Camp Carowanis’ 50th Anniversary Reunion
On August 26th 2007, after 50 years of diabetic camping and months of preparation, it was finally time to welcome back former campers and counselors, medical staff and camp founders to our special home at Camp Carowanis. Waconda as always gave us a beautiful day to welcome our guests back to the Great Tribe, where even after 50 years of new experiences, not much has changed at all.
There were approximately 250 guests at the reunion, all wearing colored name tags to let others know what in what decade they had participated in camp. It was amazing to see that many people were wearing many different colors, signifying the enormous amount of time and dedication they have given to Carowanis over the years. Without these people Carowanis could never have existed as the wonderful place we know today.
There were several main activities on the schedule for the reunion, besides just finding old friends. Throughout the day, there were many slideshows and photo displays showing the many faces of Carowanis over its 50 year history, assembled in large part by our longtime director Chris Morgan. There were sure alot of pictures to go through!
After a picnic lunch on the Upper Ballfield, it was time for everyone’s favourite camp activity, square dances. “Everyone in a big circle…tout le monde dans un grand cercle” ... it sure was great to hear those words again! After the square dance, everyone squeezed into the Council Ring for a special Indian Council, presided over by three generations of Big Chiefs… Walter Mingie, Chris Morgan and Jean-Francois Bélair-Lapointe. After reading and signing a camp spirit, and a few challenges, everyone headed back up to Ross Hall for some cake and a few special presentations. First, our brand new infirmary building next to the Ross Hall was baptized the “Dr. Bob Infirmary” in honor of our two longtime medical directors, Dr. Robert Rosenfeld and Dr. Robert Barnes. Following that, the two roads leading to the beach were named in honor of two camp directors, so that we now have Mingie and Morgan roads. The day was concluded by a speech from Dr. Mimi Belmonte, one of the camp founders, who thanked everyone for coming and for continuing the spirit that is Camp Carowanis.
50 years at Carowanis has brought so much to many people, that we can hardly wait to see what the next 50 years hold in store for diabetic children across Quebec.
Souvenirs
