Spring 2023 Sanborn Western Camps Alum News

Dear Friends,

Happy Spring! Well, to be honest, we’re still waiting for spring to arrive here in the Rockies. Though the sun is out most days, the temperatures have been so cool that mud season has not even started yet. We’re sure it is coming though. While many of you will be enjoying blooming azaleas and lilacs and other beautiful flowers, think of us poking through frozen clods of dirt looking for a tiny Pasque Flower. But I digress……

On a positive note, we are confident that by the time camp opens our aspen will be leafed out and the meadows will be filling with colorful wildflowers.

We have begun our spring outdoor education program and it is wonderful to have students and teachers back at High Trails. And, of course, we are in high gear preparing for camp! In less than two months, our 75th summer camp season will begin and we are hiring the final staff, preparing to open the facilities, and ordering the supplies needed for each of our programs. We can’t wait!

This issue of the Alum News has quite a lot of news from our alums (we only made up a little bit of it). We are always grateful when you send us information about what is going on in your liveson holiday cards, notes, or e-mails. We especially appreciate your stories of mini-reunions with other camp alums and there are several in these pages.

Speaking of reunions, the response to our 75th anniversary alum reunion next August has been

amazing! More than 500 of you are registered and Big Spring, High Trails, and The Nature Place will be bursting at the seams. This will definitely be a big celebration!

We have a lot of facility improvements going on. The biggest project right now is a new washhouse on STUW Ridge. I know what you are thinking……. but, no, the primary reason for this improvement is not to encourage the older boys to take more showers. (But that may be one happy outcome.)

As always, we are incredibly grateful to all of you for your friendship and your support. Our alum community is one of our biggest assets. We couldn’t do what we do without you!

Sincerely,

CREEK

Vast open meadows, soaring hawks, bucking bales, Big Sky, arrowheads, cool Aspen groves, grazing elk, roaming horses, the true West – descriptions of Fish Creek from those who love and have great memories of the beautiful valley west of Little Blue Ridge.

Sandy and Laura purchased 1300 acres on Fish Creek west of Big Spring from Walter Witcher in 1963. The boys had been camping, hiking, and riding in the valley for several years and it was an excellent addition to the original 480 acres when the boys’ camp began in 1948.

The headwaters of Fish Creek are about nine miles as the hawk flies to the southwest on the Platte side of the Hayden Divide in a drainage between Saddle Mountain and Thirty-nine Mile Mountain south of Eleven Mile Reservoir in Park County.

To drive to Fish Creek we headed south on the Old Stage Road, which runs along the west edge of Big Spring and then turned up the Sunday Rocks Valley at an old cattle guard made of wooden poles. At the top of that valley the “road” bears left to join the freight road from South Park through the Walter Witcher Ranch on to Cripple Creek before the railroad was built. Continuing southwest we soon came to “Squeaky Gate” which is the beginning of the Fish Creek property – large meadows with the creek meandering down the middle of the valley. (We can’t drive this route anymore because the Forest Service has closed many of these backcountry trails.)

A hard right turn takes us to what we called the Fish Creek Homestead, known historically as the Bird Place. There was a small two-room cabin, a small primitive barn, and corrals. The property is somewhat of an hour-glass shape –- narrow in the middle with wider pasture land to the north and south. Jake Vaseen told me that the cabin was originally at Four Meadows to the north. It was dragged by a six-horse team to the middle of the property to better manage the north and south pastures.

I remember one time driving around with Sandy checking the land and discovering that the cabin was no longer on its foundation. It looked like a major gust of wind had moved it enough to have tilted the cabin partly askew on the foundation. We were both shocked and jumped out of the truck. Sandy forgot to set the brake and the truck rolled down into the creek. It was seriously stuck and we walked back to camp. (This is only one of many times Sandy got vehicles stuck in Fish Creek . . . but that’s another story.)

Another memory I have of that cabin took place in February 1969. Sandy and Laura were travelling to cities in the mid-West with the camp movie; my wife Betty and I were the only ones at camp. A voice on the phone said that it looked like the Bird place was on fire. There was a lot of snow and I drove our first four-wheel-drive “Blue Bomb” on the county road and hiked in to find the cabin already burned to the ground. It’s always been a mystery how it caught fire.

A little north of the Homestead, the Homestake Pipeline crosses the valley west to east. Known at camp as “The Tick Track” (see AlumNews, Spring 2020), the pipeline carries water to Colorado Springs from Mount of the Holy Cross in Eagle County, under the Continental Divide, down a section of the Arkansas River to reservoirs on the western slope of Pikes Peak.

In the early 60s the Junior Counselors (now called Outbackers), with help from Pete and Bill Heisler, had built two platform tents like the BS tents to be an outcamp base for camping without having to carry the heavy Baker tents we used before we had light-weight backpack tents. Sandy developed a well with a hand pump. Unfortunately, the tents were exactly in the path of the pipeline and had to be removed.

Following Fish Creek north, we come to Four Meadows where two valleys come in from the east and west along the north/south running stream. The original homesteader built a cabin and a cellar, the remnants of which are still visible. The spring tank in the center runs strong all year. Four Meadows is truly a spectacular place!

Jake told me stories of harvesting the Timothy hay that grows wild in the valleys. They would load up a wagon with a mattress and springs, a big canvas tent and a cookstove and camp out for a couple of weeks until the hay was stacked in the “hay corral” built to fence out the deer and elk.

A trio of favorite spring tanks/campsites is clustered on the slopes above Four Meadows – Windy Ridge, Mule Deer, and Well Well.

