Camp Mechuwana
​PO Box 277 Winthrop ME 04364
​Mechuwana@fairpoint.net
​207.377.2924
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Remembering the Times & Celebrating My Mechuwana Memories

5/22/2020

6 Comments

 
There has been nothing easy about life during the Covid-19 pandemic. I am lucky in that I am still employed and so is my husband. We don’t take that for granted. Our family members and friends are healthy, and so are we. We stand in line for groceries, but we wear our masks and wash our hands and are fortunate that we are able to buy food and keep ourselves fed. We know that not everyone is as lucky.
 
I have been spending a lot of time alone, working from home and thinking about all of the things for which I am grateful. Feeling grateful for what I have instead of focusing on what has changed and caused disruption and inconvenience takes a lot of energy. I can so easily start thinking about the losses and get weighed down in the uncertainty and overwhelming sadness about life as we know it right now.
 
And then, this week was the week. As a member of the Mechuwana Site Committee and the person who manages Mechuwana’s website and social media, including email blasts, I knew this week would be hard. This is the week we contacted Mechuwana campers, parents, volunteers, and supporters to say that with very heavy hearts, we were announcing the closing of camp for the summer season. Thinking about a summer with no Mechuwana was like a punch in the gut. Even though I knew it was coming and I could brace for it and prepare myself, it hurt nonetheless.
Picture
The Lodge porch, where many of us have spent lots of summer days & nights over camp's 73 years. We will be back there before we know it...
What hurts most for me is the thought of so many campers who were excited about their first time at camp, or the campers who were already planning their week at camp and thinking about what they would pack, whether they wanted a top or bottom bunk, and if they would still get to eat pizza on Friday night. Thinking about Adult Special Needs campers in particular is heartbreaking. I have known many of the campers since I was first on camp staff in 1991, nearly 30 years. The enthusiasm and excitement of this week of camp – for the campers, volunteers, and staff – is hard to explain unless you have experienced it. I know how much these remarkable adults look forward to their week at Mechuwana, and to think of them hearing the news that this summer they won’t be playing kickball, making crafts, swimming, boating, dancing, or hosting their talent show is what caused me to weep today. Laura Church’s rendition of the Mechuwana Song Monday morning on Facebook also made those tears flow. It was a beautiful performance full of emotion that we all felt. I felt the pain and sadness in each note, and want to thank you, Laura, for sharing that moment with so many of us. It was sad, but also brought back a flood of memories of singing that song with so many people over the years.
Picture
Lisa (Agurkis) Lockhart and me at Elementary Cabin Camp in 1980, and inset, Lisa & me at the 2018 Dempsey Challenge in Lewiston
My memories of Mechuwana started in 1980 during Elementary Cabin Camp, deaned by Janet Smeltzer. I remember much of that week, including my first camp friend, Chelsea from Biddeford. I haven’t seen Chelsea in nearly 40 years, but I remember that we kept in touch and wrote letters back and forth until we saw each other at the same camp the next summer. I am still friends with Lisa Agurkis, who also was in my cabin all those years ago. We make a point of seeing each other at the Dempsey Challenge each fall in Lewiston, and always talk about camp and take a selfie.
Picture
My sister, friends, & me (far right) at Jr/Sr High Music Theatre Camp 1984, "Choose"
I remember years of music theatre camp. I was not a talented singer or actress, but I loved that camp. I made so many lifelong friends at my two years there. And then, in 1991, I got hired to work in the kitchen. If I am not a singer or an actor, I am also definitely not a cook…but I can chop vegetables and wash dishes with the best of them. That summer changed my life. I have been involved in Mechuwana ever since – going on to work in the office, then as assistant director, and finally in 1996, I became the year-round Youth Director, running the rally program for 12 years before retiring 10 years ago this month. To say that Mechuwana is important to me is a complete understatement. I credit Mechuwana with turning my life around and giving me a life I never imagined. I found my voice, my passion, my confidence, and some of my very best and most important friends on these sacred grounds. For that, and so many other camp impacts, I am profoundly grateful.
 
What brings me hope and some moments of peace during this pandemic is thinking about camp and looking at camp photos. I think about sitting on the boat dock or waking up in my room on the Lodge porch to the call of the loons. I think of uncontrollable laughter and singing showtunes late at night with Lisa Swett the summers we roomed together…some of the biggest laughter was when we were tormenting her brother, Peter, who was on staff with us.
Picture
Lisa Swett and me in our room on the Lodge porch, summer 1992
There is a meme that I have seen on Facebook several times that reads something like: “Smiles are not cancelled. Laughter is not cancelled. Phone calls with family and friends are not cancelled.” I like to think that Camp Mechuwana memories are not cancelled. Camp memories can help sustain us during this time. “Remembering the times we had here” at Mechuwana can sustain us…singing the camp song or a silly campfire song is not cancelled. We are actually hoping to share some campfires this summer, virtually, if possible. Stay tuned…
 
