Sprucelands is helped by an alumni from 30 years ago.

'Seph' still has that impish look he had 30 years ago!

Just want to slip in a quick post here to say thank you to Joseph Keleher for coming into Sprucelands this week. We were short a staff member because a scheduled Hill Parent broke two ribs in an altercation with a jet ski. Joseph came to our rescue.

I would like to share that this is one special guy. He was on my staff 30 years ago at the ripe old age of 17. That was way back in 1981-1982, just 2-3 years after I came into Sprucelands. I started here in 1979. So Joseph knows me from way back when I was green around the gills, learning how to be a camp director without a manual that told me what to do. Makes me smile when I think on it.

We had a terrific staff that year, and we knew all kinds of crazy fun, the kind of fun that today the Health Department would frown upon. There were games like Killer Soccer: soccer with no rules. Alumni look on those times and roll with laughter when they reflect on the energy we expended in Killer Soccer. Did we get hurt? Sure. That was everyone's red badge of courage.

Anyway, Joseph is a wonderful resource. He is an author and an artist, an archaeologist, a naturalist, an innovative thinker and an elementary teacher. That is just the tip of the iceberg when I define Joseph. He has traveled to nearly every country in the world, teaching children in many of those countries and taking in cultures that most of us will never encounter in a lifetime. Joseph has lived on Indian reservations in the mid-west, loving the connection with his people there. Talented also with his hands, he renovated a house in Pennsylvania using all kinds of green energy saving features. The end product was written up in Better Homes and Gardens.

I could go on and on about dear Joseph. He will always be special to me and Sprucelands. Right now he is in between jobs, having recently returned from Africa. In fact, he is applying for teaching jobs in the southwest area.

We are fortunate to have connected with 'Seph' as we used to call him years ago. I in particular enjoy chatting with him, recollecting old times and sharing this slice of time in the present. I feel as though through Joseph I am giving our campers today a gift. He is a gem.

Your comments will make Joseph's day and mine.