Cindy's New Pictures

Ellie and Libby Kesner

Memories from Marjorie and Marianne

Camp Quidnunc in 1942!
by Marjorie Stamler Snyder

I'll always remember the 4 weeks that I spent at Camp Quidnunc in 1942. The campfires, the tents late at night (watching the mice run along the posts), the campfires, the sound of rain on the tent, also the open air dining room, are all treasured memories. One of the counselors played the recorder, and it inspired me to learn to play the instrument. It was probably the best summer of my life, and I'm nearly 78 years old.

Quidnunc- A big part of my life
by Gilda Kormes Zucker -Splint
I haven't finished reading all of the messages but I have been overcome with so many emotions. I began at Quid in Hundred Acre Woods in 1958 and was in just about every unit as a camper, program aid or counselor. My last year 1970, I was asst. Waterfront Dir. My memory for names is not as good as all of yours seem to be but when the names are mentioned I can place myself back at camp with many of those people. Unfortunately, a flood in my basement wiped out a lot of memorabilia but it is all still in my heart. I am still in touch with several Quid alumni , some of whom have posted on this site. Thanks for stirring up the memories. I still have my song books with all of our favorites and used many of them in my classroom throughout my career.

Quidnunc - A big part of my life
by Marianne Skeeter Bradford
You may not remember me (Splint) but I remember you. You were my counselor in Trails End in 1968 and it is because of talking with you that I decided to work as a counselor at camp. I was still a camper in 1969 in Caravan but then I was a kitchen Aide in 1970 and a unit Counselor in 1971. While you were on waterfront you helped teach me Senior Life Saving. I have since been a lifelong Girl scout and have been a resident camp staf for nearly 30 years. I am tall and had long brown hair. My e -mail address is Marianne. B @cox.net

Army of Women

Susan Love spoke on the Today Show about the need for healthy women to participate in breast cancer research. If you are interested in finding out more, or in being involved in finding a cure for Breast Cancer, please click on the title of this post.

Quid Vids

2009 Summer Plans

Hi Girls,

Hope all of you had a great summer and are well rested. We have big plans for the coming year. A few of us have come up with some ideas and thoughts of a way to get Quidnunc back into a working camp. It may take a while but we think it is well worth it. We would like to see it used as as alumni camp for all Girl Scouts. There isn't a camp anywhere in the GSUSA organization, specifically meant for that purpose. So, in order to get things rolling,we need to organize an alumni group and make our presence known. With that in mind, we thought it would be great to have an alumni week end at a GS camp or at Baker Camp this coming summer. It will be set up just like summer camp with a full program, arts and crafts , hiking, nature tours etc ..you get the idea...We also want to do a service project for Camp Addison Boyce and maybe Quidnunc. I have been in contact with GSCGNY and the Heart of the Hudson councils about this. They are fully behind us and will help as they can.. The Heart of the Hudson council already has a wonderful alumni group called the Green Hats.. who do similar things.. Now with all this said, I need to know who would be interested in this and would be able to make it.. The date is July 17th..2009 at Baker camp. Please let me know what you think and if you would be interested in this association.. I think it is important for girls to learn the things we did at camp and to show them what they can achieve...Look at us!!
This is open to any former girls scout whether they were staff members (remember you were all registered GS when you worked at camp) or campers.. all ages. This is a start towards getting our old camp back...I know ...big maybe..but you have to start somewhere.. We would also like to do this as an annual event, with many different ideas to come..Gilda..your name was mentioned specifically for waterfront duty..Let's get this going and show GSUSA and GSCGNY what it means to be a former Quidnuncer..!!!! Cindy PS Full program, fun and new people..Price is $65.00 each per person per day. Lunch will be $10.00 each.. Be apart of history, Girl Scout history that is, lol... More info later..any questions welcomed ...any help more than welcomed.. New tee shirts and ties..arts and crafts.etc...Hope to hear from everyone soon..

