For Loud Roars The River...

More news has been coming in! Robin Patrick (Daniels) 72-81 writes: "When I got up this morning and looked outside, I immediately thought of the Vineyard and how much I wished I was back there....I was just telling someone last week how fortunate I was to have spent my summers at VSC. My daughter, Emma, has just started her Junior Year at Hingham High. She was selected to play recently in the NCAA Schoolgirls Division National Championship (lacrosse) and made the All-Scholastic Lacrosse Team. We had a sweet sixteen party for her in June. I made a tower of cupcakes, stuck candles in them, and cried when the kids sang Happy Birthday. I am a total sap. My "baby" Eliza, who seems to get taller every day, turns 12 at the end of September. Basketball is her game. My husband, Andrew, and I are try to stay active and hit the tennis ball around a bit, but then we can't get out of bed or walk the next morning! Pitiful! Miss you all, and our summers, loads."

I saw Donna Kramer (Merritt) dmerritt@bodyandsoulmag.com (74-77) and Vicki Palmer (Chase) vchase@mjinc.com (74-77, 80) over pizza and beer in Newton last week. Donna brought along her 1970s VSC photo album and we howled through every page, tube socks and all! It was fun remembering all of the staff and campers, and all of our many activities and antics. Donna is the Associate Publisher of Body and Soul Magazine, and is just as "wicked cool" and funny as she was at 12. Plus she looks like she's 25! She didn't recognize me when we met because, of course, I look about 50 years older! Donna has a 23-year old daughter, Esther, who is working in Boston at an advertising agency. Vicki is great too. She works in Concord NH for an engineering firm as their wetlands specialist. She also plays ice hockey and indoor soccer, and continues to beat me at triathlons. I continue to be bitter. Vicki's kids, Ali and Joe, are at Bowdoin and Bentley respectively. They are both great kids!

Liz Goode (Dowd) goodedowd@comcast.net (75-77) writes: "I work as the reading specialist at Berwick Academy in Maine. Over Labor Day, my family and I spent a fun-filled weekend at the Rapple house on the Cape and even went boating, although it was in a Whaler, not sailing. Of course, that didn’t stop Sue and I from singing a million camp songs as always. My youngest, Jamie, is 2 . My oldest, Maggie, just turned 10. My husband and I have a lot of fun together and I feel very lucky to be where I am in life. Of course, I still think about and long for the carefree days of summer on the Vineyard, or anywhere with some time for quiet reflection, or just a moment to myself! My kids both love to sing and I have been known to teach them a camp song or two and that will just have to do for now. I can still picture us all singing in the Mainstay. VSC was so much about the singing and friendships for me!

Dottie Oehmler (Williams) williams.dow@verizon.net (Years 73-79??) lives a few streets over from me in Belmont --can you believe it? I haven't yet seen Dottie to catch-up on her life, but our families are getting together for a cook-out (we're going to do some planking) in late September.

I saw Clare O'Connell coconnell@amcoutdoors.org (76-81?) in June before she went off on an amazing hiking vacation -- complete with broken wrist and all! She is the Director of Development at the Appalacian Mountain Club in Boston, and lives with her husband, Michael, in Newton. I see Lisa Cutts (Patten) elizpatten@comcast.net (76-81) on the Cape in the summer. She and I both have houses in Chatham, and we have been known to do some tacking and gybing together. Cutts is an all-star sailor and has posted all sorts of awesome results at the Stage Harbor Yacht Club. She's taken that VSC "skipper" and perfected it! Cutts and her husband, Rick, have two kids, Ben (17) and Grace (10) and are busy with all of their activities, plus Cutts is working on her masters in theology. Sandee Magliozzi smagliozzi@sbcglobal.net (75-80) is on the west coast heading up the law program at the University of Santa Clara. She visited last Memorial Day, and we got to spend some time out on Pleasant Bay together.

I hope to hear from many more of you. I've been trying hard to track down Debbie Clifford (the Melrose Moose), Ducky Drake, Sue Brubaker, Dotty Brackley, Elaine King, Rosie Reilly, Leslie Robinson, and Gail Kitchen...some of staff and campers that I remember, and you have all asked about... I did find Patty Jipp (Finkelman) but haven't yet connected with her.