JAKE VASEEN

Valdemar “Jake” Vaseen was Walter Witcher’s brother-in-law. His family operated a dairy in Cripple Creek during the gold mine boom years, and Walter was married to his sister, Ellen. At the age of 16 Jake came to work on the Witcher Ranch. At the end of the summer he said, “I ain’t goin’ back!” and he lived the rest of his life as a ranch hand until he died in his 70s in the ‘70’s.

In his later years Jake lived in a trailer near the Witcher ranch house. He enjoyed visits by campers when they were riding or hiking in the area. He often hiked over the hill to High Trails for Sunday dinner and Laura would drive him home. He told great stories about life on the Witcher Ranch.

Next to the west meadow, deposits of the mineral jasper were formed after lava from a nearby volcano cooled when ground water deposited silica into gas pockets. Ute Indians discovered these deposits and fashioned

The Hayden Divide

arrowheads that we sometimes find in the valley, indicating that it might have been a “workshop” for Ute flint knappers.

The east meadow leads up to the Bottlegate spring tanks. This is another beautiful valley containing two memorable camping sites. The nearby gate in the wire fence contains an old bottle twisted into the barbed wire. Early ranchers often used a bottle or a stick to tighten wire that became loose. The purple tint of the glass comes from long exposure to the sun. In a hidden drainage on the eastern slope of the valley we once discovered a failed attempt by beavers to create a pond below an unreliable spring.

Fish Creek continues out of the north meadow through a picturesque canyon to the site of a failed spring tank called Iron Spring. A small valley to the west hides an abandoned bootlegger cellar. After Prohibition ended in the early 30s, the Florissant area was a notorious center of illegal booze made in hard-to-find valleys and smuggled into Kansas, which was still a dry state, in truckloads of hay and chicken cages.

Water from Fish Creek flows out of Sanborn land, along the county road, through Blue Mountain Ranch, into Twin Creek west of Florissant, into the South Platte River at Lake George, through Denver and Nebraska, into the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers and on to the Gulf of Mexico.

Campers and staff members for 75 years have enjoyed the beauty and adventure of Fish Creek. Many staff members have fond memories of bucking bales of hay and bouncing around in the “Zorro”, the GMC, and “Country Chicken” hay wagons filling the hay barns for the Sanborn herd.

Jerry McLain

jerry@sanbornwesterncamps.com

The 6000 acres of COEC is located on a major watershed divide known as the Hayden Divide. Precipitation that falls on the southern portion flows into the Platte River, crosses Nebraska, enters the Missouri River, flows into the Mississippi at St. Louis after a trip through Missouri. Rain and snow between High Trails and the Witcher Ranch joins the Mississippi from the Arkansas River via Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. •

•

NEW STUW Washhouse

OK.A

new washhouse is not as exciting as a new cabin, a new lodge, or a new health center but these buildings are used more than almost any other building at Big Spring and we are committed to significantly upgrading them over the next couple of years.

For 2023, we are building a brand new washhouse for STUW Ridge. Located just west of the old washhouse, it will feature individual shower stalls and changing areas which have exterior entrances. Toilet entrances are also exterior and each toilet is completely enclosed, insuring privacy.

Hand washing sinks and individual lockers for each camper and staff member are located centrally. Decks with overhanging roofs provide protection from the weather, even if it is raining.

We’re excited to see how STUW Ridge campers and staff like the new washhouse and plan to use it as a model for HKL, MOPQ, and ABC washhouses in the future.

403 Fire Update -- Silver Linings

Late morning on March 30, 2023, a fire began on private property on the west side of County Road 403 (almost 4 miles to the west of the main camp area), pushed onto some of our property parcels on the far west side of the ranch, moved quickly through the grasses on the adjacent NFS lands, and was stopped on the west/ northwest of the Sanborn Western Camps main camp area.

As many of you in Colorado knew, and as some outside of Colorado heard via social media and news outlets, due to the high winds that day, and in the days that followed, the 403 Fire burned just over 1500 acres of grass and other “understory” fuels. All of the staff who live on the property year round were under a mandatory evacuation order for three days while firefighters worked hard to keep the fire to the west of the ridge near Big Spring.

With a large majority of the camp property to the south/southeast of the fire (opposite of the prevailing winds) we were able to move our horses and other livestock out to Witcher Ranch (which was not under evacuation) and all of the students at HTOEC and clients at The Nature Place departed camp with all of their belongings and promises to return.

North Fish Creek looking towards 4-Meadows.

SWC Staff hiked up to C-Bluff to scope out the fire - they were pleased to report there was minimal damage to the trees.

Sanborn horses, cows and calves were safely moved to Witcher Ranch, on the far south side of the property.

We are happy to report that the 403 Fire is contained and we returned to normal operations. Students have returned to High Trails Outdoor Education Center and guests returned to The Nature Place. We are incredibly grateful to the firefighters who worked day and night to hold the line and did not allow the fire to enter Big Spring, to the many neighbors and friends who reached out to offer places for our staff to stay or places for our horses to graze, and to all of our alums and camp families who sent thoughts, prayers, and offers of help.

As so often happens, good can come from challenging situations and we know that there are silver linings as a result of the 403 Fire. The fire stayed primarily in the grass and did not impact many trees either on our property or the adjoining Forest Service land. As every farmer or rancher who has ever burned fields in the spring knows, fire can actually benefit new growth. It removes weeds, controls pests and increases soil fertility by releasing nutrients that were trapped in the old grass. We expect our meadows to be lush and green by summer.

