A Strong Snail

Yes things have truly slowed down to the pace of a snail- or so it may seem form an outsider's perspective. Last week, we tied up the loose ends of the winter season. After our staff enrichment day we all took last Thursday off to go ski Whiteface together- quite a hoot, let me tell you. We made it back in time to see the heavy snow that had fallen at PMOEC, more than we had seen at Whiteface in fact, and worried that it would effect the turnout for the evening's lecture. However, an incredibly inviting, warm and interesting presentation from Kristin Kimball brought plenty of folks out through winter's latest last gasp. On Saturday Denise and Allison went to the Willsboro 'FareWELL to Winter' and made quite a splash with their scat display, their indoor animal tracking activity (enjoyed by young and old according to multiple independent reports) and their unending willingness to expound on what we do at PMOEC; an institution that still is shrouded in mystery for many of the locals during the school year. "No we aren't a commune," was probably uttered more than once by two of our greatest educators. Now, we shore up the center in preparation for the spring season. I keep waiting on a boring week at PMOEC so I don't have so much to report. Maybe in mid-June. For now, I invite you all to see our last Lecture. Local Jeff Cochran, who many of you may know form his amazing abilities at the Crux climbing center or as the consummate employee at The North Country Co-Op, will be telling stories, singing songs, reading poetry and being all together interesting for your please. Come and bring a friend. Until next week...

A Toast to the Winter Season

Monday evening the PMOEC staff toasted the end of yet another successful season. We had spent the day doing staff development in Burlington, spending the morning at The Echo Center and the afternoon at the Petra Cliffs Climbing Center, before ending the day with a great dinner in Vergennes. And yes, I know that winter is far from over, but for us, the season is defined by kids. And when kids stop coming, the seasons change. Now, the focus once again turns to community events, work projects and personal rejuvenation. The staff will all be taking a furlough in the month of March and when they are on sight, the pace will be a little less frantic as when kids are here. We all need the break before the spring season begins, as our winter season ended with a long stretch of days worked by everyone. Even I worked 12 straight before having this past weekend off- and the next five days as well. But the seasons official end on Monday felt better than the end of any winter season before. Despite the sickness that is working its way though the staff, despite the tired eyes I saw behind the smiles as we all raised our glasses and despite the soreness that found its way into my throat yesterday, the moral continues to stay high throughout the entire community. After a few weeks of Nature Table development, wood game, general cleaning, construction projects, etc. we will be welcoming in our new chef and intern then hitting the ground running with Spring Break Camp in early April.
But between now and then, we do have a couple of events that we hope you will join us for. Thursday night we are as excited as we could be about a community event. Local farmer and author Kristin Kimball will be presenting a discussion about the impact of climate change on farming in the Champlain Valley. Anyone who has ever had the chance to read anything that Kristin has written, either in 'The Dirty Life' (a book recognized by Oprah) or in her weekly farm notes for members of Essex Farms, knows of Kristin's intelligence, her sharp wit, her passion for farming and her engaging aura. I'm not sure if there is one lecture that I am more excited about than this one.
Life has slowed down a bit today- I am off and watching Spring Training reports while writing this update- and we are thankful for the time. Until next week...

Winter Break Camp and Sharpe

As promised, the best stories come from our break camps. The youngest kids, those that are 5-7 are wonderful and vibrant and full of the most imaginative ideas that you could ever imagine; or couldn't because you have left that version of yourself behind many years ago. On Monday morning, since the snow still hadn't agreed to fall, we replaced some traditional winter sports with a scavenger hunt. Part of the hunt required the kids to find the chickens and name them. Would you expect any names other than Aeisha Dark Star and Aeisha White Star Jr. from a group of 5-7 year olds? But the best story is, unfortunately for you, one that I cannot share. Using the imagination you have left, try and connect a person using the bathroom in the woods for the first time and a rubber chicken. Obviously the only way to connect these is with Pok-O.
Our lecture series continues tonight. Our very own Sharp Swan will be presenting an engaging talk on the history of the Santa Clara Logging Company and we can't wait to have him back. We hope to see you at the Pok-O-Queen at 7:00PM. Until next week, enjoy the spring!

