Rebuild Berwick

Rebuilding Committee Update

tmcculloch — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 01:01:30 +0000

Hello Campers,

Our focus over the past few weeks has been to plan the tree removal process. We issued a tender for the work and Looke CanCut was selected. We are confident that they offered the most efficient tree removal process, as well as the one that will have the least impact on the overall site.

The most probable start date for the tree work to begin is Jan 31. Trees throughout the grounds will be moved to the upper ball field where they will be staged for future processing. Unusable timber or debris will be chipped for biomass. We will seriously consider how we can best use this volume of lumber, what is suitable for a portable mill to process wood for use at the camp and what can be sold. On the insurance side, it appears that 60% to 70% of the tree work will be covered by the insurer. We will be keeping close tabs on this as part of the process.

Wayne Fiander Chair of the Rebuilding Committee

Dartmouth Fundraiser Planned – Feb 26

tmcculloch — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 18:35:16 +0000

As some of you know already, there will be a sale of gently used maternity, baby, kids and teens clothing on Saturday, February 26th at Woodlawn United Church in Dartmouth. Please help us to raise money to rebuild our beloved camp.

Here is how you can help:

- Speak to the minister at your church and ask if your church can be a drop off location for clothing donations. If so, make an announcement to your congregation about this project and encourage them to donate clothing that has been outgrown before it has been worn out. Arrange to deliver all of the donations to Woodlawn United Church sometime between February 20th and 25th. (I am off that week and will try to be at Woodlawn at a few different times to receive donations.) Please let me know if you are doing this so I can have a rough idea how many donations we will be receiving.

AND/OR

- Knit something new to donate to the sale. We will gladly accept new hand knit mittens, hats, baby sweaters, etc. as we are hoping to have a table for these new items. Please note that although that any leftover used clothes will be donated to charity, any new items will be taken to Berwick Camp for the auction. These donations should be labelled as new so that they can be priced appropriately.

AND/OR

- Post signs up in your schools, daycares, workplaces, etc (and remove them when the sale is over). Just e-mail me at cccuthbertson@hotmail.com and in February I will e-mail you a notice that you can print out.

AND/OR

Spread the word to family and friends. Our youth can go though their closets and even encourage their friends to do the same.

AND

Mark it on your calendar and come out and SHOP!!!! There will be great bargains!!!

Thanks!!
Sue Cuthbertson

PayPal Donations Now Accepted

Stikmen Graphic Design — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 02:19:40 +0000

Hello Campers!

We’re excited to announce that we’re now accepting donations to the Rebuild Fund via PayPal. You can use any of the links found on the blog or the main website, or the button below. (Tax receipts can be issued if you provide the appropriate information.)

Thanks everyone for your continued support!