Although we have worked hard on fire mitigation over many years, there is nothing like Mother Nature to do a really good job of it. Since the 403 Fire burned from the west, which, due to prevailing winds, is the direction our most serious fires would come from, that area has now been cleared of undergrowth and significantly reduces the chances of another fire impacting the camp for this summer and years to come. We were also excited to receive a big spring snow less than a week after the fire began…and we think the firefighters were excited, too.

We have detailed evacuation plans and have practiced them on a regular basis, but there is nothing like a real evacuation to hone the skills of our current staff (who reacted quickly and professionally during this evacuation). It is also positive that now every first responder and firefighter in the area is familiar with our property so we can expect a rapid response if any emergencies occur.

Again, the biggest silver lining of all is all of our alums and camp families who care deeply about Sanborn Western Camps and Colorado Outdoor Education Center and who reached out and sent support and good, calm, and wind-free thoughts from afar. As the timeline in the center spread of this edition of the Alum News shows, we have all shared triumphs and overcome challenges over the last 75 years…and we couldn’t have done it without you.

Most of the fire only burned the underbrush and grasses, creating a healthier forest floor while preserving the trees.

SWC Staff, Callie, Will, and Anna, cleaning up slash piles that firefighters had cut to protect our buildings.

Welcome to the world, Ember and Flame! Barnyard goat, Ida, had twins during the evacuation.

prehistoric : pre-1974

definition according to an 8 year old: a time when your grandparents were young; coincides with the age of dinosaurs

GRETCHEN HUND (HT Staff 72-73) and husband, Ted Andrews, enjoyed a fun trip to Africa last June with daughters, Robin and Ali. They also traveled in the Basque region in the fall.

GAIL GALVANI (HT Staff 65)

West is loving her home in Ft. Worth, TX, and enjoys spending time with her grandchildren. She also sings with the Presbyterian Church choir and celebrated her 60th high school reunion with many friends.

JUDY SMITH (HT 65-69)

Schoedel and husband, Warren, spent three months at the beginning of 2022 visiting with son, TAD SCHOEDEL (BS 96-01), and getting to know their new granddaughter, Liora, before returning

home to Buena Vista, CO. They returned to their winter “home” in Arizona after Thanksgiving. Daughter, HEIDI SCHOEDEL (HT 96-03; Staff 09) has moved back to Buena Vista and is teaching bilingual yoga in a studio, at the public library, and at a Montessori preschool. She also works full time at a “fancy pasta and pizza restaurant downtown”.

BOB WORTMANN (BS Staff 6268) and wife, Dottie, have settled into their new home in Hilton Head, SC, and are enjoying the retired life—golf, walking, yoga, pinochle, Mah Jongg bridge, and a book club. Bob is also painting a lot and had a show of his works in January. The Wortmanns were also able to travel in 2022, including a trip to Colorado Springs which

allowed them to visit camp for a day. They also enjoyed a barge trip to France and time in New England.

DARCIE SWENARTON (HT Staff 65-68) Peet continues painting for galleries and various shows and was honored to be asked to speak at the Tucson Museum of Art, Western Art Patrons group, last April. She also had a solo online show with Artzline (www.Artzline.com) in February 2023. She and husband, Barrney, split their time between Arizona and Colorado and enjoy cycling on the paved, off-road trails in both states.

TOM KOCH (BS 63-64; Staff 6670) and wife, Sharon, celebrated their 50th year of marriage in 2022 by enjoying some of the items

on their bucket list including a trip to the Kentucky Derby and a Fall Foliage cruise from New York City to Montreal. When not traveling from their homebase in Leawood, KS., the Kochs spent lots of time with their children and grandchildren.

ROB (62; Staff 65-68) and CONNIE McWILLIAMS (HT Staff 66-68) FRIESEN enjoyed some fun travels in 2022 including “an unforgettable tour of the Canadian Rockies by train and motorcoach” and, of course, trips to California and Carbondale, CO, to visit their children and grandchildren. Connie’s garden was beautiful, as always, and she continues to make her exceptional note cards, with profits supporting World Central Kitchen in Ukraine.

BYRON “PETE” CAIN (BS 6566), wife, Nancy, and son, Jeremy, enjoyed a 5-week vacation to the Western Mediterranean and Italy in 2022—their longest trip ever. They loved the art and Medieval History.

Byron continues to run his group tour business, Heritage Tours, and is hoping to wind it down so that he can spend time on his other passions which include college bands.

SUSAN UPTEGROVE (HT Staff 64-65) Myrick and husband, Jay, continue to enjoy their new home in St. Augustine, FL, where gardenia trees and poinsettia bushes bloom and fresh fish and key lime pie are special treats. Although their travels were limited by Jay’s bout with COVID early in the year, they did visit Wakulla Lodge (where the Tarzan movies were filmed) and drove to Sarasota to watch grandson WILL DENSMORE’s (BS 14-19) crew team compete in high school nationals. They also drove to St. Louis for their 61st high school reunion. A highlight of the year was spending time with son, ANDY MYRICK (BS 84-88), and his family: wife, Jen, daughter, Riley, and son, Liam.

KATE FRIESEN (HT 62, 6466; Staff 67-68) and husband,

Peter Westcott, continue to raft the rivers—in 2022 they rafted Desolation/Grays Canyon on the Green River in Utah and Westwater Canyons on the Colorado River. They also enjoyed a much delayed trip to Portugal and hiked 180 miles along the Fisherman’s Trail along the southwest coast of Portugal. (Among their “hiking buddies” on this trip were MARK (BS Staff 68, 70-71) and JUDY JARRELL (HT Staff 67-71) PALLETT.) They also met Peter’s family in the Yucatan and loved the Mayan history, the cenotes and the food!

