Introducing the Storyteller Project
Alumni of Camp Dudley and Camp Kiniya love to tell stories. Whether it is leaders and staff chatting around a campfire in the summer, an eager camper returning home from their first time on the shores of Lake Champlain and enthusiastically recounting every detail to their parents, or old friends reminiscing over dinner in a city far away from Westport or Colchester, when you get people with camp numbers talking about Camp, they can go on for hours sharing memories. These can be stories from that day, just a few months before, or from decades long ago; regardless of when they took place, they are always a joy to hear. This is the foundation of the Storyteller Project. We want to preserve these stories, share them with the community, and figure out a way that they can be enjoyed for decades to come.
To kick things off, we sat down with two legendary figures, #7289 Ace Scharges and #21532 Pete Nash, both long-standing members of the Dudley and Kiniya communities, respectively. Both conversations lasted nearly two hours each and covered many different topics from their decades of involvement in our community. Below, you will find the “Part I” of both of these chats. We are excited to share this first chapter with you and look forward to the future parts in the coming weeks!
This is just the beginning!
While there is more to come from Ace and Pete in the coming weeks, if you have a story you would like to share with the Dudley and Kiniya community, or know someone who you think would be a great participant, we’d love to hear from you. Please reach out to Drew Rider at drew@campdudley.org for more details. We are looking forward to gathering and sharing all the stories you have to tell!
#7289 Ace Scharges
Ace Scharges has been a part of the Dudley community since he first came to Camp as a Cub in 1946. Over the decades, Ace has had many roles, from camper to leader to D-Head, and then on to President of the CDA (now DKAA), Chairman of the Centennial Reunion, and a member of our Board of Managers. While on the Board, Ace was integral to the creation of the Camp Dudley archives, where he still works to this day. Our conversation ranged from what Camp was like when Ace was a kid to his favorite activities and traditions (many still carried on today), to the near miraculous feat of pulling off a successful Centennial Reunion. We then moved on to some of the interesting discoveries that have come from his decades of work on creating and maintaining the Camp archives.
#21532 Pete Nash
Pete Nash has been a staple at Camp Kiniya since he first arrived as a staff member in 1958. For nearly seven decades, Pete has served in many positions, including working with the maintenance team, running the Kiniya store, overseeing the grounds as a year-round caretaker, and perhaps most importantly, befriending all and fully dedicating his life in service to others. Pete is always armed with a joke or a fond memory to share and is a reliable helper who will consistently brighten your day and make you smile. During our conversation, he shared stories about what Kiniya was like “back in the day,” his relationship with both the Williams family and Marnie, and the joy he has felt watching Kiniya change and grow over the years.
