Thank Goodness: Hard Times and Silver Linings By JJ (Jennifer Jupp) , Director NE OF THE characteristics that I believe came from my mother’s influence is Omy deep-seated belief in the goodness of others. This past summer in mid-August, while we were dealing with several stressful incidents at camp, unbeknownst to me, my 81-year-old “fit as a fiddle” mother became very ill with gastro- enteritis. She called 911 as she believed (correctly) that she was becoming dangerously dehydrated. When she relayed the story to me weeks later of paramedics arriving in her apartment, starting an IV, and then transporting her to hospital, the salient and most reported As I sit to write this I feel absolutely Community members bought cans and details were how incredible and nice the overwhelmed by the goodness of others cans of fuel from afar and drove them paramedics were. “Boy, do they ever – by their generosity and genuine to camp. One camper parent organized know how to do their job. I couldn’t concern – by their willingness to put a large purchase of fuel in the United believe how fast they were and yet so themselves out to help us. I’m going to States (much cheaper) where it was calm! I felt so lucky.” highlight just a small number to show driven across to Canada by a friend and I’ve been told that I have a way of you what I mean. then transferred to her and then driven finding the best in people – thanks Due to dry conditions, our site and to camp! This amount of effort was Mum! Sometimes, I find that this takes most of our canoe trips were under a remarkable and positively impacted our some effort and sometimes the fire ban. This lasted for 7 of our 8 ability to send trips out a few days later. goodness of others hits us smack dab in program weeks. Camping stove fuel Erin (Sunstrum) mentioned to me the face. was in very short supply to the point Like what happened this past summer. that we couldn’t purchase fuel within a ... continued on page 3 three-hour drive from camp. T H E P A D D L E R ● W I N T E R 2 0 1 9 P A G E 2 Completing a Vision: Our New Camp Kitchen By Ted Moores, Board of Director's Chair and CEO N 1956 WHEN Stan and Laura- Belle opened Wanapitei as a kids co-ed camp, (I was a young camper that year), one of their Igoals, among many, was to replace the old kitchen. This turned out to be more of a challenge than first expected because it not only required a substantial infusion of capital, more importantly, the camp can’t operate without a kitchen. Though there have been many upgrades over the years, the basic kitchen has remained the same. Now, 63 years later, a new kitchen The camp kitchen in the 80s…. Not much had changed since the original building, nor did much structure is up and the internal change in the decades to folow. finishing will render it ready for the 2019 season. This is a relatively small in the history of the camp, and I’d say sustain the camp financially. In 1971 as item in the overall scheme of creating a it’s the final piece that completes Stan they were retiring from leading the great camp, but a significant milestone and Laura-Belle’s original vision. camp, their son, Bruce, myself, and five If you haven’t heard any of the back others purchased the kids camp from story, it’s heartwarming, and if you them, (they kept the Chateau), and we have, bear with me for a paragraph. In created a cooperative, which now has the late 1920s Stan and Laura-Belle 240+ owners. were on a camping trip, they used to In the 1960s Wanapitei began to say it was their honeymoon, and emerge as a leader in adventuresome Volume 22, Number 1 camped at Sandy Inlet on the Father canoe trips. This became the central Winter 2019 Paradis site, (now Wanapitei). Their strength of the camp and with the dream then was to someday have a kids’ leadership of Laura-Belle and Stan’s EDITOR ..................................... JENNIFER JUPP DESIGN & LAYOUT ......... ERIN SUNSTRUM camp there. Thirty years later they grand kids, nieces and nephews, (mostly secured the camp from Ed Archibald, Shawn, Glenn and Geoff), Wanapitei The Paddler is published by Camp Wanapitei Co-Ed Camps Ltd. who had started a boys camp there in cemented itself as an outstanding canoe Canada’s premier canoe-tripping camp since 1931, 1931 and was ready to retire, and they trip camp. With this focus, a new based in Temagami, Ontario. went about crafting their vision. Of kitchen became less urgent but Off-season address: course it wasn’t all roses. The camp was remained on the list. Last year I found Camp Wanapitei 17B Southampton Street wonderful, but always an economic a plan for a new kitchen that I had Guelph, ON N1H 5N3 challenge. The senior Hodgins held the drafted up in 1966 when I was the PHONE: (519) 767-9714 OR (888) 637-5557 vision and value that function was more senior trip leader at the camp. SUMMER PHONE: (705) 237-8830 important than profit, and that value of With the new millennium, we began E-MAIL: [email protected] INTERNET: www.wanapitei.net theirs remains at the core of Wanapitei ... continued on page 29 today. Accepting that, the task was to P A G E 3 T H E P A D D L E R ● W I N T E R 2 0 1 9 in the same situation at her desk. Her unfaltering efforts to bring Camp Wanapitei into the top Thank Goodness discussions at the MNRF on that day in July resulted in the road ... Continued fom page 1 being opened the following morning and allowing Session 3-4 recently that she was very moved by the to run. parent community continuing to believe My final story for sharing is by in Camp Wanapitei and canoe tripping no means sharing with you, our despite the numerous alterations to trip readers, the extent of the goodness routes and trip style due to forest fires of others that we received in the limiting our options. We found that summer of 2018. This story when we emailed a group of parents involves an incident that occurred regarding their child’s canoe trip route on one of our Bay Trips that changes – some of which were drastic – involved the group, along with their there remained in the parents an leaders, being separated from their unfaltering support of our efforts to gear and spending a night waiting keep on tripping and usually an offer of for rescue. Whereas usually, the help. “Let us know if we can do OPP would have access to anything to help.” helicopters for such a mission and/ In mid-July the Red Squirrel Road or we at Wanapitei would hire a (our only land access to camp) was private helicopter. Not in the closed by the MNRF (Ministry of summer of 2018! The MNRF had Natural Resources and Forestry) due to control of all helicopters except for forest fires in the area. If it remained one search-and-rescue (which on the chopper – maybe it wasn’t in the control closed, we would be unable to bring night in question was being used of the MNRF. There followed an campers into camp for Week 3. It elsewhere). We were feeling stressed as immense amount of effort and time looked like we were not going to be able we talked to trip leaders via satellite from the Detour Lake Mine as they to run the session. In one business day, phone. A rookie OPP officer on the evacuated our campers and later went in we had colleagues on the lake willing to night shift made us an offer. He said and retrieved personal items and camp help transport by water, colleagues in that he would check in with the group gear from the site. During this time, Mattawa willing to be an outpost for us every hour to get them through the we had countless offers of help from if we chose to have all Pioneer campers night. He said he would talk to us every parents of campers on that canoe trip. start from their site, and parents of hour as well. This is what happens Various parents were on standby, ready Week 3-4 campers patiently waiting to when people act with their heart. His to purchase gear and clothing for hear from us. Had parents panicked idea, along with his calm, reassuring campers who were not even their own and overwhelmed us with questions on voice and position (an OPP officer!) was kids and drive stuff to camp so that we email or on the phone, we would have a game changer for us and for the group. could get the trip out again. The story been unable to do the non-stop work The campers and leaders knew that had a happy ending as gear and clothing with the MNRF to get the road they had an OPP officer all night with was retrieved and the trip resumed and opened. Speaking of the MNRF, we scheduled check ins. completed on a different route. worked for two full days with a This final incident is a longer I could take the whole Paddler to supervisor in North Bay named Julie.