KINGSWOOD FOR LIFE

KINGSWOOD FOR LIFE
KFL
NEWSLETTER
Issue 1, Volume 1
Thank you for registering in our new association, named "Kingswood For Life"
Please tell others in your network about Kingswood's efforts to reunite with old-time campers
and parents. Give them this link to sign up for themselves:
https:/ / kingswoodcamp.campintouch.com/ ui/ forms/ applications/ alumni/ App

REVEILLE
Greetings, treasured Kingswood alumni. "Treasured?" Yes, I mean it. I've been practically obsessed with this initial "Kingswood For Life," aka KFL
Newsletter and want it to be entertaining to the max for all you kids. Yes, "kids," damn it- Mr. Wiff has not changed much in 30 years even if you have grown
up, or purport to have done so. A certain irreverence and humor should be staple products in these reports and I want you to really look forward to receiving
them, about 3-4 a year. OK?
I am not exaggerating, hyperbole being my normal MO, when I relate that it took hours of searching to come up with the photo of Eric and Todd
on the moose. The pair sent it out as a joint Holiday Greeting in 1996, a fact proven by its appearance in the 1997 photo collage. Not now, but eventually, we
hope to make the old collages available to KFL membership, among many other perks. Finally, our kitchen director of nearly 20 years, Charmion Wood, called
to say "I've got the moose," whereupon both Alice and I jumped for joy.
Summer 2015 marks the Wipfler's 31st at the helm of the HMS Kingswood ship of state. A portion of our first newsletter in 1984 appears below.
Doug Crowe, the Jons boys, Nick Hall, Ari Blum, Victor Katz, Alan Thomson, and Charlie von Simson are among those receiving this missive who were on
hand at the start of it all. Congratulations, or something!
Of course you should visit www.kingswoodcamp.com soon to get up to speed on all camp matters. Kingswood Rescourses/ Kingswood Connections
is the place you need to be. Beyond that you should know that Alice and I live in the old Guides Lodge down by the water, exponentially improved, some
would argue. Several years ago, we picked Echo Rock right off its foundation and relocated it up the hill next to the Laundromat or Mail Room, depending on
your frame of reference. Rob and Becky's lovely cottage sits on the old Echo Rock site. Rob now serves as full-time co-director of Kingswood. Becky teaches in
Hanover and is a year-round camp administrator. They live in the beautiful town of Lyme- within close reach of campus.
As you faced the old Main Lodge (long gone), behind it on the edge of the lake were two really weather-beaten cottages owned by local folks.
Kingswood's perennial Achilles heel was the fear that those buildings would fall into the wrong hands once the elderly locals decided to sell. Issue resolved
several years ago, when at our urging, Mike Wiff's in-laws, Cristin's parents, purchased the land a built a nice home on the location. Mike, Cristin and our
first grandchild, Liam Wipfler, reside there in relative luxury. Sara and her husband, Baibhav Acharya, will occupy the Office Cottage on the site of the old
Cabin 14, on the left side of our #7 of the original Frisbee golf course. That course remains relatively unchanged since Charlie Hatch designed it in 1985.
However, Frisbee golf is now so popular that we are expanding to 36 holes in the upcoming summer.
So, that is Reveille and "once the sun is up, so should you be," as Duff Rice would say. Enjoy what follows.
-Wiff

ALL HANDS ON DECK
Allow us to invite you to visit camp this coming summer.
The weekends of July 18 and August 8 are open for company.
Here are the rules:
This letter serves as the initial
Alumni Newsletter, published maybe 3-4
times per year. Naturally, we desire to
expand on this simple communication to
include photos, history and much more. If
you have any stories to tell, or ideas for
articles we can do, let us know.
Next, the link below takes to you
the Kingswood web site/ Kingswood
Resources/ Camp Archives. Scroll to the
bottom and you will see that every Monday
Blues Buster from 2002 to 2011 is available
for rediscovery. Same with the Summertime
daily Director?s reports. What a great way to
reminisce. If you find anything that really
strikes you as funny, entertaining, be sure to
prompt me to include it in one of those
upcoming alumni reports.
- Arrival time is Friday after 3 pm or anytime on Saturday
- Departure time is Sunday morning before 9:30 am
- Bring a sleeping bag so you may stay on campus
- Expect to participate in the program, either as a counselor organizer or camper player
- Agree to abide by all camp regulations that apply to campers and staff
http:/ / archives.kingswoodcamp.com/ main_new.php
Let us know if you plan to visit!
Email travel plans to rob.wipfler@gmail.com
603-989-3030

