The
Brantley’s had a very exciting holiday season this year! The youngest
Brantley boy, Chase, appeared as a principal role in
Autumn
has arrived in the mountains and the colors are just spectacular! Camp
is perfectly breathtaking…the sky is as clear and blue as you could
imagine, while the entire mountainside is glowing in crimson and gold,
as the sunlight dances through the vibrant leaves. The evergreens stand
tall and firm among the yellow poplars and red maples, echoing the comforting
sentiment that some things at Halloween 2006
October
14, 2006 There was a great deal of excitement this month here at Merrie-Woode! A full scale rescue mission was launched by the local Fire Department after Julie’s cat, Smokey, managed to get herself stuck up in a tree. It is still unknown what prompted the small cat to ascend the tree, although there are unconfirmed reports circulating that Travis’ terrier, Oakie, chased her up the white pine. Smokey spent a full thirty-six hours perched on a branch, sixty feet above the ground in Fritz’s front yard. Poor Julie was beside herself, trying anything she could think of to coax her beloved cat down. But alas, even open cans of tuna, wafting from down below, could not convince the terrified little Smokey to head back to solid ground. When at last all else had failed, the Fire Dept. was called in for backup. The shining, red ladder truck headed down the camp road in all its glory, filled with brave men answering to the call of our desperate and distressed cat owner. After assessing the situation, they parked and positioned the fire truck in the counselor parking lot and began to extend the ladder out through the evergreen branches. There was a brief scare as a firefighter began to climb the ladder and a spooked Smokey jumped up to a higher branch. But all ended well when the firefighter returned back with a shaking, yet safe, Smokey cradled in his arms. Julie and her cat were joyfully reunited, making for a very happy ending. Both owner and pet seem to be doing fine after this trauma, and there seem to be no lingering effects of the turmoil.
May
5, 2006
Congratulations
to both couples, and we wish you the very best of luck as you begin
your lives together. April
6, 2006
March
19, 2006
Visitation
Day is Sunday, July 16th. We
have noticed a typo in the Parent Handbook that was recently mailed
out. In the handbook, Visitation Day is listed
as July 17th, a Monday. This is incorrect. Please
make sure you mark the right date in your calendars.
March
2, 2006 After many hours of assembling forms and stuffing envelopes, the 2006 Camper Packets are on their way to you! Please remember the forms are due back to camp by May 1st. Be sure to check your mailbox soon for the familiar packet, which signifies that summer is just around the corner!
We
received a nice snowfall here at Merrie-Woode this past weekend. Camp
is truly breathtaking covered in the snow. Everything just seems to
sparkle. All the cabins lined up next to the water look so peaceful
with little white roofs, like hats placed daintily on their heads.
Things are progressing on the big back line! Our facilities staff is working hard to get the back line cabins finished before summer. We now have the beginning stages of the brand new Dogwood, not to worry, it's still the same ol' Dogwood - just standing a little straighter and it has a few less holes these days! The rock wall behind the cabins looks wonderful. We can't wait to see what the whole line will look like! January
28, 2006 Sections
of Western North Carolina were hit with horrific winds a few nights
ago. Some winds measured at Grandfather Mountain were nearly 200 miles
per hour. Unfortunately, Lily Pad January
27, 2006 January
19, 2006 Be
sure to check out the new camper lists for the 2006 summer. See all
your old friends and cabin mates who will be returning this year. Summer
will be here before you know it!
January
15, 2006 There
are two new additions to the Merrie-Woode office this week!
|
camp
will always remain the same. The still lake is stretched out like a
smooth sheet of glass, reflecting every thread of the rich tapestry
back up towards the heavens. Soon the leaves will have fallen and winter
will be on its way. The Lady of Lake will retreat deeper into Lake Fairfield,
protecting the Spirit of Merrie-Woode from the coming frost, until once
again the spring will emerge with the anticipation of arriving campers.
As the seasons change, think back fondly on the little moments of camp…the
ringing of dinner bells, the morning Castles, stargazing over Old Bald…and
know that they are treasured by generation after generation of Merrie-Woode
girls. I long once more for the blaze of a campfire flickering over
a sea of green and grey, swaying to the tune of “…love is
where you find it, and I found mine here…” For I did find
mine here, and even on a glorious fall day such as today, it is the
memories of summer that stick with me the most.
Well,
break out the candy corn and pass out the hot apple cider! It’s
All Hallows Eve and the camp dogs are on their way out to go Trick-or-Treating!