And know that as much as you are going to miss camp this summer…camp is going to miss you even more. We look forward to seeing you at camp each time you drive down Mechuwana Lane. We love seeing you in the registration line for your week of camp. We love seeing you at meals, swimming at the waterfront, walking on the Owl Trail, and singing around the campfire. We know that we won’t have those moments this summer, for your health and safety and the safety of our staff and volunteers. But know that we are here, rooting for you, praying for you, and hoping that you will be back on our 200 wooded acres on the shore of Lower Narrows…or as we call it, Mechuwana Pond, as soon as possible.
Picture
A junior high rally while I was youth director. I am going to guess this was 1999 or so? Recognize the junior high rally goer I am with? That's Jarod Richmond...and he is going to LOVE that I shared this photo.
—Beth Comeau, former camper, summer & year-round staff, youth director, & current Site Committee member 
6 Comments
Debbie Carter
5/22/2020 09:04:39 pm

I. Love. Camp Mechawana. I. Went. To. Women’s. Weekend. In. Oct. 2011. And. Have. Been. In. Team. Several. Times. Have. Made. Many. Friends. And. Many. Memories. It’s. A. Very. Special. Inspirational. Place

Reply
Marcia Berry
5/23/2020 08:44:04 am

So many wonderful memories

Reply
Maryann
5/24/2020 08:49:38 am

I remember the musical choose. My mom directed that one. Camp mechuwana was fun.

Reply
Lorri (Page) Bond
2/16/2022 10:14:11 am

Hi, I attended camp a few weeks in the late 80's, and one of my memories is of some campers from Chernobyl, Russia, a year or so after the disaster. Do you remember that, and we're those children kept in touch with? Have always wondered how they fared. I kept some paper towels with Russian writing they taught us until they disintegrated. Many fond memories of camp days!

Reply
Toni (Versteeg) Cunningham
2/16/2022 03:34:23 pm

Pasha, Denis, Olga & Tanya with their interpreter Tanya. Yes. They were at Mechuwana for 2 weeks in late summer, 1990. Pasha celebrated his birthday at camp.

Most children in their town of Mozyr, Belarus just outside the "dead zone" were sent to some kind of summer experience in other parts of Europe for fresh air. A few children were chosen to go to America through the Samantha Smith Foundation.

We lost touch after a few years but I never stopped praying for them. Then, in God's perfect timing (VERY cool story there!), Pasha found me and sent an e-mail in 2004. I visited his family that summer.

Sadly, Olga, the amazing singer, had passed away in a tragic accident. Tanya was married and living in another part of the country but I had tea with her parents. It was a surprise visit at an address listed for her. The only photos in her parents' living room were of their 2 daughters, grandson and the camp photo of the 4 kids at Mechuwana. Denis also still lived in town and spent a day with me. It was one of the most memorable/ impactful trips that I've ever had.

There are no words to describe what those couple of weeks at Mechuwana did for those 4 families and their entire sphere of influence. Wow! Pasha's sister told me that she thought "Mechuwana" was in the English dictionary because it was in every sentence Pasha used for the next year or so. In fact, the children went into depression upon return home. Pasha told me that his parents considered sending him to counseling for his deep grief missing the Americans. I know for me, it was a grief that I had to deal with but had the luxury of being surrounded by camp and camp friends.

Denis has now moved out of their town and we've lost touch. He was married with a daughter when I visited in 2004. Tanya and I had a large language barrier to overcome and so have not stayed in touch really since I visited her parents. Olga's family moved to another province after her death so I never met them.

Pasha? Yes, we are still in contact. I went back for his wedding in 2007 and again to meet his daughter on her 1st birthday in 2009. After that, life got busy and I haven't returned. I was hoping to go in 2020 but... glad that I never bought plane tickets. Also, in Aug, 2020, there was a terrible political event in Belarus and all internet or mail communication has been difficult since then. Any gifts that I send now are either returned to the U.S. or disappear. Now, I just send Pasha's 2 children and his sister's 2 children cards with stickers or U.S. canceled stamps as a gesture hoping that those will get through.

Thank you to all who made those 2 weeks in Maine life-changing for all the Belarussians who visited and who were touched by the lasting impacts. I can not tell you enough how great the love you showed has been multiplied!! With tears in my eyes, thank you!!! To many a person in southern Belarus, you are all they know of a living, breathing American. Thank you for being loving, caring, fun-filled embassadors. The impact is still felt in the next generation which study English so hard to one day be able to visit this fairy tale land that they've grown up hearing their parents talk about called "Maine".

Blessings in Christ, Toni

Reply
Lorri Bond
2/16/2022 04:56:37 pm

Wow, thank you for such a wonderful and thoughtful response! I have thought about them often and always wondered how life turned out for them. They really were wonderful and it makes my heart warm to know we meant so much to them, too. Please let Pasha know that we remember. Thank you!




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P.O. Box 277, Winthrop, ME 04364-0277
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