Ellen's Reunion Comments

Hi, it's Ellen Muth Davison!

You asked for comments about the reunion... Wow! It was magical, it really was--more than I even dreamed it could have been. From my point of view now, almost a month distant, what impresses me the most is the quality of the women who were there. What an amazing, accomplished, intresting, fun, exciting group of women. I am so glad to have had the opportunity to one, work at Quidnunc, and two, reconnect with old friends and meet new ones. I'm determined to keep in touch. A million thanks to all who made the reunion possible. Hopefully, even more of us will be able to get together sometime in the future. Ellen

Looking For Quidnunc Alumni!

Debbie Wood

Jeanne E. Thelwell

Gwen Jones

Peggy Johnson (Feeley)

Barbara Thomasy (Bops)

Janet "JoJo" DeCreny

"Bunky" Bailey

"Chinky" Cheryl Rose

Saadia

Belle Gross

Donna and Lynn Jeffries

Kathy Prime, of Douglaston NY, dad was tugboat captain

"Cass" the counselor in 1969

Ruth "Pokey" Williams, counselor, from Jackson, MI

If you know the whereabouts of any of these Quidnuncers, please email me and we will try to contact them. If you would like me to post any more "lost girls" names, email me at klena@roadrunner.com.

Cindy's Pictures

Hi Girls,

Is everyone back into their routine yet? Or are you still high on the weekend events? Well,we couldn't have asked for better weather if we ordered it ourselves. The adventure at Baker Camp was great, the food was good and the lodging was adequate. The lake was warmer than I remembered and still clean. It was fun swimming out to the raft there like we did at Quid, even though we had to keep our suits on. LOL.. I'm ready to go back and do it again. Thank goodness they had the coffee ready for us early.. we needed it after staying up to all hours talking the nights before.

What a blast from the past seeing friends from 40 years ago and meeting new ones. Everyone was talking, smiling and singing. What more could you ask for? I do want to send out a special thanks to a few people that helped make this a success, and for my pack basket and pins..From me to you ..thank you thank you thank you.....I would like to personally thank Linda for the camp fire program, Ruth for the help in finding a camp to have it at,,I was really worried we wouldn't find a place.and for the chocolate bars..Norma and Diana for being my wing men and keeping me sane throughout the year. Pixie and Ruth for their efforts in tee shirt making. Great Job! Doggie for schlepping the smore ingredients up from Miami..and camp Addison Boyce for the use of the camp..

Some of the girls were asking about the evaluation sheets..Please email Norma and ask her for them..She is in charge of them..Once she has them , she will let everyone know what was the outcome. For those of us who have pictures ..please send them to Kathy Lena for the web blog.. There are some on there now ..Suki has hers on there and they are great..Can't wait to see the others ..So get to it! That's about it for now. Some of us are talking about doing it again next year and some new people have popped up so we will see...Not a hike to camp or anything formal ..just getting together for fun..

Well that's it from here.. keep safe and keep close! We are Girl Scouts! we can do anything!


Quidnunc Forever,

Cindy

Click on the title "Cindy's Pictures" to access the slideshow.

Susan Graham's Words

July 20
The Quidnunc Reunion
A few months ago some women started the idea of a reunion of campers that attended a New York City Girl Scout camp in Harriman State Park. I’m not sure how it got started, but it trickled up from the younger women to those who attended when I did. Long story short, there were women at the reunion that went to the came in the 30s and 40s, as well as the 50s and 60s (the camp closed in 1972). I personally attended from 1958 to 1965, graduating from camper to Program Aide (counselor-in-training) to Kitchen Aid to Counselor. All but 2 of the Program Aides attended the reunion (one had an emergency but we saw her on Sunday) and one, unfortunately, has already passed away. The experience was, I’m sure, different for every attendee. For me, I was on a high for the entire weekend. With our “collective memory” a lot of good times were reflected on, laughed about, enjoyed as if it were yesterday. It wouldn’t mean much for me to review these things here, but suffice it to say that not only was it wonderful to see these women who share a wonderful history with me – but it is exhilarating to realize that new friendships will be going forward from here, built on the history but with much more promise than “remember when..” conversations. For the attendees reading this, check out the picture (towards the end of the lot) of Dusty I took on Sunday. She is the grandmother of 6 and looks incredibly fabulous. Also check out the “re-creation” before and after pics. (Click on title "Susan Graham's Words" to get to the website with the pictures.)

