Well, it’s that time of year again! The Second Annual Crazy Camp Photo Contest has begun! Here’s how it works…you send us your favorite goofy camp picture from this past summer. It can be anything from evening program silliness to wacky cook-out costumes. The only requirements are as follows:
1. The photo must have been taken in the summer of 2008. Email all entries to Lindsay@merriewoode.com. Winners will be announced and showcased in February right here on the “What’s New” page on the camp web site. Winners will also receive a prize in the mail! So flip through all those crazy camp pictures and pick out the best one to send us! In the meantime, here are some of our favorite pictures here in the office for you to enjoy. Last year's winners.
November
18, 2008 The award criteria includes:
 While
Denice is modest and feels that this was an effort of the entire camp
staff, medical staff, counselors and campers, we would still like to
take a moment to congratulate Denice for this honor. She certainly deserves
it. The ability of our staff and camp community to work so closely and
successfully together each summer is a reflection of her outstanding
leadership. Thank you Denice for all you do! November
11, 2008 The
new camper
lists for the 2009 summer are now posted! Be sure to check out all
your old camp friends and cabin mates that will be returning this coming
summer.
October
31, 2008 Well,
pass out the caramel apples, popcorn balls and hot cider! It's All Hallows
Eve here at Camp Merrie-Woode and the camp dogs are ready to go trick-or-treating!
They're hoping that the Range Ranger and Tajar remembered to stock up on candy this year as they donned their costumes as Wild West sheriffs and bandits. Gracie and Max dressed up as legendary lawmen Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday, while Franklin and Irma played the roles of the infamous outlaws, Jesse James and Billy the Kid. Getting four stubborn dogs, who clearly thought we were all crazy, into costumes was a scene just about as chaotic as that famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral itself! Happy Halloween, everyone!
October
4, 2008 Wedding bells were ringing on the shore of Lake Fairfield on October 4th as Lindsay Garner and Gary Hostetler said their "I Do's". It was a perfect autumn day at camp, as the water on the lake sparkled and Old Bald majestically looked down over the ceremony. Lindsay's bridesmaids, her sisters Ashley and Kaley Garner, and associate drama counselors Toni Gibbons and Tatia McMillan, were all fellow Merrie-Woode girls. Lindsay is a long time staff member, working year-round in the office and also heading up our theatre program for the past several summers. Gary has spent the past few years working on our facilities crew. Congratulations to the happy couple! September,
2008 June
1 , 2008
May
26, 2008
May
20, 2008 We are thrilled to announce the birth of Julie and Casey's new baby girl, Perry Katherine Newton! She arrived at 10:38pm on May 20, 2008, weighing in at 7 lbs. 8 oz. and measuring 20 inches long. Mom, Dad and baby are all doing well. Congratulations, Julie and Casey! We're excited to have another future Merrie-Woode girl! May
20, 2008 The Camp Merrie-Wood® newsletter for Spring 2008 is available now and a .pdf version is here on the Web site.
Big news…Merrie-Woode has another upcoming wedding to announce! Our new senior staff member, Betsy Reese, is engaged! Her fiancé, Josh Helms, proposed last Friday evening on the counselor deck at camp. Josh grew up in Charlotte, earned his undergrad degree from UNC, and a Masters in Divinity from Wake Forest in 2004. They are both looking forward to being around camp this summer and enjoying their engagement. Congratulations, Josh and Betsy!
Merrie-Woode
has a new camp dog! Max came to live with the Dunns after Debi found
him wandering around downtown Cashiers for a few days. Seeing him alone
and hungry, Debi decided to stop and take him into camp April
4, 2008 Our upcoming master plan will help to guide the future use of our land here at Camp Merrie-Woode. The result will be the continued stewardship of our 390 acres, ensuring that the "built environment" is developed and managed in harmony with the "natural environment". We are asking for input from all of our extended family - our alumnae, campers, parents, and staff - to help ensure that our master planning efforts "hit the mark". Please take some time to complete this short survey. The survey collection period is over and has been removed. Results will be available in the Fall of 2008. Thanks to everyone that particpated in the survey to help guide decisions! April
2, 2008
March
22, 2008
March
15, 2008
Get
ready for a parade of 76 trombones through camp this summer! The Main
Session musical of 2008 is The Music Man! Meredith Wilson's classic
musical of Smalltown, USA at the turn of the 20th Century follows the
story of charming, fast-talking traveling salesman Harold Hill as he
cons the people of River City, Iowa into buying instruments and uniforms
for a boys' band he promises to direct - despite the fact that he doesn't
know one note from another. His plans to skip town with the cash are
foiled when he falls for Marian the librarian, who manages to transform
him into a respectable citizen by the time the curtain falls. With a
slew of memorable songs including "Seventy-Six Trombones",
"Goodnight My Someone", "Ya Got Trouble", "Wells
The
Music Man is unquestionably one of the most beloved shows of all time.