Where It All Begins

This week, the emphasis at PMOEC is not on our lecture series. This seems pretty obvious, but we try as hard to concentrate on the task at hand and for the past few weeks, other than work projects, all of our time has been spent gearing up for and enjoying our lectures. This week, we have focused on what it is that makes our center so special. On Monday afternoon we welcomed a busload of Canadian teenagers who are here to hone their English speaking skills in an immersion field trip. It is always a great feeling to step onto a bus in our parking lot when a group arrives and see the gamete of feelings personified on the varied faces; trepidation, excitement, anticipation. You name it, I see it. This week, I had an incredibly rare bonus when I stepped onto the bus. I saw familiar faces. Our center typically welcomes back the same grade from the same school year after year. Thus, Mrs. Smith always returns, but it is with the 5th grade class each year. So, the connections with the students are always new, but always short lived. This school is one of the exceptions to the rule. They come twice a year. In the spring the come in 9th grade and in the winter they return the following year in grade 10. When I stepped on the bus, I was immediately excited by the familiarity I had with the students and their genuine smiles showed me the feeling was mutual. This week, their acclimation to our center and our programming has been sped up, relative to first time students, and they have been able to take hold of the more in-depth and abstract concepts in our classes that are sometimes left out of introductory experiences at PMOEC. It has been a wonderful experience for all of our instructors, whether they returned from a previous staff or are new this school year.
Despite the fact that we have a week off from our lecture series, I do want to plant the idea of next week's lecture a bit earlier than most. A few years ago, my introduction to PMOEC came through a lecture given by Sharp Swan. Sharp is the Director of Pok-O-MacCready Camps, board member of PMOEC and direct descendent of the man who founded the camp over a century ago. This lecture was captivating. Sharp's knowledge about the practices at logging camps, their locations and stories from within their ranks can not be paralleled by any single scholar, or library for that matter. And Sharp's zest for life and optimism for what is in front of him would make a staged reading of the phone book an interesting evening. Yet next Thursday, Sharp will be once again be speaking about logging in the Adirondacks; a topic that he too finds fascinating. It is a must see.
That's all for today. I am sure that I will have volumes to write once next week's Winter Break Camp has been in full swing for a few days. Until then...

Cabin Fever is good!

My first experience at PMOEC was as a customer. Specifically, on a cold winter night in early 2009, I came to the main building of Pok-O for a lecture given by Camp Director/ PMOEC Board Member/ Logging Aficionado Sharp Swan. I was immediately hooked. This lecture was enough to open my eyes to what an amazing center was so close to my home, with so many diverse activities to offer. Fate allowed me to find out, a few months later, that the Director position was open and after a great interview process, I was behind the Director's desk by April 15th. Thus, the lecture series has always been near and dear to my heart and the success we had in recruiting amazing speakers this year and the initial success we have had with Carl Heilman's lecture makes me feel like the Cabin Fever Lecture Series has truly arrived and become a part of the cultural fabric of the Champlain Valley.
Help us to continue this excellent newfound tradition of success tonight with Steven Kellogg. Steven is a resident of Essex, an amazing soul and a children's book author/ illustrator of world fame. Google him to find out which of the book's from your childhood Steven was either the author or illustrator of; I am sure their is at least one.
The end of our winter season is about to ramp up- starting Sunday we have groups through the 25th. Hopefully I will find the time to get a blog out during this intensive run, especially since Winter Break Camp is one of the funniest times of the year and you need to hear some of the stories. Until then...

Mid-Winter (Is it Winter?) Blues?? Nah...

We waved goodbye to our last group in the month of January and soon after waved goodbye to the last of the snow on the ground. Since our next group will not arrive until the 12th of February, there is renewed optimism that we will see lots of deep powder around the center before welcoming the next bunch of students. As is always the case with the time between groups, the staff is catching it's collective breath and, of course, tending to all of the jobs at Pok-O that get tabled until we have work project time. Extra days off come in batches before the next group, but thats just because people will be working many days in a row on the second half of the month.
But for now time is being spent mucking stalls, acclimating our new horses to the barnyard (And on this topic, let me tell you- when you have been looking at ponies, pigs, sheep, goats and chickens for 5 months, horses look BIG!), continued re-insulation of older buildings, shingle painting and too many other jobs to list. And of course, we are all wound up for our Cabin Fever Lecture Series starting tonight with Carl Heilman II. This really is a don't-miss-program and its free. And if you can't make it (for some reason that better be good), next week we have the acclaimed children's book author/ illustrator Steven Kellogg. Its big time at PMOEC. Big time.