OLD SCHOOL
Our very first newsletter made itsdebut in 1984, a tradition inherited asa vehicle of communication between the
Director and the familiesof the camp. Check out some excerpts!
"AS YOUR NEW DIRECTOR, I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT MY FIRST COMMITMENT IS
TO PRESERVE AND SAFEGUARD KINGSWOOD'S STRONG TRADITIONS."
LOOKING OLD AHEAD SCHOOL TO 1985
Many, if not all, of your favorite "special events" will be on tap again next summer. A partial list
includes: Bow & Arrow Week, the Kingswood Fair, the Kingswood Olympics, Casino Night, the
magic show, the Volvo Tennis day trip, the Gold K banquet, the Five-Year dinner, and the Farewell
Banquet & Bonfire. Also, Jerry and Judy have forwarded a letter from Gravy Boat International
expressing their regret for having "missed you by a single day due to events beyond anyone's control."
We have their promise that the 1985 Gravy Boat Tour will not miss Kingswood due to any
circumstances foreseeable at this time. Sounds promising!
Now: What in the world is the Gravy Boat Tour? Allow director and noted storyteller Bob Wipfler to fill in the gaps!

LISTEN TO THE LOONS
"The Gravy Boat"
Each newsletter will feature a Mr. Wiff council fire
story. Above, in the newsletter, is a photo of Rob and me,
taken in the autumn of 1984, the summer before we first ran
the camp. Truth be known, we did not yet even own the camp,
since my negotiator, Mr. Marsh, was still making bids on my
behalf to the former owners. Jerry Vanasse and the four
Wipflers- Sara was not born yet- were allowed to spend one day
on the property. It got cold that evening but we turned on the
kitchen stove in what we now call the Leafy Cabin and thus
stayed warm. In the photo, we are standing on the lifeguard
stand, a wooden version of what you see at most swimming
pools. The thing was mostly rotten and stood on a very cracked
concrete slab, which ran the full length of the waterfront from
the buddy board to the far end of the Main Lodge. We have
plenty of pictures of this set up in the gravy days of the Bob
Smith era at Kingswood, 1947-1979.
Speaking of "gravy," what is the meaning of the "1985
Gravy Boat Tour?" In the Smith era, the boys were told on day
number 1 to be on the lookout for a glass boat, which some
gentleman in Warren launched once per summer at the public
boat dock. Its destination was Kingswood Camp and the vessel
was loaded to the brim with candy and other goodies for
deserving Kingswood boys. Naturally, there were numerous
false sightings each summer, even to include the very last day of
camp, when occasionally a good prank got boys all revved up
for the arrival of the Gravy Boat just as the buses arrived to take
them home. In 1985, we told the story and then told the truth
of the traditional scam. Besides, it was not long thereafter that
Federal Express came into existence and boys received packages
via this newfangled service which came all the way from
Burlington, VT. I was on hand when the very first Fed Ex
delivery arrived, having been driven exclusively those 100+
miles as a lone package. We all stood around in hushed
excitement as the boy slowly opened his gift. When the paper
came all the way off, there it was for all to see in its fully glory.
Drum roll please.......A single orange fruit roll up.
Shout it loudly,
Sing it proudly,
You will always know,
In the years that follow closely,
Kingswood Camp will grow.
Kingswood prior to the Wipfler ownership

