Tumpline May 2015 - Special Edition
Published: Sun, 05/31/15
Get news, announcements, and the latest camp scoops in our newsletter. View a web version of this issue
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Important Announcement – Annonce importante
 Dear Camp Nominingue Alumni, Families, and Friends, Three years ago, the Van Wagner family made a difficult decision – with no member of the family in a position to own and operate Camp Nominingue, new investment was required to ensure that the Camp maintain its standard of excellence. And so began the search for a new owner who shared the Van Wagner’s vision for a summer camp. It was clear what we all wanted for Camp Nominingue, and that was, quite simply, that Nominingue continue to provide young people and families with the special experience, the unique values and traditions upon which it was built, as it has since it was founded by FM Van Wagner and Hay Finlay in 1925. We are delighted to report that we have been incredibly fortunate in finding just the right investors: Erik Blachford and his wife Maryam. Erik and his brother were campers and counsellors in the 1970s and 1980s, following a tradition established by their father and uncle in the 1940s and 1950s. Today, Erik’s sons are campers and the whole family has been attending our family camp each August. The operation of the camp will continue with very little noticeable change. Grant McKenna, director, and Elisa Van Wagner, business manager will remain in charge of the camp’s operation, and Grant will become a part-owner of the camp. Peter Van Wagner will continue as Camp Nominingue’s Big Chief. Plans for the coming summer, our 91st, are well underway with enrolments arriving daily and with the staff already in place. We look forward to seeing you at Camp this summer! Peter Van Wagner & Erik Blachford P.S. If you have comments, questions, or thoughts, we’d love to hear from you. Please drop us a note by email at [email protected].  Chers familles, amis et anciens du Camp Nominingue, Il y a trois ans, la famille Van Wagner a pris une décision difficile - avec aucun membre de la famille en position d’exploiter le Camp Nominingue, de nouveaux investissements étaient nécessaires pour s’assurer que le Camp puisse maintenir son niveau d'excellence. Et ainsi a commencé la recherche pour un nouveau propriétaire qui partageait la vision des Van Wagner pour un camp d'été. Il était clair ce que nous voulions tous pour le Camp: que Nominingue puisse continuer à offrir aux jeunes et aux familles l'expérience particulière, avec ses valeurs et ses traditions uniques, comme il l'a fait depuis sa fondation par F.M. Van Wagner et Hay Finlay en 1925. Nous sommes ravis d'annoncer que nous avons trouvé les investisseurs idéals: Erik Blachford et sa femme Maryam. Erik et son frère étaient campeurs et moniteurs dans les années 1970 et 1980, suivant la tradition établie par leur père et leur oncle dans les années 1940 et 1950. Aujourd'hui, les fils d'Erik sont campeurs et toute la famille fréquente notre camp familial chaque année au mois d’août. Le fonctionnement du camp se poursuivra avec très peu de changements visibles. Grant McKenna, directeur, et Elisa Van Wagner, administratrice, resteront responsable du fonctionnement du camp, et Grant deviendra aussi co-propriétaire. Peter Van Wagner poursuivra comme Grand Chef du Camp Nominingue. Les plans pour l'été à venir, notre 91e saison, sont bien en cours, avec les inscriptions qui arrivent à chaque jour et avec le personnel déjà en place. Nous avons hâte de vous voir au Camp cet été! Peter Van Wagner et Erik Blachford PS Si vous avez des commentaires, des questions, ou si vous désirez partager vos pensées, nous serions ravis de vous entendre. SVP envoyez-nous une note par courriel à [email protected]. 
Welcome to Nominingue Thomas Jean-Brown
Thomas Jean-Brown, a camper at Nominingue for the last six summers, loves cartooning. He has agreed to create regular camp-related cartoons for the Tumpline. He has also created a website to share his work. Thomas Jean-Brown, un campeur à Nominingue depuis six ans, adore dessiné et créé des bandes-dessinées. Il a accepté le défi de créer des bandes-dessinées avec un thème « Nominingue » pour le Tumpline. D’autres de ses œuvres sont disponibles sur son site internet. 
