January 15, 2007
Dear Friends:
    I address this note to a very specific community. If you spent at least one summer of your life on the northwest shore of Bear lake , under a full moon arching over Hawk Mountain, than you, a Camp Wigwam alumnus, hold this letter in your hand.  Those of you, the vast majority who will receive this note, know me personally and also know that I consider myself among the most fortunate individuals who have ever lived on this planet. I am the  director  of Camp Wigwam, it’s fifth to hold that enviable and honorable position. This is the only job I have held as an adult, and in my career I have never met anyone who enjoys his or her life’s work more than I do mine. Since 1977,  I have fulfilled a host of duties as Wigwam’s caretaker, and now with a great sense of the  historical importance involved, I begin - with your help - the monumental task of preparing for Wigwam’s 100th anniversary year, the Centennial summer season of 2010.

   Abraham Mandelstam, Arnold Lehman, Ned & Helen Strauss, Bob & Jane Strauss, the names that evoke a host of memories of carefree summer days  among the tall pines near Mutiny Brook. We invite you back to share these memories, to celebrate a milestone, to recall and relive those wonderful times of your youth.

   We will begin the celebration of the Centennial on Labor Day Weekend of this calendar year, 2007. Officially, we will call this a Wigwam Fantasy Weekend, but in truth it is simply the opening chapter of the marking of the 100th year. Our sole purpose in holding that event this summer will be to establish a starting point. If you are reading this note,  I ask three jobs of you.

1.) Pass this information on to any Wigwammer, camper or staff, that you are still in contact with. We will advertise  later this spring in many metropolitan newspapers and will canvas the internet as well, but you shall be the key messenger.

2.)  Prepare  an important, amusing, or memorable story to tell about any aspect of your Wigwam experience.  During the Fantasy Weekend we will archive, on tape or in writing, that story, so that in 2010 we may present to everyone assembled a yearbook and video presentation of these collected tales and images.

3.) Set aside on your personal calendar, Labor Day weekend 2007 and Color War Week 2010 (early August), to be spent in the state of Maine, on Bear Lake, at Camp Wigwam.

   Fantasy Camp 2007 is intended to serve Wigwam alumni. We will set our sights toward the Centennial and will form committees and volunteer groups in preparation for that event. You are welcome to bring along family or friends, but we will focus on the gathering of information of true alumni. At camp we will be able to accommodate a specific number of people. Make your reservation, at camp or at a local inn, right now.

   And so it is official. The countdown to Wigwam’s Centennial is begun. Write your story, spread the word, plan to join in to celebrate this historic event. Stop paddle n’ oar, and call to shore, till all the hills resound...