KUDOS
Few have mastered the art of
the Kingswood bit quite like Eric
Knaus. Here he is writing about
the Moose that Almost Stole
Parent's Day
Dear Kingswood campers,
I'm sure most of you have seen the
Christmas collage by now and spotted the picture
of Todd and me sitting on a moose. And for some
of us, it brings up a very frightening moment in
Kingswood's history.
It was the day before Parent's Day second
session. I had just finished schoolin' Mike Mazey
from the foul line at Smith Hall, when chaos
broke out. I walked outside to see campers
running everywhere. People were diving under
cabins, hiding behind trees, and screaming very
loudly. This one guy I saw from a distance started
sprinting towards me, yelling, "I'm scared, I'm
scared, somebody help me," as he was holding on
to my leg.
"Rivers, get a hold of yourself," was my first
response. "Tell me, What's going on?"
"Eric, there is a moose across the road
who's going crazy and chasing all the campers," he
said.
That's when Chris Bauman came up to me
with a look of concern. "My parents are coming
tomorrow and if everything isn't perfect they may
not allow me to come back here." I looked down at
this kid, who had a twinkle in his eyes and I said
to myself, "He needs a hero, somebody to rely on,
and someone to believe in."
So I ran down the hill to grab Todd. It was
around 3:00 in the afternoon, so I figured he
might be sleeping as usual. I busted through the
door yelling, "Todd, Todd."
"Eric, I thought I told you unless Mount
Olympus is on fire or there is a crazy moose
running around camp, don't ever wake me up."
"Todd, yes. I need your help to capture a
moose that's scaring the campers."
All of a sudden Todd got up and ripped
off his shirt. "So Eric, you came for the 24 inch
pythons, the ripping triceps, and thunderous
legs?"
"No Todd, I can't find Phillips so I need
you." I handed him another shirt as he was
searching around for his lasso. He found the
rope and a sling shot. And a pencil sharpener
and a potato. I didn't know what that was about
but I didn't question it.
We sprinted up the hill and I thanked
Thomson for comforting Rivers for me. We
crossed the road and saw the moose. It was
raining pretty hard at this point and it was hard
to see the moose at times.
That's when Todd launched the potato
with his sling shot. There was complete silence
for a moment. Then I heard a loud growl and
something walked slowly out of the woods.
I walked a little closer to see what it was.
It was Selim, and he wasn't happy! He was
holding the potato as he ripped off his shirt. I
handed him another one as we all pursued the
mission.
We were walking very cautiously and then
came to a stop. Todd said, "you guys see what I
see?"
We certainly did. Robert Dietz was
singing the theme to the "Love Boat" in the
pouring rain. I didn't know what that was about,
but I didn't question it.
That's when the moose appeared. At first
we saw the antlers, then the entire moose. We
backed up and proceeded to climb a tree. Selim
went to grab his camera and we just hung on a
branch waiting for the moose to inch closer.

1 2
3
4
5
1. Jimmy Lee Winston, AKA Todd Sabiston
2. An Eric Knaus sighting
3. Amazing trio of the Bauman brothers (Billy & Chris) and
James Backert
4. A natural, not even remotely posed picture starring Mr.
Wiff, Alan (Sweet Daddy) Thomson, and Mike Phillips
5. The one and only Selim Ariturk posing as "the Pillow"
As soon as the moose
was under us, Todd was the first
to jump. As he started trying to
grind one of the antlers with his
pencil sharpener, I jumped on
the moose also.
That's when Selim
showed up with the camera, and
snapped the shot and said "You
guys dropped the lasso back
there." He then started to cut the
rope in many pieces for a basket
weaving class he was teaching
during B-Block and went down
the hill.
"There goes the kudo I
was going to give him," Todd
remarked as we rode the moose
down the road and out of sight.
The moose had no
antlers left thanks to the pencil
sharpener and we figured he
wouldn't be back to Kingswood
anytime soon.
We went back to camp,
and down the hill where we
passed Thomson reading Rivers
a story, and we told the campers
that everything is safe and we are
ready for parents day.

