Camp Merrie-Woode

The Merrie-Woode Fall 2009 Newsletter is now available to view on the web site. Click here to view the PDF.

Well bust out the candy corn and pass around the hot apple cider!
It’s All Hallows Eve here at Camp Merrie-Woode and everyone is getting into the festive spirit.
The camp dogs are all dressed up and ready to go out Trick-or-Treating in their barnyard costumes. Irma felt like she could keep up with the big dogs as she was dressed as a cow,

while Franklin (our resident scaredy-cat) was appropriately dressed as a chicken.
Max made a dignified horse while his sister, Grace, embraced her role as the pig.
As always, getting them all to stand still and pose at the same time proved to be a challenge.

Meanwhile, Travis and the facilities guys were up to some Halloween mischief of their own this morning. Yes, the “Merrie-Woode Men” were up to plenty of no good!
They all donned spooky masks and snuck up behind Phyllis at her desk. When she turned around, she got quite a scare!

Happy Halloween, everyone!

The new camper lists for the 2010 summer are now posted! Be sure to check it out to see all your old camp friends and cabin mates that will be returning. Summer will be here again before you know it!

The year-round staff at Merrie-Woode recently took a trip down to Charleston, SC for a couple of days. It was nice to take some time for a bit of rest and relaxation after such a busy summer!

The ladies enjoyed spending time on the beach, while the fellows took some time to fish off the pier. While we were there we met up with several of our counselors in school at The College of Charleston. We had a lovely dinner with Campbell Bowers, Ivey London, Lizzy Scruggs, and Mallie Salerno. We were also able to catch up with Tee Bowers and board member, Deane Bowers during that afternoon. Everyone enjoyed time spent with good food, good memories, and good friends. What a perfect way to celebrate another successful summer and look forward to the next year ahead!

Well it is hard to believe another summer has come and gone and a fall is here to take its place. As all of you are busy starting a new school year and working hard in your studies, we have started our autumn project of editing The Ripple, camp’s literary magazine. As you know, The Ripple will be mailed out at Christmas this year. We will still be accepting entries for The Ripple through the end of September. So if you find yourself sitting at home, missing camp and longing for the days of a summer by Lake Fairfield, take a moment to write down your thoughts. Compose a piece of poetry, a small reflection, or a comical view of camp life and email it to us. If you’ve used camp as an essay topic for a school assignment, that could have a wonderful place in The Ripple. Tell us the story of a campout gone awry, a day in the life of a lily pad, or why camp holds a place in your heart. The point is: get creative, think outside the box, and help make the 2009 edition of The Ripple the best yet!

We must receive all Ripple entries, from campers or counselors, by the end of September. You can email your entries or questions to: lindsay@merriewoode.com. Unfortunately, we will not be able to incorporate any artwork unless it is a pen and ink drawing…no photographs, paintings, or drawings in color please. Pen and ink drawings can, however, be sent directly to the camp office:

Camp Merrie-Woode
Attn: Lindsay Hostetler
100 Merrie-Woode Road
Sapphire, NC 28774

CMW Now Able to Accept Donations On-Line!

We are happy to announce that Merrie-Woode is now able to take donations to the Annual Fund on our web site using PayPal. At this time, donations to the Annual Fund are the only payments accepted on-line. To make an on-line donation, please visit our Annual Fund page. Please feel free to call the camp office with any questions.

Merrie-Woode is on Twitter! We’ve joined the national craze! Become a follower as we flit closer and closer towards summer! Look us up as: CampMerrieWoode (no spaces, no dashes)

Check out the new public service announcement the AIC (Association of Independent Camps) in collaboration with the ACA (American Camping Association) has released. The video features appearances by celebrities including Emma Roberts, Hill Harper, Kerri Strug, Justin Chambers, James Pickens, and Blair Underwood. None of the celebrities were paid for their services. They volunteered because summer camps helped to shape their lives. Merrie-Woode is proud to be a member of both the AIC and ACA.

Head Counselor, Betsy Reese walked down the aisle of Merrie-Woode’s Chapel to marry Josh Helms on April 11th. The couple announced their engagement last spring after Josh proposed over Lake Fairfield on the counselor deck of the swim docks. After months of planning and excitement, the big day finally arrived! Friends and family flooded into camp for the grand event.

After Betsy and Josh exchanged their vows and the ceremony came to an end, the party kicked off at Lilypad. Guests enjoyed refreshments and appetizers on the waterfall field followed by a buffet dinner in the Dining Hall. Everyone then danced the night away to the music of a live jazz band.

Congratulations, Betsy and Josh! All of us at Merrie-Woode wish you many happy years together filled with laughter and love.

We had some excitement here at Merrie-Woode last Thursday, April 9th, when a wildfire started burning on the other side of the ridge from Old Bald. The smoke could be seen from camp. Don’t worry, campers, the fire was never close enough to camp to threaten any damage to Merrie-Woode.

The fire began in the afternoon in the dip between Old Bald and Little Bald. Before long we heard a helicopter hovering over camp. Once we stepped outside we realized that it was flying straight towards the landsports field! The forest service helicopter landed in the soccer field to prepare the equipment needed to collect water from the lake. It then took off again and throughout the afternoon continued to scoop up water from Lake Fairfield to douse the fire. The fire was finally contained later that night after about thirty acres were damaged. Sixty-five firefighters, two bulldozers, one airplane, and the helicopter worked to put out the blaze. No worries! Camp is perfectly safe!

