October 1993

Letter from the President's Desk

Dear friends,

To those of you who attended our Third Annual Meeting and First Annual Auction, thank you for coming. To those of you who were unable to attend, we hope to see you there next year because we had an extremely productive meeting and a great time at the auction. Since the meeting, we have heard from a few members who said they didn't know or couldn't remember when it was. Just in case you want to start planning early, the meeting and auction are always held on the first Saturday in August at Camp Squanto. Therefore next year's meeting and auction will be held on August 6th. We would love to see you there.

The main reason of the meeting was to review the activities of the Camp SQuanto Alumni Association and renew friendships with former staff members and old friends. In addition to raising funds for the preservation of Camp Squanto, the Alumni Association is sponsor and overseer of the Edward Christophers Memorial Fund, the Casoni Center Museum and, as of the Annual Meeting, Explorer Post 25. During the meeting Joanne Christophers Carpenter spoke about the Christophers Memorial Fund; Paul Chapin, the curator of the Museum, reported on the status of the museum; Kevin Guarino, the newly elected Advisor of Explorer Post 25, detailed some of his ideas about the new Post; and, not surprisingly, yours truly asked for money to fund all of these activities. With that in mind, we closed the meeting and began the First Annual Auction.

There was a slight murmur of disappointment in the crowd when it was announced that our guest auctioneer was unable to attend. However, the murmur changed to a buzz of anticipation when our very own Trustee, Mike Warner, took over the gavel. In fact, a few attendees were seen clutching their wallets or attempting to hide their checkbook from their significant other. Their attempts to protect their personal finances went for naught however as Mike charmed his way into their hearts and had family members bidding against each other. When the dust finally settled and Mike had finally stopped talking, we had raised over $800 for the Alumni Association with only twenty items on the block.

We are already looking forward to surpass this effort next year. In that vein, we are already asking our members to contribute any items they may be able to contribute for next years auction. Items may be sent to us at our mailing address or left with any Trustee. We hope to have at least forty items by June of next year and need contributions from as many members as possible. The auction proved to be such a successful fundraiser and we need to better our efforts each year in order to sponsor all of the activities we oversee.

As I mentioned earlier, our newest activity is the sponsorship of our Explorer Post at Camp Squanto. The creation of the Post was ratified by the voting members at the Annual Meeting and since that time Post Advisor Kevin Guarino has wasted not time in getting it up and running. The Post members chose number 25 in honor of the fact that Camp Squanto was founded on Bloody Pond in 1925. Currently there are 32 youth members and 7 adult members of the Post making it the largest Explorer Post in Old Colony Council. The Post has already held its first meeting, elected its officers and planned its first campout. More information is included in this newsletter.

Finally, many of our members enjoy hearing about each camping season. We have prepared a brief article entitled Summer Camp Recap, which may be of interest. Please take a moment to read through the various articles and announcements in this newsletter and, if you get the urge, send us a note about your activities with suggestions for the Association. As always, I look forward to hearing from you and hopefully seeing you before next summer.

Very truly yours,
Thomas J. O'Brien President

Third Annual Meeting Report

Another fine day greeted the Third Annual meeting of the Camp Squanto Alumni Association. On Saturday August 7th the members came together to hear the annual reports and share in some fun together. The Treasurer reports that we have more than doubled our income again this year, but we also spent more than twice as much as last year.

There were presentations made by Paul Chapin, the Casoni Museum Curator, in which he presented the current inventory of the museum. This list has more than 3000 items on it, and Paul says there's another 3000 to add to the list. There was another presentation from the Edward Christophers family explaining their goals and their wishes to work together to achieve these goals for Camp Squanto.

After the meeting there were doorprizes, food and the auction. After the meeting there was the Auction, a good laugh and some excellent items made this an event to remember. The meeting ended with the members attending the Dedication Ceremonies of the Ed Christopher's Village.

Again it was a wonderful day with over 42 friends and their families in attendance. For those of you who missed it we will be meeting next year on Saturday August 6th at Camp Squanto. Hope to see you there.

