Camp Onkoi Benek: Fun Facts

18 years ago our Cystic Fibrosis (CF) summer camp was discontinued and this typically would be the first full week of camp (give or take a day). Our camp ran from 1972-1996 (25 yrs). I figured I'd post some fun facts that occurred during my 9 years at Camp Onkoi Benek (1988-1996).  Onkoi Benek in Indian means To Conquer Tomorrow, and as kids, teens, and adults with CF, that's exactly what we did, and still continue to do. It was a week filled with laughs, smiles, and joy. . .  and restful nights (well, if you were a camper).   ::wink::

The song currently playing (YouTube might be glitching. .  again) was the first song I heard on my walkman on the way to my first year of camp in 1988. The first day of camp that year was Saturday, July 16th 1988. So these are some fun facts, photos, and awards. I still don't understand how I was awarded "Mr. Casanova" in 1989 via my camp counselors Bill "Willie" Halpin and Ken "The Mail Man" Osterman. Maybe the below picture(s) will explain some of it. :)

Sadly, our camp in Dowling, MI (near Battle Creek) was discontinued after 1996. 

1st introduction to Camp Onkoi Benek

The person that introduced me to CF camp was Brian Weber and his Mother, who lived 15 minutes from us.  My family and I met them at Karate class, which would've been mid 1987, when I started.  The strange thing is, I don't recall Brian being in Karate class. I think him and his Mom were just checking it out. Anyway, his Mom talked to my Mom and told us about this summer camp near Battle Creek, MI for those living with CF.  We became interested and gathered more information from my CF doctor. Photo from 1990.

1st person I met: Jimeyer

The first person I met at CF camp 1988 was Jim Meyer, who was my first counselor (non CFer). When we got to camp I recall getting out of the car and looking around, and all of a sudden I hear this man yell "JEEESSSSEEEE!!!"  He walked over to me and gave me a hug. I didn't know who he was. At first I thought he was a family member, because I thought. "How does this guy know my name?"  Little did I know then, Jim and I would become friends through postage mail, e-mail and in person. Photo from 1994.

Jimeyer wasn't just the first person that I met at CF camp, he was the first person to write me and send me a postcard. He sent me this postcard a week or so after camp. That started my long distance writing (it be letters & cards) to my friends from CF camp, which would continue (even through the age of the Internet) until 2010. Postcard: July 1988.

1st CF friend: Elizabeth Michalski

The first person that I became close friends with at CF camp during my first year in 1988 was Elizabeth a.k.a. Liz. Her and I gelled so well together and I enjoyed hanging around her. . . morning. . . mid-day. . . afternoon. . . evening. .  ok. .  you get the point. :) She adopted our patrol that year.  Little did I know at the time, but Liz and her twin sister Margaret had been going to camp several years prior to my first year. I still recall (after the last day of camp and I was back home) trying to find Liz's address in our camp address/telephone number list that was given to every camper and staff member. I couldn't find Liz's name. I didn't know her last name. So after searching, crying, and getting sad, I just gave up and hoped I would see her next year at camp '89. 2 weeks after camp Liz wrote me. I remember jumping up and down once I got back inside the house after getting the mail. I knew her as 'Liz' but her full name was Elizabeth. This poor kid's heart was restored. Photo from 1988.

1st time eating Yogurt

Can you believe it? Camp '88 was the first time (that I recall) that I ate yogurt.  Still to this day I love it.  The flavor that I had was Strawberries 'n Banana's and it was by Yoplait.

1st time dancing

I didn't shock the monkey, but I did dance with it. To my knowledge, this was the first time that I ever recall dancing, so you could say I learned how to dance by dancing with a battery operated monkey. This was Laura Varon Brown's monkey that she had at Camp '88 that year, and actually kept it for quite a few years until it stopped working. PS I love those shoes I had. Photo from 1988.

1st time performing Taekwondo

Camp '88 was my first time performing in front of this many people (100+) for our camp's talent show. It was actually Jimeyer's idea. I'm not sure how it came about, but he had some great meditation music and it worked well with the Taekwondo pattern(s) that I was doing, which was Chon-Ji (the heaven, the earth), which takes about 1 minute to perform. Dan-Gun was another pattern that I performed, which was named after the holy Dan-Gun, who's said to have found Korea back in 2333 BC. At this point I was 9th Kup (Yellow belt).  I just received my yellow belt in March 1988. Photo from 1988.

1st time away from home

Camp '88 was the first time I was away from home for an entire week, and I LOVED IT! My Karate sport duffel bag. Perfect for nice trips like going to CF camp.