DAVID GEIGER (BS 72-80) lives in Los Angeles where he is a First Assistant Director in the film industry. He reports that brother, BILL GEIGER (BS 72, 74-80; Staff 82-83), is “alive and well” and living in Albuquerque, NM.

SALLIE SCHAEFER (HT 68-71; Staff 72-77) Ross especially enjoyed having time together during husband, Ken’s, three-month sabbatical from his position as Bishop in the International Anglican Church. They also love having son, Mark, and his family (3 grandchildren!) living nearby. Son, Will, also lives in Colorado Springs where he is a student in Psychology at UCCS.

RICH BUCHOLZ (BS 62, 64-66; Staff 71) and wife, Kathy, enjoyed some memorable trips in 2022 including to Berlin, Germany, New York City, and Park City, UT, for Christmas. When home in St. Louis, they welcomed family visitors, including son, ETHAN BUCHOLZ (BS 99, 02-05) and his family, and daughter, ELLY BUCHOLZ (HT 97-02, Staff 05) with her fiancé and his two children.

Kate Friesen and Peter Westcott

75 years of

SANBORN/COEC

so much history

2023 is our 75th year in operation and a great deal has happened during those years. It seems appropriate to look back and reflect on significant moments in our history. Of course, each of us carries memories, friendships, and meaningful moments from our connectons to this history.

1940’s

1946 - Sandy and Laura buy 480 acres of a run-down potato farm near Florissant

1947 - Sandy and Laura’s house (now BS office) built with materials from the old farmhouse

1948 - Big Spring’s first summer with 4 boys

1960’s

HIGH TRAILS OPENS

1962 - High Trails opens with about 60 girls

1967 - HTOEC Pilot program

1968 - First backpack trip at camp; Sandy and Laura buy Witcher Ranch: 2,000 acres

1969 - D11 begins bringing all 6th graders to HTOEC; purchase Quick’s Homestead & “The Fishing Shack” in Florissant

1970’s

THE NATURE PLACE

1973 - COEC, a 501(c)3 is founded; first “Stalking Education in the Wild” is held

1980 - Purchase of Leavick Valley property

1981 - Mayo property purchased

1950’s BIG SPRING GROWS

1953 - The Big Spring Lodge is built

1950’s - Tents are built along the ridges

1976 - The Interbarn is built

1977 - First class from Academy District 20 attends HTOEC

1978 - TNP lodge and first 5 cabins built

1979 - TNP opens

1982 - Academy D20 brings all of their 6th graders to HTOEC in the fall

1982-83 - Two more apartment buildings and Sportsplex built at TNP

1984 - PPRS facility built as geology camp for the University of Florida

1989 - First year of Sanborn Junior 1980’s CONTINUED GROWTH

1990’s

1998 - Sanborn and COEC merge

1999 - COEC becomes the umbrella organization with HTOEC, TNP, and SWC; Board of Trustees established

Feb. 1999 - Sandy passes away; Sandy Sanborn Scholarship fund started

2000’s

2002 - Hayman Fire delays camp start by a week

2005 - Internet installed throughout TNP and at BS office

2006 - Introduction of CampMinder System; begin mitigation work with Colorado State Forest Service

2008-09 - Sanborn 60 Capital Campaign begins; first major 5-year reunion; new pool at BS; SOLE program begins

2009 - New pool at HT; CORE program begins; Laura passes away

2010’s MOVING FORWARD

2012 - COEC buys water rights through HASP

2013 - New HT Health Center is built; 5-year reunion

2014 - Board completes Strategic Plan

2016 - Purchase of Antero property

2017 - We get SUP from Teller County so we can build new buildings again

2018 - New Juniper cabin built at HT; Sanborn Tomorrow Capital Campaign begins; 5-year reunion

2019 - Addition built on Big Spring Lodge

2020’s RESILIENCE

2020 - COVID: camps and HTOEC are closed; new Ponderosa cabin built at High Trails

2021 - APB & Gap programs; camp and fall school weeks operated successfully

2022 - “Normal camp program”; HTOEC has spring and fall programs; new BS Health Center built; purchase of 206 acres near Potts Spring; new Ropes Course built

dark ages : 1974-1994

definition according to an 8 year old: a time before you were born, but your parents seem to recall quite clearly-the Florissant Fossil Beds were formed about this time.

THE FAB FIVE - LISA SCHNECK (HT 72-75; Staff 78), JULIE MICOU (HT 72-75; Staff 76, 78) Cerf, KATHY MEDLOCK (HT 72-75; Staff 78) Tuteur, KATHY YANUCK (HT 69-73; Staff 78) Wenger, and MARY ‘BUNNY’

PORTER (HT 71-73; Staff 78-79) celebrated their camp friendship with their traditional annual trip last October. They journeyed to Julie’s house in Vermont and enjoyed long walks on country roads, a hike up a (small) mountain, a visit to Robert Todd Lincoln’s home in Manchester, Vt., a wine tasting, a local craft fair, and endless laughs. “As usual, we had a mahvelous time together ... with the husbands, too! A resounding success!” They are looking forward to their 2023 reunion in August at the Sanborn 75th reunion!

SHERI BONE (HT Staff 80-82; TNP Staff 07) Fedorchak and husband, Rich, are enjoying retirement from their home in Estes Park, CO. Sheri spent many days hiking with friends in the mountains while Rich rode his motorcycle through beautiful Colorado canyons and mountains. Sheri also volunteers with Rocky Mountain National Park grooming horses and Rich serves on the boards of the Rocky Mountain Conservancy and CU Boulder.