The original production ran on Broadway for 1,375 performances and took
home five 1958 Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Actor in
a Musical for Robert Preston. The Music Man turned Robert Preston into
a star. He went on to play the title character in the 1962 film version
of The Music Man, which also starred Shirley Jones and a very young
and redheaded Ron Howard. The Broadway revival of the show in 2000 took
in eight Tony nominations as well as several As American as apple pie, the Fourth of July and Cracker Jacks all rolled into one, The Music Man is destined to become a camp favorite on the Castle stage, and seems the perfect fit for our 90th anniversary of camp! If
anyone has any old band instruments they don't use anymore, Merrie-Woode
could certainly use them this summer! If you do have an instrument to
loan for the summer, please contact Lindsay
in the camp office at 828-743-3300. February
2008
The year-round Merrie-Woode staff has just returned from a week in New Orleans, Louisiana! We had a fantastic opportunity through the St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church and their program, Rebuilding Hope In New Orleans (RHINO), to work for a week with Habitat for Humanity on the construction offive new homes that they are building on an inner-city block. Camp family members Ellie Lane and Georgia Simpson also came to join us to work for a day. A church member took us on a driving tour of the city to see the devastation that is still left even two years after Hurricane Katrina. It made it all the more inspiring to witness and be involved in the rebuilding and recovery of such a great city. We
also found some time for fun, as it was conveniently the week of Mardi
Gras! We went out on the town one night and enjoyed walking through
the French Quarter, riding in cable cars, and sipping coffee and eating
beignets at Café Du Monde. We were able to catch a few parades
while dining on the front porch of Bobby Hassinger's home. George and Fran Villere graciously opened their home to our group, with the help of Mathilde Currence and Jill Nalty, for a very traditional New Orleans dinner of red beans and rice and King Cake. Christina was especially excited at the idea of the King Cake when she heard a rumor that whomever finds the hidden baby gets to be queen for a year! We quickly informed her that it was queen for a day, not a year! We were able to see many other members of the New Orleans camp community as well, while hearing from countless Merrie-Woode families while we were in town with well wishes and endless thanks. Looking
back, it was a whirlwind of a week, but undoubtedly well worth it! For
more information on the RHINO missions program and to view pictures
of the construction site, please visit the following link: http://www.scapc.org/Pages/rhino.html January
25, 2008
Another member of our maintenance crew, Corey Pressley, is also engaged. He and Mary Ashley Cole of Cashiers, NC have decided to tie the knot. Congratulations to both couples as they start this exciting time in their lives! January
15, 2008 CAROLINE REEVES Congratulations, Caroline! Your photo made all of us in the office laugh whole-heartedly! Second
Place: Ella Janvier Your prizes will be mailed to the three of you this week!
To
the right in rotation are some of the photos that won an honorable mention.
January
11, 2008
|
December
15, 2008
November
20, 2008
We
are thrilled to announce that Denice has been chosen as the recipient
of the CCUSA Camp Director of the Year Award for 2008! Camp Merrie-Woode
has been working with CCUSA (Camp Counselors USA), one of the largest
international staff placement organizations in the country, for the
past several years to hire our outstanding internationals that we've
all grown to love. Each year CCUSA presents this award to one camp director
who they feel truly provides international students the opportunity
to influence American youth while learning about new cultures and lifestyles,
while also supporting a culturally sensitive atmosphere for all members
of their camp community. 
The
year-round Merrie-Woode staff recently took a trip over to the Smokey
Mountains to spend a day at Dollywood while the theme park was hosting
its annual BBQ and Bluegrass Festival. We all had a great time enjoying
good food, good music, and good friends. Everyone was completely soaked
on the water rides, screamed as we continued from one roller coaster
to the next, and enjoyed eating everything from BBQ to saltwater taffy
and cotton candy! The day’s activities were a nice break from the
day to day schedule of the off-season and a great way to celebrate another
successful summer.
Pre-orientation
has begun and members of the Boating, Mountaineering, Riding and Drama
staffs are all here working on their prospective activities. It's exciting
to see movement and activity in camp again as summer is finally here!
The rest of the summer counselors will arrive on Sunday, June 1st as
we prepare to open June Session! Consequently, this will be our last
post on the web site What's New page until the summer is over. You can
look for daily summer updates and photos on the ECamp site once the
June Session begins. Get excited everyone; summer is finally here!
Travis
and the guys have been very busy this year around camp! The new Weaving
Hut is completed and looks fantastic! It has much more storage, more
deck space to observe the beautiful view and a small deck down below
for campers to sit outside while sanding and painting their stools and
chairs. The new building will be a welcome addition this summer!
