The Council Room

[Guest]

I was fortunate to come across the Glenoke and Mt. Washington photos and info that Mike recently posted. My Dad didn't throw much away over the years, and these were tucked away amidst other 1930s mementos in a box I was going through recently. Unfortunately many of the other items were unidentified and thus their significance is lost to my and succeeding generations, but these Camp souveniers are, as Mike said, Great Stuff.
My Dad is the stalwart youth with the ax in the hut doorway, and perhaps the romantic youth sitting atop the rock by the stream. I can recognize his handwriting in the brown notebook - as well as noting his daily assignment, policing the area, a task all too familiar to us.
I don't know who would have been in charge of the checkbook that Dad saved. In 1931 he would have been 10, so even knowing his seriously responsible nature I doubt Walter Bentley was giving him that chore.
The postcard is from my Uncle Bill Donovan to my Dad after Dad's camping days were over - note the address - unless you consider that he'd moved up in class into another type of camp. Some of you may recall that my Uncle Bill was at the plaque dedication at Wyanoke Harbors.
I mentioned to Mike that his card is strong evidence of the different eras through which Camp Wyanoke existed. Imagine taking a fountain pen on a Saco when any of us were there!
My older daughter and I climbed Mt. Washington (Ammonusuc Ravine Trail) when she was @7 or 8 and took The Cog down. I've never been up in it, but it still looked exactly as pictured in the 1930s brochure. (And Yes, she was that young, wouldn't quit, and had a great time.)
Best,

Pat

[Jim Culleton]

Pat ~ Very nice pics! And thank you Mike for "massaging" the pics . . . . . as they turned out extremely well. Lots of Wyanoke and White Mountain memories here! Forgive me for my ignorance but was Glenoke an AMC hut on the Presidential Range trips during the 30's-40's? That's what I am thinking considering the "Madison" and "Lafayette" pics.

Also loved the "receipts" for the overnites, tolls, milk, crackers, etc! Must have been a "welsh rabbit" holdover if crackers were such a staple during those trips! The prices certainly can't be beat! Just about every line item is under $5!

Thanks for sharing Pat & Mike!

As an aside, I have always wondered about those lobster pots set out in Lake of the Clouds! Didn't know that lobsters grew in fresh water and at that height! Must have been the hearty crustacean variety?
_________________
'56 - J-9 J. Moulton
'57 - J-11 J. Moulton
'58 - J-4 E. Web Dann, S. Hood
'59 - S-6 P. Leavitt
'60 - S-2 F. Avantaggio
'61 - JA-1 RK Irons
'62 - C-9 JC with P. Freeland
'63 - C-1 JC with S. Borger
'64 - C-6 Councilor

[DavidAyars]

Awesome stuff, Pat. Thanks, Pat and Mike. Click on the following link to be whisked away to the album we're talking about:
http://www.wyanoke.com/gallery/Donovan-Glenoke?page=1

Notice that there are two pages, and as with all the stuff in the Personal Photos Gallery, note that once you're looking at an individual image, you can zoom in for an even closer look by clicking again directly on the image. This helps particularly when reading the newspaper clippings, check registers, and receipts.

Somebody correct my fuzzy memory if I'm wrong, but Glenoke was not an AMC hut. It was a cabin in the White Mountains that I believe was owned by Wyanoke, was staffed full-time by a councilor, and was used as a staging area for Wyanoke climbing trips. I don't remember where exactly it was. It was no longer used by the camp in my time.
_________________
Camper: J-8 1965 (Kevin Ryan), J-8 1966 (Mike Freeland), S-6 1967 (Russ Hatch), S-3 1968 (Jeremy Cripps), and JA-2 1969 (Dan Mannis).
JC: J-2 1970 (Bill Bettison) and J-3 1971 (Gene Comella). Councilor 1972, J-5 1973, and JA-1 1974 & 1975

[Mike Freeland]

Hi Jim. It never occurred to me that some people might never have heard of Glenoke.

Dave B., if I'm wrong here, set me straight.