Malcolm

Update from the Rebuild Committee

tmcculloch — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 22:50:18 +0000

Hi Campers,
As we begin the new year, our Reconstruction Committee wanted to contact our fellow Campers and provide a brief update.
To quote Mr. Dickens “it was the best of times…it was the worst of times”
It was the worst of times in that the special place we love has been severely damaged. Some cottages that have housed generations of families have been destroyed….others have sustained significant damage. Many giant hemlocks that have defined our camp are broken or uprooted.
It is the best of times in that this event has bonded our Camp community in a way that would be hard to imagine. Everyone, young and old, has risen to the challenge with energy, resolve and vision. There is an unflinching shared commitment to face this challenge together and repair and rebuild our Camp.
There is other good news that is easy to overlook in the midst of all the damage. That is that the majority of our buildings and trees were not damaged at all. Rest assured that when you eventually walk through the gates , you will still feel that you are “home’ and in the same camp you know and love. We are also thankful that we have in place a significant insurance policy , which, while not covering 100% of the required funds, will cover a huge amount and allow us proceed quickly with the daunting undertaking ahead. We do have a long process and we have to work through each step with the adjustor and with three insurers
Our Committee would like to take this opportunity as we begin the new year to update you on the progress thus far.
However, first, we would like to thank everyone for their understanding and co-operation during the first few weeks. It is natural for all of us to want to rush to the grounds to witness the damage first hand. This has not been possible for safety reasons and continues to be the case. The last thing any of us would want is to compound this tragedy with the injury of someone from our Berwick family. We simply want to say thank-you for your understanding and co-operation.
Now for the update.
Through the efforts of many people who have already volunteered huge amounts of time and energy, progress is being made, a plan is being developed and implemented and work has begun.
Our immediate concern has been and continues to be safety. Our Committee has met with various officials and forestry experts to ensure that the grounds are made safe as soon as possible. Then, and only then, can the repair and rebuild begin in earnest. In co-operation with our insurance adjuster we have met with a number of contractors who have already submitted proposals for the work. We hope this work will be well underway within a couple of weeks. We are taking great care to ensure that the contractors understand the ‘special’ nature of our grounds and will be sensitive to our environment and our facility.
There are hundreds of tasks already accomplished and hundreds of things more to do, but progress is being made daily. Plans are being developed, appropriate resources secured, and work is already underway.
Preliminary access roads have been cleared, power has been restored to some buildings and the fencing temporarily repaired.
In short, progress is being made. Our committee ,the Camp Executive and many others are working literally everyday to ensure that our Camp is restored and rebuilt in time for Berwick Camp 140. Can we give exact dates for access or specific timetables….unfortunately no. There are many variables beyond our control including the weather. However we can promise you that many ,many people are committed to working tirelessly every single day to make sure these jobs are accomplished as soon as possible and are done right.
Once again, thank-you to all for your understanding and patience about visiting the grounds.
We are in awe of the overwhelming support, concern, commitment, resiliency and willingness to do whatever is necessary from our Berwick family.
Thank-you…Thank-you…Thank-you
Upon risk of showing my Cape Breton roots I will end with a Rankin song “We Rise Again” as a tribute to the efforts being made to restore Berwick Camp.
Wayne Fiander, Chair
on behalf of all on the Reconstruction Committee

Note from Karen & Ervie

tmcculloch — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 14:42:12 +0000

Hi to all our friends from Berwick Camp. Ervie & I were totally shocked with the damage at your dear camp. We want to pass along our sadness to all of you but also want to say how thankful we are that no one was hurt; other than their hearts; with this amount of damage. The Lord does things for a reason and we are sure he had a good reason for act also. This may be a good chance for our faith renewal and to bring all of God’s people closer together. We will be there with you all if that is your wish. We will help in any way we can and we know Berwick Camp will continue to be a wonderful place to work and to meet so many great people. We would like to wish all of you a blessed Christmas season and all the best in the new year. Long live Berwick Camp.
MERRY CHRISTMAS,
Karen & Ervie

The Berwick Christmas Story

tmcculloch — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 17:41:57 +0000

I had all along intended to send a Seasons Greeting message to all with some details about next year’s camp and what can be expected. You know the usual stuff. Well, a funny thing happened on the way to my laptop!

I use the term funny quite inappropriately as I stole it From Zero Mostel’s Broadway play, “A Funny Thing Happened On the Way To the Forum.” An apt phrase would be “devastating”. A week ago last Monday night Berwick Camp’s world was turned upside down. Word soon spread of the utter destruction that had struck our beloved Camp. It couldn’t be true? How could it happen? Why did it occur? How bad? Did my cottage get destroyed?… Then the pictures started to surface. It was bad! It was really bad! It was beyond comprehension!

Out of this tragedy comes the Berwick Christmas Story. Then the unbelievable happened! Those with an official capacity sprang into action and the depths of the commitment of our campers took over. People with offers to help appeared out of no where. Nobody was asked for help who did not put aside their work and their Christmas plans, to do whatever they could and whatever was necessary. Gifts appeared from unexpected places. The people of Berwick and its organizations came to our aid, no questions asked. Our young campers with their knowledge of the internet gave us the gift of communication which became the glue that held us together in
those first few anxious days. (Incidentally it has become the grease that is making our resurrection possible.) People watched from near and afar through these internet tools and then the impossible seemed to happen.