JEN SCHOFIELD (HT 85-90; Staff 93-95) Law and family had another busy year including many college

tours with EMILY (HT 14-21) who is in her senior year of high school. They visited the University of New Hampshire where sister, Jacqueline, is a thriving junior. Jen started a new role last year as the VP of Human Resources for Vail Health while husband, Pete, continues his law practice.

HEIDI WIGAND-NICELY (HT Staff 79, 81-84) and “old cohort”

LAURIE BAKER (HT Staff 81; TNP Staff 81-87) enjoyed a llama backpack together in the San Juan mountains last year.(“Who knew there were llamas instead of horses?”)

SUZANNE GEPSON (HT 8690; Staff 92,94) Hagen and family

enjoyed some great travels in 2022. The new year started with crosscountry skiing in Park City, UT. They spent spring break at Disney World then went to Nashville in June where husband, Chris’s sister lives. Next up was California and then to Colorado for niece EMILY BURNHAM’s (HT 07-13; Staff 16-22) wedding. Son, Timmy, is in 7th grade and continues drawing, dancing, and hanging out with friends. Son, WILL (BS 22),10, is in 4th grade and enjoyed his first experience at camp as well as karate, cello, basketball and baseball.

JULIE HESS (HT Staff 81-82)

Farnham and husband, Stu, had an exciting year with a wedding, a new

Fab Five: Lisa Schneck, Kathie Medlock Tuteur, Kathy Yanuck Wenger, Bunny Porter, Julie Micou Cerf

grandchild, travel and retirement. Son, BEN (BS 99) married Crystal Arnote in Lajolla, CA. in February, 2022. Daughter, Elizabeth, and her partner, Calin, live in Wellington, New Zealand and had a baby girl in September, with Grandma Julie in attendance. Son, Nathanial, lives in Broomfield, CO. Stu had worked for the US Space Command for the last couple of years and retired last October from the J7 Joint Training and Force Development Directorate. The Farnhams have two big trips scheduled for 2023— to New Zealand and to Alaska in June to celebrate their 40th anniversary.

GEORGINA BLISS (HT 78-79)

Marshall finished her MA and presented her paper in Chicago last Spring. Son, JAMES MARSHALL (BS 10-11, 13) is engaged to Nicole Prentice with a Sept 2023 wedding planned.

JANN HARRIS (HT Staff 80-82)

Kinney and family enjoyed a fun trip to Ireland and England in 2022. She and husband, Kraige, also experienced many adventures in the Southwest. When home in Eagle, CO, Kraige pursues his new passion of electric vehicles and Jann works at the library and reads as much as possible.

Reunion in Austria

Last Summer, staff member JUSTUS MUNNIGHOFF (BS 16,17; Staff 22) met Outbacker JUSTUS GAUB (BS 18, 22) who was also from Germany.

While looking at the camp photo books, they realized that Justus M’s uncle, NIKO BROCKMAN, (BS 80-81) and Justus G’s father, HEINZ GAUB, (BS 80-81) were Outbackers together in 1981. Over Christmas, the Munnighoff and Gaub families were vacationing near to each other in Austria and Niko and Heinz reunited after more than 40 years!

MIKE (BS Staff 86-88) and JENNI MORTON (HT Staff 86,88) AZBELL enjoyed lots of travel in 2022, “and are dreaming of even more!” Son, DANIEL (BS 15-17), is working on his Master of Mechanical Engineering degree and son, CHRIS (BS 12-13, 15), is in his first year of Law School at Washington University in St. Louis. When not travelling, Jenni and Mike live in Dillon, CO.

MIKE MAHONEY (BS 80-83) and wife, Wendi, are working hard to get the work:travel ratio up to 75:25. Daughter, KAILEY, 23, (HT

07-08; 11-15) is working full-time at CU Anschutz on a lung cancer research team while completing pre-med courses at CU Denver. FISHER, 21, (BS 08) is a junior at the university of Oregon where he is studying business and is newly elected vice president/treasurer of his fraternity. PALMER, 20, (BS 13) is a sophomore at the University of Oregon where he is studying entrepreneurship, balancing Fiji fun and maintaining his Dean’s List status.

LAURA FRIESEN (HT 83-88; Staff 90, 92-94) “spent much of this year managing special events, pouring party drinks, and eating leftover wedding food” as a caterer in Denver. She was able to take some time off during the summer to take photo classes in Snowmass, to return to New York to do street photography projects, and to visit Katie in California and Betsy in Carbondale.

BETSY FRIESEN (HT 85, 87-88, 90; Staff 92-93; 96-97) McMichael

Niko Brockman, Justus Munninghoff, Justus Gaub, Heinz Guab

and family continue to take full advantage of the outdoor life from their home base in Carbondale, CO. Son, DEAN, 17, (BS 21-22) is a senior and is immersed in college applications while son, ANDY, 15, (BS 21-22) loves playing baseball and is now excited about competitive mountain biking. Betsy teaches 4th grade and husband, Malcolm, consults for businesses and non-profit organizations.

JORGEN FROKIAER (BS Staff 77-78) is Head of the Department of Clinical Medicine at Aarhus University in Denmark. He and wife, Berit, love spending time with their four grandchildren, including Sienna, who was born in September to son, DANIEL (BS Staff 08) and his wife, Michelle. Jorgen and Berit were also able to do some fun traveling in 2022— including to Greenland, which Jorgen recommends highly!