As I understand it, Glenoke was owned by Wyanoke. It was used as a base camp for trips into the Presidentials and the Carter areas. It was situated back of the Glen House in Pinkham Notch near where the old Aqueduct Path (connected to the 19-mile Brook Trail to Carter Notch) emerged at route 16, right across the highway from the Mt. Washington Carriage Road. I don't know what the land arrangement was, whether the Bentleys owned it, leased it from the Forest Service or whoever owned the Glen House. Maybe they just squatted on it.

Dave, do you know when Glenoke was retired? I don't think it was in use in '56, my first year, but I had the impression that it had been only recently closed.

Back in '68 or so, Garth and I set out to find it, and came upon a collapsed cabin in the woods, inside of which were some old bunks like the ones we slept on at camp and some rotting mattresses and other abandoned pots and kitchen junk. It was near where we thought Glenoke was, but we never found a sign or anything to confirm that what we found was indeed Glenoke.

For the record, Pat Donovan's father (hutmaster at Glenoke in '37) is Dick (maybe Rick at the time), not Bill as I labeled him in the pics. I'll fix that today.

Glenoke was one of two off-campus sites run by Wyanoke. Wyanisle was on Winnipesaukee somewhere, and was never in use during my years at Wyanoke. I know virtually nothing about it except for an overnight log printed in the little history book we wrote for the '95 reunion. What can you tell us Dave?
_________________
'56-C-9 C. Mosher '57-C-9 Bill Feaster
'58-J-14 H. Peavy '59-J-11 G. Wood, C. Duncan
'60-S-8 R. Leavitt, D. Hemphill '61-S-1 E. Slocum
'62-JA-1 H. Dunbar '63-C-2 (JC)
'64-C-5, (JC) Councilor
'65-C-9 '66 - '72-J-8
'73-JA1 '75-J-6

[David Bentley]

Mike is very right regarding Glenoke. I think it must have shut down in the late 40's or very early 50's. I never went there.

Wyanisle was an island in the Green's Basin section of Winnipesaukee owned by us and used as a base for Lake camping. As I understand it, campers were trucked to Melvin Village for launching and paddling to the island. The island occupies most of Green's Basin, an area now populated by summer residents. I went there several years ago and no one I spoke to knew anything about what I was talking about. However, I did correspond with an elderly gentleman who said he had 'discovered' the island with some friends and they found a cache of supplies and ate some of the beans. I sent Mike the story (remember, Mike). It may be available somewhere in archives. I don't know when Wyanisle stoped, but I have to think it was before Glenoke, maybe in the 30's.
_________________
C-1 49 J-7 52 S-3 55 J-10 58
C-7 50 J-7 53 S-2 56 J-8 59
C-8 51 J-4 54 S-7 57 (JA) J-8 60 - 64
1965 - 1968 Military service
Pine Cone 68 - 75 (with wife,Sherry,
and daughter Tracey)
Wolfeboro - full-time since 1997

[Mike Freeland]

Come to think of it, Bob Fox, whose first year at Wyanoke was 1948, has been to Glenoke. So you're right Dave, it must've been closed in the late 40s/early 50s.
_________________
'56-C-9 C. Mosher '57-C-9 Bill Feaster
'58-J-14 H. Peavy '59-J-11 G. Wood, C. Duncan
'60-S-8 R. Leavitt, D. Hemphill '61-S-1 E. Slocum
'62-JA-1 H. Dunbar '63-C-2 (JC)
'64-C-5, (JC) Councilor
'65-C-9 '66 - '72-J-8
'73-JA1 '75-J-6

[BobDuboc]

Mr. Donovan - I just finished trying to reply to your message and was inquiring about your uncle, Bill Donovan, whom I remember so favorably from both Wyanoke and Culver. I hit the wrong key on my computer and my message to you disappeared, so you probably won't get it. If you get this one and have a moment to bring me up to date on your uncle you could do so by email to robertduboc "at" hotmail "dot" com.

All the best,

Robert (Bob) Duboc
Culver class of 1944.

[Bob Kennington]