April
21, 2008
April
11, 2008
for
the day. He then had a trip to the vet and after confirming that no
one was looking for Max, he ended up making Merrie-Woode home. He and
Gracie have made fast friends. Max is sweet, mellow and a little bit
shy, and has proven himself to be a very agile climber. Max is excited
for camp to start and meet all his new camper friends!
We
are thrilled to announce that, after a long search, camp has hired a
new Head Counselor! Betsy Reese will join our staff this summer to fill
this full time, year-round position. Many of you will remember Betsy
from her many years here at Merrie-Woode. She was a camper from 1989
to 1996 and a counselor from 1998 to 2004. During her years as a staff
member she worked as a cabin counselor, Would-Be leader, Head of the
Waterfront and assistant to Senior Staff. She also worked in camp one
off-season to assist with the ACA audit. Her many years of camp experience,
and understanding and devotion to camp's traditions, made her the perfect
candidate for the job! Betsy has been working as a high school English
teacher at Charlotte Latin School in Charlotte, NC since 2005. She earned
her masters degree from Western Carolina University. We are very excited
to have Betsy joining us! She has long been a highly respected member
of the Merrie-Woode family by both campers and counselors alike. She
is eager to be back for her first summer on Lake Fairfield in a few
years and can't wait for the summer to start! Welcome back, Betsy! We
can't wait to have you back at camp where you belong! 
The
Merrie-Woode staff has been out on the road often the past few months.
Jim, Denice, Julie, Christina and Lindsay have been hitting the recruiting
trail hard in 2008! Staff recruiting included trips to UNC-Chapel Hill,
Wake Forest, Sewanee, UVA, Washington and Lee, and Appalachian State.
It was great to catch up with many Merrie-Woode girls on our travels
and see what everyone was up to! And now, with recruiting trips done
and summer just around the corner, it looks like we're shaping up to
have a great group of counselors this summer! 
We
all threw Julie a surprise baby shower here in the camp office last
week! Annette Herstek and Sid Long both joined the regular year-round
CMW crew to help celebrate. Denice conveniently kept Julie in a meeting
all morning in her office, while the rest of us snuck over to the program
office to decorate. By the time we were done the program office was
all decked out with balloons, streamers, posters, and baby decorations.
We all enjoyed a lovely lunch of sandwiches and soup, and dessert was
a cake designed with an ice cream container and pickles. After lunch,
everyone had a ball watching Julie open all her baby gifts! Everyone
is starting to get excited as the due date, May 18th, gets closer and
closer!
March
1, 2008
Fargo
Wagon", "Gary Indiana" and "Till There Was You",
this show moves from one show stopping number to the next. 
Drama
Desk Awards and nominations.
Jim,
Denice, Christina, and Lindsay just returned from the American Camp
Association (ACA) national conference in Nashville, Tennessee! The conference
was very informative and we came away with great ideas for camp this
summer! We also enjoyed seeing the sights in Nashville. Lindsay was
in heaven in the capital of country music! Some of the highlights of
the trip included a tour of the Ryman Auditorium where the Grand Ole
Opry is performed, line dancing at the Wild Horse Saloon, and enjoying
dinner at The Bluebird Café while listening to a group of singer-songwriters
perform their songs. Christina, a huge Dukes of Hazzard fan, was thrilled
to see the orange Dodge Charger, General Lee, used in filming the television
show. It was a great visit in Nashville! In typical camp style, we worked
hard, played hard, and came back home exhausted but ready for camp!
February
2008
The
Hassingers are a long time camp family. Bobby has served several years
on the board and two of his daughters, Betsy and Catherine, both attended
camp.
Wedding
bells will be ringing at Camp Merrie-Woode this year! We have not one,
but two, engagements to announce…
and
both proposals happened on Christmas Day! Gary Hostetler, who works
on our year round maintenance crew and has taught both woodworking and
theatre tech classes during the summers, is engaged to Lindsay Garner.
Lindsay works year round in the office and heads up the theatre program
in the summers. 
CRAZY
CAMP
PHOTO
CONTEST!…
will be our new Program/Development Director. Many of you will remember
Christina as she has worked at camp for four summers. She spent three
years as the Head of Ceramics and, just this past summer, worked as
our Summer Program Director. Christina comes to us from Summit Charter
School in Cashiers, NC where she worked for three years as the Art Instructor
and was then promoted to the Middle School Lead Teacher. We are thrilled
to have Christina with us! 
January,
2008
Yes,
we are announcing our very first "Crazy Camp Photo Contest"!
Here is how it works…you send us your very favorite goofy camp
picture of this past summer. It can be of anything from silliness in
the cabin to ridiculous costumes at evening programs. Be sure to include
your name and the names of everyone seen in the picture. Email all entries
to 