1st letter: Liz

Liz was the first person to write me a letter after CF camp '88. Once I started writing to Liz, somehow, someway, I became more creative, thus I started writing more stories, and even kept a journal from 1988-2001. I noticed I started to enjoy writing more then I had prior to CF camp. I still carry the trait to this day.
Favorite award: Mr. Casanova (1989)

1989 was my 2nd year at CF camp. Liz didn't come to camp that year, but she sent along her twin sister Margaret. Bill "Willie" Halpin & Ken "The Mail Man" Osterman were my camp counselors. After reading the definition of a 'Casanova' It doesn't pertain to myself, but. . at the sake of having fun, I guess I was a charmer and something special back then. Photo from 1989.
1st kiss: Amanda BainTo be 13 again. My first kiss took place at Camp '92, which was my 5th year attending camp. I still remember Amanda wearing watermelon lip balm. Amanda and I quickly became an item at camp and continued our relationship (long distance) for a year and 3 months.  Our song was 'Right Here Waiting' by Richard Marx (1989). I broke up with her in September 1993. There was no CF camp for our session in July 1993, which made things rough. We actually were both relieved about the break-up, because she truly wanted to be friends, but the long distance thing was hard, and we both were happy about the decision and continued to be friends through the years. My nickname for her was 'babe' and mine was 'spike' due to my spiked hair. I could go into more details, but I'll leave it at that. They truly were great memories. Photo from 1992.

It's always nice to know that someone in your life had your heart.

Last person I said goodbye to: Amanda Bain

Gosh. .  where has the time gone? 18 years and I still remember the last person I said goodbye to.  That would be Amanda, as I departed the grounds of Camp Onkoi Benek in July 1996. Little did anyone know, that would be everyone's final year at CF camp. Amanda walked me to my car. I remember Amanda was wearing a purple tie-dye shirt. I recall putting my belongings in my car and I slowly turned around and looked at her and hugged her and told her to take care of herself and that I'd keep in contact and write her. Sadly, that would be the last time I'd see Amanda again.  Even in photos until she passed away on January 20th 2006. Photo from (Camp dance) 1996.

Kama's Visit: May 10th 2007

May 10th 2007

Kama Mastromonaco came over to my house and spent the day with me.  I had met Kama back at camp '95 and saw her again at camp '96. I hadn't seen her since 1996, so it was good to see her again.

Kama & Jesse at Chuck E. Cheese: What a story.  :)

Jennifer Hall, Jennifer Brooks, Jesse Richardson, Kama Mastromonaco

CF camp 1996

Last person I wrote to: Shawnna Gould

December 2010 about a week or so before Christmas my CF camp friend Shawnna sent me a Christmas card, and I sent one back. I had met Shawnna at camp '95, though she didn't attend camp in 1996 due to traveling to Virginia to visit with relatives. She was the last person that I kept in contact with via postal mail. I still talk to her Dad. Shawnna passed away on Sept 12th 2012.

Favorite camp photo: Liz & Margaret

I can't express how much this photo means to me. It means more then any other photo that I have from CF camp, and I have over 700. I still remember when this was took by my Mom, which was the first day of Camp 1990. I was trying to get the guts to ask both Liz and Margaret if we could all get a picture together. It turned out perfect. Photo from 1990.

Thank you for reading. July 23rd 1988 was the final day of my first year of  CF camp, so I thought on that day I would share my first year with another blog.  Camp Onkoi Benek: Year One.

The Cure: Just Like Heaven (1987)

Sing To Dana, Are You Crazy?

Chapter II
Sing To Dana, Are You Crazy?

I entered my 4th year at Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Camp Onkoi Benek (Indian phrase = "To Conquer Tomorrow") at the age of 13, which is on the outskirts of Battle Creek, MI in Dowling, MI.  Actually, it's called Outdoor Education Center and the camp is called Camp Clear Lake and has been operated by Battle Creek Public Schools since 1947.  As of this typing, there's word that it might close for good.  I guess Battle Creek Public Schools are doing some cut backs and the 1933 camp looks to be on the chopping block. The camp is the oldest public school camp in the nation.  <----- Yeah, I think the government should get involved in this one.  Sorry, just my opinion. When World War II broke, the U.S. Coast Guard used the camp as a training facility from 1942-1945.  A final decision has not been made as of this typing.

Anyway, that year at CF camp I met a whole new group of friends, one of those was a cute 12 year old girl, who as I recall, had short curly hair.  Dana was her name.  Sadly, I have no pictures of Dana from CF camp 1992.  To my knowledge, Shawnna Gould (RIP: 9-12-12) was the only person who had a picture of myself and Dana slow dancing together.  Yes, you read that correctly, slow dancing.  I remember several years ago I wanted a copy of that photo, but I felt bad about asking her for it so I could make a copy.  