We are thrilled to announce that this year’s Main Session Musical will be 1776! Winner of five Tony Awards, including Best Book and Best Musical, 1776 follows the story of the birth of America leading up to the writing and signing of the Declaration of Independence. The pivotal event in American history comes to life in this most unconventional of Broadway hits.

It’s blazing hot in Philadelphia during the summer of 1776, and the nation is ready to declare independence from Great Britain…if only our founding fathers can agree to do it! The story follows John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson as they attempt to convince the members of the second Continental Congress to take that remarkable step in the history of our nation’s birth. It’s a musical about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. From powerful and moving scenes to lighthearted and humorous musical numbers, 1776 puts a human face on the men behind the national icons…proud, scared, uncertain, stubborn, charming, and flawed but ultimately noble figures just trying to do what they believe is right for a fledgling nation.

So get ready to see the Castle stage transform into Independence Hall as John Adams and his fellow congressmen transport us all back to witness one of the most remarkable and dangerous summers in American history. 1776 is on track to be one of the most memorable shows Merrie-Woode has experienced!

Jim, Denice, Christina, and Betsy just returned from the American Camp Association national conference in Orlando, Florida! The conference was very informative and they brought back many good ideas for camp this summer!
They also enjoyed seeingthe sights at Disney World. Some of the highlights of the trip included a visit to the Cirque du Soliel theatre where they saw a performance of La Nouba. Jim was pulled up out of the audience to participate in one of their acts! He laid flat on stage while a performer jumped over him on a bike. The Merrie-Woode gang also had a great time at Epcot where they were able to ride “Journey into Imagination”, “Soarin’”, and the new “Finding Nemo” attractions. In typical camp style, they worked hard, played hard, and came back home exhausted but ready for camp!

We are thrilled to announce that Merrie-Woode now has a new facilities crew member! Travis Kinsey joined us in January. He and his wife, Patricia, live in Mountain Rest, SC. Travis previously worked for Jennings Builders Supply, just down the road in Cashiers, for ten years. Camp has done business with Jennings for years and we are delighted to have Travis join us.

Merrie-Woode has drifted into the modern age of social networking! It’s official! Camp Merrie-Woode is now on Facebook! Check out our Facebook page and become a fan!

The official page is under the name of: Camp Merrie-Woode, The Merrie-Woode Foundation, Inc.

Drop by, write on our Wall, see camp videos, or check out the Discussion Boards and vote on the fun polls.

Congratulations, Stuart! Your photo made all of us in the office laugh whole-heartedly!

We’ve also posted some honorable mentions for everyone to enjoy! Thanks to everyone who participated this year!

Honorable mention photos from:
Sarah Wynn, Blair Mickel,
Gracie Weiner, and Kendal Gibson

Roughly 20 of our veteran counselors, senior staff members and a couple of board members gathered last weekend for our 2009 Counselor Consortium. Consortium is defined

as, “an association or grouping, usually setup for a common purpose that would be beyond the capabilities of a single member of the group.”That’s exactly what we had last weekend. We had caring counselors come from as far away as Texas and Indiana and everywhere in between. Their presence brought life and energy to camp.It was great to have everyone here and we were sorry to see them leave. There was great energy and many great ideas! We also Foxy Cleopatra & Austin Powers with friends

Foxy Cleopatra & Austin Powers with friends

had some fun as evidenced by the pictures. The themed dinner at the Dunns was the 60s, complete with Austin Powers and Foxy Cleopatra. We wanted to pass along a special thanks to Deane Valentine Bowers and Claire Freeman Marshall for representing the board. Their presence made the counselors feel that they were being heard and that the board appreciated what they do for camp. Thanks to everyone that participated. We can’t wait for the summer to arrive.

Betsy and Denice hit the recruiting trail last week. Their first stop on Wednesday was to Georgia Southern University where they met up with Taylor McGrew. They then headed over to Savannah, GA for a camper show that evening. Campers Kate Sadler, Camille Mercer, Lucy Hassell, and Elizabeth Hamrick enjoyed a lovely get-together hosted by Boo Kennedy at her home. Boo’s little girl, Cross, enjoyed visiting with the Merrie-Woode girls and hopes to be a camper soon. Savannah

Denice and Betsy headed out on Thursday to visit the College of Charleston where many Merrie-Woode alumnae can be found. Lizzy Scruggs, Carter Boardman, Campbell Bowers, Ivy London, Rebecca Young, and Kara Leigh Pulley all stopped by to say hello. It was a successful trip filled with new counselor prospects and enjoyable visits with Merrie-Woode family.

We took a break from work on Friday to celebrate Christina's 28th birthday in the office. She requested an all natural, organic cake and Denice was happy to fulfill the wish by presenting the birthday girl with her very own "Asparagus Birthday Cake"! Not to worry though, a chocolate cake was hiding in the fridge. Happy Birthday, Christina! We love you!

January 7, 2009
2009 Campus Recruiting Schedule Posted!

Happy New Year, everyone! 2009 is here and camp will arrive before you know it! It's about this time of year on these cold, wet days in the mountains that we all start longing for the warm and playful days of summer to return again. We are already in full swing here preparing to make this summer of 2009 the best summer yet! We'll be out on the road hitting colleges in the coming weeks to recruit counselors. Go check out the Campus Recruiting Schedule to see when we'll be in your area!

Visit this page for information on a Camp Merrie-Woode screensaver and wallpaper!

We offer one of the newest additions to the Camp Merrie-Woode® Web site-preparation of an image suitable for a computer monitor's screen saver or wall paper. You can find out on this link. There are instructions for making the image your screensaver or wall paper too on both MAC or PC platform.