Snow-less, Whats the Goal? and Other Ramblings of a Tired Man

It's Friday and everyone on the PMOEC staff has gone home except for me. They were beat, I am beat and they deserved an extra hour off to jump start their weekend- or maybe give them an excuse to take an afternoon nap. Whatever the case, this week, as so many before it have been, was exhausting in the good way. We had our first group of the winter that came from the States, Connecticut to be exact, and that really changed our approach on the week. Gone were the needs to emphasize sentence structure, proper grammar and enunciation. Here were a group of 22 boys who were focused on the bond shared with the class, the challenges associated with pushing yourself physically and simply having a good time. We did all we could to reach these goals and, despite little help from Mother Nature, I think we succeeded. It is heartwarming for me to hear Pok-O Instructors talking about if we need to reach the top of a mountain on a hike, as summiting does not necessarily mean the goal is met. Didn't somebody once say that its not about the goal, but the journey?
Looking forward to next week, we get back into work projects for a while but are eagerly looking forward to our first lecture of the Cabin Fever Lecture Series. CARL HEILMAN II!!! He defines Adirondack photography and, as someone who is drawn to vast landscape in portraits as well as photo, I can't wait to hear him talk about his craft. Join us- it will be Thursday at 7, it's free and it'll be near the wood stove. Can it get any better? Until next week...

Advertise, Advertise, Advertise!

Many wheels are constantly in motion at PMOEC and, although last week the bulk of our attention was on the French Canadian clients at PMOEC, we simultaneously got a lot of advertising out in the surrounding communities for some upcoming events. And while this forum is usually reserved for updates on the inner-happenings of our little corner of the Adirondacks, I would be remiss if I didn't give a little attention to all of the events on the horizon. First off, the Third Annual Cabin Fever Lecture Series is only a couple of weeks away from kicking off. The stellar list of presenters this year is a testament to many of the people who turned me down last year, but promised to present this year, living up to their promises. I am unsure if it will ever get better than having a world renowned photographer, children's author and farmer/writer, amongst others. Seriously, I may have set the bar a bit too high for 2013. In late February we will be hosting another Break Camp. It is amazing that, in a few short years, how much of a cornerstone of our programming these 2 weeks (Winter Break Camp and Spring Break Camp) of the year have become. It is a different experience for us as instructors, since we get to see the same kids year in and year out, we get to see them grow, form long term relationships and experience our classes in a different way. If thats not enough, we also have the a snow tubing evening on the Thursday night of Winter Break Camp. Wow. Its a full February and early March. I hope you are looking forward to it as much as we are.

St. Marc

Every school is an important client in the continued success of Pok-O-MacCready Outdoor Education Center. No client is less important than another. But some clients have become endeared to us as they have been long standing. And a few of those long standing groups have had fortunate staffing that has allowed the same teacher to come each year. One of those schools is at PMOEC right now and Rosemary Reader, who has come with St. Marc School on every of its bi-annual trips over the past 10+ years, still comes every time. Rosemary still has the drive to make her trip better every year and we are happy to oblige. She feels quite at home with our staff each year and is a welcome face for all of our employees, old and new. What better school and teacher to have kick off our overnight-educational groups for 2012?
The snow seems to have finally arrived today, although my early season optimism that turned into slight pessimism still lingers. It will take a few trips down the tubing hill and glacading down a Pok-O-Patch mountain before I'll turn my frown upside down. Stay tuned.
Next week the winter Pok-O-Press comes out, we start publicity for our Annual Winter Break Camp and we will let you know more about the Cabin fever Lecture Series Until then...

Ski Week

A great week of skiing and hiking is behind us. The annual Pok-O Ski Week, a collaborative effort between Pok-O-MacCready Camps and Pok-O-MacCready Outdoor Education Center, was a lot of fun. Little snow has fallen in the North Country so far this winter, save the early season foot that fell before Thanksgiving that had promptly melted before the beginning of the next work week, but no bother. The kids adapted, as Pok-O summer camp kids do, so rather than snow-tubing we did some alternate night activities; a night hike one evening and a smor-extravaganza another. Of course, there were some trips to the Crux, but most memorable were the trips to the High Peaks for hiking and skiing. Two days of winter mountaineering trips went out, one to Tabletop and one to Wright, and they were both a huge success. The days at Whiteface were fantastic with staff and kids enjoying the development of their skiing skills and friendships that are often limited to the summer months. This week, our focus turns to winter training and snow dances as we anticipate the arrival of our first winter group next Tuesday. A little tease about next weeks blog- more info about our Cabin Fever Lecture Series and the Pok-O-Press that will be coming out in a couple of weeks. Pray for snow!