1st Annual Auction

Going once, twice, three times sold! That was the phrase of the day at the CSAA's First Auction. Auctioneer Mike Warner and his lovely assistant Paul Chapin kept everyone entertained and the bids flowing for the hour long auction. The highlights of the auction were the patch and neckerchief collections and the signed prints from Randy Julius. These were truly special items.

A special thanks goes to those of you who donated items for the auction, the Association raised over $804 thanks to the donators and the bidders. We are planning on doing this again next year so mark it on your calendar now.

Camp Director Appointed

After much searching, a new Camp Director has been appointed for the 1994 season. Mr. Ken Palladino of Weymouth will be Director for the upcoming season. Ken was the Assistant Provisional Scoutmaster in 1992 and Assistant Camp Director in 1993. He is a Middle School teacher, is married and is involved in his community as well as Troop 2232 of Weymouth. Ken is looking forward to a great year next year and we wish him the best of luck.

Ed Christophers Awards

Starting this year the CSAA and the family of Ed Christophers has, began the awarding of several awards to the Staff of Camp Squanto. The first of these is the Essay Writing Award which was won by Sefton Caldwell of Brockton. He had to describe the attributes that make a good leader as well as what the Spirit of Squanto means to him. He received $100.00 for the splendid essay he wrote.

The Staff Leadership Award, which is bestowed upon the staffman who has exhibited the best example of leadership, is voted upon by the other members of the staff. This year a tie resulted in the following recipients, Jim Rottler of Randolph and Joe Poletto of Wrentham who each received $50.00.

The Leading Scout Leadership Award of $50.00 was presented this year to Austin Glass of Bridgewater.

Upcoming Events

Annual Meeting August 6, 1994

Camp Squanto Recap

Well another summer camp season fades into the sunset over Faun Pond. It was once again another excellent year for scouting, advancement and fun at Camp Squanto. The new Kitchen proved its worth with peak weeks over 450 people, and the new Staff Village was home to another excellent Staff. Beyond the physical changes there are always the program and badge offerings, afternoon swims and the ranges for fun.

The 1993 season was seven weeks long, 1 staff and 6 camper weeks. During the course of the summer 1216 scouts and explorers attended. There were 74 Troops attending of which 6 were from out of council. Brendan Connolly returned to do another excellent job as Program Director while Woody, Brad Stoddard and Kevin Guarino were the Commissioners. Bill Webb returned as Brian Bishop's able assistant. Steve Goveia returned as business manager and his wife Rita was once again our nurse.

Some other familiar faces this year at Camp were George Morrissey, Program Assistant; Bill Keefe, Provisional Scoutmaster; Gary Hyman, Activities Director; Bill Murphy, Range Officer; Jim Rottler, Waterfront Director and David Saas, Chef. It is always reassuring that so many Staff return year after year to keep the Spirit of Squanto alive.

This year many projects were finished at camp. The underground water system was completed with several fire hydrants placed around the Central Area. Chippewa was the newest campsite completed and used along with Deleware. The latrine was a prototype to be used throughout the camp in the future, one half can be used by the handicapped as well as females.

The Social Calendar

We heard from many of our members this year.

Matt Bronski came back from Czechoslovakia and visited us at the Annual Meeting.
Ken Doyon is married and living in Freetown.
Paul Denoncourt of Ellsworth, Maine, is an orthopedic surgeon. After visiting camp this summer and receiving the large number of requests from incapacitated staffmen, he is considering a move because of the tremendous business opportunities presented here.
John Finney is married with 2 children in Carver.
Tim Finney lives in Avon, MA with his wife and 2 children.
Tom Finney, who is a Veterinarian in N.Dartmouth, MA., is married with a year old daughter Emily.
Jim Kippenhan, stationed on the USS Kennedy visited on opening night.
David MacDonald of Plymouth is now in the U.S.M.C. located in Beaufort, S.Carolina.
Jim Olsen lives in Sunderland, MA and is at U Mass working on his Masters in Hospitality Human Resources Management.
Joe Salvetti also arrived at the Annual Meeting with his family.