ANNE ALBRIGHT (HT 73-78; Staff 79-80), ALICE ALBRIGHT (HT 73-78; Staff 79-80) Bowes, and NANCY RODKIN (HT 73-78)

daughter, NORA (HT 16, 18-19; Staff 22), who is a sophomore at the University of Virginia. They are “developing some fun routines as empty nesters” when at home in North Kingstown, RI.

HELEN STEVENS (HT 75-78; Staff 82) is working as a nurse practitioner, and maintains a connection to the years overseas by working in travel medicine in the Boston area. Husband, Semih, continuing his work with the UN Refugee

two-year hiatus. She visited Bangladesh, Bahamas, Poland, Turkey, and Jordan in her work with Relief International. Then “a significant job change” occurred in September which pushed her further into a sedentary US based remote work life. However, she loves her home in Skaneateles, NY, runs every day and has started skiing again so it is not too sedentary!

Rotering reunited in Chicago in December.

JOE “JODY” JENKINS (BS 74-76; Staff 77-79, 92) and wife, Stacey Nakasian, “took a spectacular trip to Vancouver and then across western Canada on the Rocky Mountaineer train to Jasper for a few days of hiking” in 2022. They also enjoyed visiting old haunts in Charlottesville while visiting

Agency, is in Kabul, Afghanistan, making a valiant effort to provide humanitarian assistance to refugees and displaced Afghans. Semih and Helen were able to reunite with their children, Kaya and Sera Bulbul, three times in 2022. The best news is that Semih will be retired as of April 1st, 2023!

CLAIRE DONOHUE (HT 9092, 94) was able to travel again during the first part of 2022 after a

MARK PETERSON (BS Staff 78) retired about four years ago after a career of working in the environmental nonprofit world in director positions with the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute of Northland College, the National Parks Conservation Association, and the National Audubon Society. He continues to sit on several non-profit boards and is president of the board of Wilderness Watch, based in Missoula, MT. In retirement he is spending a lot of time outdoors—hiking in Europe, and skiing (both alpine and Nordic) primarily in the west, although he had a trip planned to the Italian Dolomites this winter.

CARRIE BROWN-WOLF (HT Staff 86,88) and husband, Dan’s three children are all involved in adventures. ELLIE (HT 07) has been teaching skiing in Taos. TYE (BS 09) is in San Francisco consulting for BCG, after spending the previous year in China. (In true camp spirit, he lives in a great apartment but with only one bowl

and one spoon). OLIVIA (HT 11-12, 14-15, 17) spent last spring in a field quarter class where she camped throughout California, teaching HT tips like slicker sliding in the Sierras. She loved it so much, she applied to a different kind of field quarter in Namibia, where she spent the fall camping in the Kalahari. Dan continues his law practice in the Vail Valley while Carrie writes and advocates for youth and mental health issues—“not nearly as exciting lives as our kids, but not boring, either. No Sanborn alumni knows boredom, do they?”

SHANE MATSON (BS 86-90; Staff 91-96) shared the following (which sounds awesome!):

“On the weekend of October 14th, 2022, a gathering of Sanborn alumni took place on the Ozark Plateau. Under the pretense of a “Party of the Universe” Shane and Wendeline Matson and Jim and Sara Westover tricked their pals into travelling to Bentonville, AR to celebrate the completion of Jim’s and Shane’s 50th trips about the Sun. Despite Jim’s height advantage, Shane took 1st place in reaching 50.

Acting as chiropractors for the Earth and setting things straight, the party revelers travelled from 7 states and included Melissa and Keyes Williamson, Krista Wright, Dylan Cope, Terry and Karen Hayden, Mike MacDonald, Matt Agren , Kyle Shannon, Sashi WeissBand, and Chloe Weiss-Galkin. It was by all accounts a fantastic time.

Current SWC campers Paulo Matson, Fuller Shannon, Thatcher Shannon, Goldie Shannon, Maggie Doyle, Lucy Doyle, Eva DeVerges, and Sage Thomas, were witness to the lunacy of mostly grown up Sanborners-in-the-Wild, noting calls for Cooks Parades and Bigger Spoons! Deeper Bowls! Whole Milk!

Activities included co-ed mountain biking, hiking, walks through Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and a very fine dancing and talent party. Missing were the Winslow Bulldogs.

This event established definitively that you can indeed trust people under 14,000 and will be repeated over and over and over for many Octobers to come.”

Phil Cromack and mother, Margot Cromack, at his wedding

olden days: 1995-now

MIA VILGIATE (HT 19-2123) and her mother ASHLEY

ZUZACH (HT 90) Vilgiate flew to San Francisco to help celebrate the Bat Mitzvah of camp friend

LUCY DAOUST (HT 18-19, 21-23), daughter of Mark and ELIZABETH DUBINSKY (HT 9296; 98)Daoust.

KATIE FRIESEN (HT 88-93; Staff 95, 97-98) Reneker is actively growing her business, Carmel Berry Company, in Monterey County, California, and husband, Ben, is busy with his new role at S&P Global. Son, ROY, 16, (BS 22) is immersed in the robotics program at Carmel High and runs track and cross-country. HENRY, 13, (BS 21-22) is into mountain biking and playing the drums.

RICK FRIESEN (BS 96-99; Staff 02-05) and wife, Nicole, are both academic pediatricians at Children’s Hospital in Denver. Son, Arlo, 18 months, is “always smiling”.

