Camp is over and a few staff have remained on site to help with planned maintenance projects. Last summer we stained and trimmed Gimpl Dining Hall and two of the staff cabins. The results were stunning! This year we are staining and trimming the third staff cabin, main shower house, camp store, Greenwood Unit and if time permits, Fircrest Unit. If all goes well, 16 buildings will be stained and trimmed!
Before
After
Emma Wycoff received her “Unique” bead this summer at Camp Howard. It is the final and most difficult bead to acquire and puts her in the category of legends such as Joey Harrington and Rev. Paul Grubb SJ both of whom received all of the beads over the years at camp.
The beads are part of an award known as the “Cougar Award”, given weekly to generally one camper per cabin per week during the summer. The award is given to those who best exemplify good conduct, Christian values, camper assistance and good old fashion goodness, all week at camp.
The last night of camp features the Cougar Campfire which, after the songs are sung, the Cougar Award ceremony begins with counselors talking about their award winners and why they selected the person they selected. The camper stands with their counselor and glows with pride as as the counselor waxes on about their wonderful qualities.
Generally a new cougar award is given in each cabin (as long as a worthy candidate is identified) and later in the ceremony, a second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth bead may be given if deserved!
What is this Cougar Award? After research, I was able to come up with the historical meaning of each of the beads as established in the early 60’s by Fr. Gimpl. The original Cougar Award was a leather fob with a Cougar image stamped in foil on the leather. It was later replaced in the late 80’s with a round plastic cougar stamped with foil. In 1998, we were able to restore the award back to leather and had a stamp made to impress the image of the cougar with the words “Cougar Award” into the leather.
The first bead given today is the red bead which signifies FIRE and has it ties to the Holy Spirit and the fire the Spirit ignites in our being to example the gifts of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives.
The second bead is the green bead, reminding us of the EARTH, and the value of the gift of creation which we have been charged to care for.
The third bead is the YELLOW bead, which reminds us of the SUN and the life-giving qualities produced by the sun which takes us to the
Fourth bead, BLACK in color which signifies DEATH and that through the dying process we enter into new LIFE = the fifth bead, WHITE in color.
The final bead is the UNIQUE bead which inspires us as unique individuals to be faithful to our Christian values in the way God has intended for us to live them.
So you see, the Cougar Award is filled with significant meaning. Congratulations to Emma Wycoff and her cougar accomplishments.
If YOU received a Cougar Award at Camp Howard, please respond to this post, let us know when you received it and how many beads you received! Continue reading “Emma Wycoff Receives her Unique Bead on Her Cougar Award at Camp Howard”
Amanda Weddle
Amanda Weddle paid her way to Camp Howard this year by selling soap which her family makes from her prize winning 4-H Dairy Goats! Not only that, she moved with her family to California so she flies to Portland for her annual week of camp at Camp Howard. Her good friend, Emma Wycoff from Christ the King, makes plans to attend camp with Amanda as they were pals when Amanda lived in Portland.
Amanda gave me a gift of her soap this summer and I have to tell you, it is pretty special! It smells good, it feels good and it is really special that Amanda has found a creative way to fund her summer passion!
I would like to invite you to check out the Weddle Family soaps and maybe help Amanda out by trying it!
Facebook: search Hapi Capi Soaps or click/paste this link – https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hapi-Capi-Soaps
Etsy: search Hapi Capi Soaps or click/paste this link – http://www.etsy.com/shop/Hapicapisoaps
Website: www.hapicapisoaps.com
To: Sr. Krista – That photo is Cindy Garcia with Holy Family Parish Rental at Camp Howard who caught that 22 and 3/4 inch trout this morning. I told her she might make it into the Sentinel. I sent it to Jolie. I told her to look on your blog and maybe it would make it there. Here is the story, you fill in the blanks: – Thank you – Karen von Borstel
I was a sunny morning at Camp Howard today as some of the Holy Family Parish campers were fishing at the pond. It was a very relaxing atmosphere with people sitting on chairs and benches catching some really nice 10 inch trout. Cindy Garcia was sitting in her blue lawn chair right next to the little shed, wearing her frilly purple blouse and peddle-pushers (Cindy is a very stylish fisherwoman), fishing with her little trout pole, 6 lb. test line, baited with a big fresh night crawler. She had a little red and white bobber, the type usually used for little sunfish or perch, hooked on her line. All of a sudden her pole bent half way over and that bobber disappeared. She stood up and the fish came out of the water and we all knew she had a whopper on. Everyone started heading toward her to help her land that fish. That fish kept breaking through the water and it looked like a salmon. We were all holding our breath. I knew there wasn’t any way she was going to get that thing to shore. She had way too light of line, we didn’t have a net. Her drag was set too tight. I knew the line would snap and that would be that. It would be the story about the one that got away! Cindy brought that fish right up and onto the bank. A huge cheer went up. The biggest fish to my knowledge ever caught at Camp Howard. 22 and 3/4 inches long. We got the groups photographer, the tape measure, and Cindy became a celebrity at Camp Howard. It was so exciting. Her husband, Alfonso, had to work this weekend. He is going to be so jealous. The cooks are preparing a seasoned stuffing to go into that trout and it will be cooked and served for supper, with the other fish they have caught today. We are at 40 right now and we have one more session of fishing this afternoon. Everyone should get a trout to eat tonight and Cindy’s will feed several. Great day for fishing at Camp and it is all verified on film.
