Women's Weekend Oct '08

George, the photog, comments, "Wicked wimmens invaded this weekend ~~ Ret & girls, Say & Ab plus Louise, Hannah & Cammy ~~ and, oh yes, Henry. It was riotous ~~ Henry & I got into the safety of the corner by the file cabinet."

Fall Foliage Festival in Maple Corner

It was the Fall Foliage Festival in Maple Corner this past weekend. The vegetable zoo was on display. The cold weather had taken its toll on the vegetable animals but this guy still looks pretty good.

George's Shore End Dock Fix 0908

Brief visit to the camp

Well....in our whirlwind tour of NH-VT, we made a brief stopover at the camp en route to Essex Junction to go to Champlain Valley Fair...mainly to verify that Peg's food inventory list was accurate. Yepp. Gail Hendrickson was up from DC to spend the weekend...and was particularly enticed when she knew we'd be staying at the camp. She led a yoga/abs o' steel workout on the dock Saturday morning...much to the excitement of all the early morning fishermen.






Then we departed with Lily at the wheel...starting yet another young driver on the back roads of Vermont. (Gail did point out that this was not only dangerous but against the law.)
After partaking in all traditional fair going activities (maple creamees & cotton candy, merry-go-round, tilt-a-whirl, etc.), we dropped off the kids with Grumpy so we could go back to the fair to see Prairie Home Companion live! As you can see from this picture taken the next day, both the kids and dad survived. He learned an age-old lesson of letting the kids run and scream until they drop in exhaustion.

Tiltin' Hilton

Not Enough Tools

Arl and support staff after dock-diddling and leaf-wrangling exercises. Hearty thanks were offered by Overseer GRMP to Arl for persevering at dock leveling despite slight hypothermia from jacking !!! underwater, to Peg for fastidious leaf corraling and myrtle manicuring, plus Em & Char for artistic efforts and rearranging of household items.

July 9, 2008

Sarah, Robert & Madison took a mini- vacation at the camp. It included much swimming, kayaking and fishing.


















Even swimming with the baby ducks.


Dad came over for dinner and some post repast incendiaries. A few bottle rockets went off the newly installed dock. We hardly singed it at all.

Arl kayaking at sunrise 070608

Peg took this one at the north end of the pond early in the AM before we headed for home.....

This is my fave of the pond looking north toward the camp somewhere in the trees yonder. Think I can see a loon or a beaver down dere, him. Wish I had floats on thing ~~ would stop in for a beer.

Think I'll drop in for a coffee & scone

Old West Church

Here's an aerial of Old West Church about 2 miles SE of camp. Built about 1825, it served as a meetinghouse and church and is still used. I took this about 2002 along with other pix of Maple Corner and Curtis Pond (to be posted soon)

Well.......couldn't find any digital pictures we had taken at the camp, we think they are all prints and packed in boxes. So, in lue of camp pictures we share three pictures of our trip in 06-05 when we rode our motorcycles back to New hampshire and were at the Weirs, had the family reunion and visited with Curtis and Tudgey. It was a trip of a lifetime. Great memories. Love to all. Susan

Dad in Land of Entrapment

Far From the camp but near to the heart - Dad's trip to the land of entrapment in June 2006!

A limerick From Susan

A young Man Named George

There once was a young man named George,
Who took his young daughter to a Gorge,
With much anxiety and to his chagrin
At the oceans edge George almost fell in,
Scared his poor daughter at the age of seven,
She never grew more that five foot eleven,
Ah but now an older and wiser man is he,
Of four decades and another three,
With a mix of offspring numbering four and one,
Four lovely daughters and one handsome son!

Happy Birthday Dad

Blue Blossom & Bob

Same Day Different Perspective

Everybody's experience at the camp is personal. We can all be there at the same time and see and do different things. That's what makes it so great. Here are a few pictures from the same Memorial Day Weekend...mostly chilling.

Arlo cooking us breakfast:

Anna, the last to wake up: Sarah & Henry (his first visit):
Emma, wearing her designer pjs:
Andy zoning out (what, did you say something?)

And Lily, who has just discovered all the "toys".

Taking Down the Tree

How many men does it take to cut down a tree?











Depends on if it WANTS to come down.

Celebrating Dad's 70th at The Camp

We all gathered at the camp to help Dad ring in his 70th year. There was much food, drink and laughs. Here is the birthday boy contemplating something serious.

Dad and Arlon gave Sarah a lesson in how to properly truss up a hank of rope. Isn't that beautiful?

Anna & Lily down by the water....and Sarah & Emma having a few laughs before dinner

Reta & Lily chilling after breakfast.

Installing the Toilet

The toilet didn't get installed before we all arrived at the camp to celebrate Dad's birthday, but it was pretty darned close. There were a few tense moments and an extra trip to Aubuchons in the big city, but the boys were able to get it installed and working. Yippee!

Scotch Drinking Hat

Here is Dad and a party girl (Em?) vogueing in Dad's patented scotch drinking hat. Dad knows the appropriate face. Emma is just warming up to how to be a proper Chaffee.

Moto madman

Tree huggers be damned! George, in his pudding pot, conquers a mountain on his trusty steed. The mountain in question is Moosilauke (if I'm not mistaken) and the steed is a Bultaco Matador 250cc. OK, so it's not a Camp shot but it is a photo of the man while he still has 10 fingers. Vintage? I'll go with '68, it was a very good year..........

Idyllic Dock Scene

No Camp collection is complete without an idyllic dock scene...............

Harvard Yale

Ah , the infamous Harvard - Yale game. Ask George about it; he has the details memorized.

Nude Froggy

Another fine example of an idea gone awry - George somehow let on that he had a small frog collection and, of course, many found it their duty to bestow him with gems like the one above.

Cheroot hoot!

A little reminder for the old man, in case he forgets what to do on the back deck. This sign is in front of the wood pile under the Main Camp.

Work Weekend Ritual

I can't remember the date of the first "work weekend" but perhaps this picture was from that era. It is when Dad recruited us to come to the camp to help stain the camps, etc. Of course, it didn't take much to give us an excuse to all be together...for an enjoyable, if not relaxing weekend with non-stop banter, poking, jabbing, puns, etc.

The scheduled work is usually light, and more often than not Dad and/or Arlon had a good amount of it already done before the masses arrived. Which usually meant that we retreated to the dock or went for walks, swims, etc.

Here we are treating all of Curtis Pond to a free concert... whether they wanted it or not.

And here's a work weekend photo from 1991...when most of the grandkids were either pre-teen:

Pre-Camp Era, circa 1971-2

This is definitely from the pre-camp era of our lives...however,

I think it helps to explain the roots of our family. Included in this cast of characters are 2 of the 3 McGovern workers, Jeff & Barry, and our neighbor Debbie. This is a classic.