News from the Explorer Post

Our Post Advisor Kevin Guarino made an excellent report to the Association at the Annual Meeting. He reports that there are 32 youth members and 7 adults making them the largest Post in the Council. The first meeting of the Post was held at Camp Squanto on September 12th and the following Officers were elected:

President ...........................Shane Varnum
VP Activities .....................Nathan Wood
VP Administration .............Chris Emond
Treasurer ..........................Kim Best
Secretary...........................Jen Burton

The Post will meet once each month at Camp Squanto and their first campout is planned for the weekend of October 29-31 at Camp.

Christophers Village Dedication

The Ed Christophers Village was officially dedicated on August 7th at Camp Squanto. It was a fine day and we all had a chance to see the wonderful adirondacks and campsite that the Christophers family and the CSAA brought about. Joanne Carpenter, Ed's daughter, thanked all who attended and those who helped contribute to the project and remarked that the new village is a great reminder of the values her father represented; generosity and leadership. The ceremony concluded with the raising of the American flag on the new flagpole at the central area of the village and as we repeated the Pledge of Allegiance, there was a look of pride in everyone there.

Please stop by and visit the site, the Christophers family still has more plans and any donations will be gratefully accepted.

Kitchen Renovation Update

The Kitchen Renovation is close to completion. The inside kitchen and pantry areas were gutted, rearranged and modernized. A new stove hood replaced the old chimney that was in the center of the kitchen. A new Walk-in refrigerator was built directly off the loading dock, with doors leading into the kitchen and onto the dock.

Many people donated their time and finances to this renovation, including the Camp Squanto Alumni Association, but over $4000 is still needed to pay for the effort. Any donations you care to make may be directed through the Association towards the Kitchen Renovation Project.

Wanted: These Folks

Looking through twenty or so years of names of those who attended Camp Squanto is not an enviable job. Our membership committee needs a helping hand in this task and has asked us to see if any of you out there know of the whereabouts of the following people. Also, if you know of anyone who wants to be on our mailing list, let us know.

Silver Deer Awarded

This summer we saw the Squanto Silver Deer awarded to a man who has, over the years made our camp a more beautiful and interesting place. Mr. Herb Clark, the Carver Carver, was awarded the Silver Deer on August 11th for his unselfish donations of time and energy to the facilities and people of Camp Squanto. Mr. Clark was responsible for the carving of the three Totem Poles that are found in both Camp Squanto and Camp Child. His tireless dedication to the Camp and its attendees is inspiring to all of us and as such is an excellent choice for this year's Silver Deer.

Next Year's Plans

The summer has just ended and Brian and Joe have already planned enough work to occupy their time for next season. Among the projects planned for next year are:

A Central Leader's Shower facility
Finishing the Miniature Golf course
Leveling and reseeding the Ball Field
Retrofit the latrines for female and handicapped access
Add 24 Lower Elements to the Ropes Course
Begin the Staff and Leader Lounge

Contributions

The Association doesn't just need warm bodies, it needs cold hard cash. As we get older and more sure of ourselves, we will be running more events and opportunities to get together, but in the meantime, we are always willing to accept contributions. Any amount you can spare will be appreciated and put to good use, as well as being tax deductible.

Business Space Available

There is still advertising space available in the Alumni News. All proceeds from advertising space will go towards the printing and mailing expenses of this newsletter. Please support those who advertise in the Alumni News, remember that these are the businesses of fellow Association members.

If you are interested in advertising, please contact Mike Warner as to available space and rates.

Submissions

We welcome original submissions for articles. Articles should pertain to Camp Squanto or the Camp Squanto Alumni Association in general. Articles should be typed

If you have questions or would like more information about the newsletter, please call Mike Warner, Editor.

Maintained by John Mileris.
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