Praying for the Downer family

Most of you, if not all, know that Reg Downer was Promoted to Glory earlier this week and his funeral service, more correctly called a celebration of life was held today.

I know you'll be praying for his family!

Reg was a strong supporter of youth ministry and that included the camping ministry of Camp Selkirk. We remember the words of Scripture which say: "the Lord delights in the death of His saints".

Campfire Cheers

Do you remember Campfire Cheers? They were used to show appreciation (or disapproval in some cases) after a group performed a song, skit or other form of entertainment at a campfire.

Last week, my children were playing with an electronic toy. I’ve been listening to this toy for the past 3 or 4 years. It never triggered anything before, but the other day when it played the tune “London Bridge Is Falling Down”, it immediately brought to mind the campfire cheer that uses that tune to these words: “In the breadbox you must go, you must go, you must go, in the breadbox you must go, that was crummy.”

That was the only cheer I could remember. Does anyone remember more of them?

Where did the bell go?

The bell...silent now, but it was the signal for meals, emergencies, and...

Anything else?

Passing on camping stories

We were fortunate that we were at Camp Selkirk during the formative years of our boys' lives. They climbed the trees, rode on the trailer, followed George around, and of course wished that they were old enough to work at camp. I think some of the staff became "heroes" in a way...they seemed so much older and cooler to two little boys.

So once in a while we find ourselves telling stories, laughing about the things they did and of course wishing that more children had those kind of memories. As I reflect on all this I wonder - do you tell Selkirk stories to your kids? Do you remind them of the wonderful heritage that this place afforded them?

Every story needs to begin with..."Once upon a time there was a wonderful camp; Camp Selkirk..."

A long time since we've added anything

So here we are in 2008! Winter has set in here in Edmonton. No doubt some of you have less dramatic winters. Did you ever go to Selkirk in the winter? Walk through the snow leaving a private path for others to find? Did you see the snowmobile tracks running out to the back?

Winter along the shores of Lake Erie can be a bit tough - huge pieces of ice pushing up on the shore. There was a piece of an I beam concreted into the ground that the ice twisted like a pretzel. Winter can be tough.

Winter can be beautiful too - smooth drifts along the buildings and accenting Selkirk green!

What surprised me most was discovering that one of our neighbours cut down a pine tree to use at Christmas! At least he could have asked?!

Celebrate a Camp Supporter!

I don’t want to turn this into an advertising site, but I thought it was the best way to get a message out.

As already mentioned on this blog, Dale and Nancy Haskell from Cambridge have been Junior Music Camp faculty members for many years.

This year, Dale will be 70 years old. While turning 70 is a milestone itself, it is particularly an added milestone for Dale. He has been on kidney dialysis for more than 25 years. One of the longest known kidney patients in the area.

Those of you who know Dale are invited to an Open House to celebrate his birthday. It will be held at the Cambridge Citadel Corps, 12 Shade Street, Cambridge, on Saturday September 1st, at 2pm.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me (his niece) at bakerooie@rogers.com

Theme Days

(Back Row, L-R: Anita Pilgrim, Christine Plank, Shelley Oseil, Cheryl Young, Cynthia Eden, Sue Haskell. Front Row, L-R: Lynn Haskell, Cheryl Randall, Sharon Jones).

Many camps seemed to have theme days, or a theme for the entire week.

Here are a few of the girls staff members from 1988, participating in "Backwards Day" for the camp that was in. (Sorry for the pre-digital photo quality). Oh the things we'd do at camp that we wouldn't do anywhere else!

What theme day memories do you have from your time at camp?