2010 Camp Lowden Staff Reunion

On what turned out to be a picture-perfect day for weather, Camp Lowden held its 70th Anniversary Celebration on Saturday, September 4, 2010. More than 100 current and former staff members, as well as families and friends of Camp Lowden, attended. This was the largest-ever gathering, surpassing the previous record which was set at the 2005 reunion.

Steve Sarver coordinated this reunion - his third in five years - with assistance from Tim Gaston and also from Tom Brooks in the Scout office. Making things a little more challenging was the fact that Steve's wife gave birth to their son less than 36 hours before the start of the event. Steve recalls,

We knew all year long that this could happen, and we had contingencies in place in case I was not able to be there. But the hardest part of these events is always the advance planning, and fortunately everything was about 99% ready to go. We had a good team in place and everybody knew what needed to be done.

I was at the hospital on Thursday night when our son was born and for a couple hours afterward. After my wife and son were back together and everything was going well, I went back to reunion event preparations and stayed up nearly all night. After two hours of sleep, I spent most of Friday either packing for the weekend or at the hospital.

In the end, Steve was able to get to camp on Friday evening (directly from the hospital) and, despite very little sleep on his part, the event ran very smoothly.

Four patches were designed by Steve Sarver and Tim Gaston (based on an original design by Dr. David Hanson) for the entire 70th Anniversary year: two for summer camp and two for the 70th Anniversary Celebration. Each reunion participant received a patch with a gold border. A small number of silver-bordered patches was commissioned and given out to camp directors and other select individuals.

Those attending also had the opportunity to purchase the Camp Lowden history book, The Living Legends of Camp Lowden, which was updated in 2010.

Former Lowden Indian dancer Greg Root brought his Indian costume.

Tours of the Boeger Leadership Lodge were given, and participants also had the opportunity to walk around and look at other areas of camp as well. Meanwhile, Steve was interviewed on WREX-TV from Rockford as well as in a newspaper.

At noon, everyone gathered at the flagpole. Tim Gaston recognized the camp directors and rangers who were present, and reviewed the results of the icebreaker that took place in the morning, which was won by the grandson of Chuck Walneck. Following grace, everyone marched down to the dining hall for a fantastic lunch. Many thanks go to our cook, former Lowden and Canyon staffer Kevin Stebbins, for providing this scrumptious meal!

Following lunch, we sang songs - an after-meal tradition for many years. Veteran song-leader Ron Weber led several songs. As a special treat, former staff member Dan Reilly, age 90, led several of his favorites. There were also several guest speakers, including Ray Warren (council president) and Don Kinney (council executive).

Steve Sarver also presented a slide show on "Camp Lowden: The First 70 Years" which chronicled the history of the camp as well as spotlighted various people who were instrumental in the camp's history. Several of those spotlighted were in attendance and recognized for their contributions. A special presentation was made by Jerry Coots and Ray Warren to announce that the dedication of the trading post to Dale Emerick, who passed away in an auto accident. Dale's wife Helen was in attendance.

In addition, the staff canoe paddle from 1977 - which had been missing for more than 30 years - was returned to Camp Lowden. Dan Masterson of the 1977 camp staff had the paddle during this time, which he received from his father. In early 2010 Dan returned the paddle to Steve Sarver who restored it.

After the program, a group photo was taken on the hill outside the dining hall. Photos of each decade of staff members were also taken, and for the third straight reunion, every decade was represented.

The event concluded with a reception in the Main Lodge.