What years did you attend PLYC?
My first year at camp was 1969—I was 8 year old. I was a camper, then an SDP, kitchen staff and counselor. I was there from 1969-1980.

What tents were you in?
I was in Boot Hill my very first year as a camper (Karen Johnson was my counselor) and Buccaneers my last year as a camper.

I don’t really remember all of the tents in between but they spanned the Western, Civil War, Mythical and Adventure units! Interestingly enough, in all of my years there I was never in the Indian unit.

What job did you have as staff member?
As an SDP I worked in the stables for a summer and loved it. I moved around some! A stint at riflery, dabbled in the craft shop, got wet at swimming and boating…

What are you doing now?
I am the Director of The Sewing Machine Project, a grassroots nonprofit that I founded in 2005. Our mission is “mending communities, one sewing machine at a time”.

We do this by collecting and distributing sewing machines to those in need locally, nationally, and internationally. My work varies…I do a lot of public speaking about the project, I get to travel often to distribute machines, teach people to use machines, I do a lot of writing, and of course, all of the day to day administrative details.

As I was raising my children (Alec-23, Maddie-21) I held many part time and volunteer positions and often wondered how all of these various experiences would possibly serve me later on when I went back to work full time.

Turns out that each experience held valuable information, learning, messages that I use in my work now.

What about your camp experience has influenced you the most?
There were so many lessons that I didn’t see at the time.

One that stands out is just the freedom (with gentle boundaries) to be in such a beautiful place and have choices about how to use each day…and such good choices! All of this while surrounded by such love and kindness—talk about heaven!

An experience, that stands out is visiting camp with my daughter for an alumni reunion.

She had camped there as well, and had been an SDP. After the square ceremony, we all headed outside of the lodge to see the familiar image of Jesus projected on the stone chimney.

There in the darkness I felt Maddie reach for my hand and the two of us just stood there singing, crying, and feeling an added level of understanding in our relationship.

Is there anyone from camp to which you'd like to say hello?
I’d like to say hello to everyone, especially my kitchen staff buddies, Alan Stewart, Caroline Browne, Diane Battin-Rogers, Jenny Brown and Ellen Winchell.

Hello to Lady Sue and Sir G. And Riley Cooper, I’m sorry for all of the times we made you perform ‘Gray Squirrel’…

Favorite Memories?
I loved the games of Capture the Flag in the kettles.

Loved loved loved the announcements and the singing…ah, the singing. I still know those songs…don’t think they’ll ever leave me. I remember singing and laughing (Granny’s in the Cellar), singing and crying (7 Golden Daffodils).

I loved the square ceremonies…the serious and loving nature of the message, the dark room slowly illuminated with little candles.

I remember, as an SDP, sneaking into the kitchen for some leftover apple crisp, with a few fellow crisp-lovers…mmm, Lady Sue’s apple crisp…

Would you like to share your email addresses?
margjankowski@gmail.com

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