Camp Meeker Beat by Tom Austin - November 2018
November comes creeping in on damp sneakers. As I write this, there has been a touch of rain. By the time you read this, if we’re lucky there’s been a bit more, and the hills of the dairy belt will have begun sprouting their lush winter coat of green. I’m saying here and now that our change of season colors can stand up to anything in lovely New England, history or no.
The other blessing that cold November rain brings us, besides an epic Guns‘n Roses video, is blessed release from fire season. I don’t need to harp on that point, I’m sure. Pretty much all of us have lain awake, looking at the woods surrounding us, and had a “there but for the Grace of God” moment. We have been galvanized, and people are taking action. It’s a little too early to get into detail here: those organizations with legal and financial skin in the game are carefully examining their resources, potential liabilities, and insurance concerns contingent to their ownership of land in and around Camp Meeker. I can say that vigorous discussion is taking place between one and all of these parties. While it is clear that we all share the same goal – making Camp Meeker safe in the event of a fire – it’s also clear that there are a lot of moving parts to this puzzle.
How can we help? That’s the question on the minds of Camp Meeker denizens. The first thing you can do is to educate yourself. In that line, the Camp Meeker Park and Rec Board(one of the parties of this vigorous discussion) are screening a documentary at Anderson Hall very, very soon. The film is called “Wilder Than Wild”, and it will be screened at Anderson Hall on November 3rd and 17th from 4-6 pm. The film lasts a little over an hour, and after the movie there will be an open discussion of the issues raised. You will see posters for the movie on the bulletin board by the Post Office and no doubt other places. Check out the website wilderthanwildfilm.org for more information and make time in your schedule for this important event!
On a happier note, I was contacted by Lyndi Brown, a former Camp Meeker resident now living in Penngrove, and a core member of the Camp Meeker Players. In late September, that esteemed group held a reunion at the Union Hotel’s Bocce Ballroom. The reunion was spearheaded by longtime Camp Meeker resident (and my former next-door neighbor) Mark Hedley. Present at the reunion (among others!) were Allis Teagarden (now of Sebastopol), Trish and Bill Spence (now also of Penngrove), and Michael Jennings of San Francisco.
The Camp Meeker Players are a fond memory of anyone who lived in Camp Meeker in the 70’s to early 80’s. They would organize and put on plays in a structure called The Green Barn, and over time just about everyone in Camp Meeker played some part in the spectacle: on stage, backstage, in the orchestra, or just cheering from the audience. This was no Mickey Rooney “let’s put on a show” amateur hour: ambitious productions like Three Penny Opera, The Wizard of Oz, The Chalk Circle, and Deadwood Dickenjoyed successful runs down there by Dutch Bill Creek.
Back to the reunion: it was a grand affair, punctuated by revelry and music. Veterans of the orchestra pit in attendance included Carol Burleson (now in Seattle), Mitch Greenhill (LA), Dave Holt (Concord), and Mike Nehm (Sebastopol) performing favorite songs from the old days.
Sure would be great if Camp Meeker could see an artistic renaissance like that, huh? The original Camp Meeker Players were forced to abandon the Green Barn when it was deemed unsafe, and that building no longer exists. But hey! If we build it they will come, right? I know I dissed them upthread, but Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland had the right idea in Babes in Arms. Anyone know a seamstress to make the curtain? Come on, let’s do it!
