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SEE-SAWING INTO HISTORY
Artuso and Connors-Kellgren break 35 year old Camp See-Saw record
14:03 knots 68-hour record; 70 their goal
WILLSBORO, NY -- It went pretty much like this: Lex up, Jack down. Jack up, Lex Down. Lex up, Jack down. Jack up, Lex Down. Lex up, Jack down. Jack up, Lex
Down. Jack waddles to the bathroom. Jack waddles back. Lex up, Jack down. Jack up, Lex Down. Lex up, Jack down. Jack up, Lex Down. Lex up, Jack
down. Jack up, Lex Down. Lex up, Jack down. Jack up, Lex Down. Lex up, Jack down. Jack up, Lex Down. Lex up, Jack down. Lex waddles to the
bathroom. Lex waddles back. Jack up, Lex Down. Lex up, Jack down. Jack up, Lex Down. Lex up, Jack down. Jack up, Lex Down...
For about two and a half days.
On the occassion of the 100th summer of Pok-O-MacCready Camps, Lex Artuso and Jack Connors-Kellgren decided to try to break Camp’s record -- and one-time Guiness World Record -- of 68
hours on a see-saw set in 1968 by Joe Stern and John Bush.
This afternoon, they have succeeded.
All of the boys and girls not on hikes witnessed the occassion and provided a thunderous round of applause for the boys, who have been on a see-saw since Thursday evening at 6:00 PM.
More images and stories will emerge as time continues...
Read the famous Joe Stern Letter, written by the former holder of the See-Saw record and the quintessential Pok-O-MacCready camper. Click here.
Super Marcy leaves tomorrow
WILLSBORO, NY -- Tomorrow the first of four 2004 Super Marcy trips leaves from Pok-O’s main gate.
The co-ed group will be led by Sharp Swan, Director of Pok-O-MacCready Camps, who will be joined by Super Marcy veterans Phil Corell, Miriam Schaffer, and
approximately eight Pok-O-Moonshine and Camp MacCready campers.
The group will walk from Camp, through Reber and the Jay Range, to Jay, where they will spend the night. They will then walk into Wilmington, over Whiteface
Mountain, and spend a second night at the Whiteface Landing Leanto. The next day will bring them on a boat ride across Lake Placid and along roads to Adirondak Loj for the
night. The next day they will ascend Marcy via the Phelps Trail, and descend into the Keene Valley Garden via the Range Trail.
Three other groups will follow, one each day from Monday - Thursday.
The group leaving Tuesday, led by Phil’s son Mark Corell and Jon Strazza, is made up of the best and oldest hikers in Camp, all of whom belong to Pok-O’s Advanced
Section. They will follow a Marcy route not followed by a group from Pok-O since the 1930’s: by using an accelerated time table, they will walk to Marcy and back to Camp under their
own power in 4 days and three nights.
Wednesday’s group, to be led by Jen Perry and Courtney Haynes, will be made up entirely of MacCready girls, most of whom belong to MacCready’s C.I.T.
section. Program Director Chris Durlacher will also participate in his first Super Marcy with the Wednesday ladies’ group.
David Durant, Drew Seitz, and Matt Leto will lead the final group, made up of the youngest campers to attempt Super Marcy this summer, most of whom are strong
Intermediate boy hikers. They will follow the same time schedule as the Monday and Wednesday groups, but will bypass the summit of Whiteface in hopes of improving their chances at
Marcy.
The last time Pok-O sent a Super Marcy was during the 95th reunion year of 1999, and before that 1993. Super Marcy was sent every nine years from 1957 unitl
1993, and in 1999, an every-five-year rotation was begun. The route and tradition were based off the Marcy trips lead by Alex Robinson and company from Pok-O-Moonshine during the
first three decades of the 20th century.
Thanks to its rarity, an attempt at Super Marcy can be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
”My Return to Camp”
by Kathy Gigantiello, Nurse
In my heart I hold very special memories of a wonderful place I spent five summers as a child. As I recall those memories, I see the most beautiful lake surrounded by glorious mountains, I smell the crisp morning air, and I hear the sound of children’s laughter.
A sense of peace comes to mind as I remember a place where children are allowed to be and explore, not only discovering the beauty of nature, but discovering the beauty of themselves.
This summer as I return 25 years later and I walk down the path from MacCready to Pok-O, once again I am in that glorious place filled with a sense of peace and pride.
Yet this summer I hear the sound of children’s laughter and watch them discover the beauty of this wonderful place and know the memories they will hold in their hearts.
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