The Keewaydin Service Award was given to Joe Fogg at the annual New York City Alumni gathering. The following are remarks by Joe Fogg upon receiving the 2011 Keewaydin Service Award.
My first exposure to Keewaydin Camp was back in 1960, over 50 years ago, when my parents sent me at age 14 to Lake Dunmore for the summer. I went with a friend from Cleveland, Dick Eide, who is here tonight and who has spent almost as much time at Keewaydin as I have. I remember that summer very well including fond memories of Waboos and Abby Fenn. It was during that summer that I discovered by looking at old plaques (called I think “coup boards”) that my father was the first Fogg to attend Keewaydin, having been to Dunmore in the summer of 1933. Also, that summer I had my first exposure to canoe tripping and I was hooked. Eide and I learned that there was another Keewaydin camp somewhere north in Canada that specialized in canoe tripping and we both went to Temagami the next year in 1961.
I spent the next 6 summers at Temagami, 2 as a camper and 4 on the trip staff. In my last summer, I was selected as the Ogama of the Gigitowin, to this day one of my proudest achievements. In those days, the director was Chief Chivers, father of Sandy Chivers who next year will retire as head of Ojibway. I also remember such Keewaydin legends as Roy Waters, Heb Evans, Nishee Belanger and Jack McKisac, the latter being the last of the old Mattawa Indian guides. And finally, I remember visiting our great Cleveland friends the Scovil’s whose island is just a couple of miles off Devil’s I sland. Of course, the infirmary at Temagami is named after that family and young Sam Scovil has served on the Foundation Board. Those years of tripping in the North woods, while many of my friends were playing golf or tennis or cutting lawns were amongst the finest of my life, even to this day.
It finally became time to move on and I had to focus on college, then business school and Wall Street. But even then I found some time for several years to take a Club trip up on Lake Temagami. On one such trip in the early 1970’s., Dick Eide and I brought our newly married wives up to take the Wakimika Obabica circuit. In preparation for this trip, we sent the girls on the traditional newbie hunt for 50 feet of green shore line. The girls spent several hours running from the Ojibway store, to the Temagami shop to the various wigwams, in each place being told
that they were fresh out of green shore line. Finally, we met up with them and when, with great disappointment, they admitted failure, I pointed to the shore of the lake and pointed out the green shoreline. Well, needless to say this is a sore point today.
During most of the 70’s and 80’s I was busy working and did not think much about Keewaydin, until one day in the late 80’s when Fred Reimers and I had a discussion about the future of Keewaydin. To make a long story short, I bought the camp from Fred along with my great partner Lew Lehrman. In a word, we bought it to keep it safe. During our 10 year stewardship, we never took a cent out of the camp and I think continued to maintain the traditions, the standards and the essence of the place. During our tenure, perhaps the most significant change we made (and I realize that change is not necessarily a welcome word at Keewaydin) was to start the girls program, named like the same program at Dunmore, Songadewin. This was very controversial at the time, but Lew and I felt strongly that the time had come. I admit it had a bit to do with my youngest daughter Whitney, who loved canoeing and was forced to spend her first summer on Lake Temagami in a red canoe at Wabin. (Boo) Whitney, incidentally, went on to do the very first girls Bay Trip and then served on the staff. Anyway, the girls program now at Temagami is now firmly established and was definitely the right thing to do.
The second thing I did with Keewaydin of importance was the donation of the camp to the Keewaydin Foundation. This again is a bit of a long story, but the essence is that Lew and I never wanted to retire owning Keewaydin. We were searching for a long term solution which would ensure the future of the camp. We could have sold to another owner/director (if we found one) but that would have just kicked the can down the field. The risk that Devil’s Island could be commercially developed would have remained. Having gone to Dunmore, I was aware that this earlier off shoot of the Keewaydin family had already gone the Foundation route. It seemed logical to me anyway to try to put these old brother camps back together under that roof. I can say looking back on it that the Foundation Board as then constituted was very positive and constructive about the whole thing and we got it done. I think it has been a very successful remarriage and I salute the current Foundation Board and our Executive director Peter Hare for continuing to make it happen.
For me and my family, Keewaydin has been about as important as anything in our lives. As I mentioned earlier, my father went to Keewaydin. Two of my three children went to Keewaydin, as did my two brothersand my brother In law, and 6 nieces and nephews. In fact my niece, Katy Paine will be on the Keewydin/Songadewin staff this summer. Finally, I live in Naples Fl, across from the old Keewaydin Club, my sailboat is named Keewaydin and my two picnic boats are named Ojibway and Manitou. I have two young grandchildren coming along, and I will be surprised if they are not at Keewaydin when they get old enough.
Let me close be telling you what I really think about Keewaydin. Why is it such a special place? Well one way to look at it is the simple proposition of a trip section on a portage. It is raining and the portage is late on a long day. The section needs to make its campsite before dark. The portage is in between It is a simple zero sum game. Whatever one boy does not carry over to the other side, someone else has to. Within a small group with no chance of outside assistance, you have to learn to step up and do your share. It is a priceless learning experience. That is Keewaydin.
So, on behalf of my partner, Lew Lehrman, I want to thank the Foundation Board for this award. You can continue to count on the support of my family, including my son Nathaniel who has joined the Foundation Board.
Thanks again.