Woodbadge at Camp Maple Dell — 1999
It is with fond memories that I record my feelings about my last (hopefully) Woodbadge staff experience. Rod Fisher was asked to be the course director of course WVE2-591-5-99, and he asked me to be the course advisor. I was glad to serve alongside this good friend, taking some pride in the fact that I originally recruited Rod to attend Woodbadge and now here he was directing a course. Our course was held at Camp Maple Dell in September of 1999. Rod chose an outstanding staff and I thoroughly enjoyed my association with these men and women. It was particularly fun to share this experience with Peter Case and Dave Gunderson, two men that Rod and I worked with in the Great Salt Lake Council. I was truly blessed in my recruiting efforts, with 32 friends responding to my invitation to attend the course. This number included 12 great friends from my own ward.
Rod asked me to be a coach counselor over the Owls, an all-female squad. This was a real delight to work with these ten talented women. Karen Salmon, Leslie Mix, Cindy Gagon, Joyce Larsen, Lisa Moore, and Jill Hansen were some of the great ladies I had the privilege to work with. In my opinion, these Owls were the highlight of our course. They were clever, witty, enthusiastic, and positive. They performed a cute lip-synch to the tune of “I Am Woman” during the participants’ campfire, which was uproariously hilarious. They received a standing ovation. We had a very moving experience with another member of the Owl squad, Joan Durfey. She had carried a resentment and animosity toward her former husband for several years, and she movingly recounted to all of us how she finally was able to let go of these destructive feelings after her experience at the “Trust Fall”, one of the wonderful, challenging events that we held. In the same way that she was able to let go of her fears and “trust” in her fellow squad members at the Trust Fall, she found the ability to let go of her hatred and “trust” in the Savior’s ability to help her in this difficult endeavor. As we ended the course, the Owls presented me with a beautiful hand-tied quilt. What a wonderful opportunity it was to share this experience with these gifted ladies.
We had a wonderful religious service during the last weekend. Dr. Jeff Smith (one of my recruits) shared the moving story of the young Greek boy whose life was spared in World War II because he was a Boy Scout, and another participant related how he saved his 4-year old daughter’s life by using CPR techniques which he had learned as a young Boy Scout.
The Hawks squad, led by Jack Peterson (one of my recruits), was our rebel group. They were hilarious at each Gilwell and kept us all on our toes with their pranks and skits. They also provided two very memorable acts of service. On our High Adventure day, Dave Cope came to run one of our stations and he brought his 7-year old son, Zachary, with him. The Hawks quickly adopted Zachary as an honorary Hawk, and they took this young boy with them for the rest of the day. He participated in every activity along with the Hawks, and had a wonderful time. Both Dave and Zachary were very appreciative. Also, Joe Evans from our ward was a Hawk, and the only piece of Scout uniform he had was a red activity shirt (which he borrowed from me). On the last weekend, the Hawks presented to Joe a brand-new complete Scout uniform. At our last Gilwell, they hid him behind a blanket as they had him change into the new uniform and then they presented him to the course fully-uniformed. It was a very special moment.
I was asked to plan and coordinate an “alternative cooking styles” luncheon, and I asked over twenty of my Woodbadge friends to come up to Maple Dell and help with the presentation. It was roaring success, and it was so fun to have Susan, Dayna, Dan, Todd and Linda Christensen, Sue Peterson, Paul and Pat Streiff, Tony Malovich, and others come to help.
All in all, this course was a fitting end to my Woodbadge career: association with wonderful friends, participating in marvelous experience, and savoring pleasant memories for years to come.
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