So, there I was at our camp's dance, just looking around.  I saw this girl, who I wanted to ask to dance, but I was shy about the whole thing.  I remember a few people (campers) around me egging me on to go and ask her to dance.  Willy Halpin who was my camp counselor in 1989, walked up to me.  I remember the conversation going something like this.

"Go ask her to dance.  Go on. . come on, just go and ask her."

So I slowly walked up to the girl, who was the same height as me.  I remember asking her to slow dance, and she said sure.

There we were, slow dancing.  I held Dana in my arms.  It was almost like a scene from the hit TV show The Wonder Years.  Just like Kevin Arnold and Winnie Cooper, but I have to admit, we were dancing much closer than o'l Kev and the Coopster were.

Everyone was looking at us.  I remember Dana saying into my ear.

"Oh my gosh, everyone is starring at us."

I remember telling Dana something like.

"It's ok, just look at me, and sway to the music.  Just imagine no one else in the room, besides us."

I'm not sure what slow song was playing, but at that moment our friendship started. Dana was the cutest thing.

The next day or two I remember being in the room where our camp talent show was going to be held.  I wasn't doing anything for the talent show that year.  I'm not sure who suggested it to me, but it was a female camp counselor.  I was talking to her, but she must have known Dana or maybe she was Dana's camp counselor for that year in 1992.  She was going through some records and tapes and came across the 1966 song (You're My) Soul And Inspiration (Click to play) by the Righteous Brothers.  I remember her saying something like.

"Jesse, you should sing this song to Dana at the talent show.  She would love it."

I never said it, but I thought it.

"Me sing?  Are you crazy?"

Listen, I can't sing a tune at all.  If The Righteous Brothers heard me sing their hit song, they would throw tomatoes at me.  I would have just embarrassed myself, and Dana included.  I didn't even try to sing, I just knew it was in my best interest (and Dana's) for me to pass on this. Looking back 21 years ago, I still don't regret that decision.

A few days had passed and it was time for our talent show.  As I was waiting for the talent show to begin, I saved Dana a spot next to me, as everyone was sitting on the wooden floor getting ready for the talent show to begin.  Dana didn't know that I was saving her a spot, but my world was about to change.

A pretty blonde girl came up to me and asked nicely.

"Is anyone sitting here?"

I said.

"No, the spot is all yours."

I'm not sure where Dana was, but she did find a spot somewhere else. Dana and I were just friends at this point, but who was the blonde?  The babe (my nickname for her) was Amanda Bain, who would become one of the most important people in my life.  As we both were sitting next to each other, her hand hovered over mine and within seconds she placed her hand on top of mine.  I couldn't believe this girl was flirting with me.  I remember turning my head and we both smiled at each other.  Amanda and I became an item at CF camp that year.  The whole world knew it, and any chance we got we were together. From that night forward, Amanda and I were boyfriend and girlfriend for the next several days at CF camp, and leaving her was very hard.  It was raining during our last day at CF camp, and saying goodbye to Amanda was very difficult and emotional.

So whatever happened between Dana and I?  For the record (again), Dana and I were just friends this whole time.  Yes, I thought she was cute and attractive, but it's very odd, I think we both knew we were just going to be friends.  We never said anything to each other about it, but. . . after the talent show, we became even closer friends because we got to know each other, and our group at Camp became close.

So whatever happened between Amanda and I?  We continued being boyfriend and girlfriend for 1 year and 3 months.  September 1993 we broke up.  I broke up with her.  The long distance relationship was very hard (it was my first), plus I didn't want to hold her back from dating other people.  We continued to be friends, saw each other at camp 1994, 1995, and 1996, which was our camps final year.  There was no camp for our session in 1993.  We continued to communicate through the years.  Sadly, Amanda passed away on January 20th 2006 from CF.  She received the gift of life on October 15th 1998, 7 years prior to her passing and was granted a new set of lungs.  At the time of her passing she was engaged to a guy named Lance. He proposed to her while she was in the hospital.

So where did Jason Sevrey fit into all this?  As many of you know, Dana and Jason became an item at CF camp, but not that year. Jason teased me a few times about Dana's hair, but little did Jason know, 3 years later, him and Dana would become an item.  How funny is that?  Life has a very strange way of connecting people.  Jason had the hots for a girl named Beth that year, but to my knowledge, she never attended CF camp again, so Jason and Dana basically weren't an item.  That would all change. . . . oh boy, would that change.

Continue. . . 

'How Do You Talk To An Angel'
By: The Heights
Year: 1992