PHOTO OPS
Each issue will feacture a bunch of pix, plucked from our
enormous file- boxes of willy-nilly photos stored in a basement
closet. Send us your pictures or make a request from a fond
camp memory. Email pictures or requests to swipfler@gmail.com
4 5
1
6
2
7
3
1. The Band Juiced (Tim Martone, Erik Spangenberg, and Matt Cherchio)
accompanied by Terence Einhorn on the sax
2. Rob Horne leads the pack down the Lazy River at Whale's Tale.
3. This hiking photo of Mike Young is an all time Kingswood favorite trip
photo. High above the Pemi Wilderness, this confident lad has hardly
broken a sweat.
4. Nick Scrivens, one of our best athletes ever, was one of the first to win an
easy "fin" off the crazy Mr. Wiff who was sitting in front of this Frisbee Golf
pole (moved way forward) and begging to witness holes in one.
5. Josh Schulman was one of the earliest members of the "Sabiston fishin'
team"
6. Steve Beggs emerging from the council fire during B& A week intos
7. Taco day with Whit Johnson, Tim Martone, Sam Ascher, Danny McCabe,
Tyler Mazey, Todd Sabiston and Dylan Roman.

PHOTO OPS
1
4
5
2 3
1. Sam Barr remained purple for a solid week after he painted himself
for the B& A week introductions
2. Rob Horne, a founder father of the Kingswood Band known as
Unfinished Business, will be returning after a long separation, this
time with his family.
3. "Photo Op" at Kingswood has always meant Mr. Wiff butting in
on whatever he pleased for the sake of a good picture for his newsy
bits. Here, he breaks up a pitcher's mound conference between
Mick Barak and Mac Bartels during Pemi Day.
4. It was a "theme" day of sorts at camp and Tyler Mazey was ready
for anything
5. Steve Beggs, shown with Mac Wilson and Todd Sabiston, gets
credit for the name of our alumni association "Kingswood For
Life"
Want to see more pictures?
Email swipfler@gmail.com with your requests! Follow
Kingswood Camp on facebook for throwback pictures

THE AMBASSADOR'S SPIN
The guy's name is Michael. But, don't ever address him as such. He is
KLAUS, plain and simple. He has been with us for 21 of Kingswood's 31
summers under the Wipfler banner. As Head Counselor, he makes knowing
every boy his prime camp duty. He is everybody's best friend, UNLESS he has
donned his black trench coat, black hat and dark sunglasses, whereupon he
transforms into the mean Mr. Ambassador (from nowhere to nowhere). His
mission is to smash every egg to bits during the infamous Egg Drop
competition. He's got a great way with sarcasm and we think you will enjoy his
biting wit at each rendition of the KFL. Take it away Mr. Ambassador.
Hi Kingswood alum both distant and recent. While
many of you distant alum have no idea who I am since I
started in 1995 as a ten year old, this is my 21st summer
coming up and Mr. Wiff has not found a way to get rid of me
yet. He still loves giving out random titles and Czardoms and I
have many now, my favorite being Director of the Junior
Camp (Kingswood has never had a separate Junior Camp, yet
I have been the Director of it for a good long while now).
I was deeply inspired by the various Kingswood
"traditions" that the Wiffs promised to keep in the summer of
1985. Kingswood is a camp deeply steeped in traditions. From
Egg Drops to Haunted Houses, Pemi Day to movie nights, the
big events of Kingswood seemingly have not changed in my
soon-to-be 21 year tenure. The more "subtle" traditions have
been even more intractable: counselors scrambling for a pencil
to take down a roster on a paper plate, line frisbee's "three
halves," legendary dining hall bits hastily put together with
randomly chosen garb from the attic.
Okay, some of the promised traditions have stuck
around the whole time. Bow and Arrow has not been
forgotten and is as strong as ever, even though some advances
have prevailed (skits are now movies, for example), the
Five-Year Dinner has become a cookout with steaks for the
old-timers, and this mysterious "Gravy Boat" has been
transformed into a United States Post Office truck that comes
daily with more sugar than a child could eat without getting
sick.
However, some of the "traditions" listed here have gone off the
wayside and I WANT TO KNOW WHY.
The Volvo Tennis Day Trip. I have been Czar of
tennis for at least twelve years and I have never heard of this
event. Did the old, ant-infested courts of Roland Kingswood
host a sponsored tournament? Did we ever have enough
players to be worthy of driving to a tournament outside of our
beloved Baker Valley?
The Kingswood Fair. Every second session we go to
the North Haverhill Fair to get in touch with our New
Hampshire roots through watching pig races, cars run into
each other, woodsmen throwing and chopping, and carneys
desperately trying to rip us off (Mr. Wiff's quote "NOW
LOOK IT: you give those people a ten and they give you two
back" comes to mind), but I have never heard of a Kingswood
Fair. Rob Wiff has been demanding a Circus Parade for as
longs as I can remember....is this the event?
The Magic Show. I have no idea what kind of "magic"
has been produced by the Kingswood staff, but I would like to
bring this back for another attempt. Perhaps the Great
Zucchini, Eric Knaus, will grace us with his presence for a few
pointed demonstrations.
Until next rant, look for me with megaphone in hand
commenting on whatever I come across.
-Klaus