We have all witnessed the start of the rebirth of a new version of Berwick. Yes, there will be new buildings and equipment to replace our loss but the rebirth is of the Berwick soul and spirit in a way that can only occur because of a shared crisis. Through the calls, emails, postings, conversations, I have seen the creation of something extraordinary. I do not have words for it. How do you describe a collective group hug by hundreds of people over thousands of miles? However, those reading this know of what I write because you are in the midst of it!

This story of Berwick Christmas 2010 is not all that dissimilar to one that happened over 2000 years ago which is the reason we celebrate Christmas. A momentous event occurred. Then it was a birth, for us a wind storm. Shepherds left their flocks to watch and help. Our campers did the same. People came from afar with gifts. We have literally dozens of emails of offers of help and donations. The inn keeper gave a roof for Mary and Joseph. The community of Berwick gave staff, people, and help too. The star rose to tell all, the first Facebook posting shone forth to everyone. From that event 2000 years ago something happened that transformed the relationship between God and humanity and brought new life and hope to many which changed the world forever. From this event we have the possibility to bring new life to a place and a faith community that is holy to us all.
No matter what happens I want everyone to remember this Christmas. For it is in this Christmas of 2010 when you were part of a communal embrace. It is with shared feelings of anguish and grief, but assurance of hope and trust that we will emerge with a more fervent conviction of what Berwick means to each and every one us.

Please celebrate this Christmas safely with those you love and cherish. For those of you who have to work to provide services for the rest of us, please know you have a special place in all our hearts and you are not taken for granted but much appreciated. Blessings to everyone.

Gordon Cameron
President

Introducing the Rebuild Berwick Camp Team

tmcculloch — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 01:35:24 +0000

I wanted to let you know, before Christmas, as an early Christmas present, that the first 3 Rebuild Berwick Committees have been formed and are starting to work right now. There will no doubt be more required but these three will get us off and running.

Construction Team
This committee will manage the actual construction for the rebuild. The initial five members have agreed to serve for 120 days. They have been tasked to oversee the initial aspects of the clean up, manage the insurance claim, and develop terms of reference for a permanent committee and how the rebuild should be managed. This will be presented to the executive within 120 days, for discussion and adoption. Then a subsequent permanent committee will be formed.

Members of the committee are, Wayne Fiander as chair, Bruce Tupper, Ken Moors, Eric Schuman, and Tim O’Brien

Fund Raising
This committee has agreed to present to the executive by February an initial plan fundraising for the rebuild. The initial plan is not expected to be complete or extremely detailed but will recommend how we proceed at the quickest possible speed.

Tim O’Neil and Chrissie Crooks have agreed to chair this initial plan development. This committee has the power to add. The long term chair and committee will be part of the reccommened plan

Big Picture
This committee is tasked with looking beyond rebuilding what we have lost. In the absence of a bigger plan this is our default position, replacement. This group will recommend to the executive by the spring if and what we should do to go beyond replacing and how we can make it better.

Tim O’Neill said on our executive conference call when we discussing this committee: (I am paraphrasing and adding to it) “We have spent a great deal of time and effort 3 years ago on this very subject. At that time the long range plan was identified as focusing on the following 5 areas,

1) New Youth Centre
2) Roofed accommodation, single room family duplex units with washroom near the kitchen, an addition to the Hollywood area for unserviced roofed accommodation and the lower campground larger cottages with washrooms
3) Renewal of the open Pavilion to makes its use more flexible, better seating for the audience while maintaining the architectural appearance
4) Renewal of the closed pavilion to increase its flexibility of use and site lines. (seating comfort has been addressed already)
5) Improvements to the grounds to improve their use and accessibility

My sense is this is a very good starting point for the committee as they do not have to reinvent the wheel. Much work has been done to date and accepted.”

