Show notes
Download Episode! Stoney Lake Reflections Show Notes Episode: 07 Clark Ewing What I have to say: I visited with Clark and Marilyn in August of 2017. Jenni Lane made all the arrangements for this interview to happen and for that I am grateful. The Ewings invited me into their abode in Saline, Michigan for an afternoon of great reflections. For starters, Clark hasn’t changed a bit! As an interviewer I was on the edge of my seat as I listened to his reflections. At once I was a camper again, waiting to be entertained…and I was also that young staffer who absorbed any crumbs of wisdom from this camp giant (or is it oracle?). As an adult, I sat there in awe. It is impossible to separate the history of camp and this couple, without one, you would not have the other. This fact cannot be overstated and is not up to debate. I’ll wait to publish more insights on my meeting with Clark & Marilyn in a devoted blog article. But for now, I’ll let Clark tell his story in his own words. Enjoy. Show Notes:
- How Clark got started in 1939 as a camper
- 1942 First on Staff as Assistant Cook (at 15 years old!)
- Doc Miller as mentor
- What camp was like when he was a camper & staff
- 1946-48: Apache Cabin & Being Water Front Director
- Teaching kids afflicted with polio how to swim
- 1946 Clark Married Marilyn
- How influential Marilyn was in making the decision to make it a career at Camp Storer
- Doc Miller asks Clark to take some travel trips off camp property (inspiration for what became Venture Out)
- Check Chapter 17 of YMCA Storer Camps – The Living legacy of Doc Miller for the ill-fated trip of ’52 Abitibi River
- How Clark became Full Time Summer/Executive Director
- What made 1956-1958 the most influential years at camp
- Sacrifices made to join Camp as Full Time Executive Director
- Clark details the expansion of land and facilities (see Chapter 13 for full details)
- Bringing in Greg McKee and Mary Mennel to run the show
- ‘YMCA Camp Storer’ to 'YMCA Storer Camps'
- Dining at Camp
- Families at Camp including a staff child who intimidated Clark
- Clark’s approach to enforcing curfew
- Hijinks at Camp
- Who would play Clark Ewing in a Clark Ewing Movie? Click Here
- The power of song in his youth through to today?
- Secret to longevity: Thinking like a kid & The Power of Love
