Fine Companions: Remembering Pinewoods Before 1975
June 15, 2024
SAVE THE DATE FOR SUMMER 2025
“Fine Companions: Remembering Pinewoods Before 1975”
Tuesday, June 10 – Friday, June 13, 2025
In 2025, Pinewoods Camp will be celebrating its 100th anniversary. As one of many Pinewoods Camp Centennial projects, a committee of volunteers is putting together a special anniversary session in Summer 2025 that focuses on memories of Pinewoods from 1944-1975 — from the year Lily Conant inherited Pinewoods Camp until the completion of the sale of the camp to Pinewoods Camp, Inc.
The focus will be on community and being at Pinewoods. The programming includes English and American musical traditions offered during most of the sessions in those years.
What Will Happen at the Session?
Because we anticipate hosting a number of older campers (in their 70’s, 80’s and, hopefully, 90’s), we are structuring this session to allow for maximum participation of these participants. Therefore, this session emphasizes lighter programming with more time for socializing.
The session will include:
- A social gathering on opening night in the camphouse
- Daytime English Country dancing, gatherings with singing and or stories, instrumental sessions, swimming, socializing, and tea
- A workshop that explores archival material about Pinewoods Camp and opportunities to capture new material to add to it, specifically your memories and stories
- Two short evening dances on Wednesday and Thursday nights, followed by a camphouse gathering officially ending at 10:00 pm
- Dances selected from a combination of 1960s and 1970s programs (in Genny Shimer’s notebooks) and requests by the participants at the time of registration (English, classic contras, and singing squares)
- A golf cart shuttle will circulate around the roads at camp to assist those who need the use of it.
Staff
English calling and dance facilitator: David Millstone
Calling terms at the dances will be as they were during those years, so the callers will refer to men and women for placement as well as positional calling (e.g., first corners).
Musicians: Alchemy – Karen Axelrod, Rachel Bell, and Eric Martin
Song leader: Jeff Warner
Options for Attending the Session
- Option 1 – Full participation / Onsite Sleeping: Come to camp and stay onsite.
- Option 2 – Full participation / Offsite Sleeping: Campers will have the option of arranging for sleeping accommodations offsite and coming to camp during the day and evening. (Please note: we can provide suggestions for housing, but campers will be responsible for making their own offsite arrangements.)
- Option 3 – Day Visit / Thursday only: Former Pinewoods community members who are only able to visit briefly are welcome from mid-morning through late afternoon on Thursday, June 12.
Who should attend?
If this sounds interesting to you, please join us! Registration will be open to any and all campers who wish to attend. Priority will be given to people who attended camp prior to the late-1970’s, and those people who have not returned in recent years because of the strenuousness of programming at regular summer sessions.
Please spread the word to anyone you know who might be interested.
Questions?
Registration will open in January 2025. However, if you have further questions now, please contact Marney Morrison or Susan Creighton.
Program Directors: Marney Morrison and Susan Creighton
Liaison to the PCI Centennial Committee: Michal Warshow
Additional advisory committee members: David Conant and Brad Foster