Susan McAlpine Gillis has accepted the role of committee chair. I have asked her to have an initial meeting the first week of January. As well, I, Peter Woods initially, and Tim O’Neil the chair of the long range planning and Terri McCulloch have agreed to join the committee. I have asked she create a more appropriate name and initial terms of reference for the executive by the end of January. I have asked the committee have an initial set of recommendations for the executive approval by the spring meeting.

Gordon Cameron
President

Note to Youth from Andy O’Neill

tmcculloch — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 21:25:14 +0000

To the Youth Group at Berwick 2011

Jenny and I and little Jonathan could only watch as flood waters rushed by our house on both sides. 40 inches in the basement, but no water in the taps. So I “showered” in the woodshed (water in a bag, suspended from a hook – don’t think on that for too long – not a pretty picture). And as I shivered in the shed, a thought passed through my mind: this is kind of like being at Berwick! Cold mornings, wooden shower stalls. And a big smile crossed my face.

A few hours later, we got the pictures, and my smile disappeared. Our hearts sank to see the sacred hemlocks uprooted and the vulnerable cottages broken. And then came the emails. Facebook. Conference calls. Regular updates. Messages of courage and hope. Your desire to help was evident in every new message, as was your love for your campground, which has been a spiritual home for so many, for so long.

And that isn’t about to change.

We’re on for 2011! Jenny and I can’t wait to see the youth who have made our past two summers so much fun! This year’s program may need to include some clean-up work. Jenny and I agree that, if we know you, you’ll be pitching in with everyone else. Over the next while we’ll find out more about how to do that. There may even be a project that the youth group can take care of.

Just think about how great it will be to be able to give back to Berwick! Maybe next December, we’ll smile again as we remember our home in the Valley. Hopefully, though, not as you shower in my woodshed.

Merry Christmas, friends.
AO

Thank you! Thank you!

tmcculloch — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 20:18:02 +0000

Thank you, Thank you, and Thank you.

Thank you to the many campers who have expressed their, horror and sadness at our calamity

Thank you to all the friends of Berwick in the Church, in the community and around the world who have expressed their grief

Thank you to the many campers who once they expressed their sorrow immediately said “what can I do!”

Thank you to the table officers for being there for the camp. This was not part of your job description when you signed on. (Actually it was under the heading of, “other duties as assigned”)

Thank you to Eric and Terri who have virtually put their lives on hold since this happened to be the front and centre people.

Thank you to Jack for being the best Association secretary possible

Thank you to the Executive for never saying no to whatever was asked of you.

Thank you to those campers who were asked to take a role and said something to the effect. “How can I say no?”

Thank you to those who have donated money to the rebuild.

Thank you to Peter for being the steadiest past president we could ever have in a time like this. (Wish you were the current president!)

Thank you to Tim, Tim, and Chrissie for being on the front line

Thank to Grant, Sharon and Dawn for being such faithful servants of managing the money.

Thank you to those who have already started to work on the rebuild. (Yes, crews have already started the clean up phase!)

Thank you for understanding Berwick is more than trees or buildings; it is a sprit that transcends physical property.

Thank you for your emails, calls, letters, and postings of support for what has been done and we have yet to do.

Thank you to the boys and their web expertise.

Thank you to the young people who have rallied to Berwick

Thank you to Mary Lynn

Thank you to everyone else I should have said that to in this letter but overlooked. There are so many, doing so much I am not aware of specifically, but know you who you are and what you are doing. You are valued more than I can express except to say thank you.

Thank you, thank you, and thank you!

Gordon

Full damage report chart (Dec 18, 2010)

tmcculloch — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 20:04:45 +0000

Please click here to download a pdf chart listing all camp buildings and their estimated damages.