A perfect Reunion Weekend!

Remember the blazing campfire, the hills against the blue...

For you girls belong to Quidnunc, and Quidnunc belongs to you

Quidnunc Reunion Details

The First Official Quidnunc Reunion will occur July 11-13 at Camp Baker and Camp Addison Boyce. Activities and a campfire, complete with somemores and wishing boats, will occur Saturday evening. Please email klena@roadrunner.com for further details! 

Infirmary at Quid

I got the picture of the infirmary on a Christmas Card from Ellie in 1991. On the card she wrote: "I found this winter picture of the infirmary in a box of odds and ends this past summer. I have no idea of when I took it or even if I took it but thought it would make a great card for all of you gals out there who were once entwined in the spider's web." Kelly Rice

Sappy

Sappy was the camp director in 1969. That was the year she tried to rehabilitate the mildly bad girls of Neppies by telling us late-night stories of how we should be going on hayrides in Montana and quit trying to make herbal tea in our tents by boiling the water in our tin GS cups with a candle (fire hazard you know). She thought New York girl scouts lacked gumption. She gave up on us but we reclaimed our Juliette Lowe history just in time to practice our lashing skills—I think we lashed anything that moved—and put on a Winnie the Pooh skit for Sleepy Hollow.
Splint, you were the Ass’t Waterfront director then, you let me keep my buddy tag as a souvenir at the end of camp.

Patti McManamy

E-mails regarding Reunion!

Hi All:
I'm coming; not sure which days. I live about an hour from camp in Parsippany, NJ. My sister in Suffern is half an hour closer, so I won't be needing accommodations.
I have memories, letters, pictures, bracelet, pin, and patches, even though I only went to Quid two summers, only one 2-week session each time. I was in Sky Blue in 1963, I think, and Sherwood Forest in '64. One of my counselors was Char and another I think was Teddy. A friend I made in Sky Blue (Audrey Seidman) is a friend to this day.
I don't think I had a nickname. I wrote poems, one of which I half remember. My name then was Ellen Forman, and I was from Queens. Mosquitoes were particularly partial to me. Ditto spiders and little green fish.
efm2@optonline.net

Hello Everyone,
I attended Quidnunc 1969 (Sherwood Forest) 1970 (Rocky Ledges) 1971 (those cabins on stilts things) 1972 (Caravan). Always in the month of August.
I live in California now and it's doubtful I can make the reunion. Back then I lived in Brooklyn. I don't recall having a nickname.
I would love to hear from anyone that was at Quidnunc around the same time. I remember the canoe regattas on Sebago Lake. Canoeing on the Delaware and Ramapo Rivers, hikes down to the Red Apple Rest and socials.
Carol Smith rickysmom@yahoo.com

(from Reunion Website)...I went to Quidnunc from 1968 until 1972. I lived in Sherwood Forest, Rocky Ledges, those Cabins on the hill (what were they called?) and finally Caravan. I started 3rd session and by my 3rd year was staying 3rd and 4th sessions. I loved going there.

I remember starting in swimming as a Green, having to swim in the cribs until I could become a blue intermediate swimmer and be allowed to swim out to the platform.

We had a canoe regatta against other camps in 1971 on Seneca Lake and we won our division. We had practiced every day for the entire session.

I remember dances with the coed camps, Camp Trexler. There was a girl named Pebbles who had a boyfriend in the other camp and was considered scandalous.

