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New Library<br />
Collection Celebrated<br />
It was a sunny Crew Day<br />
this past summer when<br />
<strong>Mowglis</strong> campers, families<br />
and friends gathered to celebrate<br />
the entirely new book<br />
collection for the <strong>Mowglis</strong><br />
library, a gift in memory of<br />
Melissa Gulitti, former<br />
trustee and mother of Jay<br />
Gulitti (Den '06).<br />
Melissa Gulitti got to<br />
know <strong>Mowglis</strong> in 2002,<br />
when she inquired to learn<br />
more about the camp as an<br />
option for Jay, who was nine<br />
years old at the time.<br />
Melissa at first had reservations<br />
about the prospect of<br />
Jay’s being at camp for<br />
seven weeks but overcame<br />
her trepidation enough to<br />
allow him to try a summer<br />
here. Over the<br />
summer Melissa<br />
began to understand<br />
what<br />
<strong>Mowglis</strong> is all<br />
about, and by the<br />
time Jay<br />
returned for his<br />
second summer<br />
in Toomai, she<br />
had become one<br />
of <strong>Mowglis</strong>'<br />
biggest advocates.<br />
Because of her enthusiasm<br />
for the camp and her<br />
ideas for recruiting, Melissa<br />
was asked to become a<br />
<strong>Mowglis</strong> trustee, which she<br />
did in 2004. Sadly, she<br />
attended only two meetings<br />
before passing away unexpectedly.<br />
Meilssa Bowne Gulitti<br />
Jay Gulitti (‘06), his father Joe at the dedication<br />
of the new 700-book library collection<br />
given in memory of Jay’s mother.<br />
Melissa had always been<br />
an avid reader, and her love<br />
of reading led her to undertake<br />
a project to update<br />
<strong>Mowglis</strong>' library, which had<br />
been created in<br />
1939 in memory<br />
of Robert C.<br />
Blake, a<br />
<strong>Mowglis</strong> camper<br />
and counselor.<br />
Until this most<br />
recent summer,<br />
most of the<br />
books in the<br />
library were<br />
from that original<br />
collection.<br />
Melissa's husband<br />
Joe recognized how<br />
important the library project<br />
was to <strong>Mowglis</strong>, and he<br />
chose to continue the project<br />
in Melissa's memory. With<br />
the help of HEMF Trustee,<br />
Diana Beeton, a public<br />
school librarian and mother<br />
Looking forward, a plan is in place to keep our new library current.<br />
A wish-list of books resides on Amazon.com, and donors may purchase books as a gift to the camp.<br />
Please visit www.<strong>Mowglis</strong>.org/library to get the link.<br />
9<br />
of three <strong>Mowglis</strong> graduates, a<br />
list of popular books was<br />
developed, and an order was<br />
placed for over 700 titles.<br />
The books, a majority hard<br />
covered, began arriving by<br />
the case-load just as summer<br />
started, and over the course<br />
of the summer they were<br />
wrapped in protective covers<br />
and shelved. This winter,<br />
they will be stamped with a<br />
custom bookplate handdrawn<br />
by Jay.<br />
There were many times<br />
this past summer when there<br />
were no seats remaining in<br />
the library because they were<br />
filled with boys reading.<br />
Melissa's vision had been fulfilled.<br />
This bookplate was hand-drawn<br />
by Jay Gulitti and will be inserted into<br />
all of the new books. A second version<br />
was created for future gifts and has<br />
room for a donor’s name.
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