  Maison-de-Pierre, 1957 Part VI Andy Webster  Sunday, August 11 The day began with a dismal and overcast sky. Anxious to find out what lay before us, we ate quickly and went over to talk to the men in the other cabin. One was the guardian of the dam and the other two were McLaren forest rangers. They looked at our travel permits and told us something of the trails which led into Mitchinamecus. We paddled back a little ways down the lake again and portaged into a small lake which led into Lac Dore. On this particular portage, it began to rain heavily, so we propped the canoe up on a bank and both stood under it, waiting for the deluge to lessen. The rain let up in a few minutes so we packed the canoes and put the light cellophane covering over the packs and paddled quickly northward on Lac Dore. The rain began again, but we continued paddling hard to the end of the lake where we spotted a white cabin. As we were unloading our canoe on the beach, two men and a rather good-looking, middle-aged woman came out on the porch and asked us in. We needed no second invitation. The woman offered us cognac and coffee and this was appreciated immensely since we had been paddling in the cold and rain for three hours coming up Lac Dore. We were almost overcome when the three also offered us lunch. The lunch consisted of turkey, buttered bread, and one big tomato. The lady was a plastic surgeon, she told us, and her two male companions were surgeons. They said they were taking a week off from their duties at the hospital.  As much as we liked their company, and food and cognac, we found it necessary to push on so we would reach our destination that evening, which was Lac Turnbull. A road led from the clubhouse to Lac Bazinet and then curved sharply southwards when it reached the lake. We took this road and then paddled down Bazinet and into Lac Emeril, and from this lake we began a long and difficult portage which led us up the steep side of a mountain and into a very small, fine, spruce-ringed lake. When we reached the lake, which was half way between Emeril and Turnbull, the clouds had cleared and the sun shone brightly on the clear blue water. The trail to Lac Turnbull from this lake was almost completely downhill and sometimes it was so steep that it became difficult to carry the canoe.  When we reached Lac Turnbull, the sky was cloudy again and a strong west wind slowed us down as we paddled towards a mall fishing club cabin which was located on a peninsula which jutted sharply out into the middle of the lake. We reached this site at 5:30, leaving us plenty of time to enjoy a quiet, unhurried supper. We did not enter the cabin, but slept on the hardwood porch. It drizzled slightly during the night. Personal Project: Making a Paddle Part II Alexander Meyers
Alexander has been a camper for the last two summers and is returning to Nominingue in 2015 in the LIT program. He lives in Holland. As part of a school project, he chose to make a paddle and write about this project.Sources and Resources for building a paddle I first became generally aware that there are many different kinds and styles of canoe paddles through attending Camp Nominingue in northern Quebec, where they make their own canoes, and where I was in contact with many people who are experienced in the use and making of canoes and paddles.  Back in The Netherlands, I discovered that there are many websites that provide instructions, also by means of videos, about how to make canoe paddles, which were very useful in giving me a general idea of the overall process involved. My father, who is Canadian, has also done a lot of canoeing, so I was able to exchange ideas on the subject with him. Another resource I consulted was Ernst Buwalda, a master carpenter in Amsterdam (whose wife happens to be French Canadian), who knows about canoeing and more importantly about to handle and work different kinds of wood. He provided me with important ideas and information, such as where to look for suitably sized pieces of the right kinds of woods in Amsterdam and what kinds of tools to use. Using the Internet, I researched the different types of wood that can be used for canoe paddles, the dimensions of different kinds of paddles, and the methods that can be used to cut and carve a paddle. Some of the available sources on the Internet were indeed better - they were clearer and more useful - than others. I also considered the knowledge of canoe paddles I had already built up from using different kind of paddles during my summers in Canada and the US. I considered the different shapes and lengths of paddles, such as whether to make the blade a beaver tail or an otter tail, to create what I considered an ideal shape.  