TAPS
At Kingswood, our mission is to create a happy,
close-knit community that treasures kindness, the
natural world, and the joy of play; a place where
boys develop confidence, make independent
choices, value true friendship, and grow into
"Nec ex f eugiat
f orensibus integre
luptatum eum oratio
blandit responsible, ef fcaring iciantur young men. quo ei.
Te vel vivendo f acilisis."
We are confident that this statement resonates with the terrific community we have created over our 30+ years at the
Kingswood helm. Yet, there remains one more significant value that cannot show up in any mission statement: Who becomes the
beneficiary of such wholesome goals? We believe that Kingswood should not be limited only to families of means.
The number of families requesting and qualifying for financial support for their boys to attend camp has increased
exponentially in recent years. For summer 2015, we have awarded over $70,000 in tuition assistance, an enormous leap from our
average numbers in the past. We would like to continue to provide scholarships to well-deserving families with boys who are
highly recommended to us.
Our parental accrediting agency, the American Camp Association, has developed a vehicle that allows individuals to make
tax-deductible financial contributions to specific camps of their choosing, for use as scholarship funds. Accordingly, we have
created a Kingswood Scholarship fund through the ACA auspices. Precise guidelines and rules apply to such distributions, to
include grants only to deserving children.

Standards of Eligibility for Kingswood Camp
Scholarship Assistance
Kingswood Camp uses the following guidelines in
determining the applicability of scholarship aid to families
who apply for it. Both the personal characteristics of the
boy and a complete family financial disclosure are factors
weighed by the camp administration in making assistance
offers.
- The boy himself understands the basics of our
program and is eager to participate.
- His age is between 8 and 16 years old.
- His teachers/ coaches/ guidance counselors describe
him to us in areas of his curiosity, integrity,
intelligence, and general demeanor.
- The boy must acknowledge that he enjoys the
out-of-doors. He must realize that even our
wood-framed sleeping bunks have that ?outside feel?
to them.
- Kingswood seeks boys who are respectful of others
and able to follow the guidelines of positive group
dynamics.
- We are assured that he is capable of enduring the
physical demands of our program.
- He expresses interest in grasping a larger
understanding of the physical world, and hopes to
acquire greater self-confidence through his camp
experience.
- He is committed to being a positive contributing
member of the Kingswood community.
- The boy?s family supports this endeavor and is
willing to provide all the information the camp needs
from them.
- The family submits a letter of recommendation from
the boy?s primary advisor or principal.
- The amount given toward the participation of any
scholarship camper shall not exceed the amount of
tuition and airfare minus the amount the family is
able to pay.
To contribute, click here