Quidnunc was where I smoked my first cigarette. It is also where I started drinking black coffee.

We would climb up to bald mountain. We also sat by the road and threw green apples at the cars.

The first two years I went we had to cross the road to swim. The bridge came later.

I remember being consigned to rowboats on the lake until you could pass the test in the canoes, by tipping over and righting it and paddling back to the dock.

I remember campfires, the arts and crafts shack, splash parties. I remember the trespassers. I especially remember the campfire songs.

Carol Smith rickysmom@yahoo.com

Quidnunc 1955 and 1956 (Posted on Kids Camp site)

by Marlene Toth, 2/21/08

I went to Camp Quidnunc in the mid-1950's. I also think of it each time it rains hard. The rain on the tent was amazing. I also remember the fire drills where we all had to exit the camp area to a deep gully and walk on stones in a creek for what seemed forever.

I won a costume contest. I glued dry leaves to a paper bag hat, that looked like curls on my head!

I also recall arriving the first day of camp, and being placed in a large circle right off of the bus from NYC. We were asked to remove our shoes and socks to be checked for athlete's foot, which I had never heard of - I was eight years old. I HAD it, and was banned from swimming for the first week, until it cleared up. To this day - I am 60 years old, I cannot stand walking in bare feet. If my feet touch the floor before bed, I have to wash them in the sink.

I loved the camp, and especially the songs - White Dove, and "I love the mountains, I love the daffodils" Boom di ada... etc. Marlene

Some New Pictures

Melinda O'Sullivan sent some new pictures for the blog.
Click on the photo of tentmates above at right for more.OK! I'm the one of the far right. The 3rd from the left is KB, the sloe gin fiz girl. We're both from MN.... we rode the Greyhound Bus all the way from St. Paul to NYand we actually put on our white pumps and dresses so we'd arrive in NYC properly dressed. What a laugh that gave everyone at Camp Quidnunc. I did not give anyone my ID so that must have been KB. On the left in the back row is Lena Nielson from Sweden. And on the left side on the front row is Jay, the waterfront director. I can't remember the others. I have a better copy of the picture. I'm still paying for that glorious tan with trips to the dermatologist!!!! Peri

Neppies Staff 1964: Ellen Muth, Boni Allen, Grace Aldag, Karen

KB, Dusty, Dee, Sukie, Lena, Linda Hecht(Mouse), ? , Cathy Ramirez

Camp Quidnunc Reunion Plans!

Plans are in progress for a camp reunion this summer, July 11,12, and 13, 2008. Come for any or all days, more information will be forthcoming. Cindy is trying to arrange to stay at a cabin at Sebago. Hiking to Bald Rock, swimming, cookout, campfire and singing are all on the agenda! Get those pictures out of the attic bring your guitar and songbook, and let's reminisce a little! Email Cindy at spare1@mindspring.com if you want any more information.

Remember?

When young, camp was the best time
of my childhood. Even if there is no one out there from my time, it does bring back so many good memories. Knowing that talking about camp they know what I am talking about and I know what they are talking about. I remember the smell of honeysuckle on the way down to the lake. Do you remember that? (My troop # was 4- 708. 4 is Queens. Mine was in St. Albans. Our co-leaderwas Mrs Romano. I always went to camp the last two weeks in Aug.)
Judy Caputo

I don't remember the honeysuckle, but the smell of pines and woods always makes me homesick for camp. My troop was from Staten Island, # 5-180..my mom was the leader for years. I usually went to camp in July, but once I went in Aug.
Cindy Cleveland

Our troops were 4-750 and 4-40 in Queens. They were based in the Community Methodist Church in Jackson Heights. My mom was one of the leaders of 4-40 for several years. We moved out of Queens late in 1965, but that was about when Quidnunc was opened up to folks from outside the city.
Pam Crabtree