Sam, Gracie, and Scout are all decked out in their costumes. Sam was
very appropriately dressed as the Devil, looking oh so menacing. Gracie
decided to go as the Tajar, full of folly and prepared to dance out
in the moonlight tonight. And Scout, the lovely lady of the group, wore
an exquisite tutu with dazzling sequins. (This is what happens to dogs
whose owners have a full Costume Shoppe at their disposal. Lindsay knew
she should have locked that thing up for the off-season!) 
Wedding
bells were echoing through the valley here at Merrie-Woode last week!
Counselor, Bae Parker, and our Head Chef, Silas Cimino-Hurt tied the
knot on April 29th in a beautiful ceremony. Lake Fairfield was a breathtaking
backdrop, while Old Bald looked majestically down on the bride and groom,
silhouetted by the hemlocks. The happy couple will both return to camp
for the summer. Silas will head up our kitchen for his fifth year, while
Bae continues her work as the head of jewelry.
And
in a surprise ceremony on April 24th, Brian Brown and Hayley Hardin
were married in Brevard, NC! Brian has worked on the mountaineering
and facilities staff for several years, and Hayley has spent her last
four summers on our mountaineering staff, and helped us in the office
last spring. The newlyweds, and their dog, Lucky are moving to Swansboro,
NC to live on Brian’s family farm. Needless to say, it proved to
be a week full of joyful unions in the Merrie-Woode family! 
We
are thrilled to announce Merrie-Woode’s 2006 Main session musical,
Singin’ in the Rain! Made famous by Gene Kelly in the film
version of the same name, Singin’ in the Rain is the wonderfully
funny story of the arrival of talking pictures in 1920’s Hollywood.
Hilarious situations, snappy dialogue, and kooky characters make up
this zany, lighthearted musical comedy. The hit score includes songs
such as All I Do is Dream of You, Broadway Rhythm, Good Mornin’,
Moses Supposes, Make ‘Em Laugh, and of course the famous title
number. So don’t forget to pack your raincoat and galoshes, because
Singin’ in the Rain is splashing onto the Castle stage this summer!
We’ve
been out and about over the past several weeks! We've been staff recruiting
from Sewanee to UGA to Hollins to Washington and Lee to UVA. We've had
a lot of laughs with our staff from last summer and some of our old
campers, 
now
in college. We also spent time in Charlotte, NC. 
March
9, 2006 
Old
Bald is positively majestic, and somehow seems older and wiser covered
in snow, as he looks down over the land that appears so pure and serene.
The valley is quiet and still as it lies in wait for its girls to return,
yet if you listen closely you can still hear the laughter and mirth
echoing softly in the rustle of the pine trees and the call of the loon
on the lake. As I walk through camp this winter, I am reminded of the
words of Dammie Day from a 1929 Christmas letter, “When I think
of you and you think of me in the winter months, I wonder if you are
as keenly aware as I am of the great fellowship to which we belong…Soon
the winter will pass, and the forsythia and dogwood will bloom again,
and our hearts will turn to the hills and the lake and the sky. The
call of camp comrades will echo above the din of the city and we’ll
be ‘going back to the best old camp of all!’”
The
High Hampton Inn and Country Club will begin hosting "Drop-Off-Eve"
receptions for the campers and their families. Many alumni and parents
of campers have been trying to get together in an effort to catch up,
share stories, and meet new campers and families that have Camp Merrie-Woode
in common. The McKee family, the owners and operators of High Hampton
and long-time Merrie-Woode family, have now made this possible. They
are planning adult gatherings in the downstairs lounge with a youth
social just outside on the back porch. It should be a lot of fun and
a great way to celebrate the beginning of the camp session. You can
get information on accommodation packages and you can reserve rooms,
cottages, or homes by visiting their web site at 
February
4, 2006 
was
not strong enough to survive. Lily Pad was originally constructed in
1994 by the production crew of Follow The River. The movie was partially
filmed here at Camp Merrie-Woode and had many local residents as extras.
It was built for the movie to be the trading post for the small village
depicted in the film. Since then, it has been known as every camper’s
favorite picnic shelter. We all gather on Sunday afternoons where Fritz
and the boating or mountaineering staff cook up a hot dog and hamburger
picnic. With back-line cabin construction underway, there may not be
enough time to re-build it before the summer, but we’ll do something
to ensure that our Sunday picnics continue. Farewell Lily Pad (or Frog
Pavilion as Jim has been known to call it).