MADELINE “MADDIE”

JENKINS (HT 08-10; Staff 13,15) will graduate from law school in May, take the bar exam and then start work at Saul Ewing in Washington, DC in August. She and fiancé, Kyle, will be married in Newport, RI, in November.

JEFF (BS Staff 08; HTOEC Staff 10-11) and STACY ROBINSON (HT Staff 11; HTOEC Staff 10-11) JOYCE had a busy year keeping up with daughters Zoe, 5, and Margo 4. Both girls took up skiing

definition according to an 8 year old: The time preceding right now-pioneers still churned butter and made candles during this period.

“and were a danger to many on the bunny hills of Southern Pennsylvania’s storied slopes”. During the summer, they jumped into swimming, then turned their enthusiasm to biking in the fall. It is a good thing that Mom and Dad are athletic types.

LIZ CONNELLY (HT 95-97; Staff 98-99) Fischer and husband, Woody, spent most of 2022 adjusting to being a family of 5 -twins Julian and Freya, were born November 29, 2021, and Henry, 8, became “the best big brother imaginable.” Liz made a career change and is now a board certified Lactation Consultant, while Woody has squeezed in as much science as possible between diaper changes.

KAYA BULBUL (BS 10) received a five-year extension to his contract at the World Economic Forum where he’s bringing visibility to the entrepreneurs solving the world’s biggest problems. He and girlfriend, Amelie, finally moved in together

after 10 years of long-distance, and now live in Lausanne, Switzerland!

SERA BULBUL (HT 10-13, Staff 16) is excited to be back to training with her high performance rowing team on the Potomac River. She continues to work for The Hunger Project in a role that covers advocacy, research and communications. She Lives in Arlington, Virginia, with boyfriend, Brian.

JAMES MARSHALL (BS 10-11, 13) is living in Nashville, TN, and has a “great job” training trainers and helping athletes avoid injuries. He will marry his college sweetheart in September.

NOAH WILLIAMS (BS Staff 18-19) competed in the world trail running championships last November in Thailand and finished 22nd in the 40K Trail race. When not racing, Noah works for the ski patrol at Copper Mountain and at Galena, a store in Leadville, CO.

Mia, Ashley, Elizabeth, and Lucy

You’re Invited To the Annual AlumWork project day

Join us for a day of projects around Big Spring, High Trails and The Nature Place to help protect facilities from potential wildfire damage including tree slash removal, pine needle raking, and brush removal. Weather permitting, we may have a “Getting Big Spring Ready for Camp” painting and staining project or two.

Saturday, April 29, 2023

8:00 - 9:00am - meet at the nature place lodge to make a sack lunch and get organized into highly efficient work crews

9:00am - 4:00pm - Work with your crew to complete your project (definitely enjoy a lunch break sometime in the middle)

5:00pm - super fun barbecue (with adult beverages) to celebrate our accomplishments

Wear old clothes (if you still have some with green paint on them, that would be perfect), sturdy shoes and bring work gloves and water bottles if you have them (no worries if you don’t - we will provide them).

RSVP to jane@sanbornwesterncamps.com

(We need to know by April 20th so we can plan the projects and be sure to have enough cookies!)

Sanborn 75th Reunion

August 17-20, 2023

vital statistics

marriages, births & adoptions, life celebrations births:

SADIE KELLER (HT Staff 05-06) and Davin Ringen, a son, Keller Ross Ringen, March 18, 2023, in Grand Junction, CO

LeMonyca Anderson and ANTONIO CLARK (BS 07-10), a son, Joceri Anderson-Clark, October 16, 2022, in Colorado.

Josh and NICOLE NORD (HT 95-98, 00-01; Staff 05, 10) Cherner, a daughter, Emerson “Emmy” Cherner, October 27, 2022, in Corte Madera, CA

Peter and CAITLIN ROSSO ( HT 00-07; Staff 12)-Grant a son, Cole Rosso Grant, November 2, 2022, in Birmingham, MI Grandparents: Kate and JOHN ROSSO (BS 73-76) Birmingham, MI

Shawn and CAMERON JOYCE (HT Staff 08, 10) Dubose, a son, Matthew Ryan Dubose, November 25, 2022, in Lenoir, NC

Beau and MEG WILKERSON (HT Staff 10) Harrington, a boy, Tucker Alan Harrington, December 13, 2022, in Moberly, MO

JOHN (BS Staff 06, 08-09) and ALIDA OVRUTSKY(HT 95-02; Staff 05, 08-09) LEAVITT, a daughter, Maxine Rose Leavitt, December 14, 2022, in Portland, ME

LAUREN HARISON (HT 96-00) and Jeff Webb, a daughter, Lucy Webb, January 16, 2023, in Woodland Park, CO

McLain and MADISON WILCOX (HT Staff 17) Cowan, a son, Emmett Ray Cohen, January 27, 2023, in Denver, CO

Jordan and BIANCA ALTERIO (HT 04-08) Gillespie, a son, Jackson Benton Gillespie, March 8, 2023, in Fort Lauderdale, FL

Clockwise from the top: Keller Ringen, Sadie & Davin; LeMonyca, Joceri & Antonio; Nicole & Emmy; Cole Rosso Grant; Cameron & Matthew; Tucker Harrington; Alida, Maxine & John; Madison, Emmett & McLain; Bianca, Jordan & Jackson

marriages:

PHIL CROMACK (BS 02-07; Staff 10, 13) to Sarah Capelouto on October 1, 2022 in Atlanta GA.