I came from a troop in the Bronx and went to Quid for the month of Aug every year as a camper. I agree that reading everyone's memories has brought me great joy. Camp was such a big part of my life. Remember the crab apples on the way to the waterfront?
Gilda "Splint"

I don't remember the crab apple tree..? Where was it? I remember having to take those darn salt tablets before a hike, esp. if it was real hot that day. YUCK..Even trying to swallow them with the delicious cold water from the pump, it was hard. I think I faked it most of the time. I remember all the canoe trips from lake to lake. I never got to go on the long distance trips, I wasn't there at the time or didn't qualify. But the last day of the session, we would take the canoes out on the lake and swamp them. That was great fun. We didn't get in trouble and went home the next day. The unit leaders were not too happy with us because they told us not to do it. But back then, we thought we were invincible. That was our one big defiant act all summer...Sitting on the stern, paddling over to the boys camp, and half way back , then oops....Who taught the Junior Lifesaving in 65? Well, I wasn't very good and when she tested me I didn't want to dive down in the mucky bottom of the lake,...sooo..I waited for her to come up and then used the hair pull rescue on her, needless to say I failed.Who ever it was could sink like a rock!

Ok, how about a gross memory?? Do you remember the first day or two we had to go to the infirmary to have the nurse check for head lice and spread your toes for athletes foot? All of us lined up on the porch, spreading our toes one at a time and then someone else picking thru our hair. Guess it wasn't fun for them either.
Cindy Cleveland

Staff Pictures: 1964, 65, 66 from Boni

Name those Counselors! Click on the picture to enlarge. Then send me an e-mail with the names! 1964

Bottom row L-R: Char, ?, ?, ?, Beaver, Mary Martin, ?, ?, ? ,Ruth (Took Ellie's place that year),?, Judy Globinger (Glob), me (Linda,Mouse), Sue Frish,???
Middle row: ?, Sukie, Dee, ?, Ram (Cathy Ramirez), Max (Maxine Klein, twin), K.B., ? Dusty, ?, ?, Peri, Boni, ?, ?, ?, ?, "Danish girl", ?, ?, ?
Top row: ?, Moe (Maureen McConnell), Ruth Klein (twin), Mary Lynch (office manager),?, ?, Ruth Henderson (Sunny), Kathy (ass't. office manager),?, ?, ?, Gus (Nancy Augustus), Grace Aldag, Lena Neilson, Ellen Muth, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?

1965
Bottom L-R: Maureen (accountant?) Max, ?, Char, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, Ass't. Director
(Maureen's sister and good friend of Ellie's), Ellie, ?, Grace Aldag, Peri, Judi Jankovitz(from MN), ?, Jan, Sue Frish, Me (Linda, Mouse)
Middle: Charlie (handyman), Flip, ?, ?, Lynne Jeffries,?, ?, K.B., Buzzer,?, ?, Bonnie
Sukie, Cathy Ramirez (Ram), Lena Neilson (Sweden), ?, ?, ?, Don,?, ?, ?, ?, Kathy, Ruth, Boni
Top: ?, Wink, Brownie (nurse), Swede,
Mary Lynch, Moe, ? , Ellen Muth,?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?

1966

Bottom L-R: ?, Mary Lynch, Maureen, ?, ?, Don,?, ?, Ellie, ?, Cathy Loudis, Faye Hildenbrand, Linda Hecht (Mouse), Gilda (Splint), ?,Mary Muth, Boni, Char, ?

Middle: ?, Pam Burke, ?, ?, ?, Judy (Glob), ?, ?, KB, Brownie, ?, Cook, ?, Faye Muth, Jan,?, ?, Kathy,????

Top: ?, Swede, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, Office Aide, ?, ?, Ruth Klein, ?, ?, ?

Name those Staff Members!

Lake Kanawaukee

Woodcut of Lake Kanawaukee

Pictures from Boni

Joey eating spaghetti with an eggbeater

Boni's birchbark place card

Waterfront 1967

Pudgy in Boni's ditty bag