I looked into the issues of which kind of wood to use: the wood had to have a long grain, so it would be easy to work with, it had to be soft enough to be able to cut and plane, but hard enough to resist wear and tear, resistant to water, and not likely to split if it started to dry out. For example, I found that walnut wood grain, although hard enough and beautiful to look at, was not long enough so it would be difficult to work with. Pine wood was too soft thus making the paddle fragile. Maple wood was hard and had a long grain but was likely to split (in the blade) over time. Cedar wood, while it looked great, was also too soft. Finally, I discovered that Ash wood was suitable for canoe paddles; it is an extremely hard type of wood and has a long grain making it easier to work with. Planning Here is the step guide I created to help me identify the steps I needed to follow to successfully complete my project. 1. Researching anything to do with canoe paddles and canoe paddle making. 2. Investigating what kind of wood to use. 3. Choosing the type of design of the paddle. 4. Finding a place to buy the piece of wood – this would not be a normal lumber store. 5. Finding a specific piece of wood from which a paddle could be made, keeping in mind that the wood should have no knots, and also the piece of wood should be cut so that the grain was running lengthwise. Obviously, the piece has to have the right dimensions. 6. Creating a well lit workspace that included a workbench. 7. Buying safety equipment. 8. Accurately tracing the design of the paddle on to the piece of wood. 9. Gathering the right hand and power tools – I might have to purchase or lend them, depending on the price. 10. Learning how to use the tools (especially the power tools) safely. 11. Before starting to carve the wood, creating a time plan in relation to the final due date.  12. Making a rough cut of the basic shape on the piece of Ash. 13. Managing the pace of the work – not too fast, thereby creating time to step back and avoid mistakes, while keeping in mind the overall time plan. 14. Managing the workflow – the right sequence of work on different parts of the paddle. 15. Using the power tools to carve away the bigger amounts of wood, while still being precise in order to not go too quickly and ruin the paddle. 16. Using mettle files to carve the wood when the paddle has been given its basic shape. During this process, using different types of files, which were fine or coarse depending on the purpose. 17. After the paddle has been given its basic form or shape, using sandpaper to transform the rough wood into a smooth finish. First using coarse sandpaper and then gradually using finer and finer sandpaper. 18. Then when the carving of the paddle is completely done, applying a layer of wood varnish to the paddle, and letting it dry for a day, and then repeating this process another time to strengthen the varnish layer. Alumni Association News / Nouvelles de l’association des anciens
Please share with us news that you would like to include in the Tumpline that you think might be of interest to other Nominingue alumni.SVP envoyez nous des nouvelles que vous aimeriez inclure dans une prochaine édition du Tumpline.  Alumni Socials Each spring and fall, we try to hold at least one Alumni Social in Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. It is always great to renew with recent and less recent alumni. The next opportunity to re-connect will be either at Family Camp in August or Alumni Weekend in September. Family Camp Wednesday, August 19 – Sunday, August 23 Alumni Weekend Friday, September 4 – Sunday, September 6 Dates and locations of future get-togethers will be posted on Facebook on the Nominingue Socials Group page. To get involved with CN Alumni Association, please contact John Christou at [email protected]. Tumpline Submissions - Soumissions pour cette lettre de nouvelles
We are looking for submissions for our newsletters from campers, staff and parents… from this summer, as well as from recent and less recent alumni. These submissions may be general memories of camp experiences or specific memories about a canoe trip, about a favourite program or a funny experience. Please send your submissions to [email protected]. You may submit your stories and memories in English, French or Spanish. Nous sommes à la recherche de textes de campeurs, parents et de moniteurs de l’été 2014… et de souvenirs de nos anciens campeurs et moniteurs des années récentes et moins récentes. Vos textes peuvent décrire vos expériences en générale ou une excursion de canot, un programme favori ou une expérience drôle. SVP envoyez votre texte par courriel à [email protected]. Votre texte peut être écrit en français, en anglais ou en espagnol. |
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Camp Nominingue | Tel. 450-267-2555 | Toll-free 866-910-1551 (Canada & US)
Email: [email protected] | Web: www.nominingue.com |
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Ce courriel est destiné à tous les campeurs, parents et moniteurs, actuels et anciens. Si vous voulez vous désinscrire de cette liste d’envoi, svp cliquez en bas de la page.
Camp Nominingue
Winter Address: 112 rue Lippée, Les Coteaux, QC J7X 1J4 Summer address: 1889, chemin des Mésanges, Nominingue, QC J0W 1R0 |
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