I learned at Camp Eds as a Lift Operator on Aspen Mountain. I get a lot of satisfaction helping people in the winter and helping toads and trout (as a fisheries technician) in the summers. Life is good! Whats your favorite... Camp memory? Of all of the memories that I made at Camp Eds, there are a few that stick out. I think my favorite of all would be the time my brother Stan and I performed a Ben Harper song for all of the campers and it seemed to hit everyone like an emotional freight train. Most of our friends and fellow counselors were brought to tears. Not sure how much it affected some of the younger campers, but still it was a truly beautiful moment with a powerful song. Camp song? This summer I spent a few days with the Wishy-washy-washer-woman song stuck in my head. It was a love-hate thing at the time, but I have always enjoyed screaming that song. Also Leaving on a Jet Plane was always my favorite slow song to end a summer session. That song still makes me think of the campfires out at The Amphitheater. Camp meal? The ideal day of camp meals would be something like this: Start the day with about 3 Ed McMuffins with tons of hot sauce on each, hit the morning programs then recharge with as many Mini Corn Dogs I could stuff in my face during the short lunch time. After a siesta/food coma, Id spend the rest of the day looking forward to scrubbing up and catching a big plate of baked chicken with mashed potatoes. Fighting that second round of food coma would be perilous, but worth it to fall into my middle-bunk once bedtime rolled around. Camp activity? Swimming during Family Camp! Nothing beats the freedom of crowding the raft in the blue section with a bunch of cousins to get rowdy. Being among the oldest and biggest of the cousins, Id find myself alone on the raft after little struggle throwing the little ones off into the water (sorry to all of the lifeguards over the years!) Theme day? Pirates vs. Ninjas Day! This was one of those days that ALL of the kids would love. It was a lot of fun playing capture the flag or similar games in the A-Field dressed up as a pirate or ninja. It was on this day that i usually got to spend a bit more time on my sailboat on good ol Lake Beulah (pirates rule!). At this point in my life, I am certain that not a day goes by that I dont think or do something because of my experiences at Camp Edwards. Being all grown up isnt so bad when I have all of those memories. Through life-lessons and lifelong friends, Ill never forget Camp Edwards. Cant wait to get back there again!
Posted on: Tue, 11 Feb 2014 01:46:40 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015