DAVID CUMMING (BS Staff 10, 12-13) to Sara Santa Cruz, October 8, 2022, Charlottesville, VA

Don’t feel left out! Send us news, photos, updates and celebrations to alumnews@sanbornwesterncamps.com

With Sanborn’s commitment to research and continuous program improvement, we were looking forward to hearing prominent camp researchers discuss the newly released findings of the American Camp Association’s five year National Camp Impact Study during the February 2023 ACA National Conference in Orlando. We were not disappointed.

Among the key findings in the Youth Impact Study:

• High-quality camp experiences are linked to youth and staff development.

• Summer camp is one piece of a larger developmental ecosystem. Though it may offer unique benefits compared to some settings, camp is best understood as a setting that can complement youths’ other life experiences.

We were most excited by the power of a “high-quality” camp experience and with the power of camp to support school success and vice versa. When kids attend a high-quality camp program, the character traits, social skills and overall desire to be engaged in school and in the world increase.

So what is a “high-quality” camp program? It is–among other characteristics–a program that integrates “reflective, experiential learning opportunities.” When we are living together in the outdoors, setting up campsites, practicing Leave No Trace outdoor ethics, saddling or hawking our horses, trying to puzzle out the best way up a technical rock climbing route, we (and our campers and staff) are learning important lessons about everything from the weather to human relations. And, as we all know–and now the research tells us–those lessons will last a lifetime.

Another part of the National Impact Study was the Staff Impact Study. This component of the larger study was initially designed to discover the lasting benefits of camp employment. In similar ways, the study found that staff members who worked at camp experienced many of the same positive “indirect effects” as the campers, but the study also found that working at camp helped many staff members discover and deepen their “work values” which correlates to having higher levels of work satisfaction and job alignment as adults.

So when you wake up to go to work tomorrow, ask yourself, "Is there any part of this job that I enjoy that may have been influenced by my time at Sanborn?" Hopefully the answer is yes…and hopefully there is a young person you know who, through your encouragement, may discover and deepen their professional values during a summer working at camp.

We will continue to participate in research for ACA because we see the value in knowing what we do well and discovering what we can do better. For more information about the ACA’s National Youth Impact Study, please visit: https://www.acacamps.org/resources/national-campimpact-study.

Phil and Sarah

Sara and David

Jeff Roberts

September 8, 1976 - November 8, 2022

We lost a giant in our community on November 8, 2022 when Jeff Roberts passed away. Jeff’s influence at camp spanned four decades of continuous service to COEC. He was an active board member and a beloved friend to so many former and current campers and staff.

For the past 12 years Jeff served on the Colorado Outdoor Education Center Board of Trustees and provided timely, appropriate legal counsel on many topics as well as wise advice on all of the issues that came before the Board. It is impossible to overstate his many contributions and commitment to COEC and Sanborn Western Camps.

Jeff first came to Big Spring as a camper in 1989 and 1990. He returned as a counselor at Big Spring in 1997 and 1998. From 1999-2001, he was a Ridge Leader at Big Spring and also served as an instructor in the fall of 1999 and spring of 2001 for High Trails Outdoor Education Center.

It was only fitting that after summiting Mt. Princeton, among many other Fourteeners, that he should then graduate from Princeton University in 1999. Jeff went on to graduate from the University of Iowa College of Law in 2005. (If there were a Mt. Iowa in Colorado he would have climbed that too.) After law school he returned to Colorado to be closer to the mountains and outdoors that he loved so much and joined the law firm of Faegre in Denver. He became a Partner in the firm and worked primarily in business and antitrust litigation. Even though his day job required his office to be in Denver, he was never more than a phone call away to be a sounding board, or even to write an opening statement to be read before the Big Spring Kangaroo Court. His heart was always at camp.

Jeff loved Sanborn. He dropped by whenever his schedule allowed and he was a fixture at most Opening Days–meeting campers, reassuring new camp parents, driving the trash truck and otherwise being his normal, helpful, “can-do” self. He labeled and transported approximately 2,000 pieces of luggage during the COVID-modified drop-off in 2021. Jeff spread the mission of Sanborn to others beyond this 6,000 acres. He opened his home to staff members to ease the transition to urban life. There have been many camp alums who lived in Jeff’s basement for significant periods of time, or found themselves crashing on the couch for a visit that without doubt would lead to memories, storytelling and conversations about the impact of camp.

Jeff was a passionate supporter of the Sanborn Scholarship program and of our efforts to provide the camp experience to underserved youth. He also served on the board of 1000 Summers, one of our scholarship partners and was a mentor to several scholarship applicants. He was a member of the COEC Board scholarship committee, and a major donor to the Scholarship Fund. He believed deeply in the power of the impact of camp in a child’s life and how it positively shapes their future. His family asked that any donations in his memory go to the Sandy and Laura Sanborn Scholarship Fund to carry on his passion and legacy of serving youth.

A service for Jeff was held in his home town of Iowa City and another memorial was held in Denver which was attended by many of his camp friends as well many of the attorneys he worked with at Faegre and Benson. His law firm has honored Jeff by creating The “Jeff Roberts Spirited Service Award” which will be given annually to celebrate colleagues “who in connection with their work exemplify the best attributes of Jeff: leadership, humor, authenticity, citizenship, camaraderie, and resourcefulness.”

We all miss his humor, his brilliance, his wisdom, and his willingness to help with anything we needed. Thank-you, Jeff.

Sanborn Western Camps is a program of Colorado Outdoor Education Center, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.

Colorado Outdoor Education Center

Spring 2023

PO Box 167

Florissant, CO 80816

www.sanbornwesterncamps.com