What a great summer camping season we had at Camp Howard this year. So many stories to tell. New Camp Howard Summer Program Director, Bill Fogarty, finished his first summer as Director of the summer camping season. A near record 1450 campers enjoyed the use of the camp during the six week season that ended August 17.
We will begin telling the stories over the course of the coming weeks to give you some insights into the summer.
I have to admit it has been hectic these past few weeks transitioning from Track and Field Championships to our CYO Appreciation Dinner then to the operation of our wonderful summer camping program at Camp Howard. So much fun and activity but a lot of work behind the scenes to make it happen for the kids!
It takes an exceptional team of people to make it all happen and that is what we have at CYO/Camp Howard. An EXCEPTIONAL TEAM!
Today I went to the bus which is one of my favorite experiences. I have written stories about the kids at the bus and how hard it is for some of them to leave their parents for the first time and how equally hard it is for the parents to let them go. Tender, touching moments between parent and child. A huge act of trust from parent to Camp Howard and we take it seriously.
Around 175 campers climbed aboard the Camp Howard bound busses and headed to camp today. I drive the luggage bus to camp, help with delivery of luggage and in the meantime have a first class view of what is taking place around me as the campers break up into cabins, cabin groups and get a counselor. It is never the same and always exciting for the kids.
Our new Camp Director, Bill Fogarty, from the St. Juan Diego parish is on his second full week of camp and doing a great job. He brings a lot of experience to the role along with wisdom, understanding, patience, and a great attitude. He has hired a first class staff representing several of the parishes in the greater Portland area.
Camp Howard continues to be one of those Catholic traditions that youth experience today and will look back on as a great memory. That’s our goal! Plenty of time to sign up for sessions 4,5,6,7!
See you at camp!
The Fourth of July is a day filled with all sorts of family traditions, memories, activities and of course fireworks! As a young girl growing up in North Central Oregon, we attended the family reunion every 4th of July and it was a great opportunity to see everyone outside of a wedding or funeral and have some fun together. One of my favorite memories is the time The Dalles Fire Dept. set up a volleyball hung by a net bag to a wire that strung about 100 feet in length with a tether at each end. Two teams of five would each have a fire hose and try to move the volleyball from the center of the wire to the other end of the wire defeating the other team who was attempting to move the volleyball to the opposite end of the wire. It was a hot day, the water was refreshing and we got a sense of how powerful the water is going through the fire hose.
My Mom and my Aunts were all excellent cooks who cooked from scratch. Aunt Marie and her daughter, Rita, achieved state fair honors, several years as “Queen of the Kitchen” and had a reputation for excellent cooking skills. You could always count on great food at the picnics.
Even though the Fourth of July marked our Independence, it was also a Patriotic Holiday which led to talk about relatives who had given their lives in the various wars. One of the most memorable in our family was my Dad’s first cousin who died in WWII. When word reached his Mother in Central Oregon, she died of a heart attack. They had a joint funeral Mass for them.
The 4th has always been one of my favorite holidays probably because it is a “good weather” holiday and we can enjoy outdoor activities. This year I will be enjoying a barbecue with family and friends and we will have a trap shooting contest.
I hope you have a wonderful 4th of July!
Eagle Scout candidate Danny Dooney and his team of helpers made a significant impact on the Wy’East campfire pit at Camp Howard. Danny organized an effort to enlarge the performance area, replace the single campfire pit with two fire circles and lay pavers to provide a flat surface for activities in front of the fire pits. The effort was a hit and it can be viewed here in a series of pictures.
Thank you, Danny Dooney and team for the well executed project! Greatly appreciated!
Check out our Champions of Faith info and get a glimpse of last years event:
http://www.champions-of-faith.org/
We are getting ready to launch our second CYO CHAMPIONS OF FAITH BENEFIT DINNER. It will be held October 2nd at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland. I am still amazed at our first dinner and what a fun event it was. Joey Harrington scored a major touchdown for us with a touching and heartfelt talk on his football career. His connection to CYO, Camp Howard and the Catholic School system made everyone in the room proud.
This years dinner features another outstanding CYO product, Karen Gaffney, who has found herself an esteemed speaker on behalf of Downes Syndrome. Karen, with the help of her parents, set out to achieve some goals and as a result has accomplished some pretty incredible milestones. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear her speak at the Champions of Faith Dinner this October.
If you attended the first Champions of Faith benefit dinner for CYO/Camp Howard this past September, please note that thanks to YOU, we were able to accomplish a very important project at the camp. For fifteen years, the most desired improvement to the camp at the request of the kids, has been to heat the pool. Thanks to YOU we were able to accomplish that this year and we would like you to know about it!
A pool heater was purchased, ditch dug to connect it to the propane tank, wire cage built around the heater, filled the propane tank, covered the ditches, replanted the grass… just waiting for the kids so we can fire it up and heat the water! Takes one hour to heat the water one degree, so I am told, and the temperature will be around 80 to 83 degrees when “up to temp.”
Looking forward to surprising the kids with warm pool water this summer!
Thank you, Champions of Faith!
CYO/Camp Howard 